Advocare 24 Day Challenge - FINISHED

I can't believe it, but I am FINISHED... and with VERY little cheating. I really had NO white carbs or sugars the entire time. That's a big feat for me.

So here's the good, the bad and the ugly about this whole deal. I can't believe I am about to post these pictures, but here goes ...

Before and Afters

 I know it may look like I'm slouching on purpose in the before photos, but I am not. Same posture in both ... I lost 2.5 pounds (my boyfriend lost 12 pounds and was secretly eating bits of cookie dough each day, so screw him), but you can definitely SEE a difference in these photos. I can tell that my clothes fit much better (some are even loose) and my face has thinned out some.

Here are my stats in inches lost:
Chest - Lost 1 1/2"
Arm - Lost 1" (I only measured one)
Waist - Lost 3 1/2"
Hips - Lost 2"
Leg - Lost 1"

I mean... combined that would be 11" total! That is assuming I lost the same amount on each arm/leg. I gotta say ... it definitely works! The best news is that 3 1/2" alone were in my waist! That's pretty awesome. 

My plan is to continue to cook this way at home, run, and do CrossFit, but I will allow myself some wine when I am out and I won't be such a psycho about getting to eat out. After all, I do love me some social time! I want to lose a couple of clothing sizes. Clearly the scale isn't my friend, so I will try to stick with how clothes fit.

As a reward for the 500 hours of cooking I have done the last 3 1/2 weeks my boyfriend is taking me on a fancy date Friday night. I'm going to tell you right now ... butter, steak, bread, and dessert will all be had. Then it's back to healthy living!

Day 11 - Advocare 24 Day Challenge - WINE WAS HAD

Welcome back lover ...

Oh yes.. 2 glasses of wine were had last night and they were GLOOOORIOUS. I sipped on those suckers like it was my last ounce of water in a life boat, but they were great nonetheless. The hardest part was not ordering glass number 3.

So yesterday was also my first time to eat meals that I didn't cook since I started this challenge. I had my chocolate Meal Replacement Shake for breakfast. It really is good. I added a few ice cubes to make it really cold. I had some almonds as my morning snack.

I had a lunch meeting and we ordered Honeybaked Ham. I ordered a cobb salad with no bacon, cheese or croutons. I brought some Newman's Oil & Vinegar dressing (all the ingredients are natural and you can pronounce). It was good. I went for a run after my meeting and then had a banana.

By the time I got to the restaurant for dinner I was about to gnaw my arm off. I ordered grilled chicken with broccoli and asparagus. I was so hungry that I ate both of the 4 ounce chicken breasts they put on my plate (we will pretend that I couldn't tell it was 2 breasts, but one large porn star chicken that gave her life for my meal). I felt a little guilty about it, but let's be serious... it was grilled chicken. Life will go on. There wasn't a crumb on that plate.

I'm just gonna say it, and judge me if you like, but life is SUPER boring without wine (or your alcohol of choice). I am not one to drink even close to every day, but I do like to drink socially. I just might like to socialize more than most. Anyway, I am happy to continue these Challenge eating habits after the 24 days is up, but wine will definitely makes it's way back into my life.

Oh, and P.S. We won't even DISCUSS how my boyfriend has already lost 3 1/2 inches on his waist. I haven't measured again because I KNEW I would be disappointed. Feeling a little skinnier today though. 

Signed,
Sober and a little bored

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!