Day 19-24

HERE I AM ... Day 24 of my AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge, completed!

For the past 6 days, I have not posted about anything...

School and life became busy, and to be honest, blogging about my experiences became lower on my priority list. One of the reasons I did this blog was to share with others my experience, but also to share with the future me. I wanted to remember how I felt at each point during the 24-day journey. I will never forget how I have felt these last 6 days!

On Saturday 2/26 (Day 19), Matt and I went to the housewarming party of my former boss. Although it wasn't supposed to be "dinner," there were some snacks and picky things. I did cave a teeny bit, and had some rye bread with a rye dip. I don't know what was in it, but it was DELICIOUS. I also had half of a small chocolate chip cookie (Matt gladly took the other half), and had half of a ginger molasses cookie as well (she makes KILLER ones.... ugh). It was worth it...

Sunday 2/27, I was the Penalty Box official for the Rochester Lancers game. It was First Responder Appreciation Day, a super emotional ceremony before the game honoring the West Webster Fire Department, their fallen brothers, and their wounded brothers. Incredible, and hits so close to home.

Monday 2/28, MY BIRTHDAY! I had been waiting for the day for a while, because I had been planning dinner for ages. I knew that the whole day was going to be a cheat day ...



This was my lunch - I admit, I had TWO pieces of this Ding Dong cake! My amazing boss has gotten me a Ding Dong cake for every birthday I have celebrated since working there. I was SO fortunate to share with some great people!






Luckily, I came home to a surprise from my mother...



An Edible Arrangement! This was a nice small arrangement (lord knows Matt isn't helping me eat it) with strawerries, grapes, pinapple flowers, and also the "cupcakes" are pieces of pineapple covered in chocolate. YUM! Thanks so much to my mom for thinking of a cute healthy idea for me.


HOWEVER, the fruit came in AFTER dinner....

Matt had class until late, so he and I decided to celebrate next weekend. On Monday night, my best friend and I went out to Carrabbas. Carrabbas (sorry Italians if you don't like it) is probably my FAVORITE restaurant... ever. It's SO delicious.

We got there around 6:30... luckily with 30 minutes left of happy hour! I knew I wanted to drink wine. They were offering Quartinos (1 1/2 glasses) of wine for the price of a glass. Basically, buy one get one 50% off. WORKED FOR ME! :)

They currently have a special on Mondays. It's a 3-course meal for $12-18. You get the choice of an appetizer (flatbread, small calamari, small fried mozzarella, and a few other choices) OR small dessert, soup or salad, and the entree. Some of the entrees offered that are $12 are more basic, vegetarian, simple meals. The $15 are the more "normal" meals, like the meat + pasta dishes, etc. The $18 meals are filet mignon and veal parmesan, etc.

Best friend and I both got a flatbread appetizer...


This was hers - caramelized onion & bacon. Mine was spinach & goat cheese. Both were YUM!

I got a salad, with their house creamy parmesan dressing.

My entree was what I usually get, Chicken Bryan. It is wood-fired chicken with goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes with a lemon wine butter sauce. I get it with pasta on the side, in the same sauce. DELICIOUS!

Also, between the two of us, we consumed three loaves of bread. (Not Wonder Bread sized loaves... but the little loaves they give you at Italian restaurants.) This is probably my favorite part of the whole experience going to Carrabbas. You can see in the top of the picture above, there is a plate with a bunch of "crud" (YUMMY delicious spices), with some gorgeous olive oil for dipping. I could literally go, eat that, and leave. It is SO good.

After the meal, we went to Cold Stone. I of course got a Birthday Cake Remix! :) YUM, but blah... so fat. I think I re-adjusted my belt 4 times throughout the night!


My birthday was certainly a CHEATING kind of day! I just ensured that it followed with a final 3 days of eating well.


I have been drinking Chai Teas. I shouldn't really... but I have been having soy milk. So expensive. Very delicious. Probably not a good idea.


I have been feeling really great. My energy levels this week are a little lower than last, but that's just because I have been sleeping MUCH less, and doing MUCH more during waking hours.


I will be doing measurements and weight again TOMORROW!!!!!!!! This will show me my progress, other than what I can feel. I am excited.

How am I celebrating the END of my 24-Day Challenge? By making a delicious, clean-eating soup! I haven't had the opportunity to whip out my Slow Cooker yet this winter, but it's going to be used twice in a few days this weekend!!!

I used a hot Italian poultry sausage, matchstick carrotts, snipped green beans, garlic, pasta sprinkle, crushed red pepper flakes, garbanzo beans, spinach, and chicken broth.  



Matt would say "that looks MUCH too healthy. Too much green!"

I saw these at a pot-luck event a month or so ago... Our slow cooker is always a pain in the ass to clean. It never comes out clean in the dishwasher, and then the dry cycle bakes the crap in even more .... I bought some Slow Cooker Liners at Wegmans.



