Day 11- At a Crossroads

This is going to be long. Sorry.

OK - here's the deal. When I started this blog, it was more for my benefit then anybody else's. I wanted a diary of sorts, so I could remember and refer back to what I ate, drank, how I felt, etc. I will be 100% honest in what I write regardless of who may or may not like it. I had REALLY REALLY hoped that this blog would be full of nothing but positive experiences. I really wanted to enjoy and like the 24-Day Challenge. But here's the thing...I don't.

My body isn't liking something. I am trying to figure out what it is. But ever since I started, I've really been out of sorts, emotionally. I am VERY grumpy, irritable and have a very stressed out feeling. And it takes A LOT to stress me out. Yes, we've had a busy schedule lately, but its nothing to stress about. We just do it. It all gets done. No big deal. And before anybody suggests it - no, it is not PMS. Not for 11 days.

I have dieted before. I have done Weight Watchers successfully 3 times (losing at least 20 lbs each time I did it). I never felt this way on that "diet."  So, I have no clue what is going on with me.

I don't know if its the sugar "detox" and its withdrawal symptoms from that? I don't know if its the multitude of supplements I'm putting in my body that is making me feel weird because my body isn't dealing well with it all. I don't know. I don't want to blame Advocare if that isn't the problem, you know? I hate not knowing how to fix something. And here's the deal. I'm NOT a quitter. I HATE stopping something in the middle. I DON'T want to quit the 24-day challenge...but I can't take this anymore.  Yesterday while sitting in my children's school pick-up line and attempting to take care of writing some emails while I waited, I started to feel fuzzy. Then I couldn't read the words on my screen on my phone. Then my vision got "blotchy".  And....I still had to DRIVE home. That was a little scary. It lasted about 2 hours and went away to be replaced by a headache, but WHAT THE?!?!  I started a whole entire regiment of new supplements yesterday...did they cause that? Or was it something entirely different?   I did a lot of "research" yesterday afternoon and found no mention of any kind of vision problems associated with Advocare...but some dizziness. So maybe it was dizziness? I don't know.   (edited later to add- I have now realized what I was experienceing this day was a migraine)

So, here's the deal. I am giving it ONE MORE DAY. If the same crazy dizziness/vision issue happens today, I will know what it was - probably some sort of chemical reaction to the new supplements and I will stop taking them (or at least whatever the NEW ones are - the ones I took the first 10 days were fine). If it doesn't happen again, I will consider it a fluke and continue on. 

And I made another decision. I am going to change my eating plan a little. This whole caveman diet - fruits, berries, leaves, nuts, eggs and fish is killing me. (and yes,I know, I can eat more than that, but it certainly feels like it). I am going to do the eating plan I would do while on Weight Watchers...adding in eveything I want to (including sugar), but doing so in moderation, watching portion sizes and keeping sweets at a bare minimum. I LIKE that "diet" better. Maybe if I pair the 24-Day Challenge supplements with that "diet" plan, I will FEEL better. I can't possibly feel worse. I know it won't be a 100% testament to how the 24-Day Challenge EXACTLY works, but somethings gotta give. I cannot continue this way.

And EXERCISE is my enemy right now. I just don't like to do it, as I've mentioned before. Time is not on my side. And exercise has ALWAYS been the key to my weight loss before and as I get older, even more so. I am just going to have to accept that if I am not going to work out 5-6 days a week, the weight isn't going to melt off, like it does when I DO work out regularly. Its going to be a SLOW process this time. Working and managing the home + 2 kids with 2 busy schedules kills mom's workout time. Some will call that an excuse. Ok. whatever. Its how I feel. I am fitting in the Can You 24 workouts when I can. Some is better than none, right?  I can't wait for it to get nice outside so I can walk again...maybe jog a little. I don't mind that too much as long as I'm outside.

So, now that I've completely unloaded all my feelings - this is how my Day 11 went:
30 minutes before b'fast- 1st supplement pack
B'fast of oatmeal and another supplement pack
Snack - 1 hard boiled egg and a banana
30 minutes before lunch - I was SUPPOSED to take another supplement pack. I forgot.
Lunch - leftover fish and vegies from night before and the last supplement pack.
Snack - almonds and maybe some fruit- I  can't remember.
Dinner was tuna salad, whole grain crackers and other things...I can't remember. My whole day was fuzzy.
And I honestly wasn't hungry again (until I laid down to go to sleep at 11:00!). No evening snack.

