Tag Archives: advocare cleanse

advocare cleanse recap

Posted in advocare, clean eating, weight loss, working out by

sooooo.. the cleanse is officially over! now it’s time for the max phase of the challenge! i can’t tell you enough how excited i am to complete this challenge.  most ‘challenges’ i have tried in the past usually wind up with me getting bored before i actually finish.  that’s what makes this challenge so different.  24 days will pass you by before you even know it!

grab some snacks, this could get long.

so, what’s the cleanse been like? i never really felt like i was actually doing a ‘cleanse’ because i was still eating great food and enjoying normal activities.  the company suggests you cut out processed food, white flour, sugar, high-cal dressings, soda, and alcohol, replacing them with lean proteins, veggies, and complex carbs (beans, oatmeal, quinoa, whole grains). drinking plenty of water (they suggested half your body weight in ounces). and, they also suggest exercising regularly, which i ended up doing 1.5 – 2 hrs of lifting + cardio every morning.  i cut out the cardio after work, because i quickly felt burnt out, and i wanted to complete this challenge strong.

advocare(two 24 day challenge, only one is mine)

here’s a rundown of what my days looked like on average:

day 1-3:

  • 4:14 a.m. – roll out of bed, moaning and groaning
  • 4:30 a.m. – spark + catalyst pre-workout
  • 6:30 a.m. – fiber drink + protein shake post-workout
  • 10:00 a.m. – snack (almonds + hardboiled egg OR rice cake + almond butter)
  • 1:00 p.m. – catalyst
  • 1:30 p.m. – lunch (leftovers from night before, usually chicken/fish + veggies + quinoa/brown rice)
  • ~3:30 p.m. – snack (almonds + hardboiled egg OR rice cake + avocado)
  • 7:00 p.m. – omegaplex + dinner (chicken/fish/bison + veggie and sometimes complex carbs if feeling completely depleted, which only happened one day.)
  • 9:30 p.m. – herbal cleanse caplets + catalyst + protein shake
  • 10:00 p.m. – in bed

day 4-7:

day 8-10:

  • same as day 1-3, except take both probiotic restore and fiber drink, leave out herbal cleanse caplets at night.

it seemed a little intimidating, at first, and i carried my calendar around with what-to-take-and-when, but after the second day, i got the hang of it.  i would double check just to make sure i was taking the right thing in the morning and at night, since those are the only things that change through the cleanse.

i, also, never felt any harsh ‘cleanse’ effects happening during the 10 days either.  yes, it did make me regular, but i never felt like i was running to the bathroom, unless you count the bathroom breaks from drinking so much water.

the ONLY part of the cleanse i didn’t particularly enjoy was the fiber drink. i read plenty of reviews, beforehand, so i knew that it was just something i needed to mix, chug, and get it over with.  it wasn’t the taste that was bad, either.  it had a very gritty thick texture that wasn’t very appealing.  i was happy it wasn’t on days 4 through 7, and i’m very happy it’s over with for good, now. as much as i didn’t enjoy the fiber drink, it wouldn’t be enough to make me not want to try this cleanse again down the road.  advocare actually suggests doing this every 3 months.

so, how did i feel during the cleanse? i felt awesome.  i cannot stress that enough.  i want to be clear that i wasn’t eating terrible before i started this thing.  no, i wasn’t working out, but i kept most of my meals clean, especially during the week.  my downfall was late night ice cream, weekend eating out, and watching my portions.  just because the meal is ‘clean’ doesn’t mean you can have 2 large servings.  i was constantly tired. i felt groggy all the time. even if i wanted to workout, i felt so tired all the time i couldn’t seem to drag myself to the gym.

soooo, how were my results??? YOU GUYS, when i saw the numbers i was SHOCKED!  i know i feel 10x better, but the numbers are making me glow with confidence!  i knew my weight was consistently going down, because of that problem i have (which i’m working on). but, when i took my measurements and started comparing them with 10 days before, I WAS ESTATIC! so, here they are:

weightincheslostTHAT’S TWELVE AND A HALF INCHES, IN TEN DAYS. 

so, am i happy with the results so far?  ummm, do ya think???!?!  i’m really excited to finish this challenge strong.  these results are proof of my hard work and dedication and i can’t wait to see what kind of results i can pull off after 14 more days!!

*i am not an Advocare distributor, but my fiancé is.  all of my opinions on Advocare would be the same regardless of this.*

day nine.

