Before/After Photos

These are my Before/After pictures from my 24-Day Challenge! The photos on the left were taken on January 7th, and the photos on the right were taken 26 days later on February 2nd. I lost a total of 6 pounds and 8.25 inches. Are there HUGE, drastic differences in these photos? No ... but I definitely can see differences, and that makes me happy!

These results came from no added exercise! (I was exercising a lot, but no more than I was before I started.) Imagine what you could do in 24 days with a great, nutritional eating plan and adding in some exercise!

Visit my AdvoCare micro site below to browse some of the products.

https://www.advocare.com/130110236/

RESULTS

I completed my first-ever 24-Day Challenge on January 31st. I have not yet posted my results, as I have been putting it off for quite some time...

I was not as happy with my numerical results as I was hoping to be. I have heard of people who have lost a TON of weight during the 24 days, 20+ pounds at times. I knew this was unrealistic, but I was really shooting for a good number. I also was hoping for a drop in my percentage of body fat, as that is one thing advertised with the challenge (2-3% drop loss of body fat). This is what I was really aiming for - especially as I paid an extra $60 to get the Catalyst product, which was intended to ensure no muscle mass was lost in the process.

Again, I was hoping for better results than I got, but here they are, starting with the starting weight and measurements:

Day 0: 165 lbs
18.9% Body Fat 
Right Arm 11"
Shoulders 41.5"
Chest 35"
Waist 29"
Hips 43.5"
Right Thigh 24"
Right Calf 16"
Total: 200"


Twenty-four days later....


Day 25: 159 lbs (6 pound loss)
18.7% Body Fat (0.2% loss)
Right Arm 10.75" (1/4" loss)
Shoulders 41.5" (no change) 
Chest 33" (2" loss) 
Waist 27" (2" loss) 
Hips 41.5" (2" loss)
Right Thigh 22.5" (1.5" loss)
Right Calf 15.5" (1/2" loss) 
Total 191.75" (8.25" total loss)

(Before & After photos will be posted once Matt uploads them for me)


So, I lost a total of 8.25 inches, 6 pounds, and 0.2%  body fat. (Some of this weight has probably come back, especially after a birthday dinner and the superbowl.)

Now let me tell you what I have GAINED:
-Some doubts, mostly about the products I invested time and money into
-A kick start to continue trying to lose weight and get healthy
-Healthy habits that I can continue for a long while to come
-Self confidence ... because I look better, I feel better about myself
-Visible muscle tone
-Two hip bones (it's been a while since I've seen them!)
-A set of ribs (who knew all those were there?!)
-A jawline (definitely has been hiding!)
-A bigger closet. Yes that's right, a bigger closet, with smaller clothes. SO many of my clothes are smaller than would have been comfortable a month ago. I have been wearing SIZE 8 JEANS! The last time I wore size 8 jeans was probably my senior year of high school. This was an amazing feeling.


I have talked to several people about my results, and I've been told the same thing a few times. When I had my body fat tested at the RIT Fitness Lab, the guy (who I have seen a couple of times for appointments there) saw that I was disappointed in the fact that I didn't lose any body fat. (0.2% is virtually nothing.) He said to me, "I don't know where you expected to lose it from. You just don't have that much to lose." First of all, I guess he has never seen my booty. Second of all, I understand where he's coming from. I have no specific number that I am required to hit. I'm sure it would take a lot more effort and discipline to get a lot lower. All of my body fat sits around my hips and bum. It's just how they are... :(

I am still taking AdvoCare products, including CorePlex + Iron (a multivitamin), OmegaPlex (Omega-3s), Spark (yum), Arginine Extreme (it is a Citrus-flavored drink, for before tough workouts - I have been taking it before my lift days), and Nighttime Recovery (a pill taken before bed after tough workout days - I take this when I go to bed on lifting days). The last two products are in the Performance Elite line in AdvoCare.






THANK YOU for following along with my journey. I hope that I have inspired at least a few people.

Now, my question for you, is can YOU 24?!



AdvoCare not only has the 24-Day Challenge, but on January 1st, they came out with a workout DVD series to supplement it. There's no better time to see if YOU can do the 24-Day Challenge!

I lost 6 pounds, over 8 inches, and dropped 2 pant sizes. All of this was done without me adding any exercise (as I was already doing lots of exercise as it was). Imagine what YOU could do in 24 days!

Visit my AdvoCare Microsite by following this link. If you're interested in trying any of the products, feel free to contact me to talk about it!!!!

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!