I spent the evening going to the grocery, prepping fruits and veggies for the week, and I made hubby some B'fast burritos with turkey sausage, eggs, peppers, onions, cheese and whole wheat tortiallas and popped those in the freezer for his b'fasts. Hope they turn out ok! :-) He said they looked wonderful.

And on a side note- Hubby says he feels great! He's lost about 7lbs. I'm happy for him.

And I've noticed another thing this last week and a half. I run my dishwasher EVERY day, which is about 2x as much as I used to. Prepping all these FRESH foods and mixing up salads, etc, sure makes a LOT of dirty dishes! I tend to go through all 4-5 good knives and all three cutting boards EACH DAY! :-)  Invest in a lot of dishwashing detergent before starting this plan! :-) Hehehehe!!

So today is the morning of Day 12. I'm down a total of 3 1/2 lbs. I did take my supplements this morning. And I did have a cup of coffee...it actually ended up being more like a 1/2 cup of coffee, though.  B'fast was oatmeal and a small bowl of berries. So far, so good. I didn't drink a Spark this morning. I can tell the difference, though. While I'm AWAKE, my head feels a tad cloudy. I do like the Spark! And I do like my coffee- I may have to rotate them.  And I'm not really sure what to do with my Meal Replacement Shakes. Bfast? Lunch? As a snack? I have yet to try one. I just wonder how a shake can be better than a meal full of yummy fruits or vegies and other healthy things?

Today is decision day for me. I HOPE, for so many reasons, that yesterday's weirdness was a fluke. I HATE, HATE stopping something in the middle. I WANT to like this program and I WANT it to work and I WANT to finish it. I also want to feel good and happy again. So, I'm at a crossroads. What to do...what to do???

I will update tomorrow morning.

Days 9 & 10 - Cleanse FINISHED

So, Days 9 and 10 were just as uneventful as the previous days. No real changes. CRAZY schedule days, so one again - no workout for me. I am a full-time working mom with 2 kids with insane January schedules. Its either get up at 5:30 a.m to work out (which I'm not willing to do - my sleep is more valuable to me) or work out at 9 or 9:30 at night on days like these and by that time of night, all I want to do is crawl into bed. Exercise has never been my strong point. I hate it and honestly, time just isn't on my side most days.

I did try a new recipe last night. Hubby and I both really liked it. The kids wouln't even taste it. Oh - correction - my oldest took one bite and immediately hated it. Neither of my kids like fish, unless its smothered in butter sauce! :-)  Regardless, I loved this and will add it to my regular recipe rotation. I served it with leftover roasted vegies, steamed broccoli and a yummy Whole Grain rice flavored with pecans...I wish I could remember the brand name...Orient something, I think. Rice aisle at Walmart. I didn't take a picture of dinner, but it was yummy!

Almond-Crusted Tilapia

by Kristy Denney

 

Ingredients

1/4 cup whole natural almonds

2 tbsp dry breadcrumbs

1 tsp garlic and herb seasoning blend (like Mrs. Dash), (I didn't have any so made my own using garlic powder and rosemary)

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp canola oil

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 (6 oz) tilapia fillets

fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

 

Instructions

Place the almonds, bread crumbs, garlic-herb seasoning, and pepper in a food processor, and pulse until finely ground. (I just used my Pampered Chef food chopper and it did the trick)  Pour crumb mixture into a shallow dish or plate.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Brush mustard over both sides of your tilapia fillets. Dredge the fillets in crumb mixture then place fish in skillet. Cook for 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes away easily. Garnish with freshly chopped parsley if desired.

 

 

 

So - Cleanse Finished!!!!   10 days....and I'm only down 2 pounds and I lost 0 inches. Yep - it WAS 3 pounds...but another pound came back on and I have no idea how. I am staying 100% on plan. No variations. My only thought is maybe I'm not getting ENOUGH calories? Maybe my body is in starvation mode and won't let go of the fat??  But I DON'T FEEL like I'm starving by any means. I am staying full and content. But...no weight loss to really speak of.  Frustrated is how I'm feeling. I am sure hoping I see some sort of turn around in Phase II with the MNS. Ho hum....

Days 6, 7 and 8...new recipes

I'm going to lump all three of these days together, because there isn't much variation on the day-to-day routine of b'fast, snacks and lunches as I've already been doing. I do have a few dinner recipes to add, but other than that, same old...same old.....