You just put it in the bottom of the crock pot, put everything into the bag, serve from there, and when you're done, you just pull the liner out and it leaves you with a cleannnn slow cooker! I think this is a great idea. Matt is also VERY pleased - much less scrubbing for him!!!



Slow Cooker is on LOW over night, and will be ready to be scooped into a thermos for lunch tomorrow! :)


CHECK BACK TOMORROW FOR WEIGHT, MEASUREMENTS, AND BODY FAT %!

Happy Day 25!!!!

Day 15-18

Hi everyone!

It's been a few days since I have posted, which I felt a bit apprehensive about, but I didn't feel the urge to post about how I was doing.

As I mentioned to a friend (who is looking into Advocare products - YAY!), I don't feel like the 24-Day Challenge is a "challenge" anymore. It has not been feeling like a struggle. It hasn't been feeling different. It's just the new "normal." It has been feeling GREAT!
Let me give you an update ..

So, Days 15-18 (Tuesday 1/22-Friday 1/25) have been great. The meal replacement shakes have been ok - I definitely encourage people to add a bit more water than they suggest.

The taking of the supplements (one pack + catalyst before breakfast, 2 packs with breakfast, one pack + catalyst before lunch) is no longer confusing, but it's just TOUGH to remember to take them! Most of the time it is because I never know when I am going to be eating lunch, until I eat it. Then, it's like, SHOOT! I didn't take the supplements before! Oh well.

Updates on food ...

Tuesday's lunch was leftovers from the BBQ Rotisserie Chicken from Wegmans that was dinner on Sunday night. I also had a baked sweet potato with that. YUM. Dinner was a big salad with ground turkey.

Wednesday's lunch was eggs with chopped peppers, and oatmeal. I just love oatmeal - and I am really enjoying the raisins. I had a surprise on Wednesday when I came home before making dinner. When Matt and I moved into our new apartment in August, his grandma wanted to buy us a "housewarming" present. I suggested something that I've wanted for a while, a cast-iron skillet. Long story short, Nana forgot about it, as did Matt's mom, as did Matt. I had put it on my Birthday List on Pinterest since I still really want it. I came home to find the perfect one on my kitchen table.



This was PERFECT timing, because I had planned all day to have steak for dinner. The steak I got had been marinating since Sunday. OM NOM NOM!

The marinade I used was something I made up myself. I only had one steak, so in a sandwich-sized plastic bag I put some olive oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire (pronounced "Wooster") sauce, minced garlic, dried minced onion, salt, pepper, agave, crushed red pepper, and the kitchen sink! :)  It had been marinating tightly for a few days before I decided to make it.

All I did with the steak was sear it (in my new pan) on both sides until it was cooked to about Medium.

One thing I HATE almost as much as olives is raw onion. BUT, I absolutely LOVE carmelized onions. I had half of an onion left, and I sliced it very thin. I sauteed them for a long-ass time, probably about 20 minutes in the end, low and slow, with some oil, a lot of salt, and a bit of pepper, to get them nice and cooked down and yummy. Towards the end of the cooking process (when my meat was almost done), I added some of the same things I had added to my marinade - garlic, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and some Wooster sauce (hehe). I absolutely LOVE onions like this. UGH! So good.

As my other side dish, I had some spinach. It sounds boring, I know, but I made sure this had a lot of flavor. I used just some frozen chopped-leaf spinach. I sauteed it in a pan until it was defrosted. Then, I added some salt, pepper, garlic, and dried onion, as well as some of the chopped peppers that I have been using for breakfast (it's so easy to just throw a handful in). When it was almost warmed through, I added some sunflower seeds (nice crunch), some of the same liquids I had put in the marinade and onions, and a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice. It gave it lots of flavor.

I had a small side salad to start, with some olive oil and fresh lemon juice as a dressing. I served the DELICIOUS onions on top of the steak. I did bring some A1 Steak Sauce to the table with me, but there was absolutely no need for it.



It's a bit blurry, so it doesn't look very appetizing... but it was delicious!

LOOK AT THE YUMINESS OF THOSE ONIONS. OMG.

I am feeling absolutely WONDERFUL. I have lots of energy, even with only one Spark a day (in the mornings). I am LOVINGGGGGGGGG having coffee in the mornings! It really makes a huge difference for me. I have been in a much better mood lately. For example, when people used to ask me "How are ya?" or "How's it goin?", my answer would always be "not bad." Now it's always, "Great! How about yourself?"

I have more energy during the day and am much less cranky.

A related story ... Last winter, I took a course called Interpreting Frozen Texts. We would learn songs, prayers, etc. and had "recitals" every week or two to "perform" these songs we had learned that week. Every time I wore my Express gray dress pants (Size 10) for a recital, I always got the feedback that they were too tight to wear for a formal event. I constantly explained that it was because they fit around my waist, just were tighter on my legs, but my professor refused to sympathize - she always said they were too tight.

