Day 11 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

08.31.2012

10 Day Cleanse Results

(drum roll please.....)

 

 

First moment of truth so far and I'M LOVIN' IT!!

 

 

Weight: 158 (down 5lbs)

Right Arm: 12 1/4 (down 1/4')

Abdomen: 36 (down 2')

Chest: 38 (down 3/4')

Waist: 32 (down 1 1/2')

Hips: no change

Right Thigh: 27 (down 1')

Right Calf: 15 (down 1/2')

 

Total during the cleanse- 5lbs and 6' LOST!!!!!



Starting to see subtle changes already!!Is that a waist coming back?



 

 

Overall review of the first 10 days: My energy level stays even throughout the day, I do add an extra Spark kick around 4pm and other than that the plan is set perfect. My milk supply hasn't been affected in any way and I have only been hungry a couple times- mostly due to waiting too long to eat. It does seem a bit overwhelming in the beginning but really it's the same thing every day and after a couple days you work it right into your everyday routine so really it's not as time consuming as it looks.

 

Ahead: the Burn Phase! YAY!

 

In other news...This morning I found myself counting out my remaining Catalyst pills like a crack addict....should I be concerned?



Are you on Day 11 of The 24 Day Challenge? How did you on the cleanse? How are you feeling so far? Leave a comment!



Day 10 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

08.30.2012

Last night was the first night I attempted "Eating Out" on the Challenge and I was scared to death, but figured if this is the life change I hope it is I am going to have to jump into reality at some point! It wasn't nearly has hard or terrifying as I imagined- we ate at Logan's Steakhouse and I had the grilled chicken with veggie skewers as my side dish. By-passing the mushrooms dang near did me in (eating fungus during the cleanse is counter-productive), but I held it together like a champ! Crazy part is that when you are eating every few hours you aren't starving when you get to the restaurant so by-passing the peanuts and the bread weren't as bad as I imagined:)

News to note- LAST DAY OF THE HERBAL CLEANSE!!!! into the Zig Zag Weight loss next, CAN'T WAIT!

In other news....Mr. Water Diet's pants were falling off today...I keep telling him he needs to eat, if he passes out at some point I am seriously taking a picture and posting it!

and SPECIAL DELIVERY TODAY!!!


I <3 you FedEx Driver!





Are you on Day 10 of The 24 Day Challenge? Which phase 2 are you planning on doing? Leave a comment!

Day 9 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

08.29.2012

Having a really hard time with my goal of not weighing in until the Fiber Cleanse is over, especially when everyone keeps weighing themselves and Mr. Water Diet is down a pound or two daily. In my quest to stick to my goal I turned to google and see what I can find.

 Funniest part of my search:

 

Seriously people?  Number 2 is how to "make out" and 3 is how to make Cake Pops? I could go a hundred different ways with this, but I will control myself and simply state that I guess the only other people googling "how to" are 11 or are looking to move beyond the cupcake craze.  :/

Side note: Did I really need to see "cake" anything right now? Google...why do you hate?

 What I DID find regarding how to tell your body is too burning too many cupcakes eaten over the years fat for fuel or is in "Ketosis" (where we want to be- especially after the cleanse) is:

First, you need to be following the plan as outlined, specifically IE. NO CHEATING:

1. 5 balanced, low fat meals under 600 calories/day
2. drinking at least 1G of water a day

You will be able to tell in two ways- first being the frequent need to urinate- as your body will be eliminating the Adipose (FAT) tissue by breaking it down into waste and toxins and the quickest way for it to eliminate those toxins is through the urine. Secondly you will feel slightly hungry frequently and throughout the day- because like me, you probably went from eating large irregularly timed meals to the evenly spaced smaller meals of the plan and these "hunger pains" you are now feeling is the result of your stomach shrinking. As long as you are eating to plan, (make sure you are following the breastfeeding version as it accomodates the extra calories you need so your milk supply isn't affected), then you have no need to worry about these or starving!

UPDATE 9.12.2012- I have since done additional searching out of my own curiosity due to the excessive trips to the Loo- like, EXCESSIVE. Another way to guarentee you are in Ketosis is that you are having 5-7 bowel movements a day...uhhh,check and CHECK! ...It also says any more than that you may have IBS...some day's I'm riding a fine line on that one!