I hate to admit that during Days 6, 7 & 8, I only did 1 Can You 24 workout. Time is not on my side right now.

I made several new recipes these nights.

DAY 6:
I made Easy Chicken Ratatouille (yes...like the Disney movie....)
This dish was FULL of vegie goodness

Squash, zuccini, mushrooms

 

Eggplant (and I must confess...my FIRST time cooking with eggplant)

yellow and red bell peppers

 

You mix all that with other yummy goodness and add chicken ( I used shredded chicken from the previous night's meal of roasted chicken, not ground chicken, and it worked just fine) and 30 minutes later---it resembled a goulash of sorts....a THINK stew. It was really good.

Easy Chicken Ratatouille

Posted on 24. Dec, 2009 by AdvoGirl in Recipes

This is a quick and easy version of a super satisfying “comfort food” that won’t sacrifice your Advocare healthy eating plan.

PAM Olive Oil Spray
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 pound lean ground chicken
1 large sweet onion
3 tablespoons minced garlic
1 red pepper, cut in approx 1/2″ pieces
1 yellow or orange pepper, cut in approx 1/2″ pieces
1 medium eggplant, peeled, and cut in 1/2″ pieces
1 zucchini, quartered and sliced
1 summer squash, quartered and sliced
12 oz. white mushrooms, sliced
1 large can tomato puree (I added about a can full of water, too)
salt, pepper
3 tablespoons dried basil, crushed
garlic powder
4 packets Splenda

Use large nonstick pan, spray well with PAM. Add minced garlic and onion. After 3 minutes add the peppers, olive oil, stir frequently. After 3 minutes add the eggplant. Cook for 5 minutes then add the mushrooms, zucchini, and squash. Cook for 5 minutes.

In separate pan, spray PAM. Add the ground chicken and season with salt, garlic powder and pepper. Cook until done. Add the chicken to the veggies, then the tomato puree.

Add the Splenda, salt, pepper, basil, and very generous amounts of garlic powder. Mix well and bring to boil. Reduce heat and cook on low for 15 minutes (or more).

Good by itself, or you can serve with brown rice. This reheats very well.

Serves 4. (there is NO way this serves 4 people....more like 8! I put 3 servings in the frig for lunches and still had enough to put at least 2-3 servings in the freezer for a quick dinner some time down the road.)


 

DAY 7
I made a new fish recipe:

Broiled Tilapia Oreganata
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes

Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 piece • Old Points: 5 pts • Points+: 5 pts

Calories: 196.5 • Fat: 7.7 g • Protein: 30.1 g • Carb: 2.4 g • Fiber: 0.5 g

• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano or 1 tsp dried
• 4 (5 oz) tilapia fillets
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp fresh pepper
• 4 tsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 2 tbsp whole wheat seasoned breadcrumbs

Preheat broiler. Line broiling pan with aluminum foil.

 Rinse tilapia. Pat fillets dry with paper towels. Season with salt, pepper and oregano. Add garlic, drizzle with oil and sprinkle bread crumbs on top.

 Arrange fillets in a single layer on the prepared pan. Broil about 8 inches from the heat until the topping is browned. Be careful not to over cook the fish.

Serve with lime (I didn't do this) and your favorite vegetables.

I served it with steamed broccoli and carrots, some Quinea and some cantelope. I liked it. Hubby LOVED it.
 

 

DAY 8:

 

Tonight wasn't really a new recipe. Hubby smoked a turkey on our charcoal grill (which he converts into a smoker for such occasions). And OH MY GOODNESS...his smoked turkeys are the bomb! Other than a DRY seasoning rub, nothing else goes on the turkey - no sauces or anything. It is smoked on the grill, so it does not soak in its own fatty juices. This thing is heavenly. If the idea of smoking your own turkey scares you, most BBQ places will do it for you if you provide them with a turkey, or they may have whole turkeys available for purchase, as well.

 

We ate roasted vegies (recipe below - I love these vegies!) with the turkey and I also made a side of wild and whole grain rice with some sort of mushroom seasoning. It was ok. I thought hubby would like it since he LOVES mushrooms, but he thought it tasted funny, so I will skip that from now on.

 

Here are the vegies prior to roasting....it makes a TON so we have lots for leftovers. I filled HALF my plate with these vegies and I had 2 slices of turkey and a serving of whole grain rice.

