The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 10

Yeaaaaaa!! I made it through the Cleanse!! This is my second 24 Day Challenge, at it was a little easier than the first. I did not miss cheese as much as I did the first time, but I'm not going to lie to you - I'm eating some cheese tomorrow!!

I woke up and had the usual Spark, Catalyst, and Probiotic. 

Thirty minutes later, it was the last Fiber Drink. Four ounces of water, four ounces of orange juice (I use Trop 50), shake it in the shaker cup, and chug it down! Then I had some plain oatmeal with applesauce and cinnamon. 

For lunch I had a salad and chicken breast. I used some Walden Farms salad dressing. 

For my afternoon snack, I started out with a Spark. I also had a peach. 

Gotta keep hydrated!!

After my afternoon Spark, I was ready to go!  I took my girls on a llooonnnggg walk!  Part of the time I pulled them in the wagon, and part of the time I chased my two year old!  According to my Fitbit, I walked almost 13,000 steps today.  Thank you, Spark!

For dinner, my hubby grilled burgers.  We had that along with carrots and hummus.

Today was my precious baby girl's second birthday!  We are having a small family birthday party on Saturday with her cake.  Tonight it was just my parents over with us, so I got four cupcakes.  The birthday girl had one, of course, and so did her sister.  My parents split one, and Brian and I each had a few bites of one.  Not exactly the best way to spend the last day of my cleanse, but I don't think it was too bad.  I had to have at least a couple of bites on my daughter's birthday!  There will be cake tomorrow for my mom's birthday, and then my daughter's cake on Saturday.  I plan to continue having a few bites of each.

Max Phase, here I come!!

Interested in AdvoCare?  Want to improve your health?  Check out my AdvoCare website!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 9

Whoo hoo! Day 9 is done! One more cleanse day!

My day started off with a Citrus Spark, Catalyst, and ProBiotic Restore Ultra. 

Thirty minutes later, it was time for the good old Fiber Drink! Four ounces of water, 4 ounces of O.J., shake it up, and down the hatch!

For lunch, we had turkey burgers and green beans. I probably need to figure out something more creative for lunch than turkey burgers. I seem to fall back on them a lot! I did put some pickles on it to spice things up! I know, I'm so creative!

A little while after lunch, I had a Spark to avoid that mid-afternoon slump. I love that stuff!!

For dinner, we had salad and grilled chicken breast. I used Walden Farms salad dressing.  It is calorie free.  You can buy it in the refrigerated section of the grocery store.  There are tons of flavors.  

My after dinner snack was some nuts.

I'm really working on increasing my water intake.  I have been pretty good about drinking 8 glasses, but I'm going to try to drink even more!

I can't believe I have only one more day on the Cleanse!  I am looking forward to the Max Phase!

Are you interested in AdvoCare?  Check out my website!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 8

It just hit me - I am almost done with the cleanse!

I had Spark, probiotic, and Catalyst when I woke up. However, I woke up super late. My children actually slept in!  I think we were all exhausted from yesterday. 

By the time I had my Fiber Drink, I wasn't in the mood for breakfast. Not good, I know. So I moved into lunch pretty quickly. 

I was worn out, so we had a leftover baked potato and some turkey breast for lunch. Not my finest meal.

For snack, I had some nuts and fruit. After that, I decided that I was tired of being tired, so I had another Spark.  I felt so much better after that, and I wondered why I didn't have another one sooner!  Talk about turning my day around!  The girls and I took a walk.  I pulled them both in the wagon.  Up hill. Barefoot in the snow.

I decided I wasn't cooking, so the hubs picked up Chipotle for dinner. 

Chipotle!?!? 

Yup! Burrito bowl with brown rice, chicken, lettuce, veggies, salsa, and a little bit of guacamole.

Where you can get in trouble with this, in my opinion, is the portion size.  Chipotle, God bless their heart, enjoys giving large portions.  I ate a little more than half.  And quite honestly, I did not want the whole thing.  Thank you Spark!

