My First Week of Reinvent Nutritional Therapy Programme

Last week I introduced you to the Reinvent programme, with a general overview of the principles and general philosophy behind it. Now, the reason why I couldn’t give you any more detail than that, is because I am genuinely following the programme for real and literally didn’t have any further information!! However, I have just finished my first week on the programme and have lots to share with you about my first week of Reinvent Nutritional Therapy Programme

First up, the format

The format for ‘Reinvent’ is really straightforward. Once you have signed up, you receive a welcome e-mail from Rosie (the creator of ‘Reinvent’) with a weblink to the programme, your login details and an invite to the Facebook group.

Once you log in for the first time you can access all of the resources for your first week.

These consist of:

• A video explaining everything you need to know for week 1
• An introduction to your goal for the week,
• A detailed explanation of the purpose and rationale for this goal and specific resources to help you to this goal
• A meal plan, recipes and shopping list
• A health questionnaire to complete at the end of the week to track your progress

The resources are really comprehensive, any questions you have can be posted in the Facebook group or emailed to Rosie and they are met with a swift response. I found this really reassuring and helpful. It made me feel like I’m not just doing this on my own. There are loads of other people in exactly the same boat. Which to be honest I needed.

What are the Reinvent goals for week 1?

There is only one Reinvent goal for the first week, and it is super simple. It makes sense that as the programme is all about gently introducing some healthier habits into your life, that it should start off with one of the basics, that we are all aware of: eating more fruit and vegetables.

This week’s focus is not just about eating more fruit and veg, but eating a wider variety of fruit and veg. It’s all about ‘eating the rainbow’ (No! This does not mean eating copious amounts of skittles! That doesn’t count!!)

What it does mean however, is eating an abundance of fruit and veg in as wide a variety of colours as possible. The reason for this is that all of those different colours in fruit and vegetables represent over 25,000 different phytonutrients. That’s pretty impressive when you think about it…

The big question: How did I get on during my first week with ‘Reinvent’?

You’d think being vegetarian I would find this easy… Yeah, not so much!

To give you an insight into the scale of change I’m making, firstly, I need to tell you a little bit about my eating habits.

Hmmm… Maybe it’s more of a confession actually!

The long and short of it is that basically my eating habits are terribly disorganised and I generally eat junk.

I’m not going to lie, I am a lover of the beige food, I’d be hard pressed to think of the last time I ate at least one piece of fruit or veg a day (The shame!)  It also doesn’t help that I just see cooking as another job that has to be done, rather than a source of enjoyment and pleasure.

I also have to confess that living next door to an Indian restaurant, and opposite a Chinese takeaway, has resulted in a serious and committed relationship with takeaway food (We need to break up. It’s a toxic relationship).

Mr Challenge works shifts and I have young adult sons who generally do their own thing. There aren’t really regular meal times in our house like there once was…

I am also great at finding excuses….

Drumroll please! My First Week of Reinvent Nutritional Therapy Programme

Week 1 by my standards was a success! Hurrah!

I started the week, by watching Rosie’s video, reading the instructions and downloading the meal plan and recipes. So far so good!

I got my meal planner out, wrote out my plan and a shopping list of all the things I would need for the week. To be honest I couldn’t tell you the last time I actually planned my meals…

Food shopping is always just a little too tempting for me. So I decided that I would have a bash at an online food shop. I’ve never done the old online shopping before, but I had a voucher for Waitrose so I thought, why not give it a whirl?! (I’m so rock and roll!!)

The start to week one was delayed a bit by the snow and sorting out my food shopping (I had to go and pick up the online order!) I then proceeded to have a further #firstworldproblem… On unpacking my shopping I found that the chia seeds I had ordered were missing…

Now, anyone who knows me in real life will tell you that I’m a working class girl who has done quite well for herself. (Please note not ‘working girl’) So the irony was not lost on me, when I realised I had just screeched: ‘for f**ks sake where are the b*****d chia seeds?!

So, I didn’t really get started until Tuesday.

Progress this week:

From my perspective I can see that I have definitely started to take the first steps towards changing my relationship with food, and there has been some definite changes made this week. Ultimately, my aim with this programme is to make lifelong changes that I know I can stick to, so that don’t feel like I’m missing out. It is very much baby steps, slow and steady, otherwise I know I’ll give up…

Changes I’ve made this week…

1. I have stuck to my meal planning about 50% of the time
2. I have eaten more fruit and veg than I have done in a really long time. This week I have mostly been eating…. (Sorry Fast Show quote… I bloody loved that show… maybe I should add that to my insta stories?!!!!) Banana, rocket, spinach, basil, mint, red and white onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, peppers, peas. I’m not quite at my 5 a day but I am getting there.
3. I haven’t eaten any processed vegetarian substitutes. In replacement of my usual Linda McCartney delights, I have been eating a variety of beans, chickpeas, lentils and halloumi.
4. I’ve been drinking loads of water. I can easily go all day without a drink and this week I’ve managed 3 1.5 litre bottles of water, plus some fruit tea and coffee. (Plus, cider and wine, but hey that’s fruit, right?!)
5. No takeaway… (Unbelievable!)
6. 6 nights alcohol free

I have to say, I’m starting to notice the difference, in that I feel a bit more alert. It hasn’t made a difference to my bloating, but then again, I am plagued by lady problems…

I’m really pleased to say that the motivation to continue is definitely there and I think it’s because the focus was introducing new healthier habits rather than breaking habits. The irony of this is that I found there wasn’t as much room for my rubbish habits. That’s not to say there has been no crap food, there has; club biscuits, hula hoops and a snickers bar. BUT there has been a serious reduction.

Plus, when I actually cooked I really enjoyed my meals. Winner!

Some goals for Week 2

1. Replace coffee with fruit tea. I buy those latte and mocha sachets which I love, but there is no goodness in those bad boys what so ever.
2. Up my water intake.
3. Meal plan, shopping list, online shopping.
4. I am rubbish at eating breakfast and having a morning routine. I need to start!
5. Up daily fruit and veg intake to 5 a day minimum.
6. No processed vegetarian replacements.
7. Find healthier snack alternatives for my sweet/savoury needs

Moving forward

I really feel like I’m ready for week 2, and I’m strangely looking forward to it… I’m ready for this change now.

This week I’m also going to try and get more pictures of what I’m eating, I think it will help me keep my mind focused.

You can continue to follow my progress via Instagram (I’m going to have a bash at some ‘stories’ and weekly updates here at ChallengeClare!

Want to know more?

You can find out more about Reinvent here and follow Rosie and Reinvent on Instagram and Facebook. You can also follow my progress via Instagram and weekly updates here at ChallengeClare!

Disclaimer: I have been offered a subscription to reinvent free of charge in return for documenting my experiences via the blog. All opinions as ever are my own!