Keeping Fit With The 5 Day Reboot Challenge From So Shape Paris
I have always been described as a ‘go-getter’, someone who has an obsessive work ethic and who will stop at nothing to get the job done. A self-described ‘Jack of all Trades’, I always visualize myself as being someone who has multiple ‘virtual web browsers’ open in my mind, flitting between tasks, as I squeeze as much as physically possible into my working day (and night). But here’s the thing, despite how ‘productive’ or organized I might seem to others, most of the time I am sluggish, exhausted and struggle not to procrastinate, the world of ‘Netflix’ and Youtube at my ever eager fingertips. There are days where I feel like I have done ‘barely’ any work, and then others where I feel like I am doing 10 things at once, struggling to keep a healthy balance between ‘work’ and play. As someone who is either ‘all or nothing’ it can be exhausting trying to cope with a workload that was made for four people and yet, I have to keep going because I have bills to pay, I have cats to put through college. Due to the nature of my hectic, and at times chaotic lifestyle, I have classed myself as an ‘unhealthy vegetarian’ who eats a lot of cheese, pasta and snacks like crisps, which are often lacking in protein and nutrients, contributing to the sluggishness and low mood that I have on a daily basis.
But I am making a visible effort to combat my chaotic lifestyle and improve my eating habits, because I have realized that I need to focus more time and energy on myself, as I am guilty of forgoing my own self-care to nurture others. Not only from this moment forth am I cutting down on work that is unpaid or does not benefit me, but I am also taking much needed steps to create a balanced and nutritious diet that will enable me to feel happier in myself, because my mental health matters. I am so used to being worried about what other people think, and agonizing over how someone will feel if I say ‘no to them’ that liberating myself from my own ‘demons’ and taking the time and energy to schedule in some much needed me-time, has been a true blessing in disguise. Before my diet wasn’t just ‘unhealthy’ but I also had a terrible eating routine, where on days that I was ‘out all day’ in meetings, events and places to review, I would ‘pick at food’ or eat one meal because I ‘didn’t have time to eat’. But what I have learned is that no matter how busy we are or how many hours we work, we should always have time for the things that matter in life, eating being one of them. Over the past few weeks I have made a conscious effort to prepare meals in bulk, so that when I go home, I have a delicious and nutritious well balanced meal, that can help take the edge off a stressful day.
I have also started eating ‘healthier snacks’, adding more fruits and vegetables to my 5 a day, because it was very rare that I would have my ‘daily recommended intake’ and it showed in my poor concentration levels, my prolonged insomnia and fatigue, (although assets of these are attributed to my chronic fatigue). While I am still ‘stressed’ and anxious on a daily basis, after weeks of endless stress I have finally started investing time and energy into my self-care routine, eating at least two meals a day ( I struggle to eat early in the morning), with healthy, protein snacks to supplement the meals, that I take with me wherever I go. While snacks like nuts and dried fruits have been snacks that I have carried with me on the go, because I have a craving for ‘sweet things’, I have discovered So Shape and their delicious range of guilt free snacks that are rich in nutrients, low in calories and available in 24 divine flavours. With a variety of products that can be eaten for breakfast, lunch and dinner, I have found that So Shape and their 5 day re-boot challenge has helped me feel more ‘myself’ than ever before, as I am making a conscious effort to improve my lifestyle, including focusing on eating nutrition dense foods. With delicious flavours like ‘Mac ‘N’ Cheese, pumpkin and chestnut soup, sea salt caramel and lemon cheesecake, So Shape has proven that I don’t need to compromise on my love for ‘delicious food’ with gourmet led snacks that allow me to re-boot my lifestyle, health and productivity.
At first though I was wary and I thought that ‘people’ who would use ‘shakes’, or joined ‘re-boot’ challenges were doing it to lose weight, something which I didn’t want to do considering that I am a UK size 6-8 and am already petite. But to my surprise I found out what while some people can use the shakes to ‘lose weight’ for others like myself who were feeling sluggish, bloated and de-energized on a daily basis, So Shape would enable us to put the funk back into our step, with a 5-day reboot challenge that could act as a ‘post-weekend detox’ to cleanse our mind, bodies and souls with nutritious soups, snacks, deserts and granola. Naturally as ‘most re-boot challenges’ are akin to greyish pink milkshakes without flavour or substance, you would be forgiven for thinking that So Shape couldn’t possibly create delicious meal replacements or snacks, but that is where you are wrong. The sea salt caramel is an aphrodisiac on the tongue, the mac ‘n’ cheese is surprisingly moreish and the brownie is heaven sent delight, waiting to be consumed with avid adoration. What’s even more impressive is how many vegetarian and vegan ‘challenge options there are’ with 23 vegetarian products and 4 new vegan options, vegan options including the mouthwatering Chili Sin Carne and French Garden Soup, and vegetarian options including strawberry tart and pesto pasta. But as someone who has IBS and an acid reflux, I have to be careful about what foods I put into my body, as many foods that I eat will leave me feeling bloated, tired and with painful cramps, so I was surprised at how well my body reacted to So Shape’s 5 day re-boot challenge, as I finished my week feeling less devoid of energy, slightly less bloated and more productive, which comes in handy in my line of work.