Are you on Day 9 of The 24 Day Challenge? Are you weighing yourself daily or waiting? Leave a comment!

Day 8 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

08.28.2012

So on day 8 it's time to Face the Fiber Cleanse again....thought it would be easier since I already survived the first three days of it on days 1-3- NOPE! Still mind over matter- just power through it. Also after a couple days of "normal-ish" In the Loo trips today is back to yuck- so head's up on that one;)

I also started to break out on my face and chest a bit, so hopefully it's the last of all the toxins leaving! On a happier note I only have 2 more cleanse days and it's onto the Fat Burning Fiesta- Bring It! They give you two choices, the simple one (which still has carbs) or the zig-zag over achiever's method, um-yep, that's for THIS girl! So my goal is to attempt that one and see how it goes (everything is adjustable, and you really want to adjust if you are breastfeeding and need to) personally, I need the most bang for my buck on these lbs melting away!

I feel pretty great all the way around, I am trying to listen to my body better and go to sleep when I actually get tired because I have to remember that my body is working hard even if I'm not and rest is essential to weight loss. I'm sleeping better, waking easier, surviving without Coffee (had no idea that was possible!), and am loving the Spark Energy Drink- fruit punch is the BEST!


Are you on Day 8 of The 24 Day Challenge? What changes are you experiencing so far? Leave a comment!

Day 7 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

08.27.2012

For three days in a row now I have finished my whole gallon of water! Pretty stoked about that, I think the protein shakes threw me over the edge with those last few ounces that had been left over each day.

I am finding that salads are super easy for lunch and this is what is becoming my "go to" salad, I'm going to call it the Costco special- (the actual bag of chicken is 3+ times larger than the one below but it's buried in my freezer and would have taken up the whole picture) : D

 

 Delish! Frozen chicken breasts are the way to go- super easy to cook and are still really moist and flavorful (I saute w/lemon wedges, garlic, and pepper)- even better in the oven if you have the 50 minutes to bake them.


Are you on Day 7 of The 24 Day Challenge? What are you having for lunch? Leave a comment!

Day 6 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

8.26.2012

Halfway through the 10 Day Cleanse, (the first 10 days of The 24 Day Challenge)! I'm feeling really good, sleeping better, and I'm only feeling really tired when I stay up past 10pm, though I have really tried to be in bed by, or shortly after 10pm. Taking that as a win-win- and WIN! Though I am not weighing in again until I am done with at least the 10 Day Cleanse, I can already tell by clothes are fitting better and my body is changing and I can't wait to see where this takes me!

Which has prompted me to start looking at what my long term goals are with these products. Since Advocare products are only sold from Distributors you are either paying retail from a Distributor or you become one and pay wholesale. Since I already need another box of meal replacement shakesmeal replacement shakes and Mr. Water Diet has decided he wants to do the 10 Day Cleanse the end of next week I have decided I don't want to pay retail going forward and have taken the Advocare Independent Distributorship plunge- cause this girl doesn't pay full price for ANYTHING:)


AND they gave me own site already-  Check Me Out!!

Yep, I'm Fancy like that!

Are you on Day 6 of The 24 Day Challenge? How are you feeling on the cleanse so far? Leave a comment!

Day 5 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

8.25.12

So pretty much every night I am waking up a couple times to go to the bathroom as it is taking me the whole day to drink my entire Gallon of water so I am still drinking it all the way to bed time. In fact the last couple nights I even poured the last cup and set in on the nightstand in case I woke up thirsty. Something I have noticed the last couple middle of the night trips, is that when I get up  I swear my body is "on fire" when I wake up! I've had the feeling before when I tried the Atkins diet and I attributed it to when your metabolism is kicking in and you get really hot- so maybe my body is literally burning off fat while I sleep!

....or I'm going into menopause?
....sleep deprived hallucination?

....had to Google-it, actually found information regarding how metabolism works and the fact that during exercise your body burns 80% glucose and 20% fats and during sleep those numbers reversed! check out the full details here

Are you on Day 5 of The 24 Day Challenge? How is your water intake going? Any ideas for working more into the day?Leave a comment!

