24 Day Challenge DONE!

I did it! I completed my AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge!! Final numbers... -14 inches and -14.5 lbs! I'm very pleased with my results and LOVE this program! This was just a kick-off to my "get healthy" plan, still more to lose, but off to a great start! Thank you to my AdvoCare coach for being so supportive and helping me during this challenge.  I had my moments of weakness, but I still managed to exceed my expectations.  This is just the beginning for me.  Now I'm incorporating exercise into my life.  I didn't exercise during my challenge because I wanted to focus on my eating 100%.  We've started walking together as a family in the evening.  It's a start for me and it's so wonderful to get out and walk around the neighborhood with the kids.  They love it and we're all getting some exercise and fresh air.  This program has been a real blessing for me and it's allowing me to lose weight on MY terms at MY pace.  I'm in control of my results.  I don't have anything coming up that I have to lose weight for (i.e. wedding, vacation, etc).  I can lose weight the right way and drastically increase my chances of keeping it off.  I'm not setting myself up for failure as I have in the past.  With no end date in sight, I can focus on each day instead of a deadline looming over me.  Takes a lot of stress off of me.  I'll continue to update this blog as I go and again, I hope I can inspire anyone else who has some of these same struggles. 

Sh!t or get off the pot!

So it happened, I started struggling with the healthy eating side of this.  The struggle didn’t happen as soon as it usually does, but it did happen.  That is usually the point in which I give up and go back to how I ate before.  I’d love to tell you I didn’t stray, but I can’t do that.  I indulged in some yummy cheese pizza I made for the kids, as well as some of my husband’s birthday cake.  I felt bad, but then decided I didn’t feel bad at all.  It felt really good to eat that pizza and cake!  So here I was, faced with the decision… (as my mom used to say) “Sh!t, or get off the pot!”.  In my head, I was thinking “for the love of all that is holy, can I not even do 24 days?!  I mean I don’t HAVE to do anything I don’t WANT to do, right?  Nobody can tell me what I can and cannot eat”.  True, but I really took time to think about it before making my typical decision.  I needed to remember how sluggish and miserable I felt the majority of the time when I was eating whatever I wanted.  I strayed…I admitted it and my coach understood and let me have that slip up.  I know that the few slips I’ve had will have an impact on my final 24 Day Challenge results, but you know what, I’m ok with that.  I’m still down 12 lbs and have reverted back to my healthy eating plan.  I haven’t given up after my slip up.  I’m human!  If this is a true life style change for me, then I have to learn to live with life’s slip ups.  I have to find a healthy balance and a balance that will work for me long term.  That’s what the weeks/months following my challenge will involve… learning what works and doesn’t work for me to get to my goal of being healthy.  I’m not perfect, I will occasionally have my cake and eat it too!  It just won’t be a huge piece J

Wait...what does that scale say?! YES!!!

1 week into my AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge and as of this morning I have lost 10 pounds!! I admit I was groggy this morning when I got on the scale, so I had to do a "step off and repeat" move to be sure my eyes were functioning right. I'm aware this is my first week and that the first week generally produces more weight loss, but my joy comes from knowing I have completed the first week with success!! So how was my first week? Day 2 was probably the toughest. I was hungry and had a headache most of the day. My AdvoCare coach (who happens to be a good friend) was right there to help me figure out why. Turns out I wasn't getting enough water. That's an easy thing to fix, so I made a concious effort to increase my water consumption and the rest of the week was much easier! I have to say, having someone I know be my coach has been a really nice perk to this program. She knows me personally and knows how I've struggled with my weight and health. Having someone like that to coach me is priceless! I made a point to plan my meals/snacks so that all day long I knew what I was going to eat that day. This helped me not only stay on track, but it helped me to not even think about cravings. I knew exactly what was ahead for the day, so I never had to think "hmmm...what sounds good to eat". What's even more strange for me is that I haven't had any cravings. That's something that hasn't happened before. This fresh/healthy food actually tastes good! I've been having fun experimenting with different ways of cooking. There were some failures in the experimenting, but hey - you have to learn somehow, right? The pounds lost have really motivated me, but knowing I'm doing it in a healthy way is the most rewarding part. I told my husband a few days ago that I just feel cleaner. There's no other way for me to explain it. Eating all that greasy and processed food just had me feeling like a slug. My body is getting rid of those toxins and now I can start absorbing the nutrients that I'm eating and benefiting from those nutrients. Some of those benefits are more energy and a better mood. An even bigger benefit is having my oldest daughter ask me if she can have an apple and peanut butter for a snack too. We lead by example and at this age, my kids are sponges. I'm so proud of myself for sticking with this. I've tried many weight loss programs before, but usually stopped 3 days in - or might have made it to a full week. This is because my focus was on losing weight. This time, my focus is on my health. That simple change in my mentality has done WONDERS for me. I know to get to a healthy weight will take time, and I'm committed to putting in the work!

"Whatcha gonna do with all that junk...?"

You name it, I've tried it.  My focus has always been to lose weight and be skinny - no matter what the consequences/side effects/damage it caused - I HAD TO BE SKINNY.  People have to be skinny to be accepted, right? At least that's what we're made to think.  I was always a chubby kid which lead to being and overweight adult.  Sure, I had a couple of times in my young adult life that I got a taste of the thin life.  The ways I got there were not healthy and were very short lived. 

This struggle goes deeper than dieting.  I have to make efforts to change the way I think.  The first new thought/motto...?  "Healthy, not skinny".  I have 2 daughters (ages 8 & 5) who deserve to have a healthy role model.  I lost my mom to a heart attack when she was 42.  I don't even want to think about leaving my girls without their mom.  Motivation?  Yes, I have it.  Will power?  That's another story.  I do feel that my motivation will fuel my will power. 

Bottom line, I've spent the last 2 years eating whatever I want whenever I want.  If I didn't feel like doing something, I didn't.  Yes, I'm a bit stubborn.  What did this mentality get me?  80 lbs of extra weight, low mood, sore joints, and absolutely NO energy.  "Mom, can you play with us?", "maybe in a little bit" which I knew really meant "I'm going to say in a little bit hoping that you'll forget and I won't have to get up".  This makes me tear up thinking about it.  I of all people should realize how precious time spent with my children should be.  I only had 18 years with my mom.  They are only kids once and time goes way too fast to tell them "in a bit". 

I know what I should eat to have a healthy body.  I know a simple walk can do wonders for my body and mood.  I would start to make these changes and if I was lucky, it would last a week then back to what's easy. 

What's different this time?  I'm using tools that are available to me to keep it going.  A dear friend tried for months...years to help me and I fought her off like the plague.  I wasn't there yet.  I had to hit the bottom and thankfully I did before something serious like a heart attack or stroke forced me too.  I hit the bottom and reached out to her.  I was ready to listen.  She took time to explain this line of products and coaching by AdvoCare.  Oh sure, another "magic pill" that leaves me jittery and irritable on top of having to starve myself...YAY!  Umm...ok, I was wrong (hard for a stubborn person to admit).  After taking the time to educate myself on the products, I'm starting my 24-day Challenge.  Challenge?  Yes, but for me the challenge will be defeating my worst adversary...myself.  I have the most supportive husband, but boy I can be my own worst enemy. 

This is day 1 of my journey and I'm choosing to share it.  Not because I need accountability, but because if my words and jouney can be even the slightest help to someone else, it will be a true blessing.  This will be an honest narration of the struggles, joys, and lessons I encounter.  I hope you get as much from this as I do.