I began to realize that So Shape was not just a ‘meal replacement tool’ to lose weight, but super nourishing ‘Smart Meals and Snacks that together not only had more than 150 health benefits, but also would allow people like me who needed an ‘energy boost’ to gain fitness, energy and comfort. Better than a tasteless product from the pharmacy or a hyper complex method, the 24 meals are convenient, healthy and gourmet, something which if you are always on the go like me, is so handy to have as a quick pit-stop in-between meetings and events. While some shakes take what seems like eons to prepare, all I need to do is to add my desired amount of ‘water’ (depending on how much I want to consume at that time) and voila a deliciously cheesy mac ‘n’ cheese is ready and waiting to be devoured by my hungry mouth. Of course it goes without saying that ‘hot meals’ like pumpkin and chestnut soup need to be heated in the microwave, but the good news is that all meals are ready in a matter of minutes, perfect for when you only have 5 minutes to catch a break!
All So Shape’s meals are also sustainable, with no Yoyo effect or loss of muscle, as they aim to create Smart Meals that do not deprive the body of anything it needs, providing you with the nutrients that you need during the challenge. Because you are not ‘depriving your body’ of nutrients like some harmful diets can encompass, your body is not ‘missing out’ and consequently does not take revenge afterwards by re-storing what it missed, as it didn’t miss a thing! The Smart Meals also does not ‘aim to lose muscle’ and has stated that when there is too much restriction, the body degrades the muscles to make energy. Which means that for anyone who is trying to ‘get toned’, lose weight or improve their fitness, when we heavily restrict our bodies, our muscles disappear and we consequently burn less fat or calories. In contrast the 24 meals helps to keep muscles and thus prioritizes the loss of fat, or/and a healthier and fitter you. So unlike ‘unhealthy’ and ‘unsafe diet pills’ all So Shape Smart Meals meet the criteria for being associated with healthy weight loss by European law because it is balanced and respectful of metabolism.
It is no surprise that ‘detox teas’ or ‘diet pills’ do not have the same authorization because in my opinion they are harmful for the body and the mind and should not be used as a way of losing weight or improving fitness. After all, it is a well known fact that the sudden discontinuation of a method that only involves the absorption of a single group of nutrients (for example, proteins) can be disastrous for the metabolism. Meanwhile, the So Shape Challenge is perfectly balanced because it has such a richly varied range of savory meals, sweet and savory snacks and nutrition dense meal replacement foods ! So there is no more ‘fad diets’, no more degradation of muscle and above all, you can still lead an active lifestyle, while eating delicious snacks and meals on the go. While there is more ‘sweet options’ than savory choices, the good news is that if you want to have a divine brownie shake for dinner, you would still gain just as much nutrition as to if you had a simple pesto pasta dish, because all Smart Meals are around 200 Kcal per serving.
And don’t worry about not getting enough nutrition in your diet; So Shape uses a formula that they like to call the ‘4 pillars of a smart nutrition’ which encompasses ‘convenience’ ‘nutrition’, calories and taste. The products firstly are ‘convenient’ because they take as little as three minutes to prepare, as they are designed to help you keep fit and re-boot in real life. Thus the snacks can be consumed immediately, can be added to water and are easy to carry everywhere, giving you more convenience for your buck. The second pillar of nutrition is of course promoting a diet that is rich in nutrition. As So Shape declared, their products ‘guarantee a complete supply of micro and macro nutrients to slim down healthily and without deprivation!’, designed because they were ‘sick of light products that had no nutrients!’ While the Smart Meals are rich in nutrition they are also low in calories, containing far fewer calories than a typical meal or snack, to ensure effective slimming. The best pillar of all though is an advocacy for taste, with meals that are not devoid of taste, not absent from flavour and above all does not make you feel like you are missing out, a far cry from traditional meal replacement products. Now how’s that for a 5 day re-boot challenge?
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*Disclaimer
Please note this is a collaborative post with SO Shape but all thoughts are my own and are not affected by monetary compensation.
*I’m trying @soshapeparis 5 Day Reboot Challenge as part of my post weekend detox!! It has really helped me to get back on track after the weekend and is really easy to prepare. You have to try the Mac ‘N’ Cheese flavour – its delicious!
You can try it for yourself by using the code ANACUSTOM to get double the amount of flavours in any 14 or 28 day challenge!
#soshape #soshapeuk @soshaperesults
Love this suit. What a gorgeous colour!