Advocare 24 Day Challenge - Day 10 is DONE

So day 10 and the cleanse are now complete!!!! It really wasn't hard, though I will say ... I'm not sure how "cleansed" I feel.  I feel good and all, but I don't know that I got the full effect. The whole thing made me wonder if I was doing it all wrong or something. I lost a total of ONE. FREAKING. POUND. So let's just say that his "max phase" better bring on the fat loss, or I am going to be one bitter beaver. Like postal rampage bitter.

The best thing about this cleanse being over is that I am letting myself have a glass of wine tonight (ok 2 glasses ... don't judge). I could not be more excited. I have missed wine soooo much. I still plan to stick to the challenge, but this will be part of my 10% that I can be "off." I mean, I haven't gone 11 days without having some form of alcohol since I was 23, so ummm... where's my parade? Fanfare? Something? Does that make me sound like an alky? Or just someone who works in the real world and needs a glass of wine and socialization to make it through life? I'll choose the latter and I'll you to stop judging me now. Thanks.

So anyway, I got a new little nifty gadget yesterday. That's what I've resorted to. Gadgets to keep this food thing interesting. Behold, the spiralizer. Zucchini never had so much fun.

I mean, if I'm going to have extra money that I'm not spending on booze, then I might as well buy SOMETHING. In all seriousness though, the zucchini noodles are super yummy with some pasta sauce. I think this thing is supposed to be REALLY easy to work, and I have a friend that swears by this EXACT one. However, I was only able to make noodles out of one side of it (there are 2 sizes). Of course I really wanted the smaller noodles (grass is always greener syndrome) that didn't work right. I'll be mentioning this to distributor. I shall report back.

Here's mah noodles ...

So pretty.

And here's mah final "pasta" dish (with the turkey meatballs & Rao's sauce we have had like 20 times ... that recipe really did make like 100 meatballs or something).

It was good and filling. Oh, and to cook the zucchini noodles I just sauteed them in a little olive oil (doesn't require much) until tender. Added a little salt and they're done!

Advocare 24 Day Challenge - Day 9!!!!!

The cleanse is almost over!!! It really has flown by. Crazy what you adapt to and becomes your normal. Now, if I can just keep this as my "normal" after 24 days, then I will be SET.

So, quick rundown of day 9: feeling great, doing better in my workouts, and getting all kinds of things done as a productive member of society.

Breakfast was 1/2 cup (cooked) whole rolled oats with a 1/4 cup of unsweetened, natural apple sauce and a tablespoon of peanut butter. Oh, and a little cinnamon. It was yummy and kept me so full that I forgot to have my mid morning snack.

Lunch was leftover quinoa turkey meatballs over spaghetti squash with Rao's marinara with basil sauce. So yummy and I was stuffed!

Afternoon snack was mixed berries with pineapple and mango and some almonds.

Dinner was quinoa chicken fried rice. So good and another filling recipe. I have made this before, but tweaked it a bit for this challenge.

Quinoa Chicken Fried Rice

1 cup quinoa, uncooked (you could easily do half this amount)
2-3 chicken breasts
4 cups+ mixed veggies (whatever your favorites are- I used a frozen stir fry mix)
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
garlic powder, to taste
2 eggs
Bragg's Liquid Aminos (or regular soy sauce)
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste

Marinate chicken in some Bragg's (or soy sauce) and garlic powder for a couple of hours. I pre-cut mine into smaller pieces to absorb flavor and cook faster. Cook in a skillet (I just sprayed with Pam) on medium-low until cooked through. Set aside.

Rinse and cook quinoa according to package. Toss with a little garlic powder once cooked.

While quinoa is cooking, heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large skillet or wok and add your frozen veggies. Cook until all is thawed out and then add minced garlic. Scoot veggies over and add 2 eggs. Scrambled in the pan and then mix in with vegetables. Add quinoa and chicken. Add Bragg's (or soy sauce) to taste, along with some salt and pepper.

Enjoy! Serves about 5-6.

Advocare 24 Day Challenge - Day 8

I have to say, day 8 has been my best and worst day all at once. It started off bad because I got on the scale and had only lost 1/2 pound since beginning this challenge. I am telling you... I have not cheated ONCE! I tried not to let it discourage me. Especially since my boyfriend lost 7 lbs doing the exact same thing as me. Men ... y'all suck.

The upside is that I feel GREAT and had energy and met some other goals yesterday! I had the best run I have had in years! I shaved 1:30 min off my pace and ran up every HUGE hill.  After my run I went to CrossFit and kicked some booty on some power cleans and then did better than I expected on the AMRAP. A day that started out pretty crappy turned out to be very positive!!!

As for food yesterday, here's the rundown:

Breakfast started with my fiber drink (those come back for days 8-10) ... and yes, I'm still a freak and like them. I switched things up and had my apple for breakfast and my scrambled egg/egg whites with spinach as my morning snack. This kept me full until after 1.

My afternoon snack was some hummus with cucumbers and grape tomatoes. Very good. Oh, and then another Spark.

Dinner was leftover quinoa turkey meatballs over spaghetti squash with Rao's Marinara on top. So yummy and filling!

I have always lost weight in the past by counting calories, so I wanted to see just how many calories a day I was eating during this cleanse. I ate like I have been for the last week, but kept track on my LoseIt app. I wanted to make sure I wasn't eating way more than my body could burn off in a day. Yesterday I only had 1072 calories, and at least 150 of that was from Advocare supplements! It made me feel better to know that it is more likely my body in shock than me taking in too many calories. Hopefully the weight loss will catch up soon!

Advocare 24 Day Challenge - Days 4 through 7

Got a little sidetracked these past few days, but many of my meals have been repeats anyway. However, there have been a few new (and delicious) ones I will post below.

So this has definitely gotten easier and easier as the week went on. Seven full days finished and I feel good! No sleepy afternoons and I am getting more done everyday. Sundays are devoted to groceries and meal planning for the week. That really makes ALL the difference. Having options and a plan can make or break this challenge.

One thing that has gotten me down, is weight loss. I have only lost 1/2 a pound in this first week of the challenge. I have not cheated AT ALL. I am hoping my body will catch up and get with the program that my mind is already on. 

Saturday was just one long day of tests. Went to the pool, where everyone was drinking beer and eating crawfish. I had my tangerine and almonds ... and water (fun times). Then, went to the movies Saturday night. I can't tell you how close I came to snatching some popcorn out of the lady's bucket in front of me in line (as I bought my over priced water). I did sneak some roasted edamame into the movies though. GREAT snack. I survived and all was good though.

So most of my breakfasts have been the regular scrambled eggs and spinach. On day 5 though I tried
whole grain oatmeal with some berries and cinnamon. NOTE: Berries are not sweet enough for that oatmeal! I ended up adding half a packet of Splenda, and it still wasn't all that good. It did fill me up though. I have since bought some organic, natural, applesauce to add for next time. We will see how that goes.