Posted in life, weight loss by

hey there! happy tuesday!  i’m currently on day 9 of the Advocare 24 Day Challenge!  i haven’t taken any official measurements, but so far i’ve lost 7 lbs.  what i love is that i already feel a lot lighter, not just like i lost some water weight.

i’ve kept my meals pretty simple, since i’m trying to cut out everything processed for the challenge.  i wanted this to be a complete overhaul on my body and mind, and i feel like i’m really getting to where i want to be with these products.  i’ll post a complete write-up of the cleanse phase once i’m done. tomorrow is the last day!

i’ve read some different stories about what to eat while completing the burn phase. some look like they incorporate some carb-cycling, while others look like the cleanse phase [protein + veggies + complex carbs].  i may try the carb-cycling approach because i’ve wanted to try it and its only 14 days, i think i can manage 🙂

three new things i’m excited about:

1. trying out this sleep works by Advocare.  it should be coming in tomorrow!  the reason i’m excited is because recently, i’ll lay in bed and my thoughts wont shut off; i also don’t sleep well once i get to sleep because i’m worried i’m either going to sleep through my alarm clock or i have terrible dreams that keep me awake.

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Capture52(source.)

2. this cookies & cream protein by Beverly International.  i’m all out of my chocolate protein, and i’ve never ventured out on flavors, so this will be a new protein experience for me all around.  plus, it’s a casein/whey mixture, and i’ve never tried casein protein, so i’m excited.  (who am i? getting excited over protein purchases?)

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3. this headband from LP3.  i found them fumbling around on instagram one day and fell in love with the headbands! i got the granite rose, but i cant wait to stock up on the rest of the colors! there’s so many to choose from!Capture2

that’s it for today!  i’m excited to share my final results of the cleanse phase on thursday or friday!  i’ll leave you with a picture of my sweet boy 🙂

SCOUtt

Q: any new purchases for you recently that you’re excited to try out for the first time?

motivation monday

Posted in motivation monday by

hey guys!  just checking in to let you know i’m still going strong! i’m on day 8 of the cleanse; only 2 cleanse days left, then it’s time for the BURN PHASE!

i had a great weekend [eats + workouts] but i’ll get into that tomorrow.  today, i just want to leave you with a little motivation.

a85a8c1f396857592853593d40eff709

it’s true.  i NEVER regret a workout, but, if i oversleep/skip an afternoon workout, i’m so mad at myself. plus, i feel SO MUCH BETTER when i workout in the morning vs. sleep a few hours more.  it doesn’t make sense, but that’s what happens!

hope y’all had a great weekend!

Q: are you a morning or afternoon workout type of person?  me, i’m morning all the way.  my job mentally drains me, so that last thing i want to do when i get off work, is workout.  plus, if i workout in the morning, it leaves SO much more time in the afternoon to do stuff.. like snuggle this guy:

scout

 

 

day one

Posted in advocare, clean eating, working out by

hi! so yesterday was the first day of my 24 day challenge.  i’ve been following quite a few fitness people on instagram, lately, one of them being Jess, from TrulyJess.com.  this girl is a total inspiration and i’ve been following her for a good two years now.  she’s someone very relatable, because she does struggle, and she’s not afraid of hiding it.  if she falls off the wagon, she gets right back up and pushes herself that much more.  from there i found Keri and talked to her about my situation.  she was more than supportive and told me about Advocare, which are the same supplements i had recently heard Jess talk about.

i ended up ordering the 24 day challenge for many reasons:

  1. i have nowhere to go but down on the scale.  i will not gain one more pound if it’s the last thing i do.
  2. i felt like i needed something to kick-start my transformation.  i’ve been sluggish, moody, and tired for a while now and i know its because i’m putting junk in my body.
  3. 24 days didn’t seem like a long time.  most challenges are 90 days, maybe 60.. but 24 days seems really attainable.  if what i’m doing at the end of the 24 days isn’t working like i think it should, i’ll reevaluate and go from there.