Let me tell you that these days, I am still wearing those same Size 10 gray dress pants. I already had them altered over the summer to eliminate the gapping that occurred when they were the right size around the butt and legs (damn my big ass). The pants are LOOSE - not only around the waist, but they also are getting looser on the LEGS. For ages I have been saying that "this is my body," and that my legs and ass are always going to be big. It's just how I'm built - I have a soccer player's body, and that is not going to change. While this is still true - my waist is about 2 feet smaller than my hips and legs - I am noticing my pants are looser.

Similarly - when I was caught pulling my jeans (Size 12) up at work. My boss said, "Lauren, I think it's time for new jeans, honey." Another employee said, "Lemme see? Ya, um... I think you're gunna have to let 'em go." It's a great feeling. I have been a Size 10-12 for a while, and I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping to be able to get back down to the Size 8-10 that I was in high school. If not, no biggie - I know that it is muscle - but it would just be nice to be able to fit into some smaller pants!

On a side note, if anyone knows a good brand of jeans/pants to buy for BIG butts and LITTLE waists, please let me know. Every single pair of pants I own either fit great on the legs and are super loose at the waist, or fit at the waist and are super tight on the legs. My mom always tells me to ask black girls where they buy pants, because they always have jeans that fit their butts perfectly. I am constantly in search!

I apologize for the 3-day haitus (is that spelled right?). I'm back for now, and giving you the update that I am feeling GREAT and am no longer at all skeptical or regretful that I spent money on this challenge.

I am hoping that I can inspire other people to make changes in their lives, or join the Advocare 24-Day Challenge!

If you're interested in looking at any of the pricing, here is the website you can use:
www.AdvoCare.com/130110236

... and contact me with ANY questions you have.

THANKS FOR READING! :) HAPPY FRIDAY!

Day 14

Two weeks in the books. It seems to have gone so fast, but it seems like I started forever ago. Weird!
 
Meal replacement shake for breakfast this morning sat a little heavy in my stomach. I felt it during my workout as a heavy lunk in my stomach, which hasn't happened the past couple of days. The BEST part of the whole day, however, was my COFFEE! I had one single cup of coffee with a little bit of Agave and some Silk French Vanilla creamer. It tastes like the CoffeeMate French Vanilla creamer, but no dairy, much less sugar, and much fewer calories. It was DELICIOUS! I was a happy, happy girl!


 
Lunch consisted of "anemic" scrambled eggs (2 whole eggs, 2 egg whites) with chopped peppers, as well as oatmeal. I just love oatmeal these days! I had 1/2 cup oats with the almond milk and water combo, and today I added my usual Agave but also a small handful of raisins. (I am not feeling the craisins this week - I really enjoyed the molassesy flavor the raisins provided!) Thanks to my coworker Tyler for (unknowingly) letting me borrow his big soup mug to make my oatmeal! :)
 
 

 
 
For dinner, I had lemon peppered salmon with asparagus. I sprayed the bottom of the pan with a tiny spritz of olive oil, placed the salmon skin-side down in the pan, and spritzed a little more olive oil on top, just to help the spices stick. I have a store-bought lemon pepper seasoning that I sprinkled all over the top of the salmon, as well as some salt. I chopped some asparagus and put it in the pan around the salmon, sprinkled with the same spices, and squeezed some fresh lemon juice over the salmon and asparagus. I placed the pan in a cold oven, set the temperature for 400 degrees, and set a timer for 25 minutes. It came out perfectly! While I was waiting the brutal 25 minutes for it to be cooked, I had a salad with tomatoes, carrots, and cucumbers with a dressing of lemon juice and olive oil with some black pepper. Simple but yum!
 
I am feeling GREAT and have lots of energy! I have also noticed my general wellbeing and happiness improving as well. YAY!
Happy Week 7 of the quarter! Thanks for reading!

Day 13

Wow - it's hard to believe I only have 10 days left!

Today was another fairly light day on my schedule, so I milked it for all it was worth.

My alarm was set for 9am, and I didn't get up until 9:40. I woke up, got some Spark, took my first set of pills, and did some homework in bed while Matt snoozed (and snored) next to me.

Around 10:15 I got up and got my Chocolate Mocha meal replacement shake, and gulped it down. Adding some extra water to it makes it a lot easier to go down. It's not so gelatenous when it's got a few extra ounces of water.

I went to get my oil changed in my car - which didn't happen - but then I went to the gym instead, and ran on the indoor track. My workout today was a 25-minute run, 20 minutes easy and gradually picking it up over the last 5 minutes so that minute 25 is the hardest. I use my cadence tracker on my Garmin watch for this. My "easy" pace is 83 steps per minute. It stays there for minute 1-20. Then, minute 21 goes up to 85 steps per minute, minute 22 goes up to 87, minute 23 goes up to 89, minute 24 goes up to 91, and lastly, minute 25 goes up to 93+ steps per minute.