Day 4 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

8.25.2012


My New BFF- Mr. Mocha Chocolate!!
 

First day of NOT having to Face the Fiber Cleanse- whoohoo! Tried to mix it up for breakfast today with egg whites, cherry tomatoes, and steamed sweet potatoes and my thoughts were probably the same as yours right now....YUCK! I literally couldn't choke it down so I broke into the second phase boxes and stole a Mocha Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake (as it does list it on the meal options if you bought extra). BEST idea EVER! I mixed the powder with 9 oz of COLD water and 2 ice cubes in the Ninja and whalah!- MOCHA CHOCOLATE SHAKE! Love it! THIS is my new breakfast, it was delish, and kept me satisfied until snack time- just can't say enough about them. If you do decide to take The 24 Day Challenge- buy extra, cause I will be ordering more today.

Are you on Day 4 of The 24 Day Challenge? What are you making for breakfast? Leave a comment!

Day 3 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

8.23.12

Time to get real about this "Cleansing" process with a little section I am going to call,
In the Loo....cause let's be serious- when you are cleansing there really is one way for the stuff to come out. I'm going to be as tactful as possible about this but I really feel SOMEONE needs to be talking about it cause I "googled-it" and few people dare mention, so here is my personal (edited) experience and what I was able to find out:

What should I expect?
Pretty much everyone is different so the range is pretty broad here. The Advocare consensus is you should be "regular" with at LEAST one "Loo" trip a day or there may be nutrition intake issues. Evidently I am on the opposite end of the spectrum as I have been In the Loo A LOT in the last couple days and the view varies to the point of disturbing- hence the googling. Will leave you with that...

What is normal?
Again, the range is broad- I even read about a guy finding a penny from 1974 and another woman found a wad of crayons In the Loo. I personally haven't found anything that exciting but I can say I have been spending a lot of time in the Loo the last couple days.

What isn't normal?
If a penny or crayons are normal finds I really don't have anything for you here- maybe any thing ALIVE should be of concern? Use your own discretion...

What should YOU expect?
Most motivating thing I read from another Challenger- "If it's not coming OUT, it's not coming OFF"
So my personal opinion is if you're spending a lot of time In the Loo, it's probably working so make yourself comfortable and don't stray too far from it.

In other news...So I guess a man cannot live on water alone- though he is trying like all heck. He did add Kashi cereal in the AM, turkey for lunch, and Boca burgers for dinner. He's down 2lbs today AND he weighed at night, AFTER he ate...really?

Are you on Day 3 of The 24 Day Challenge? What challenges are you experiencing? Leave a comment!

Day 2 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

8.22.12

Woke up at 5am this morning and tried to go back to sleep but was AWAKE. Um....okay. Took my wake up dose of spark and catalyst and decided since I was already up and  no one else was it was a great time to do some Zumba. My oldest came in about 30 minutes later and told me I was scarring her...to be honest I was freaking myself out a little. Not sure if this stuff is working or the moons aligned or something but figured I might as well take advantage of the extra energy when I have it!

Time to Face the Fiber Cleanse: so today I decided
warm=bad,
more water=more to drink,
solution: cocktail shaker! Genious!- Right?

 I took my 8oz of water, fiber packet, packet of Advocare Spark Engergy Drink, and 3 icecubes and shook the heck out of that stuff, poured it in a bomber glass and bascially drank it like a shot. Classy? not so much. Effective? YES!

Overall: ate the protein as scheduled and was not starving all day, so that was definately a bonus! Wasn't really tired all day until 10 when I headed to bed. Still struggling to finish the Gallon of water but almost there- pretty happy with my progress.

Are you on Day 2 of The 24 Day Challenge? How are you facing the fiber? Leave a comment!

Day 1 of Mom on The 24 Day Challenge

8.21.2012

Woke up at 8am to do my weigh-in/measure/pics. Not Happy. Didn't expect today to be easy so just going to get through it.

