Day 10

I got behind in daily blogs, but I am excited to share the news!  I've completed Day 10, which concludes the Cleanse Phase, and now I'm entering the Max Phase.

Just as a review, I was much more active the last 5 days.  I walked on Days 6-9, and on Day 10 I lifted weights again, including lower body this time.  Boy am I going to be sore, lunges are a killer!  I was shaking like crazy and felt like my legs were Jello.  I used the same repetition sequence as I did on Day 4, using the Body For Life method.

Deadlifts for Hamstrings

Lunges for Butt, whole leg

Squats for Quads

In terms of meals, I feel I've done amazing in sticking to the portion sizes and also cutting out sugars, carbs, and dairy.  There was a few times that I forgot to request the removal of cheese from different meals, but overall, it's been a success.

So now for the up to date stats:

Day	Weight	Bust	Belly	Butt/Hips	Arms	Thighs	Face
1	170lbs	37.5"	38"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
2	169lbs	37"	37.5"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
3	168lbs	37"	37"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"
4	168lbs	37"	37"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"
5	166lbs	37"	38.5"	44"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"
6	166lbs	37.5"	37.5"	44"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
7	164lbs	37.5"	37.5"	44"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
8	164lbs	37"	36.5"	44"	12.5"/12.5"	26"/26"	19"
9	162lbs	37"	36"	44"	12.5"/12.5"	26"/26"	19"
10	161lbs	37"	36"	44"	12.5"/12.5"	26"/26"	19"
Totals:	9lbs	0.5"	2"	0.5"	0"	0.5"/0.5"	0"

So I've lost 9 pounds and 4 inches through the Cleanse Phase.  I'd say that's pretty awesome!  Now I have 14 more days to go for the Max Phase.  I'll begin taking the daily Multi-Vitamins and continue with Spark, Catalyst, and the OmegaPlex supplements.  I'm also going to be adding Advocare's Meal Replacement Shakes and continue lifting weights a couple of times a week.  

Stay tuned!

Day 5

This morning I went for a 45 minute walk, totaling 2.19 miles.  I use the Runkeeper app to track any cardio I do, and it says I burned 188 calories.  The average amount of calories I burn per day at a desk job is about 1800.  My hope is, then, to eat less than 2000 calories per day, and I feel confident with my portion control eating, I should be fine.  I've tried to consistently eat six times a day, small portions, to maintain my metabolism levels and train my body to not need to store anything.  My snacks between meals are typically oatmeal, veggies, fruit, and nuts (healthy, not garbage like chips). That's what I've heard, but here is what WebMD thinks about it.

I'm still fighting this lingering sinus cold.  It seems to be hanging out in the back of my throat and it saps my energy.  I had a meeting that went until 9:30pm and I was wiped by 9pm.  I'm not taking any cold medicine, just drinking a lot of water.  I'm hoping to get to the store to buy more salt packets so I can use my Sinus Rinse.  It's amazing what comes out, and the salt water works as an anti-inflammatory for my sinuses.  

Great news today is I dropped another 2 pounds.  My friends think it all has to do with water, but I'm not so sure considering how much water I'm consuming all day long.  You would think that I would maintain my weight with as much water as I'm drinking.  Here are my numbers to date:

Day	Weight	Bust	Belly	Butt/Hips	Arms	Thighs	Face
1	170lbs	37.5"	38"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
2	169lbs	37"	37.5"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
3	168lbs	37"	37"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"
4	168lbs	37"	37"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"
5	166lbs	37"	38.5"	44"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"

You'll notice my belly measurement went up.  To be honest, it may have to do with my rough measuring techniques, but I'm also starting my period and I can blame the bloating.  At least I'm not crying about it, just trying to stay realistic.  I'm aware of the variability in the weight-loss experience, I've watched countless episodes of The Biggest Loser, to know there are plateaus and days where weight goes up even when you do everything right.  I'm keeping positive and keeping my sights on the long term goal.  
Thanks for keeping up!