After that, I went home and woke Matt up. We have been planning all week to go to the diner today. Our favorite diner, Acropalis, is just down the road, and it's really good. At one point, we were going once a week every week! As you know, I had already picked out what I was eating before I even got there!

I was in heaven.




This, folks, is a REAL cup of coffee - that I CONSUMED! :) Decaf, but still delicious!




Chocolate chip pancakes, a side of crispy hash browns, and a coffee. OMG! I could not have asked for a yummier meal. The pancakes were so chocolatey. I used non-sugar free syrup and everything. I put ketchup on my hash browns. IT WAS SO YUMMY.

Immediately after finishing my last sip of my 2nd cup of coffee (yes, 2), we had to race home because I felt so sick. WOW! It's amazing how quickly your body gets used to not eating things like gluten, and how harshly it rejects them when you try to reintroduce them. WOW. I did not feel good. I'm not sure if it was worth it or not!

I talked to my AdvoCare coach today, and she told me that I can reintroduce coffee into my diet, but not as much as I was drinking before. I am going to have ONE cup of coffee in the mornings (Matt is going to monitor this based on how much is left for him!), with some Agave Nectar and some Almond Milk. I got a French Vanilla flavored almond milk creamer thing, which I am hoping is as delicious as it sounds. We also talked about which AdvoCare products I should stay on once my 24-Day Challenge is completed. These include a multivitamin, continuing to drink Spark, and also a couple of products from their Performance Elite line which will help with my training preparation and recovery. I'm excited to try some new products.

Dinner tonight was half of a small rotisserie chicken from Wegmans, some green beans, and a big salad.

Tomorrow starts a whole new week. I just have until the end of the month - January 31st is the 24th day of my 24-day challenge!

Thank you for reading, as always. Contact me if you are interested in doing your own 24-Day Challenge!

Day 12

Saturday completed Day 12.

I didn't have anything scheduled today until 8pm. For those of you who know me well, you understand that's a miracle.

I had my alarm set for 9:00. Not my new alarm clock, Clocky. (Clocky is REALLY loud, makes robot noises, and only lets me hit snooze once. The second time it goes off, its wheels start turning and Clocky jumps off my nightstand and rolls around until I get up to turn it off.) I only used my phone alarm today, which I snoozed for about 30 mins before I got up. I got up, mixed up a Mandarin Orange spark, took my first set of pills for the day, and went back in my room. I fooled around on Facebook for a little while, then made my Chocolate Mocha meal replacement shake. (You're supposed to drink the Spark and take the first set of pills 30 mins before breakfast.) All was well.

I was doing homework in bed, which is my favorite thing to do, although I know I shouldn't. I went to a Wellness Wednesdays presentation at school last month to learn about sleep and sleep hygeine. One thing they said was that the only 2 things you should do in your bed are sleep and make love. If you do other things while on/in your bed, it tells your brain that bed means awake-time, not sleep-time. Oh well. I loved every minute of breaking the rules today!

Around 12:30 I got up to make "lunch." I was getting really hungry, and since I knew it would be a light food day anyway, I ate a big lunch... I made oatmeal (1/2 cup) as an "appetizer" (hehe) with agave nectar and cinnamon, no add-ons. Then was the big show! :D

I have been talking about it all week - making a sweet potato breakfast hash. YUMMMMMM!



This is what I did:

1 sweet potato
1/2 large onion
1/4 medium red pepper
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle
Rosemary

I peeled the sweet potato, and cut it into small (maybe 1/4 inch) cubes, and placed them in a bowl.
Then, I diced the half onion (I might make bigger pieces next time - they browned up really nicely and were really yummy, but really small), and cut the red pepper into pieces approximately the same size as the sweet potatoes. I dumped everything into the same bowl, drizzled a bit of olive oil. I am a liberal salter, and also put quite a bit of pepper in. Thanks to Matt's mom, I use a lot of Penzey's spices. My favorite is Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle, an Italian spice blend. I sprinkled that over it. I also love rosemary on sweet potatoes, so I rough chopped a small amount to release some oils, and added to the bowl. Any time I use a sweet potato/olive oil/rosemary blend, it is inspired by the Sweet Potato Smash Fries at the burger joint, Smash Burger, that we have at home. SO DELICIOUS. Anyways - after I had put everything in the bowl, I got my hands right in there and mixed! I had to adjust the amount of olive oil a bit, since I was trying to use as little as possible. Once everything was evenly mixed, I threw everything in a big pan! It's important to use a big pan because that will help put a bit of a crisp on everything. If you overcrowd the pan, all of the pieces will steam themselves using the steam released from their neighbors, which makes it a bit soggy. It took a little while to cook everything - maybe 20 minutes? - and I did a lot of stirring (actually, I'm really good at doing the shake thing of the pan to mix everything around) to make sure everything was even. OMG - I wish you could hear and smell this cooking. SO DELICIOUS.