 

 

 

Roasted Vegetables

2 medium Zucchini
2 medium Yellow Squash
1 Large Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Large Onion
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Butter Buds
Pepper to taste
Garlic Salt to taste

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Cut all vegetables into sticks (about the size of a french fry). Or rounds....it doesn't matter.
Toss with olive oil, butter buds, pepper and garlic salt. Spread out onto a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until desired tenderness is achieved. (I usually toss them around about 1/2 way through the roasting process)

Serves: 4 (approx. 4 ounces each)
Per Serving: 44 Calories; 1g Fat (26.0% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 7g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 21mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Vegetable; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

WWP: 0

 

So....8 complete days finished. I am still only down 3 lbs. And I have to be honest....I'm not really noticing much of any other kinds of changes either...enengy level, etc. I feel about 99% the same as I did the say I started. Maybe Phase 2 will change that?  And I'm still craving my coffee. Gosh I miss my coffee....along with a whole host of other things I won't allow myself to eat b/c I want to do this 100%. No cheating. I have had a crazy schedule these last 8 days and the next 7 are just as insane. I will attempt to work out at least every other day. My youngest is in a big ballet performance this coming weekend, along with serveral school performances during the days this week...and several evening dress rehearsals. This on top of our "normal" crazy weekly schedule. Fun times.

Day 5 - dinner in the crockpot!

Day 5 - I did not step on the scale this morning. I am trying to wait until tomorrow...I cannot get obsessed with how much I am losing or not losing DAY by DAY. Its the end product that matters, right?

Again, no fiber drink today (can I get a hallelujah!?!), so I started with a bowl of oatmeal. The good old fashioned kind (not quick-oats). A bowl of berries and a Spark about 1 hour later.

Snack was the usual hard boiled egg. A bit of protein!

Lunch - tuna salad made with a tad of olive oil light Mayo and sweet pickles and eaten on 1/2 of a flatbread. I had some watermelon and banana and some carrots.

Afternoon snack - my beloved celery and PB. I love this stuff. I think it reminds me of being a kid. Everytime I eat it I wonder why I don't eat it more often...like PB and banana sandwiches. YUM.

Dinner was a roast chicken (in the crockpot - recipe below). Before I put it in the crockpot, I cut about 75% of the skin off of it, to cut WAY DOWN on the fat. I served it with steamed broccoli, steamed green beans and a mixture of Quinea and brown rice with a red pepper & basil flavor packet - not sure what brand it was. Oriental something or other. Found it in the rice aisle. And I added a few strawberries to make my plate more colorful! :-) So far, my entire family is liking the Quinea. (Keen-wa). :-) YES!

About an hour after dinner, I did the 24-minute workout again. I just repeated what I did on day 1 (MELT), although I went out of order according to the workout chart I printed off of:http://www.advocare.com/canyou24/tools.aspx
I STARTED off trying to the do the SCULPT workout, but when I realized it was 24 minutes of 24 different exercises, and I needed to watch the instruction video first....the whole process was going to take close to an hour to LEARN...then DO. So, instead of doing NOTHING, I did the MELT workout again. And get this - my 6 year old did it with me - the entire 24 minutes. And almost correctly! Then again- she has PE everyday, dances 2 days a week, can do the splits with no effort and is generally VERY active. She kept teasing me that I couldn't keep up with her! Cute kid.

Workout under my belt - I had an evening snack of a cut-up Sunkist Orange (so yummy and sweet!), Herbel cleanse tablets at bedtime (which I have to take holding my nose!) and off to snooze land!

HALF WAY DONE WITH THE CLEANSE!

(and fyi - as I write this on the morning of day 6 - I am down another pound. Total lost in 5 days = 3 lbs. Hubby is down 7 lbs.)

CROCKPOT ROASTED CHICKEN

This recipe is just as good as any rotisserie chicken out there and much easier to make at home! One chicken will yield roughly 4-6 cups of shredded chicken, so cook it, eat roasted chicken on night for dinner and shred the rest of the chicken for a casserole or soup at a later time.

(I put it into Ziplock freezer bags and freeze it in 2 cup portions)

Ingredients

1 whole chicken (approximately 3-4 pounds)
2 tsp salt
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried leaf thyme
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup chopped onion (optional)

Directions
Wash chicken inside & out (removing anything inside).

Katie's note - if watching your diet- most of the skin can be cut away before cooking.

 

Sprinkle seasoning of your choice on the chicken.