Interested in AdvoCare?  It changed my life, and it can change yours!  Check out my website or leave a comment below!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 7

What. A. Day.

I'm glad it's over!

My little almost two year old had some minor surgery today. It kept me anxious all day, but she did great!

This would normally be an excuse to eat at least one bag of peanut M&Ms. Luckily, there were no vending machines in sight at the hospital!

In the morning we did the usual Catalyst, Spark, and Probiotic. 

For breakfast, we just had a meal replacement shake in the car on the way to the hospital. 

The surgery started later than planned , so it was close to 2:00 p.m. when we got lunch. My husband went to the cafeteria and came back with salads, hummus and pretzels, and water. While the pretzels probably weren't the greatest for the cleanse, I think it was still a pretty good lunch. 

There was some cheese in there, but I tried to eat around it. 

For dinner, we had leftover pasta primavera from yesterday. Normally, we probably would have just had fast food after such a stressful day, so yea for leftovers!

Before bed, I had a few almonds, then Catalyst and Herbal Cleanse. 

I'm pretty impressed that I did so well today.  It was an emotional and stressful day, but I did not use that as an excuse to binge. And, it probably didn't hurt that the hubby went to the cafeteria while I stayed in the waiting room :)

Interested in AdvoCare?  Check out our website, or leave a comment!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 6

Today was another fairly uneventful day!

Woke up and had my Spark, Catalyst, and Probiotic. 

We headed out to church, and, amazingly enough, I wasn't tempted by the coffee and donuts that are always there! I wasn't interested in having another slip up!

For lunch, we had a burger made with lean ground beef (no bun!), red bell peppers, and hummus, and strawberries. 

For a snack, I had some almonds. 

For dinner, I made a recipe I found on advomoma.blogspot.com via Pinterest.  It was pasta primavera, and it was delicious!  Here is the picture from her blog.  We ate ours too fast for me to take my own picture.  There are quite a few good cleanse recipes on her blog!

I am a little worried about tomorrow. My youngest daughter is having surgery on her blocked tear ducts. While it's not major or scary surgery, I am still upset, of course.  Please say a prayer for my little girl!

I am no stranger to stress eating. Hopefully I will not succumb to that tomorrow.  And hopefully I won't be able to find a vending machine near the hospital waiting room!

If you are interested in AdvoCare, leave a comment or check out my website!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 5

Well, my shenanigans from last night caused me to gain a pound. I am still down overall, though. Not exactly ideal, but not a reason to give up!

No Fiber Drink this morning! Spark and Catalyst when I got up. 

For breakfast I had scrambled eggs and some grapes. 

For lunch I had some turkey breast, a tiny bit of potato salad, and some watermelon. 

My afternoon snack was nuts. 

For dinner I had some lean steak from the grill, a baked potato, and some more grapes. 

I'm hopeful that the extra pound I put on will be gone in the morning!

I did get my water in, so yea for that!

My challenge for the day was resisting potato chips.  We had company, so I bought chips for them.  I will have to send them home with someone or throw them out!  No need to have them sitting around just looking at me!

Halfway through the Cleanse!!

Are you interested in the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge?  Check out my website!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 4

The day started off well...

No Fiber Drink today!

Catalyst and Spark in the morning. Oatmeal about 30 minutes later for breakfast. 

Lunch was leftovers from dinner last night, cuz I'm creative like that. Because there weren't a lot of veggies leftover, I also had a quinoa salad. 

As I was making lunch for the girls, I thought about how much mindless eating I do. I made Gabriella a grilled cheese sandwich and used a cookie cutter to cut it into cool dinosaur shapes. I usually pop the parts I cut off right into my mouth! I'm not even necessarily hungry when I do this, I just do it! No good reason. Is that a huge deal? Probably not, but things like that can add up. 

My afternoon snack was grapes and almonds. 