I ate the whole thing - and it was quite a lot, but it was only one potato worth so I felt like it was reasonable. I served it with my favorite, two eggs sunny side up. This is one of the best breakfasts I think I have ever made.



This photo does it no justice. It truly was DELICIOUS. I will be raving about it for days - approximately 7 days, until I make it the next time!


For dinner tonight, I had spaghetti squash with some Grandpa's Sauce and some cooked ground turkey. It was a last-minute thing, and didn't want anything too heavy before going to ref some games tonight.

Tomorrow for lunch, we are going to the diner. I am getting whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes, with a side of hash browns, extra crispy. I CAN'T WAIT. However, this is my one cheat meal for the week. I think that's a good way to stay on track, for the rest of the challenge and beyond - maybe once a week go out/off track. This gives me an opportunity to indulge, but only once a week!

On another note, I have noticed my energy kicking up - I have been getting a tiny bit more sleep than "usual," but I am really feeling and looking great.

WOOHOO!

Thanks for following!

Day 11

Day 11, the first day of Phase 2, has been completed!

To get an idea of how confusing the process is, here's a look at the checklist for this phase:


The supplements are in the MAX Pack Strips, which is a strip of different packs of vitamins supplements. The first one is taken before breakfast. The second two (why not just put them in one?) are taken with breakfast. The last is taken before lunch.




I can't have "real" breakfast during this phase, but instead drink a meal replacement shake for breakfast. The flavor I got is Chocolate Mocha. The shakes are flavored by Haagen Daz, so it actually tasted pretty good. It was really thick though, so the texture was the only thing I didn't really like. It's definitely doable though. You also can blend it with fruit and stuff to make it more fun. I still really miss coffee though...

Since I didn't have breakfast for breakfast, I had it for lunch instead! There was a Student Staff Appreciation party at work today, and the only food they had was pizza and cupcakes. Probably delicious. I wouldn't know. I had oatmeal (3/4 cup increments), and added some walnuts and some dried cranberries. YUM! I also had 2 scrambled eggs with 2 servings of egg whites. I really love breakfast... like, I could go to a diner every day.

Dinner last night was a big salad with just lettuce and tomatoes with balsamic and olive oil, and tuna in an avocado. All I did was take the tuna out of a can and add lots of red wine vinegar (I LOVE vinegar), salt, and pepper. Then, I halved an avocado, scored it to make cube-ish shapes inside, and put the tuna on top. As I ate the tuna, I scooped up a little bit of avocado. I don't think the avocado was very ripe, because it didn't taste very good. Hopefully it'll be better next week!

You probably have already seen the picture on my Facebook, but I'm posting it here anyways ...


Got to jump to the next loop on my belt!!!!! This actually is the last loop on my belt (I never know how to buy the right size belt...), so if I go any smaller I'll have to buy a new one.

Someone asked me if I have lost weight, or just inches. My response was, I don't know! I weighed myself and did all of my measurements (including body fat %) before I started, and I am not going to weigh myself or do any other measurements until Day 24. I thought about doing a Day 10 set of measurements, but I figured it probably would have ended up being disappointing if I lost a ton during Phase 1, and much less during Phase 2. SO, instead, I am just doing a 24-day set of measurements to compare Day 1 to Day 24. It'll be much more dramatic that way! :-P

I am hoping to be able to try some new and exciting food recipes. I also am planning my "10% cheating" meals too! Definitely going to include chocolate chip pancakes on Sunday for breakfast. YUM!

Things I still miss: COFFEE, bread to dip in olive oil and vinegar, and chocolate.

As always, thanks for reading.

P.S. I also should mention that my "tummy troubles" have shifted ... last week, it was a few days between bathroom visits. This week, it's every day, sometimes twice a day. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing - just a comment.

Day 10

Day 10 ... one day late again.. sorry! 

The Cleanse is OVER! 

Last day of Phase 1 consisted of a Fiber Drink (mixed with Mandarin Orange Spark this time), oatmeal (in the 1/2 cup - 1/2 cup - 1/2 cup increments again), and two yummy runny eggs. Lunch was the usual salad with chicken, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc. Dinner was a SALAD from Chipotle. Now, I really shouldn't eat complex carbs after 4pm ... BUT I admit I did it anyway. I had salad with brown rice, black beans, fajita peppers, mild salsa, and medium salsa. She put a LOT of medium salsa on there ... it was so spicy! I told Matt I could defrost the windows on his car just breathing on it. 

You might have seen this on my Facebook yesterday, but I came across it and it really stuck out to me... 