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this challenge is broken down into two phases, a cleanse phase and a burn phase.  the cleanse phase is 10 days, but you’re still able to eat real food, which i like.  a lot of times, i fail miserably on cleanses because my body feels so deprived, i give up.  the cleanse comes with a morning fiber drink, spark (a coffee replacement), before dinner, and before bed supplements.  the plan suggests you eat 3 clean, balance meals (protein, veggie, complex carb) with 3 snacks in between (more on my eats in a second).  the burn phase is an additional 14 days.  this comes with a meal replacement shake (recommended for mornings), supplements called Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS®) geared toward your goals (mine have serious appetite control), and some more spark.  again, same with the clean eating in the cleanse phase.

advocare

(two 24 day challenges. only one for me.)

i wont go into the daily breakdown now, instead i’ll sum those up in posts when i finish them.  the program also suggests working out to maximize results.  Keri gave me some insight on what she did during her challenge (which she had AMAZING results, btw), so i have mirrored my training after hers, with some of my own tweaks here and there.  she was in the gym for 3 hrs/day.. um yeah. that sounds crazy, right?

well, i guess i’m crazy, too, because i worked out for a total of 2 hrs and 25 mins yesterday; broken into two workouts.  i headed to the gym bright and early yesterday at 5:00 am.  i did an hour of lifting, which included arms + abs, then finished with cardio.  i tried hopping in on a spin class, but my tailbone hasn’t been right since i had surgery last year, so i dropped out during minute 16.  then did a mix of the arc trainer + treadmill with mini-HIIT workouts.  i felt like i got a lot out of the workout and my Puma HRM said i burned 1,062 calories. holla!

i got showered and ready at the gym, headed to work, and made sure to keep on track with my meals.  here is what my day of eats looked like:

4:30 a.m. – catalyst + spark pre-workout

7:00 a.m. – fiber drink + protein shake (BSN – SYNTHA 6 Vanilla) post-workout

9:30 a.m. – 1/3 cup of raw almonds

12:00 p.m. – catalyst

12:30 p.m. – 2 grilled chicken tenders + cucumbers & tomatoes (definitely nothing too exciting here.  i had some cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden that needed to be used up, so i just chopped those up for lunch.)

chickenveggies

3:00 p.m. – edamame ( i picked up from Costco)

edamame

insert Just Dance – Just Sweat workout here.  another 335 calories burned.

7:00 p.m. – omegaplex + bison stuff peppers & roasted okra tossed in some nutritional yeast.

9:00 p.m. – herbal cleanse tablets + protein shake which consisted of GNC Pro Performance chocolate protein, 1/2 a banana, almond milk, and ice cubes.  i actually really enjoy this protein.  its low in carbs and doesn’t hurt my stomach.  it was nice to end the day with something sweet since i was on an ice cream kick there for awhile.. i’m looking at you sea salt caramel Gelato Haagen-Dazs.  have y’all tried that stuff? if you haven’t, don’t… you wont know what you’re missing 🙂

daily water intake: i lost track, but i’d say somewhere in between 180-200 oz.

thoughts on the products? so far, so good!  i don’t have any complaints.  the spark really helped give me something extra at the gym.  my 4:00 a.m. wake-up came early, but i didn’t really feel tired.  the cleanse portion wasn’t harsh either.  i had heard stories that the fiber was kinda rough, so i just chugged that down.  it definitely wasn’t pleasant.  my stomach got a little ‘girgle-y’ a little before lunch time, but that was the only effects i really saw of the cleanse.

thoughts on my day? all-in-all, i felt like i had a really good day.  i felt like i was dragging at work from 4-5, but i’m going to say it’s because i had already been up so long; i may take some spark tomorrow if i feel like that again..  lunch was lacking in the flavor department, so i know if i’m going to stick to this i’m going to have to get creative.  i’m adding a hard boiled egg to my almond snack for a little extra staying power, because i was pretty hungry going into lunch.  dinner was amazing, i added some salt-free seasoning to the bison + green chiles + organic diced tomatoes and then stuffed some peppers.  it had a lot of flavor going for it.  my favorite part of the day was having something sweet to end with.  i have a feeling those chocolate protein shakes will become a staple.

myfitnesspal daily summary:

myfitnesspal

that’s it for day one of my challenge! i’ll be back either tonight or tomorrow with a recap of day two! thanks for stopping by! and if i kept you this long, thanks for reading!  not all posts will be this wordy.. promise!

Q: what’s your after dinner eating habits?  is your night now complete without a sweet treat?  do you brush your teeth right after dinner to curb snacking?  i’m def a sweet-after-dinner kinda girl.  like i said, the ice cream got a little out of hand there for awhile.