Progress of 24 Day Challenge {Day 5}

I am super excited about my progress with the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge!!! I started on Monday 10/3/16. I had been stuck at 192.2 throughout September. Between our move and the kiddos back in school my stress levels where crazy high and with PCOS that just makes matters worse. I am happy I was able to maintain and not actually gain during September.

However, I know that I needed to step things up if I wanted to keep progressing towards my goals. My next goal is to get to 180. See where I started here.

  

I weighed in on Friday 10/7. That's 4 full days of my 10 day cleanse phase of the challenge. I have already lost 3.6 lbs!!! I've never been on a cleanse that was this easy before! I actually get to eat real food and I am not in the bathroom 27/4. I work full time and it hasn't interfered with my job. I feel pretty amazing too. I will tell ya around day three I was a little irritable. I vented to a friend and got over it and by Thursday morning I was feeling great.

 

I feel better than I have in a long time. I eat 6-7 times a day. I count Weight Watcher points to stay on track with my calorie intake. I know all too well how quickly calories can get out of control! I do follow the Herbal Cleanse precisely with the exception that I have added an extra dosage of OmegaPlex daily.

I will post an update after my full 10 Days of the cleanse and then my weight and measurements after the 24 days! So stay tuned!  

Quiting Coffee...What?!?

So I haven't posted in a minute. It's crazy how life can get away from you. We are back in the swing of school and all of the activities and homework that comes along with that. My youngest is in fifth grade this year and let me tell ya'll I am not smarter than a fifth grader! It's kinda embarrassing!lol

So I love coffee. If I could have had an IV drip hooked up I would have. Ha! I was drinking about 5-8 cups a day. Yes I am aware that was quite excessive. Here's the thing, my coffee would "wake me up" for about 27 minutes at a time (being a little dramatic here) but honestly it would wear off quickly and I would need more. I literally thought I couldn't live without it. I was addicted and dependent. I was still tired and oh so cranky.

I really didn't think there was a problem. I would drink it black often so I wasn't using my Weight Watcher points on in. A little over three weeks ago I was getting nauseous throughout the day and it happened for about 3-4 days. It seemed to happen around the same time I'd have coffee. It was seriously upsetting my stomach. I had to stop drinking it.

A month ago I would have thought I'd die without my coffee. Here I am three weeks later. Alive. I feel great. I haven't quit caffeine 100% but it has been reduced soooo much. I drink a Spark in the morning and then have a cup of hot tea in the afternoon.

I feel different. I am not sure how to explain it. I am less tired and less anxious. I have an anxiety disorder so I am sure that the coffee was not helping that at all. I am happy that I quit.

I know that I could NOT have done this without my Advocare Spark!!! I have been using Spark off and on for about two years. I'd use it for workouts or a late afternoon pick me up. I started having it every morning when I gave up the coffee. Spark is a unique blend of vitamins, minerals, nutrients and the right amount of caffeine.* I love it! It helps me focus, gives me enough energy to feel sustained and I get so much done during my day compared to the pot of coffee I was drinking before. It isn't like a crazy burst of energy which is what I like. I don't want to feel crazy out of mind. I do a good job of that on my own ;) My favorite flavors are cherry, fruit punch and pink lemonade.

Find out more about Advocare on my micro site. I signed up to be a distributor after two years of using Spark, CorePlex and OmegaPlex. I immediately got a 20% discount and free products. Advocare now has a preferred customer option if you want a discount on your products. You can even get up to 30% off!!! If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me.

I am starting the Advocare 24 Day Challenge. Come back to see how that goes! Hope y'all have a great day. Don't give up on your weight loss journey!

*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Weight Loss Update Since the Move: Back on Track!

We are starting to settle into the new home. Still have a garage full of boxes but life is starting to look normal again. I was scared to weigh myself since we had been grabbing convenience food for a week or so. I did finally get on the scale because I knew if I didn’t I would continue to let it get out of hand and it would end up worse than what it could be. I dreadfully stepped on the scale and it read 195.6. Okay. Not as bad as I thought. I only gained 2.4 lbs. over three weeks or so. I was really scared that it would be more.  