 

I want to make sure people understand why I am doing the AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge. A couple of people have asked me, "how's your diet going?" Although it's a legitimate question, because the word "diet" according to Dictionary.com means "food and drink considered in terms of its qualities, composition, and its effects on health," the connotation of the word "diet" tends to be a temporary deprivation from certain foods. 

The 24-Day Challenge will not really end once I hit Day 24. The challenge was just a way to motivate me and kick-start a long-term habit of better, healthier, more nutritional eating regimen. Many people do the challenge to lose weight, and people often do. I have seen people who have lost 30 or 40 pounds in the 24 days. These people, however, tend to be the ones who have a LOT of weight to lose. 

I don't have a LOT of weight to lose. Based on my weight and my body-fat percentage, which I had measured at the RIT Health Sciences & Technology Fitness Lab (which is AWESOME, by the way), I only have about 31 pounds of fat in my body. This doesn't mean that I need to lose 30 pounds. Female athletes tend to be around 14-20% body fat, where as females with only essential body fat (that which is necessary for organs to function properly) is 10-12%. I am around 18-19%. So, instead of trying to "lose weight," what I'm really trying to do is lose fat and gain muscle mass. Even if the number on the scale stays the same, I'm fine with that as long as my body fat percentage keeps going down.

I know it sounds really cliche, but I'm a big believer that you shouldn't "diet," but rather should make a lifestyle change. Again, cliche, but very true. If you do the stereotypical "diet," you will just gain weight back as soon as you stop following it. 

My food intake seems to be a little boring, I'm sure... I eat basically the same things every day, mixing up dinner every week. However, I think this is helping me stay on track. I also am getting enough variety - lots of different fruits and veggies - that it doesn't seem like I am limiting myself. 

I'm proud of how far I've come - but I am still missing my coffee in the mornings... 

THANKS for following!

Day 9

Only ONE more day on cleanse before I start changing things up!

Fiber Drink mixed with Pink Lemonade again with breakfast today, which tasted okay again. I made a smaller portion of oatmeal today (1/2 cup oats + 1/2 cup water + 1/2 cup almond milk instead of the usual 3/4 cup of each). I still had 2 eggs - over cooked them a little, which was blah, but that's okay because it made it taste a little different. Changes it up a bit.

Cardio interval workout this morning before class and everything. Had a different flavor Spark this afternoon, Citrus. It was kind of like orange juice. Not my favorite flavor so far, but pretty good. I still have to try Cherry, Grape, and Mandarin Orange.

Lunch was salad (shocker), with chicken.

Dinner was Spaghetti Squash with chicken and zucchini. I had it with pasta sauce from Wegman's - "Grandpa's Sauce Gone Vegetarian." I like the regular Grandpa's Sauce, which has some spicy sausage.

This is an organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian version of the same zesty pasta sauce. It was quite yummy! 

Tomorrow is one last day of Cleanse. Last Fiber Drink tomorrow, and Matt and I are going to Chipotle for dinner tomorrow night – yahoo.

I found out that for Phase 2, Days 11-24, I eat basically the same things as I have done for the past 10 days, 90% of the time. One “coach” told me that she uses Saturday night/Sunday morning as her 10% “off.” I think of it as a “cheat day,” but just a “cheat” couple of meals. This works perfectly for me – Saturday night out for dinner, and Sunday morning out for breakfast! I am hoping this is allowed … I really could use some chocolate chip pancakes and some Italian bread…!

Thank you for reading along – I hope some of you might be inspired to try some AdvoCare products, or just develop some healthier habits. 

Day 8

Day 8 ... being posted one day late... sorry! 

Breakfast today included Oatmeal (3/4 cup quick-cooking oats, 3/4 cup water, 3/4 cup almond milk, Agave Nectar, cinnamon), two eggs sunny side up, and Fiber Drink. I mixed the Fiber Drink with a Pink Lemonade Spark. It isn't too bad - still a little gritty, but much more tolerable, especially if I literally think "pink lemonade." 

This was a heavy breakfast, which I soon found out when trying to do an interval workout on the track! I was able to get through it -- I am definitely feeling a difference now that I am eating some complex carbs -- so I am going to thin it out a little bit with a little bit less oatmeal. 

Big salad again for lunch, with all of the usual stuff - today added avocado as well. 

Dinner was chicken with green beans and a baked sweet potato. I usually put a little bit of butter, a drizzle of honey, and some cinnamon on my baked sweet potatoes. I still used cinnamon, skipped the butter, and used some Agave Nectar. It was quite delicious. YUMMY! 

Unfortunately, nothing really astounding to report. I had the energy to last me the whole day, from 7am when I woke up to 1am when I went to bed. 

Only a couple more days of the cleanse! 

Thanks for following - let me know what you want to see!

Day 7

Day 7 began with oatmeal (made with 3/4 cup Quick-cooking Oats, 3/4 cup water, 3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk, Agave Nectar, and cinnamon), and two eggs cooked sunny-side up. 