Day 4

I'm so proud of myself!  I got up this morning and lifted upper body weights.  It was about a 20 minute workout for my biceps, triceps, and shoulders.  I used the Body for Life Method of weight lifting by doing the following set: 12 reps - 30 second rest - 10 reps - 30 second rest - 8 reps - 30 second reps - 6 rep - no rest - 6 reps of different exercise.  It's been a while since I've done weight lifting, so I'm excited to get back into it.  

Bicep Curls

Tricep Kickbacks

Lateral Raises

For meals today I went with a Protein Shake for breakfast, but the next three days I don't take the Fiber Drink in the morning.  Instead I take a ProBiotic Restore with my Spark and Catalyst 30 minutes before breakfast.  I've gotten into the habit of having oatmeal for my mid-morning snack.  I keep a bag at work and make about a 1/3 cup batch and add apples and a little cinnamon to it.  

I ended up going out to a restaurant for lunch.  I have to say, I didn't use much restraint with the fried rice, but it was a Tappanyaki restaurant where they cooked the food right in front of you with fresh veggies and I added shrimp.  It was yummy!  My afternoon snack was carrots and for dinner I had my fish and mixed veggies.

So far I'm feeling pretty good.  My numbers thus far are:

Day	Weight	Bust	Belly	Butt/Hips	Arms	Thighs	Face
1	170lbs	37.5"	38"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
2	169lbs	37"	37.5"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
3	168lbs	37"	37"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"
4	168lbs	37"	37"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"

Basically no change from the day before, but I'm not discouraged.

Thanks for following!

Day 3

I felt much better today from the sinus infection.  I'm glad it has only taken a couple of days to get over.   I took all of the same supplements today as I did the last two days.  On Day 4 it changes a little.  Just because this is a cleanse, I have to say that I did a big number 2 this morning, so it definitely seems to be clearing things out.  I'm already feeling energized and better than I have in a while.  I'm sure it has to do with the Catalyst and Spark I'm taking daily.

My measurments haven't changed much and I realized that I'm about to start my period, which may cause some of them to fluctuate, but I'm not discouraged. The cleanse isn't to loose weight or inches, just get me going on getting healthy. Here they are thus far:

Day	Weight	Bust	Belly	Butt/Hips	Arms	Thighs	Face
1	170lbs	37.5"	38"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
2	169lbs	37"	37.5"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
3	168lbs	37"	37"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	27"/27"	19"

I went back to work today and it was packed full of meetings, so I had to navigate around them when I would eat.  It wasn't too difficult because I had planned it.  I did however probably eat double what I should have for dinner because I went out with my roommates.  Rather than getting a burger I got a salad, but it was the equivalent of two portions and I ate it all.  My bad.  At least it was a salad.

So far I haven't done any activity while on the cleanse.  The sinus infection has caused it to be tough to get up in the morning, especially to yoga.  Hopefully I can start some activity tomorrow.  I've been using for a while now an app called Gym Pact that pays me for meeting my goals of number of workouts per week.  See video:



That was my Day 3.  I feel like I'm doing pretty good considering the rough start.

Thanks for the encouragement!

Day 2

I can start off by saying that I definitely did not go to yoga this morning at 7:15am.  The sinus infection pretty much went full blown.  It actually felt like my brain was melting inside of my head.  Despite all of that, the day went pretty well as it relates to AdvoCare's 24 Day Challenge.  First thing when I got up is take Catalyst and Spark.  I decided I'll go all the way through the Fruit Punch flavor before starting with my favorite Orange Flavor.  I like to throw a few ice cubes in to make it slightly cooler than room temperature just to get my morning started.

After draining my nose and going number 2 twice (I guess the Herbal Cleanse caplets were working hard through the night!) I decided that would be a good time to take my measurements.  Here is what they are for today:

Day	Weight	Bust	Belly	Butt/Hips	Arms	Thighs	Face
1	170lbs	37.5"	38"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"
2	169lbs	37"	37.5"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"

Not a lot of change so far, but if my measurements are accurate, I technically lost 1" in total in one day.  I've got to celebrate the little things.  We'll find out tomorrow if I get different measurements.

