Advocare – Phase 3

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This is it! The final three days of the cleanse. I definitely feel good! Much less bloaty and weighed down. I’ve had so much going on the last three days, it’s been very eye opening.

First, I’ve realized how much I “need” food when I’m stressed.

Day 8 – I had a conference call regarding an event I want nothing to do with and also a lunch meeting. The lunch meeting was good but when you’re thinking about the 100 things you need to do at the office, it’s not so fun.

Day 9 – Hello stress – I am one woman trying to do the work of 5, finalizing all of the details for the Girls on the Run Practice 5K and attending the visitation for my friends mother. I broke down – I had Penn Station for lunch. Did it make me less stressed? Nope. But it was delicious.

Day 10 – GOTR Practice 5K, sell of my sofa to random stranger through Craigslist and packing, packing, and packing. Guess which awesome coach picked up cookies, bagels and muffins for the girls once they finished their 5K? Guess which awesome coach had to take all the left overs home? Guess which awesome coach has an undying love for peanut butter cookies? It’s safe to assume there are no peanut butter cookies in my house.

Lessons learned:
1. Plan ahead – On Day 9 if I would have had lunch planned, I probably would have eaten that rather than go out.
2. Don’t bring it in the house! If it’s here, I will eat it.
3. Remind myself, I’m not super woman. I can’t do it all. Everything will not be perfect all the time. It’s ok to be imperfect.
4. Exercise. I have not done a lick of exercise in 6 days! Not good. Especially when I have a half-marathon in two weeks.

The results:
Total pounds lost – 3
Total inches lost – 11.5 (Measured right arm, shoulders, chest, waist, hips, right thigh and right calf)

4 inches off my waist, 2 off my hips.

My goal is 10 pounds, 12 total inches in during the 24-day challenge. I’m well on my way!

Day 11-24 is the Max Phase which I will finish on Saturday May 5th, the same day as the  mini. I’ll do a final post with results after May 6th. So far, I’m loving the Advocare product!

 

Today Is My 34th Birthday

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Today is my 34th birthday.

If I would have asked my 18 year old self to predict where I’d be at 34, my current state would not be my answer.As of this Sunday, I will have a clean slate. Meaning, I will have sold, donated, disposed of all of the possessions that I thought I had to have to “be” someone. And I’m moving home with my mom. I love my mom for taking me in. And in all honesty, I don’t technically need to live with her. I’m choosing to and she’s wonderful enough to allow me to move it to get back on track. What once took a large truck and three men to move me, has been whittled down to a 10 ft. u-haul and my uncle and brother.

Today is my 34th birthday.
I am starting completely over.

I have accepted the fact that I may never be a wife, but I’ll never give up on finding true love.
I have accepted the fact that I may never be a mother, but I’ll always be an amazing aunt, babysitter, mentor.
I have accepted the fact that I may never “run” a half marathon, but I’ll walk one every year, maybe twice a year.
I have accepted the fact that I may never be super-duper skinny, but I will be healthy.
I have accepted the fact that there may be a much greater purpose for me, and I am so excited to see what that is.

I’m doing what I love – writing (even if it’s only this lonely blog).
I’m working with children through Girls on the Run.
I’m becoming financially stable for the first time in my life.
I’m becoming emotionally stable for the first time in my life. (No, I’m not crazy!)
I’m committed to becoming healthy for  the first time in my life.

I will believe in me for the first time, maybe ever.
I will listen to that little voice inside my head when I’m in a bad relationship.
I will not let a man dictate my future again.
I will peacefully remove those from my life who do not support me and lift me up.
I will travel more and visit those that I love.
I will make sure those that I love know it everyday.
I will forgive those who have hurt me.
I will leave my past in the past, no more haunting.
I will continue to be a great friend, sister, daughter, aunt, co-worker, volunteer, and any other role I’m forgetting.
I will focus more on living each day to its fullest rather than worrying about the details.
I will forgive myself for my past mistakes.
I will make the most of my clean slate!

Today is my 34th birthday.
And it is going to be an amazing year!

Cheer!

 

Advocare – Phase 2

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Day 4-7 of the Advocare 24-day challenge is considered Phase 2 of the Cleanse.

Phase 2 of the Cleanse does not include the Fiber Drink! HOORAY!!

It’s pretty similar to Phase 1:

Wake up – Take 3 Catalyst, Probiotic Restore Packet
Breakfast
Snack
3 Catalyst 30 minutes before lunch
Lunch
Spark with snack
Dinner with 4 OmegaPlex
Herbal Cleanse Packet

I followed the same food plan as Phase 1. I don’t branch out all that often with food, some might say I’m picky. I don’t get it.