Snacks included an orange, an apple (it was a biggg apple), grapes, almonds, blueberries, and two small bananas. 

Lunch was salad with carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, chicken, peppers, and balsamic vinegar. 

Dinner was chicken with green beans and brown rice. 

Workout today was lifting with some Cardio afterwards.

I still don't feel AWESOME or GREAT like everyone with AdvoCare said I would. However, as a [mostly] studious college student, and currently having a cold, it's hard to tell if the lack of energy is being caused by the sickness, the minimal sleep, or the fact that I just am not feeling the change in energy. I can definitely say, however, that I have been getting through my long days, which often involve waking up around 6 and going to bed around midnight, without falling asleep anywhere. 

I can't believe it's Day 8 now ... all of the packages for the Cleanse phase are running out. I am excited to see what happens in the next phase! 

This was a short one - as always, thanks for reading

Day 6

Day 6 is now complete -- only 4 more days to go!

For breakfast today, I tried to have some quinoa "oatmeal." Although I'm not supposed to have dairy, I finished the quinoa off with a little bit of fat free half-and-half. It was NOT very successful... It just wasn't sweet enough to consider it "oatmeal." Luckily I only had a small amount to eat. I found out tonight, however, that I can eat normal quick-cooking oats. Apparently they are gluten-free. Who knew?! Also, although I can't use any added sugars or sweeteners, I CAN use Agave Nectar, which has a very low glycemic index so it does not spike the blood sugar. Usually, when I make oatmeal, I use 100% Maple Syrup (not the fake kind - the REAL kind). I was informed tonight that Agave Nectar can be used to do the same thing. SWEET! (hehe) Also, I can drink ALMOND milk, so I can use that to cream-up my oatmeal a little bit. I am definitely going to be making this tomorrow for breakfast!!!!

I had sunny-side up eggs for breakfast this morning. Some people get bored of eating eggs for breakfast every day, but for me, the way they're prepared makes it seem like a completely different food for me. I often eat scrambled eggs. That's easy. When I'm getting bored of scrambled, I change it up by doing poached - which I FAILED at last week - or sunny-side up/over easy. This gives a completely different taste, because there's a clear difference between the egg whites and the creamy, runny egg yolk. I LOVE runny yolks. The eggs this morning went MUCH better than the poached ones did last week! Take a look!



You can also see the soccer-game oranges on the left and the spark on the upper right. The "oatmeal" was still cooking at this point. Ugh.

Breakfast was late again today, so lunch got a little screwy. I had fruits for snacks today - banana, grapes, etc. - and had a tomato and cucumber salad for lunch. This was simply chopped cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, olive oil, red wine vinegar, italian seasoning, and I cheated again with the dairy and added a TEENY bit of parmesan cheese.

Dinner tonight was baked chicken with broccoli and brown rice, all with a bit of soy sauce. Yum. My mom asked me today, "aren't you sick of chicken and vegetables?" Argh.

Tonight at the grocery store I got some sweet potatoes to make some breakfast hash and have some baked potatoes with dinners, and some spaghetti squash and organic, gluten free, dairy free pasta sauce to change things up a bit. The sauce is "Grandpa's Sauce gone Vegetarian." Hehe.

Still feeling very stuffy - hoping this goes away. While I was running today, the stuffiness went away totally. The second I stopped running, it came back. UGH.

Tomorrow is one more day where I get to skip the fiber drink. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday finishes up the last 3, ugh. I found out tonight that I should try mixing some Spark in with it to make it taste better. I got a few packets of a Pink Lemonade Spark. I tried it tonight, REALLY good, so hopefully that helps make the fiber drink more bearable.

Long day tomorrow - here's to a happy monday!
Thanks for reading!

Day 5

Day 5 completed

Today was a little different than the past 4 days have been, mostly because it was a weekend. YAY!

Firstly, I'll start off by saying I feel like I got hit with a bus ... out of no where, a cold came on yesterday that has left me really congested, and the amount of pressure I have in my sinuses and head is unbelievable. I'm still not sure if all the little headaches I got the first few days were just this cold coming on. Who knows.

I started out the "morning" at about 11:30, and had a Spark to wake me up for breakfast. I tried a new recipe today, since I had a little more time on my hands than I usually do in the mornings. What I had are "pancakes," which sound so incredibly illegal for the cleanse portion, but they were not!



These gluten free, low calorie "pancakes" were so simple - it is just one mashed ripe banana mixed with two beaten eggs. THAT'S IT! As I was mixing it up, I was thinking to myself, "this isn't going to turn out as good as they looked." I was proven wrong, however, when I found that they did in fact fry like normal pancakes, with a very similar consistency. From one medium banana and two eggs, I got two decent sized pancakes out of it. I sliced up some strawberries, microwaved them for about 1 minute to get them warm and melty, and served them on top. This was a GREAT breakfast! I definitely will be trying it again.