 

Fill the cavity with the chopped onion.

Next, put 3-4 balls of aluminum foil in the bottom of the slow cooker (this creates a rack so the chicken doesn’t soak in its own fatty juices).

Place the chicken in, breast side down, and cook on low for six to eight hours.

(or high for 3-4 hours)

 

 

Day 4 - starting with a Stretch!

Day 4 - Do you know that Day 4 means? Day 4 means NO FIBER DRINK!!!!   Yep - I'm a tad excited about that.

Since I didn't do the 24 minute workout yesterday, I did the Core Stretch workout this morning (which is what I was supposed to do yesterday). I'm not perfect. It was a good stretching workout, but I didn't sweat. It was good to do before work.

And since I wasn't having the fiber drink (that did indeed keep me full for 3+ hours), I had a bowl of oatmeal for b'fast with a few sprays of butter spray and a packet of Stevia. It was surprisingly good. About an hour later, I had my bowl of berries and a Spark! (and I'm lucky that my oldest daughter loves oatmeal, too. She eats a bowl with me.

Snack- 1 hard boiled egg. (and since I was so full from b'fast, I forgot about snack until about 11:00. By that point, lunch was 1 hour away, so that is why I didn't have my apple, too)

Lunch - previous night's dinner leftovers + 1 kiwi fruit! Yum!

3p.m. snack - the usual - celery and PB! And a Cherry Spark with a few dashes of lime juice.

5:30 p.m. - its Church night. Which means dinner at the Grab-n-Grow Cafe at our Church. Its a weekly catered meal that includes ONE entree and a kids meal, plus a few other selections like grilled chicken caesar salad, chef salad, grilled chicken sandwich, etc. I knew we had healthy options, so dinner at Church was the plan. Both hubby and I got the grilled chicken caesar salad w/out the parmesan cheese or croutons. Well...I ended up with a bunch of iceburg lettuce and grilled chicken slices. That is all. It was not good. But I choked it down. Meanwhile, my oldest daughter kept offering me bits of her YUMMY chocolate chip cookie. Evil, evil child. Our youngest daughter (who is 6) keeps asking if I've lost "the pounds" yet? And why do I need to lose "the pounds?"  She likes me like I am. God bless her. :-)

p.m. Snack - a sliced up orange. A Sunkist orange, too! I love Sunkist oranges and they are hard to find up here in KY.

All in all - no changes to anything, except no fiber drink this day.  And I HATE to say to, and although I am NOT hungry, I'm starting to crave sugar.  Is there such thing as sugar withdrawal? I've been awfully crabby these last few days, as well. I blame the lack of sugar....and coffee.

Well, at least I'm almost 1/2 way done with the Cleanse phase. whew.................

Day 3 - settling in

Day 3 is in the books and I'm starting to settle into the routine. However, it was the first I had to do my morning routine of the fiber drink and all that jazz that was also a school morning! All in all, it went fine and I had time for everything without feeling rushed. I do miss my Pumpkin Spice coffee. Not necessarily to wake me up - the Spark is doing the trick there...but I just LOVE coffee. I love the smell, the flavor and today, it is COLD, so I miss the warmth.

Breakfast was my normal bowl of berries. A mix of strawberries, raspeberries, blueberries and blackberries. I failed to mention on prep day that I went ahead and washed ALL my berries in a vinegar wash, so that was one less step I had to take when I was ready to eat them. A vinegar wash greatly helps berries not get moldy so fast. I fill up my kitchen sink about 1/2 full of cold water and add a cup or 2 of vinegar. I let them soak for a few minutes, rinse and put back in their containers and into the fridge. I promise they won't taste like vinegar!
http://www.foodlushblog.com/2011/07/the-key-to-preventing-moldy-berries-vinegar.html

Spark about 8:00 a.m.

Midmorning snack about 10:00 - 1 hard boiled egg and 1 apple

Lunch  about 12:00 - some smoked chicken breast torn up mixed with some chopped up cherry tomatoes and 1/2 avacado. It was yummy, but if I do that again, I'll add 1 whole avacado and eat it as a wrap and maybe some kind of spice...not sure what it was missing. It was fine as it was,though. I also had about 1/2 of a cucumber cut up. I felt I was missing something, so I ate 1 piece of whole grain bread.