Then...dinner. We had plans to go out with two other couples. I had talked to my AdvoCare coach and kind of made a plan. 

Sigh. 

I can't say I followed it exactly. I had some things I shouldn't have. But, it was one night. And I will bounce back! The important thing is to keep going! Being a healthy weight is my goal, and I will get there!

Tomorrow is another day!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day 3

Today was a little bit of a calmer day, so things were more on schedule!

As usual, the day started off with a Spark and Catalyst. 

Thirty minutes later, I chugged my Fiber Drink and had some oatmeal with apples and cinnamon.  

Took more Catalyst before lunch and then had a turkey burger (no bun), red bell peppers, and hummus. 

For my after lunch snack I had some almonds. 

Dinner was salmon, broccoli, and cauliflower. It was quite good and quite filling. We took our OmegaPlex with dinner. 

The evening snack was grapes, and right before bed was another round of Catalyst and the Herbal Cleanse tablets. 

I did manage to get some yoga in with the girls!  My core got a great workout from all the laughing! As you can tell by my form, I am pretty bad at yoga!

We also took the training wheels off my daughter's bike! It was a great day, and I had the energy to enjoy it all!

We are going out to eat tomorrow with two other couples, and I'm a little nervous about that. I talked to my AdvoCare coach, and he is giving some tips so I can enjoy myself and still successfully follow the challenge. That is one of the great things about AdvoCare - you have a built in support network!

Leave me a comment if you have any questions! And feel free to check out our website!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day Two

Today was another crazy, busy day! 

I woke up and had my Spark and Catalyst. For breakfast I had my Fiber Drink, again with half water and half orange juice, scrambled eggs, and fruit. 

Later in the morning we had a play date. Well, of course, the girls were hungry and could not possibly make it home for lunch. We stopped at Panera, and I got a salad. But I forgot that they serve delicious bread with their salads. There it was, on my plate, just daring me to it eat it! I looked at it longingly and quickly moved it to my daughter's plate. Disaster averted!

I had a Spark and some almonds for a mid afternoon snack. 

We had my daughter's two year old pictures tonight, so I had dinner much later than usual. We had some grilled chicken breasts and broccoli. My after dinner snack was grapes. We finished off the night with our Catalyst and Herbal Cleanse. 

I did manage to drink my eight glasses of water today! Yea for me!

My husband told me tonight that he can already tell he has more energy. I was super impressed with myself that I was able to resist the bread that was right. on. my. PLATE! Thank you AdvoCare!

The AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Day One

Finally!  Today is day one of my second AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge!  The first thing I did this morning was take my measurements and my before pictures.  I made sure I looked a little better in this set of pictures since I know I will be posting them on this blog!  After that I drank a Spark and took my Catalyst.  Then, 30 minutes later, it was time for the dreaded  (it's really not that bad!) Fiber Drink.  We had the citrus flavor.  We mixed it with 4 oz of water and 4 oz of orange juice (we used Trop 50).  We shook it up in the blender bottle and chug-a-lug!  It just tastes like pulpy orange juice, which is not my favorite thing in the world, but I can manage it.

The plan for breakfast was to have scrambled eggs. The reality was I didn't wake up early enough for that! I had to get the girls to their swimming lessons, so breakfast was a handful of almonds. When I got home, I had some fruit.

Thirty minutes before lunch we took our Catalyst. For lunch we had turkey burgers with mustard. Brian put banana peppers on his. We had red bell peppers and hummus as a side.

I had intended to have a snack a little while after lunch, but I had some errands to run, so I just had a Spark in the car. Oops!

Again, I had planned on cooking something else for dinner (probably salmon), but time slipped away from me and we had turkey burgers again! We had some Steamfresh veggies and quinoa. Pretty good dinner! We took our OmegaPlex with our dinner.

For our after dinner snack, we had strawberries. Before bed, we took more Catalyst and our Herbal Cleanse pills. 