I had a class for soccer today, and was in a classroom for 3 hours straight. I brought some almonds and some grapes to snack on, as well as my orange that I didn't eat at breakfast.

The evening was weird because I had a game at Blue Cross Arena that started at 7:00. I had to be there at 5:30, which is just awkward for eating. Usually, the crew after the game goes to eat at Dinosaur BBQ since it's a block down the road, and I usually spend 3/5 of my game fee from the night on a pulled pork sandwich. I knew I didn't want to go to Dino, because I didn't want to be tempted, but also didn't want to be the weirdo sitting eating nothing. I planned ahead.

Since I recently found out that I am permitted to eat brown rice and beans, I decided to splurge... and I got CHIPOTLE.


I love Chipotle, always... it's one of mine and Matt's favorites. Their burritos are the BEST, and their salads are great as well. I also went through a phase of getting a kids meal there. It's a great deal - for less than 5 bucks you can get a fairly small chicken-and-cheese quesadilla, with a side of rice, beans, a small drink, and a small bag of chips. GREAT DEAL, filling (for me at least), and also is a delicious sampler of everything. I also like the fact that they use organic grass-fed meat, etc. It felt guilty, but it wasn't really that guilty! I got a salad with brown rice, black beans (the pinto beans are cooked with bacon), chicken, with some medium salsa (just for the tomatoes), and medium salsa (which is a nice kick). I usually get the medium corn salsa, but I can't eat corn. No biggie. The salad was DELICIOUS. I had to give up the sour cream and cheese that I usually get, and also wasn't about to spend $3 adding guacamole just for its healthy fat benefits. Although this meal was a little bit more calories than I would usually have on a meal, it made up for the fact that I didn't really eat 3 meals today.

Game tonight went well, and I was able to skip out right after to avoid Dinosaur, which would have made my headache even worse.

I got to enjoy another day without a fiber drink this morning (I think I go back to them on Monday). I also only had one Spark today. I also slept a lot more last night than I usually do, but I think the complex carbs from the beans and rice might have helped with energy as well.

Tomorrow for breakfast, I am going to incorporate either sweet potatoes and/or quinoa. I'm not sure whether to go sweet or savory with them? I think one day I'll try a "breakfast potatoes" with the sweet potatoes, including some peppers and onions. Then maybe I'll do a quinoa and sweet potato "oatmeal" kind of thing, with berries and nuts maybe. I might, with just quinoa, add a LITTLE BIT of fat-free half and half at the end of the cooking process to make it a little creamy, and add cinnamon to make it oatmealy.




YAY FOR MORE OPTIONS!

Thanks for reading - happy weekend!

Day 4

Whew ... Day 4 is done with, and I am EXHAUSTED! What a busy first week back to school!

So, I just found out something, and I'm not very happy about it ...

I had a link for a "Great Foods" list, which listed what I should be eating, what quantities, and what should not be eaten during the 24-Day Challenge. The page that I was looking at said "Avoid starches during Phase 1." This included brown rice, quinoa, and sweet potatoes. Well, I just found out that I SHOULD have been eating these things all along! No wonder I haven't felt ANY improvements whatsoever in my energy levels. I haven't been fueling my body correctly! UGH! I am a little frustrated - I have been following the program incorrectly for the past 4 days - this is 40% of the cleanse! I guess this is a better alternative than if I had eaten them and wasn't allowed to. So, I am bummed that I have spent 4 days doing the wrong thing, BUT the good news is now I can eat rice and quinoa!



This hash makes breakfast look a little bit more interesting! I found a recipe for a quinoa and sweet potato hash for breakfast. should be interesting to play around with some new ideas. Maybe quinoa and/or sweet potato with some cinnamon will make it seem breakfasty?

Here is what I ate today:
-Spark with breakfast
-2 eggs + 2 egg whites scrambled
-NO FIBER DRINK! WOOHOO!
-Orange sliced soccer game style

-Salad with mixed greens, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado

-Banana (right after my workout)
-Pear
-Blueberries
-Grapes
-Almonds

-Canned tuna served in a whole, hollowed out tomato, warmed up in the oven, with sliced bell peppers on the side.


Workout this morning was lifting and cardio on the elliptical.

I have a headache tonight, again - but I also have a HUGELY stuffy nose. I'm not sure if I have a headache because I'm sick, or because of the challenge. Maybe I am sick because of the challenge, and have a headache because of it? Who knows. Hopefully adding some complex carbohydrates will help balance everything out.

The weekend is probably going to be tough, simply due to the fact that I will be out of a "routine." I also will be busy tomorrow from 1-4 and 5-11, and again on Sunday from 12-2, 3-5, and 5-7. WHEW. The good news is ... my bed and I will be seeing a lot more of each other tonight! Not setting an alarm tomorrow!



HAPPY WEEKEND! Thanks for reading.