I am currently on day 6 of the Advocare 24-Day Challenge. And I know I promised recaps. So, here we go.

The first 10 days is a cleanse which is broken down into three phases.
Phase 1 – Day 1-3
Phase 2 – Day 4-7
Phase 3 – Day 8-10

Phase 1 – The basic outline looks like this:

Wake up – Take 3 Catalyst
Breakfast – Fiber Drink
Snack
3 Catalyst 30 minutes before lunch
Lunch
Spark with snack
Dinner with 4 OmegaPlex
Herbal Cleanese Packet

Catalyst is basically Amino Acids which feed and preserve muscle and starve fat.

OmegaPlex are your Omega 3 vitamins or essential fatty acids.

The Fiber Drink is a funny joke created by Advocare to make you want to die. Maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but it’s a gritty, fiber drink with a sandpaper taste, it get stuck in your teeth, if you let it sit too long it makes a gel or paste. In other words, torture that I paid for! The first day, I mixed the packet with water and was only able to get a few gulps down. There was gagging. It was gross. Day two, I mixed with Crystal Light Fruit Punch and it went right down the hatch. Day three, I was out of Fruit Punch so I substituted Pink Lemonade – very poor planning. The outcome was a repeat of day one.

That being said, I understand why people do cleanses. I saw things that I have never seen before. Or maybe things I had seen before that were being scrubbed from my system. It was pretty awesome, to be perfectly, disgustingly, honest. I never had any cramping. I never had to RUN to the bathroom. But when I went, I went.

The diet portion of the challenge is pretty straight-forward. 5-6 meals a day. Clean carbs (no more than 30 grams), clean protein, healthy fats, and lots of fruits and veggies. 3-4 ounces of protein at lunch and dinner. And water. Lots of water. Oh, and Spark! I forgot about Spark. I love SPARK! It’s an energy drink, mix the powder with water and enjoy. It even tastes great!

Now, because I do not like healthy food, it’s been alot of the same. My morning snack is 3 hard boiled eggs and a fruit – apples and bananas are the only fruits I eat. My afternoon snack was a can of tuna and 24 almonds. I really didn’t want breakfast because of the Fiber Drink so I could hold off until my egg/fruit snack.

Lunches were interesting. I think I did a turkey wrap each day (the wrap only had 11 carbs). I tried a salad with it the first day and was really full. So I ended up just eating the wrap day 2 and 3.

Dinner was chicken or lean steak with aparagus or broccoli.

I did have an evening snack of a Cliff bar. By the time, I went to be I was starving! And I can’t sleep when I’m hungry, so I had to snack. Now, I probably should have had something more fruity or vegetably but I didn’t.

Items not on the list that I consumed – I did have a diet coke each day. I do have an interesting theory (besides addiction) that I’ll share later. Cliff bar, whatever. Power bar – typically consumed between Fiber Drink and snack.

Honestly – I’m damn proud. No cookies. No cheese. No crackers. No “real” snacks.

How did I feel?
Day 1 – I felt silly. More than normal. I was having trouble focusing. I watched the clock like a hawk for eating times. I was pretty nauseous in the morning after the catalyst but realized that I need to take them with more water.
Day 2 – I felt great! The “cleanse” portion kicked in and I’m pretty sure I was floating away.
Day 3 – I still felt great but it was a bit off because it was Saturday. I was really grumpy on Saturday for other reasons but that’s for another time.

Exercise –
I tried to do a long workout on Friday after work. I had 10 miles on my training schedule. Not smart unless you typically run those miles in an hour. I started off in a jog, then ended up walking the majority of 8.5 miles. I was starving and tired. My body was very confused. The sugar it usually has was not there and there wasn’t much there to replace it. I typically walk a 14-15 minute pace. My last mile hovered around 18 minutes. Needlesstosay, I will not be doing another long run until Sunday or Monday when I’m off the cleanse portion of this adventure.

Phase 2 has been so interesting to me. Can’t wait to start that recap! I’m definitely listening to my body and learning lots!

Until then……..

**Disclaimer** I am not affliated with Advocare except as consumer. I was not asked or paid for my review of their product. These are my personal experiences witht the product. I am not a doctor or health care professional – just a simple overweight girl looking for a jump start.