I know the only way to lose weight and even maintain my weight is to make healthy choices and keep track of everything I am eating. I did not do that. I was highly stressed and didn’t manage it well. Plus I ran out of my AdvoCare vitamins! 

I was starting to feel defeated again and starting to plan my next pity party. This is when I remembered my new motto: fall down seven times, stand up eight...I am only a failure when I give up!

 

During the midst of the craziness I decided I would try the 21 day fix. I wanted to change things up a bit. I thought it would give me something to focus on. I bought containers, made a binder, started a pinterest board and looked up as much info as I could. I failed on day one. 

Although the plan seems great, there wasn’t much wiggle room. I realize it is about clean eating and portion control but there was no “cheat” meal, no day off…nothing to look forward to lol. (Of course this is just the info I found online and I did not speak with an advisor for the plan.) It set me up for failure right away. All of a sudden I felt restricted and controlled. Don't get me wrong I still think this plan is good and can work for others but for me it just didn't fit. At least not at this time in my life. I do like some of the tips and food ideas and will incorporate them.

With that said, this is why I love Weight Watchers. Freedom. I get to choose. I track what I eat and stay within my daily points. I do plan out my days and I do the prep work. I love fruits and veggies so I always get 5+ servings in a day. If I get in a pinch for time, Weight Watchers is much more forgiving. I am back to following Weight Watchers since 9/4/16. It works. It’s all about portion control. I weighed in on 9/9/16 kinda nervous since it had been online 5 days but I was at 192.2!!!

I just know that this is where I need to be at this point in my journey and am excited to be back at it. I was feeling really blah! Next stop 190!!! See y'all there!

So I am moving. I am so excited! We are moving into my kiddos school district. It will make my life so much easier...I am sure of it! But with moving comes sooo much to do! I got sidetracked for about a week and a half. The last few days I have been back on track and playing around with some changes.

I will be offline for a little bit while we get settled. We will move to the new house this weekend. I figure a week or so I will get another post up. Thanks for reading and I'll talk to you then!

Weightloss Journey Update: Ups and Downs

The journey is hard right now. Ups and downs are expected. The downs suck. I have been completely sidetracked. I am exhausted mentally and physically. I am trying to juggle so many things. I started relying on food again. I am starting to recognize the emotional eating cycles.

I haven't worked out in a week and a half. I haven't actually cared. That's a bad place to be. I hate it. I skipped my weigh in last Friday because I didn't want to know. I'm going to guess a weight gain. My sacroiliac joint is acting up and has been creating pain and issues with walking at times.

My family and I took a three day weekend and went to the beach. It was nice to get away and have fun. We were headed down to Texas anyways to take my step-son home. Spent time with family while we were there too. While I was there I picked up an audio CD at a rummage sale. It is called Body for Life by Bill Phillips. It helped me refocus on my goals. It is getting me out of my slump.

I know I can be hard on myself. I think we are always harder on ourselves. What would I say to a friend? It wouldn't be things like: you suck, you're a loser, you should be ashamed, etc. Why do I tell myself these things? I would tell my friend it's okay, your mistakes don't define you, you can do this! These are things I should be telling myself. This goes back to affirmations.

I will make better plans. I will make healthier choices. I will get through this rough patch. I will weigh in this week, no matter what! I am already back on track today.

Sometimes I find that if I am going hardcore, a break is nice. It can jump start me back in to the game. The problem is when the break is too long and your old lifestyle drags you back. Not going to let that happen. I need to extend myself some grace. A week off isn't going to kill me. It's over. I can't change it now. I can only move forward and try to stay positive.

Life is a Balancing Act! Stress and Weight Loss

So this summer has been hectic to say the least! We had a graduation, a wedding, drove to Texas and back three times in June. My Grandma and Aunt from Washington came to visit. My son turned 13. Now, I can't believe my kiddos go back to school in a week! Time has literally flown by! Working on getting the kiddos to bed at a decent time is not going to be easy. They are already fighting me on it!