On Day 1, I had prepared most my meals for the whole week, so it was easy today to stay on track while I was in the house.  I didn't actually go to work due to being sick, just plugged away on the computer from my desk at home.  I took my Fiber Drink about 45 minutes after finishing my Spark and then made my morning protein shake.  Before starting this cleanse, for a few months I was trying out BeachBody's Shakeology.  I can't say that I lost any weight using it, but it worked out in getting my daily vitamins and made for an easy breakfast.  So I'm finishing off the bag I have before starting to use AdvoCare's Meal Replacement Shake.

Half way through the morning I heated up some almond butter and raisin oatmeal that I had made yesterday.  I recognize that a lot of tackling my weight loss has to do with portion control.  It helps me a lot when I use smaller dishes like small bowls and plates where the smaller portion fills up the dish rather than looking like I am eating barely anything.  Its a matter of semantics, but it helps when I can trick my brain into thinking its eating more than it actually is just by using a small bowl.  And also, they are so cute!

Thirty minutes before lunch I took another Catalyst pill.  Catalyst is an amino acid dietary supplement that preserves, firms and tones muscles; enhances strength; and provides sustained energy during physical activity.  Here's what's inside one capsule:

L-Glutamine	400mg
L-Leucine	150mg
L-Isoleucine	75mg
L-Valine	75mg
L-Arginine	33.3mg
Betaine	16.7mg
Taurine	16.7mg
Other: Gelatin, Stearic Acid, Magnesium Stearate, Silicon Dioxide

In a future blog I'll dive into what all of these are, but for the time being, that's what's inside Catalyst.   For lunch I had some more Mahi Mahi, mixed veggies, and brown rice.  For an afternoon snack I chopped up some bell peppers that I had received in my Farm Fresh To You box and slathered some hummus on them and it was dreamy!  As you can see I did not end up going to my lunch meeting at a restaurant.  I postponed to Day 4, so I'll let you know how that goes.   
Dinner was interesting.  I took my two OmegaPlex pills, and I was really craving soup.  I had a dry mix that I had actually received for Christmas last year.  It called for a number of ingredients that I didn't have, and can't really eat on the cleanse, such as bacon and creamer, so I just left them out and subbed the creamer with extra water.  I was happy with it.  I didn't add any protein to it, so I knew that when I went to the hockey game I'd get something.  I now have soup for the next week and I know it will tasted better and better the longer I let it sit.  
I took off for the hockey game after eating the soup.  My after dinner snack consisted of eating the toppings off of Mexican nachos.  This included steak, guacamole, pico-de-gallo, beans, an a little bit of cheese and sour cream.  Not the best, but I felt like I did exercise some self control in just eating the topping and pushing to the side a huge amount of sour cream.
The hockey game was awesome!  We watched the San Jose Sharks pulverize the New York Rangers with a final score of 9 to 2.  It was my first hockey game and it was hosted at San Jose's SAP Arena.  Such a nice facility!  I was also beginning to feel a little better from my cold, so it was an all around fun night.  
When I got home, I took the last Catalyst for the day and took the three gigantic Herbal Cleanse caplets and jumped into bed.  So far so good.  As a side note, I realized that my water intake was significantly more than I needed.  I actually measured out 8 ounces into the glass that I have been using to drink all of my water and it only fills just over half my glass!  I'd pretty much been drinking 15-20 cups of water per day and all I need to take is 10.  So now that I figured that out I haven't had to go to the bathroom as often.
I'm aware that it takes 21 days to establish a habit and I'm doing what I can to set myself up for success by preparing meals ahead of time and using smaller dishes.  Here's to another successful day!  I'll head back to work tomorrow.
Thanks for reading.

Day 1

Today is Day 1 of the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge and it started off a little rough.  I woke up yesterday with a minor sinus infection and today it went full blown.  I feel like my head is melting on the inside.  Despite the early setback, I figure the cold will blow over in a few days and starting the Cleanse Phase will only help in getting over the cold faster.  The first ten days of the 24 Day Challenge are about cleansing your body of toxins and preparing for optimal nutrient absorption, with the possibility of weight loss.