I had more celery slices and natural peanut butter about 3:00. And another Spark. I needed a Spark! Also - FYI - I got the kind of natural peanut butter that says "no stir required".  I swear it taste just like regular low fat peanut butter. The almond butter I got had to be stirred and stirred to get it to a consistency that even resembed "butter" - so if you have a "no stir" option for natural peanut butter- go for it. I cannot remember the brand. I got it in the "organic" section at Kroger.

Now...I spent from 3:45-5:45 running kids to and fro and myself to a meeting. I got home about 6:00 and whipped up a quick fish dinner (see below for recipe) with sauted zucinni, squash & onions w/  dill, steamed asparagus, brown rice and my OmegaPlus supplements and was out the door again by 6:45 for dance pictures for my youngest daughter. I finally sat down about 7:45, after getting her ready for bed, lunches packes and kitchen cleaned. WHEW. There would be  no 24-minute workout for me today. I just did NOT have it in me.

Snack was some of a honeydew melon I cut up...which wasn't ripe. Oh well.

Catalyst and Herbal Cleanse supplements at bedtime.

Whew!!

And just a FYI: I am taking ONLY the Advocare supplements that were recommended for ME or that came in the 24-Day Challenge kit. NOTHING else. Just Advocare products. I may forget to say in my posts what time I took them or their exact names, but I am taking everything I am supposed to, when I'm supposed to. :-)

OH - and today is actually the morning of Day 4 for me (so, 3 full days done) - I've lost 2 lbs. Hubby has lost 5 1/2.


This Tilapia recipe is an old Weight Watchers recipe. I tweaked it a tad. I used Grouper, for one, as that is what I had on hand and ended up adding a little bit of olive oil, as well. Be aware - there really isn't much "sauce" at the end, but the almonds are yummy. It was ok. Not like I remembered, however, that may be because I haven't made it in FOREVER and we've been eating pretty rich foods around here before I started the 24-Day Challenge. My taste buds are in shock.

Tilapia Almondine

2 tilapia filets (3-4 oz. each)
1 tbsp flour (I eyeball it)
1/4 tsp salt and pepper (I eyeball it)
2 Tbsp REAL butter
2 Tbsp slivered almonds (I use a tad more)
1-2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (I use 2)

Rinse and pat tilapia fillets and sprinkle with salt and pepper and a slight dusting of flower.

In a saute pan, heat only 1 tbsp butter and saute tilapia for about 2-3 minutes on each side until cooked.

Remove fish and add the other tbsp butter, almonds and lemon juice.

Cook a few more minutes until almonds are golden and pour sauce over filets

My Red Sweater

My red sweater....a plain old soft, comfy long sleeve and long torso red sweater. I've had it for years. 10 years to be exact. I know this because I wore it as a MATERNITY sweater with my first child because it was long enough to cover the the waist band of my maternity pants when I first started wearing them and had gained enough weight that my "real" clothes didn't fit anymore, but I didn't need the "real" maternity shirts yet....the weird pregnancy stage of the 2nd trimester (and even a little into my 3rd). It is a A MATERNITY sweater in my mind.

I have that sweater on TODAY, which is why its on my mind (and I'm not pregnant). I HATE THAT IT FITS ME. 

My red sweater is my motivation. I don't want it to fit me ever again. Ever.

I want to enjoy shopping again. I don't want to dress in layers because I'm hiding what is underneath.  I want to feel ok in my own skin at the beach or the pool this summer. Or even just in shorts and sleeveless shirts and dresses.

Its my fault. I know this. I like to cook...and bake...and eat.  I know HOW to change it. I've always known HOW. (I've successfully done Weight Watchers 3 times, yet the weight comes back on). I know how to lose it...and I know how to gain it back. :-(  I needed a different tactic.  Then everyone around me started talking about Advocare 24-Day Challenge and talking about the success of the program. So, I thought if they can do it, so can I! 

What is your motivation for doing the Advocare 24-Day Challenge? Why do you 24?

My red sweater is the reason I am doing this.

DAY 2 - now that I know what to expect, its easy...and apple pie!

(I am writing my Day 2 recap a little early - the day isn't over, but its close enough!)

I totally forgot to mention my weight loss goals. I am not going to publish my "before" weight, but will say that my goal is to lose 10-12 lbs. (one clothing size smaller) in 24 days. I learned a long time ago to pick a goal that is realistic.  Any more than 10-12 lbs. is icing on the cake. I will update at the end how many "inches" I lost as well.