Weight 163.0 (seriously...WTH)
Right Arm: 12 1/12
Abdomen: 38
Chest: 38 3/4 (I am 3/4 of an inch from people having the right to ask me if I'm preggo- WTH!)
Waist: 33 1/2
Hips: 43
Right Thigh: 28
Right Calf: 15 1/2
Fat Caliper: 24mm (which from the chart they provide says I am in the "average" range :/

Pic: .....promise to add by "before" pic when I feel like I'm making some progress- YES I am chicken, AND I'm using it as motivation right now...so please be patient!

Time to Face the Fiber Cleanse- mixed the packet of spark (energy drink) and the packet of fiber drink with my 8 oz of water from the gallon jug (to make sure I drink 1 gallon of water a day). Mixed it up in my Ninja and threw in a straw- BLECH! It really is mind over matter on this one and I had to add more water at the end which was a mistake because it just made more of it drink- NOT my fav.

Thought I would be an over achiever because I had read to boost the cleanse eat only fruits/vegis for all of day one. That worked till lunch as I was STARVING all day I threw some egg whites on my salad. My sponsor checked in with me and promptly told me I MUST eat the protein so I am thinking I keep it simple and just follow the plan.

In other news....my fiance Paul told me this morning that he is making up his own diet called the Water Diet cause it's cheap. He literally just drank water all day until about 3 then ate a whole packet of turkey bacon- will keep you posted in case it's the next medical breakthrough no one has discovered.


UPDATE- Pics added...

...here it is..front pic :/

....and side pic... :/

Are you on Day 1 of The 24 Day Challenge? What changes are you excited to see? Leave a comment!

The night before Mom is on The 24 Day Challenge

 

My Challenge Arrived!!!!

 

My friend K. and I went out for Sushi and Sake Sunday yesterday joking that it was our "Last Meal" of sorts. I am so glad we are taking the challenge together, I think it will make it a little easier. I already did all my shopping this morning after I stayed up late last night working out my meal/snack plans for the week. I figure it will be easier to eat right if I have everything already at hand. My kit arrived today and though I am not looking forward to my weigh-in/measure/picture tomorrow I'm still pretty excited.

Still searching the net for info and tips, as I am the queen of "google it!" I can't tell you how dumb I would be if we still just had libraries for information Had a few questions after reading and I really wanted to know what to expect, so I checked in with my "Sponsor" (Skinny Mom that K knows whom we stalked to find out HOW she did it)-

Read that the Fiber Drink was nar/nar (ie. disgusting tasting/thick/hard to choke down)
 Sponsor: not her 'favorite' but tolerable- her suggestion: mix it with the Spark and don't let it sit...
My response: I'm Scared!

-which brought up:
What should I really be expecting, give me the real deal so I can mentally prepare
Sponsor: protein shakes are good, fruit punch spark is good, fiber drink is the worst of it and you only do that on days 1-3 and 8-10.


Read that you can have Olive Oil mayonnaise during the 24 Day Challenge
Read that you can't have Olive Oil mayonnaise during the 24 Day Challenge
Sponsor: food sheets are a guideline and it sounds like you already know what's healthy/not so go with that but really try to stick to the suggestions, especially during the cleanse
My take on it: no olive oil mayonnaise

Exercise- I refuse to be a Gym Rat again so what's the real story on your results?
Sponsor: I was really busy during that period and didn't have time to go to the gym pretty much the whole 90 days.
My response: I officially hate you, this shiz better work!


Are you starting The 24 Day Challenge tomorrow? What are your concerns? Fears? Goals? Leave a comment!

Waiting for FedEx

I am a 36 year old mother of three; a daughter who is 15 "and a half, MOM!", my oldest son who is 12 13, and my youngest son who is 14 months (a birthday surprise at 35). My short story, skinny in highschool, gained the freshman 20 in college, first kid, Atkins, second kid, Weight Watchers, held that for about 4 years, started to gain slowly over the years- attempted to go back to WW twice, tried Body For Life, surprise baby number 3, tried WW again, tried intuitive eating (because I am SICK of diets!), and am now the highest non-pregnancy weight of my life. Guess my "intuition" is a bit out of whack....or it's starving.

I've read a lot of Advocare stories prior to deciding to give it a try, both positive and negative but the biggest factor in my personal choice was seeing the difference it made on the cousin of my good friend- another Mother of two who was just like me. Pictures say a thousand words- fingers crossed mine will be just as motivating....


-Too be continued