I took my measurements this morning and here is where I begin this journey:

Day	Weight	Bust	Belly	Butt/Hips	Arms	Thighs	Face
1	170lbs	37.5"	38"	44.5"	12.5"/12.5"	26.5"/26.5"	19"

I started the day off taking 1 Catalyst and 1 packet of Spark with 8oz of water 30 minutes before taking the Fiber Drink as part of the Cleanse Phase.  I already know that my favorite flavor of Spark is Orange, but today I began with Fruit Punch and I couldn't complain.  I forgot that the Fiber Drink (which you mix with 8oz of water and chase with 8oz of water) has a slight citrus flavor which was helpful in getting it down.  It doesn't taste bad at all, just at the bottom of the cup it begins to gelatinize.  To fix that you just keep adding water and keep taking it down.  Following that I made my protein shake and headed off to work.

I realized about 2/3rds of the way to work that I left my laptop at home, but I had a couple of meetings that I needed to get to work for before I could head back to pick it up.  I figured if I am out of sorts enough (due to the sinus infection) to forget my computer at home, maybe after the meetings I should just go home and work from there.  That's what I ended up doing.

About half way through my meetings I pulled out a bag of raw almonds and grabbed a pitcher of water to chug down as I continued through my meetings.  AdvoCare suggests I drink a total of 10 cups of water every day (body weight in pounds divided by 2 = # ounces of water you should consume per day; 1 cup = 8oz).  I lost count of how many times I've gone to the bathroom today.

After my meetings I decided to head home.  I took another Catalyst pill 30 minutes before lunch.  For lunch I made Mahi Mahi, mixed veggies, and brown rice.  I was really proud of my fish marinating skills as it tasted amazing!  I used a little orange flavored olive oil with Thai Ginger seasoning and it made for a perfect lunch.  I continued through the day working from my computer and stopped for a snack of whole grain crackers with hummus and mango salsa.  Yum!  I also continued to drink my water.  10 glasses is a lot!

That brings us to the present.  I'm about to have the other half of my lunch for dinner along with 2 OmegaPlex pills, and at bedtime I'll pop the Herbal Cleanse caplets.

I'd say overall today was a good day.  I've managed to turn down three people in unhealthy outings/meals.  Its always nice to be able to just tell people I'm doing a cleanse when I turn down food, then I don't feel so bad.  I'm pretty sure all of this water intake is expediting my sinus infection healing as my nose has been a faucet all day long (Good thing I'm at home, I'm actually using a t-shirt rather than tissues to keep dry!).  I feel pretty tired fighting this cold, but I'm happy with my own self-discipline in getting this started.  Here's to a successful Day 1!  Hopefully I'll get up tomorrow for Yoga at 7:15am, and exercise more of that self-discipline while I have a lunch meeting at a restaurant and going to a Shark's hockey game at night.

Thanks for reading.

Introduction

I just turned 30 and I weigh 30lbs too much!  

A year an a half ago I weighed 140lbs and completed my first half marathon in San Francisco.  During the six months I was training, I was living in San Francisco walking everywhere I went, had a job where I stood and walked for 7 hours a day, I completed AdvoCare's 24 Day Challenge, and then continued with their meal replacement shakes, vitamin supplement packs, and Spark.  In all, I was living a healthy life and it really felt good both physically and mentally.

Well, I ended up taking a new job where I sit all day staring at a computer, moved to a city where I drive everywhere, stopped taking anything AdvoCare, and then got tendonitis in my foot which dramatically cut down my activity for about 8 months.  As of today, I weigh 170lbs.  Crazy right?! 30 pounds gained in just about a year.  So I have decided to jump start my activity level and get back on the AdvoCare band wagon.  My hope is to be skinny by Christmas.

I decided to do a 24 day blog tracking my journey through AdvoCare's 24 Day Challenge.

My friends who recently got married and are going to ministry school are distributors, so I figured that a great way to support them would be to order through them.  10 days ago I ordered the 24 Day Challenge bundle and a bottle of Catalyst.  It cost $252.24 and I received it in 6 days.

Starting Monday, October 7th, 2013 I will begin the 24 Day Challenge.

I'm an average girl with an average 40 hour / week desk job hoping to get back into shape.  If I can do this so can you.  I hope you're encouraged along the way.  I don't think it is by accident that our journey's are crossing paths, so if you have any questions, feel free to comment below the posts.

Thanks for joining me on this adventure called life.  I'll keep you updated on how it goes.