Day 2 - I have a battle plan for this fiber drink. Its a lot of different stuff, but hey, it helped me get through it with no problems today and I'm in a much better frame of mind. Seriously, I didn't think I could do it and viola- I DID!!!  One hurdle jumped!

Here is what I did:
1st: I put a GLASS (not a plastic cup) in the freezer.
2nd: I cut up some fresh fruit. In today's case, I used strawberries, as that is I was having for breakfast anyway.
3rd: I mixed a Mandarine Orange Spark and set aside.
4th: I mixed the fiber drink.
5th: I pulled the glass from the freezer, added about 2 oz of the Spark and then added the fiber drink.
6th: I closed my eyes, held my nose, CHUGGED it and pretended I was drinking cold fresh squeezed orange juice with pulp.  With my nose still held, I popped in some strawberries after I was finished drinking.
7th: Lastly, I let go of my nose- and all I tasted was strawberries. That is it. Glorious yummy strawberries. No nastiness!  YES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Complicated - yes, but it made the drink do-able!!  And my morale was boosted back up to a 10! :-) I CAN DO THIS!

Mid-morning snack- 1 hard boiled egg and an apple. And a bottle of water. (however, I was still pretty full from the fiber drink and fruit!)

Lunch - 1 packet of hickory smoked tuna mixed with about 1 tbsp on low-fat Mayo w/Olive Oil and a few chopped up sweet pickles. I ate it on 1/2 piece of flatbread. I also had about 1/2 cup fresh  cut fruit salad and about 3/4 of a bell pepper. (its hard to guage on the vegies, as I cut up 3 big peppers and divided them into 5 baggies...so maybe it was about 12 small slices.)  Chased it all with a bottle of water.

About 2:00 - Spark

About 3:00 - celery slices with 2 tbsp of natural peanut butter. SO YUM!!

3:30 - 24 minute Advocare Exercise video!  (acutally, I put the DVD in at 3:15, but it had about 15 minutes of info and instructions to watch.) I also learned there is a calendar on the Advocare website I need to download and print. All in all - the workout was great. I definitely felt it!

5:30 - dinner of Vegetable Soup (an old 0 point Weight Watchers recipe), a smoked chicken breast and some left over quinoa from the night before. I also took the Omega supplement with dinner.

NOW...after dinner is when it gets tricky for me. That is when my sweet tooth really sets in! It was already in high gear because when I went to pick up the kids at Grammy's house today, they'd made cookies...to send home. Grrreat...

So, my solution - sugar free Extra gum - Dessert Delights in Apple Pie flavor!

It totally did the trick! And they have other yummy flavors, too, although Sherbert isn't my favorite. The Mint Chocolate Chip Icecream flavor is very good, as is the Keyline Pie and Strawberry Shortcake! It may not be 100% Cleanse friendly, but hey - it helps me calm that sweet tooth pretty darn fast and it has to be better than eating the REAL thing, right? :-)

I have a night full of running one of the kids to and from dance practice and meetings, so my 8pm snack will probably be some berries or some orange slices once I get home...plus more water and my nighttime supplements! So far, so good. I can honestly say, that after today - I have NO complaints!
Bring on Day 3!

DAY 1 - Let's get this party started!

Okay - DAY 1 - I'm psyched! I'm pumped! I'm in the right frame of mind! Lets do this!

Per instructions, upon waking and on an empty stomach, I took 3 Catalysts with water. I proceeded to get ready for the day. 30 minutes later, I head to the kitchen and begin prep of Day 1 morning food and drinks. Day 1 starts with Fiber drink. I stumbled upon a video that showed the correct way to mix and drink this Fiber drink - which was fast! MIX AND CHUG! Do not let it sit or it gets THICK! And follow the drink with 8 oz of water. So, I mix it up and take one look and whiff of it and immediately my morale falls about 10 points. What in the world is this stuff? (and "stuff" is not the word I was using at that time, believe me!). So, I used the trick I use on my kids when their medicine taste yucky. I held my nose and chugged. Then followed with water. Ick. Just ick. I was not psyched anymore or pumped or anything. I was grossed out. I mean - there was NO WAY I was EVER drinking that nasty substance again. Ever. Ok- I was being a little dramatic and after a quick email to my Advocare gal, she advised me on ways to improve it and not give up. I only had to do it 5 more times. Ugh.