Last weekend my hubby's car left us stranded out of town. We then spent a few days looking for the right one to purchase for him. We were blessed with the great deal we found. On top of that we want to move closer to the kiddos' school. They actually go to school 19 miles south of where we live currently. Then I drive north for work. We may have found a rental and should know by tomorrow afternoon. We've been trying to move out that way for a few years but nothing stays on the market long. Although we know that everything will work out, it is stressful.


I have a recall on my van so I have to take it to the shop tomorrow to get it fixed. I get to take a shuttle to work...super fun. Then we have open house for school on Tuesday. Taking a long weekend before school starts to go to the beach and my daughter is having issues with her feet.

Typically when life gets out of hand I get distracted. I refuse to get distracted no matter how crazy life gets! This time I've just kept swimming...metaphorically that is. Ha! Plus I keep doing my affirmations. They really do help!

I'm continually tracking my weight watchers points in my food journal, exercising, drinking my water and getting my 8 hours of sleep in when possible.  I follow the basics of weight loss. You can't go wrong by following these steps!

I had my weigh in two days ago. I am down 1.2 lbs.! Yay! The week before the scale didn't budge at all. Of course Aunt Flo was visiting for the second time in July. Thanks PCOS.
 
I am focusing on 1 lb. at a time. Exercising and eating healthy actually helps me through the stressful times. I did have my cheat meal today. I ate too much chicken alfredo and I had a glass of wine. It's okay though because next time I intend to only have the serving size on my cheat meal. Plus I went for a 45 minute walk after dinner and am currently at 12,246 steps. Now time for sleep...

Meal Planning: Do I really have to do that?

In my opinion, the most important part of weight loss is meal planning. This isn't just, "what are you going to cook for your family for dinner?" This is what are you going to eat everyday, all day, day in and day out. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinks...

It is time consuming while you are getting the hang of it and at times I don't want to do it. This is so important to my success though and to yours too. I can get bored with food pretty easily so I really don't eat the same thing for more that 3 days in a row or through out the week.

My family...okay my children...are pretty picky when comes to dinner. I am always trying to please everyone and make it healthy. Well, healthy-ish that is. This is where portion control and willpower come in. Sometimes they go M.I.A. Ugh.

Grocery shop once a week. Typically produce lasts this long before spoiling and I find that I save the most money doing it this way. I've tried to shop for two weeks at a time and plan to go back for produce and bread in between those visits...and I always spend more money than needed. Going to the store less than once a week...ain't nobody got time for that!

Once you get in the habit of meal planning it becomes easier. Plus the simpler you make your food, the simpler the planning is. I am not a chef and do not claim to be. I do have a Pinterest board named  YUM!!! with a ton of recipes if you need ideas. (I can't promise they are all super health though!) My sisters and I also pin things we have made to my board Tested and Approved!!! I try to keep recipes to 5 ingredients or less. I also rotate meals. We have our staples that I make often like tacos, meat loaf, chicken, jambalaya and spaghetti to name a few. I use ground turkey majority of the time for it's cost effectiveness and less calories/fat.


I typically eat 5-6 times a day. I always have a drawer full of snacks at work. I also bring lots of produce. I was blessed with a love for almost all fruits and veggies. My go to items are carrots, bell peppers, broccoli, celery, grapefruit, watermelon, bananas, apples and berries. I will have pretzels with either peanut butter or cheese. Luckily no one at work eats other people's food so I can bring in a few days worth of produce and safely store it in a crisper drawer. I also keep oatmeal packets, almonds and prunes on hand. This prevents me from wondering over to the vending machine on breaks and I am able to stay on track.   

Each week I make a grocery list. I always double check my cabinets/fridge to take a quick inventory of what I already have and what we are almost out of. Then I will plan a meal for each night. I will shop for my produced based on what is in season...you can usually tell based on the price. I do 90% of my grocery shopping at Aldi. I do not go out to eat for lunches but maybe a few times a year. I am pretty frugal and I refuse to spend money when it's not necessary. We may grab fast food once a month or so, go out to eat for a special occasion, or if we are out of town. Even when we go out of town I pack healthy snacks. Otherwise, I prepare all of our meals at home. It's the only way to control what I am eating and it's cost effective as well.