I was able to eat out. I went to Applebee’s with my mom. I ordered a sirloin steak, rice and broccoli. I split the sirloin and only had half at the restaurant. The other half was for dinner the next time. It was actually pretty simple to find something on the menu that fit with the meal plan. I also had a work lunch with lasagna, fried chicken, mashed potatoes. I filled 1/2 my plate with salad. Then I chose the chicken and removed the skin. I might have also added a dab on mashed potatoes. But no cookie or brownie.

I’m kicking the Diet Coke. I no longer have any in the house. If I want one, I have to go and get it. I’ve learned that I wasn’t as addicted as I thought. I was more paranoid of the migraine that I always tend to get when I don’t have any caffeine. Well, so far no migraine. I believe I’ve gone 48 hours without a Diet Coke. For me, that is totally impressive. I’m going to continue to work them out. Hopefully in the next month or so, they will be a treat not a need.

I had a few missteps this phase. A dear friend of mine lost her mother unexpectedly and it hit me pretty hard. I had known her mom because she was my roommate and pledge sister in college. I saw her at wedding and baby showers. It wasn’t like she was a huge part of my life. I guess I just feel we’re too young to be losing parents. Anyway, I had cookies. I can’t say that I felt better but I had cookies.

Overall, pretty uneventful! I’ll share the results in Phase 3….stay tuned….

 

Advocare – Phase 1

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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.

Ch….Ch….Changes

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Things they are a’changing in Pamland! And for the better!

While I’m doing things like packing, selling furniture, training for a half marathon, coaching Girls on the Run, oh and working, I decided to add one more thing to the list – Advocare. More specifically, the Advocare 24-day challenge.

This challenge consists of a 10-day cleanse and then 14 days of fueling my body properly for energy and weight management. For those of you who know me well, you know that food is my friend – especially crappy food and chocolate and cheese and wine and…you get the idea. And I don’t like fruits and vegetables. So doing a cleanse that required me to eat mainly fruits and vegetables for 10 days is kind of comical.

My cousin Keri and Aunt Cheri started using the product and I was a SKEPTIC. I had no interest in this program. I questioned my Aunt one night and knew that it wasn’t for me.

About 3 months later, my friend Niki comes in from Alabama and tells me all about the O2Gold product from Advocare. I was shocked. Then I learned that she uses the products which helped her meet her weight loss goals. And she. looks. AMAZING.

So, now I’m thinking more about it and doing my research. Then I sit down with my hair stylist, Joni, who tells me that she’s doing it and has been for years! She also enjoys wine, chocolate, cheese (all things that are cut out). I asked her the fun questions – will I be hungry? how much time will I spend in the bathroom? Joni doesn’t steer me wrong with my hair, so I trust her completely!

Stars aligned? Maybe….Then comes the visit to the doctor. I weighed in at a whopping 195.7 pounds. I had gained 15 pounds since January. My cholesterol was still high which we’ve discussed previously. I’m trying to run and I’m just not moving well or fast. Discouraged is an understatement.

Done deal! I sent Keri and email that night and said I want in. And, of course, I became a distributor to earn discounts.

Here’s my thing – I love to sweat! I love to workout! However, when I don’t have any energy or don’t see any results/progress, I get discouraged. Add to that discouragement an emotional eating habit and it’s just a downward spiral. I’m not looking for a quick fix. I’m looking for a jump start. Maybe something to keep me motivated for more than 5 seconds.

I’ve decided to document the entire 24-day challenge. I’m going to blog about products I’m taking, food I’m eating, how I’m feeling and I’m going to be honest! (FYI – prepare for TMI!) I also plan on posting my weight and measurements at day 10 and day 24. Day 1 is April 12th so I’ll post the details April 13th so I can get a full day. I will try to post daily; however, if it’s the same, I may put a couple together. I should finish up on the day of the half marathon, and I will carb load the night before. And I will have a cupcake on my birthday!

So let the journey begin….

Today, I am Proud!

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It’s very rare that I can actually say “I am proud” about myself. Especially about myself. Today, I can say that I am proud of myself. Today was the last training race for the mini-marathon. It was my first 15K (9.3 mile) race. The mini has a series of 3 training races: 5K in February, 10K March and the final race is a 15K in April. I missed the first because it was COLD (and I’m a baby)! I missed the second because I was sick. My main motivation for this race was to not have totally wasted $36.