My breakfast consisted of a bowl of raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. That was about 8:00. And a Spark - I drank a Spark with breakfast to replace my beloved coffee. (and yes, it did the trick - it woke me up even better than coffee!). At 10:30 - I decided it was snack time and I ate 1 hard boiled egg and 1/2 of an orange (I wasn't very hungry at all!) .

Lunch was a version of this: http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/02/15/garden-salad-with-lime-cilantro-dressing/ - I took lettuce, 1 cut up tomato and 1/2 an avacado (I hate red onion) and mixed it with a version of this dressing. I didn't have fresh cilantro, which I honestly think would have made ALL THE DIFFERNCE in the world. I hated it with dried cilantro. It was okay. Won't make it again unless I have all the ingredients. I also had 1/2 of a flatbread with Almond butter and 1/2 of a banana and rolled it up - that was pretty tasty!

Mid-afternoon snack was a handful of almonds and some bell pepper slices. (I tried dipping them in hummus, but I just really don't like the stuff).

Dinner was another recipe I found online - roasted shrimp with carrots and broccoli. http://advosphere.com/cleanse-recipes.html
I tweaked the recipe a lot using spices that my family likes. It didn't turn out looking like the picture, but it was pretty good. If I make it again, I will tweak it again. The only thing I put on the carrots was a tad olive oil and some lemon juice. The only thing I put on the broccoli was olive oil and fresh garlic and I really liked both vegies. I served the shrimp over Quinoa. It was my first time making it and eating it. It basically taste just like brown rice, so don't be frightened by it. It was pretty yummy! (it actually kind of reminded me of PF Changs brown rice!) Here is what my dinner looked like:














After dinner...more water and a snack of an apple about 8:00. Supplements were all taken at the times they were supposed to be. I felt like I was popping pills ALL DAY! (and the last one- the Herbel Cleanse, smelled and tasted funny, even with water). I hope its worth it.

And all day....all I could think about was the fiber drink I had to choke down the next morning. I even dreamed about it. Yep. Keep reading on Day 2 to see how I combatted it and now that I have a battle plan, its perfectly DO-ABLE!!   I am no longer negative about it and I can do it!

Bring on Day 2!

Ready....Set....GO!

It all started with a Spark. Literally. An Advocare Spark energy drink! :-)   After hearing about Advocare for months now and hearing seeing the success stories of weight loss, I was ready to give it a try. A tried a sample of Spark and liked it. I didn't love it, but it started to grow on me and now I really like it!  I went through the process of talking to an Advocare distributor and getting the right products and viola- 24 Day Challenge Ordered!  We decided to begin on Sunday, January 20. So, on Saturday, I ventured to the grocery store. I made lists upon lists of foods we were to eat and I made a dinner meal plan for the first 10 days from recipes I found from various souces on the web. I spent 1 1/2 hours in the grocery store- probably 1/2 an hour alone in just the produce section! (and I forgot how eating much healthier can also be much more expensive, but its worth it, right?).  I have heard from many nutrionist that when grocery shopping, 80% of your food should come from the perimeter of the store, and this time, it did!  I was quite impressed with myself. Some of the foods are completely new to me, some are not. Like hummus. I've only tied hummus once. I wasn't impressed, but willing to give it a 2nd chance. And natural peanut butter. I bought some of this at Farmers Market last summer, so I was prepared for the consistency to be different and taste to be pretty much like someone took a plain, unsalted peanut and pulvorized it to death. ALL IN ALL and $300 later - our cabinets and frig are stocked and ready to begin (and please note- I have a 9 year old and 6 year old who are NOT doing the challenge, hence the "other" food & drink products you may see in the pictures).

Cast of Characters:

Cabinet stocked with Almonds,  All Natural Peanut Butter and Almond Butter, Quinoa, Brown rice and Stevia sweetner, should I need it.

 

Counter top stocked with bananas, my favorite little cherry tomatoes, large tomatoes and Harvest Wheat Healthy Grain Flatbread.

Kitchen table fruit bowl.

Frig stocked to the brim with ALL kinds of fruits & vegies, grilled chicken strips, bottled water, hummus, salsa (if needed) and condiments (not shown).

 

After grocery shopping, I made a spread sheet (more for my husband's sake) which outlined days 1-10 and what supplement take or eat at each meal or snack time or on empty stomachs. I also made a list of the 10-day cleanse "acceptable and nonacceptable" foods and posted that on the frig, too. I got all the Advocare products out and in order and we were ready!

 

READY....SET.....GO!