My goal was to drink 8 glasses of water. I drank 5. Hopefully I'll do better tomorrow!

For exercise...well, I walked around the block with the girls and ran some errands! Does that count? According to my FitBit, I did reach my 10,000 steps. That has to count for something, right?!

All in all, not a bad first day! My energy was pretty good, and I didn't really have any horrible cravings or temptations. 

I'm ready for day two!

Finally Starting the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge!

After a few delays, the hubby and I are finally starting our second AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge tomorrow! Yea! I'm excited! Today I will go to the grocery store and prep some food.  I'm not going to pre-cook as much as I did last time we were on the challenge because I'm not working right now. I will do some preparing in advance, though. It is a lot easier to snack on veggies when they are already washed, cut up, and waiting for you!

Here are some foods I plan on eating during the Cleanse Phase of the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge:

Breakfast - Eggs (scrambled and hard boiled), oatmeal (real oatmeal, not instant packets full of sugar!), and fruit

Lunch - turkey burgers (no bun!), avocado chicken salad (found this recipe on Pinterest), salad with Waldon Farms salad dressing (found in the refrigerated section) or oil and vinegar

Dinner - turkey meatloaf, grilled chicken breasts, turkey meatballs with whole grain pasta, salmon, tilapia, veggies (roasted cauliflower is delish, and Steamfresh will do in a pinch), quinoa

Snacks - carrots, bell peppers and hummus, fruit, nuts

When I first looked at the list of recommended foods, I realized that this is probably the way I should be eating anyway, AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge or not!  That's why people say it is not a diet, it is a lifestyle!  After the end of our first challenge, we tried to stick to clean, healthy eating 80% of the time.  We did for a while ... then it kind of slipped ... then life got busy ... and there were vacations .... so, I am ready to jump back into this and get back on track!

If you are interested in the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge or any other AdvoCare products, please leave a comment or visit our AdvoCare web page!  Talk to you tomorrow!

AdvoCare Catalyst Review

Catalyst is a very popular AdvoCare product.  It is suggested as a add-on to the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge.  When I did my first AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge, I did not take Catalyst.  However, after researching it a bit more, I recently have started to take it.  What an amazing supplement!  I love it!!

Catalyst is an amino acid dietary supplement.  Amino acids help maintain muscle mass, especially when someone is reducing calories (dieting) or working out.  It also supports energy levels and mental focus.  Amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and protein is the building block of muscle.  If you are looking to increase lean muscle mass, Catalyst is the supplement for you!

I can certainly say that I have noticed an increase of energy with AdvoCare's Catalyst.  I take it with my MNS pills before breakfast and lunch.  With MNS, Catalyst, and Spark, I have so much more energy than I have had in years, probably since before I had my first child!  If I do feel that mid-afternoon slump coming on, I have a Spark and I'm good to go!!

I am really excited to see the results of my next AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge with the addition of Catalyst!

As with all AdvoCare products, feel free to order right from our AdvoCare website!  Leave a comment if you order or have any questions!

Results of My First 24 Day Challenge

I love seeing people's before and after pictures for really, anything!  A make over, having a baby, and of course, weight loss pictures!  I did take before and after pictures of my first 24 Day Challenge, but I haven't shown too many people.  To be honest, it's embarrassing.  The before pictures are terrible.  And, I really took the pictures just for myself, so they are in my kids' messy bathroom.  And I'm wearing my glasses in my after pictures!  And no make-up! Yuck!  But, like I said, I took them for me.  I shared them with a few people, and they were impressed.  To be honest, I'm pretty impressed, too!  Sometimes it doesn't pay to be modest.

So, I think I'm going to share my before and after pictures.

Are you ready?  Am I ready!?!?

What do you think??  I think I can't believe I just put that out there!!

Are you interested in the 24 Day Challenge?  Order it here!!

And I'll make sure I put on make-up for my next set of before and after pictures!