My main motivation does not equal mental preparation. As of last night, I had absolutely no desire to do this race. It was going to be 40 degrees at the start, it started at 8:00 and was downtown. This means I had to dress in layers, which I am not good at, and also get up at 5:45 to be ready and downtown by 7:00. I must note that on a typical work day, I get out of bed between 7:15 and 7:30. Oh, and I am NOT a morning person.

In the end, I sucked it up! Best. Decision. Ever.

I’ve been pretty down on my training. I am about 15 pounds heavier than I was last September when I ran my first half marathon. I’m also about a minute slower. So many training days have just ended in disappointment which does not do much for my mental game.

So now, I’m going to post my splits. Please remember I am a walk/jogger and I’m slow. And a tad (lot) overweight. The Olympics won’t be calling me any time soon.

15K splits

I had two goals:
1. Don’t die.
2. Keep a 15 minute pace as long as possible.

I only had 2 15+ minute miles!! Every time my watch would beep indicating another mile, I would be shocked at the pace. At this pace, I would totally beat my first half marathon time. And as my beautiful friend Heather mentioned, we still have 4 weeks. With a runners high like this, what could I accomplish in 4 weeks. A sub-3 hour mini-marathon. Maybe that will be the A goal (more on goal setting in Pamland later).

Some things I learned today:

  • Start in the back. The rush that I got passing people was AWESOME! I don’t ever pass people. I was fearful that this was going to bite me in the ass if I slowed down too much and they passed me back at the end.
  • Fuel – a Harvest Powerbar is not enough to last a long distance run. I had a Powerbar, a Cliff bar then a Gatorade pre-race just before the start. I tried a Gu about mile 4 and immediately realized I need to find the kind I had for the half. Not yummy. And I did a Gatorade and water at each pit stop. Perfection.
  • I got there early with plenty of time to get my bib, potty, stretch and be social (!!).
  • I ran without music!! Loved it!

I needed this today. I needed to get up, go downtown and remember why I enjoy running. I train by myself, so being around people who are my speed and level was such a confidence boost. Even now, post shower, queso and nap, I’m smiling. I’m so proud of myself. I can’t stop saying that. I don’t ever feel that way but now that I do, I want to say it all the time!

What did you do today that you were proud of?

Poor Planning

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PSA – I’m going to vent for a just a moment. Then I’ll think of happy things. Then I’ll move on. And I’m blogging at work simply because I need to vent and get my head on straight! Ready……3…..2…….1…….

1. I could not have planned this day more poorly (is that grammatically correct?)! Woke up late, didn’t pack my gym bag until this morning, didn’t grab lunch, I could go on and on here.
2. Speaking of gym bag, I packed shorts. It’s currently 53 degrees and no sun. I have to coach Girls on the Run tonight and run then get in at least a 5K for my own training. Praying the sun comes out before practice.
3. Speaking of GOTR (Girls on the Run), I finished prepping at work this morning. Nice use of company time.
4. I overdrafted my bank account playing the “mail” game. That’s a lovely $30 that I really didn’t have to give to my banking institution.
5. I cannot complete a single task today without interruption. I just want to finish a checklist. One checklist. Yet, I’m taking 400 phone calls and writing policies for the website. (The phone may have rang 4 times but since it never rings feels like 400.)
6. Crazytown rolls back into town tonight or tomorrow. I need to start an official countdown. And probably explain Crazytown. Another day.
7. My apartment is a disaster area. I used the last week to start packing while my roommate and her nosey Beagle pup were on vacation. And now it’s just a hot mess. And I need to clean it tonight. And coach. And run. And eat. And not be stressed. And sleep. And. And. And.

So now for my happy list so I can get back to my checklist.

1. I did get paid today so I can’t complain too much about being stupid and overdrafting. And I paid bills.
2. I still have a job. At least until they figure out I blog, cut construction paper and send coaches emails during the work day.
3. I get to see my GOTR girls tonight. There is something about being Coach Pam that just makes it all better.
4. I’m going to be cold. But it is April. And I’ve been spoiled by 80 degree days. And at least I packed shorts. I could have forgotten bottoms all together.
5. I have tomorrow off. Since there is not a “real” holiday scheduled, we decided to make Good Friday a holiday. I like it.
6. I am blessed to have flexible hours so I can leave at 3 to coach great girls 2 days a week.

I really thought I’d have more happy but it’s just not coming to me. I think I just need to take a deep breath, shake it off and finish the last hour and 50 minutes getting this stupid checklist completed!

Are you having a lovely day? Anything I can add to my happy list?