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!