Let's talk Advocare!

**First of all, let me point out that I am not affiliated with Advocare at all, and I am not getting paid   

   for this post. **

I was at work when I overheard someone talking about Advocare. I've heard of it before, but hadn't heard about it, so I listened. 2 girls in my office sell Advocare. One lady is in her 50's and runs on her lunch break. She is a role model to me. She's beautiful, healthy, and in total control of her body. The other lady that sells Advocare, found it because she needed help. Her body was not functioning properly and she was overweight for her size. She has lost 60 lbs with Advocare. She is making good food choices and exercising regularly. That's what it's about folks. Simple, huh?

Well you would think that it would be just that simple, but it's not. I know. I've been there. I didn't struggle with weight before or right after I had kids. 9 years ago, I started struggling with my weight. A little bit here and there, body was changing, the infamous "FUPA" appeared. It was dreadful. It seemed to happen overnight. 

A few years ago, I had enough. I was sick of being "fat" and shared my disgust with a co-worker. She turned me on to a weight doctor in OKC and I made an appt. My boss at the time, was very generous and offered to pay for my initial visit, as well as my co-workers. That was a great gift and a very nice gesture. 

I lost 17lbs in the first 6 weeks. It was coming off left and right and I felt great. I was eating all of the right things, but I wasn't exercising. About 3-4 months in, I was down 30lbs. I was exercising about once per week (playing indoor soccer), but that was it. When Spring rolled around, I was walking 3 days per week about 30 minutes each day. The weight stayed off, but it became boring, quickly. 

I couldn't eat carbs, I couldn't drink beer, I couldn't have a normal lifestyle. Carbs and beer are pretty normal in our family, especially in the summertime. Summertime rolled around and I decided I didn't want to "diet" during the summer. 10lbs were back on within 3 months. I was devastated. I thought, no big deal, I will just start again in the Fall. I just couldn't get the motivation back. I had worked so hard eating all of the right things, depriving myself at Thanksgiving time, depriving myself on NYE, to have it all wasted on a "summer break from dieting". 10 more lbs came on, and then finally the number on the scale grew to where it was at the beginning of my journey in November 2008. 

Talk about wind out of your sail...it was a blow for me. Someone who has been thin their entire life, can't control the weight as an adult. Seems so unfair. 

I tried again, visiting my weight doctor month after month. $100 after $100 visit. I just didn't have it in my heart. My motivation was gone. My mind wasn't able to focus like that again.

In December 2011, I joined Weight Watchers. That worked for me. I lost 10lbs or so just by tracking what I ate, but I hated that. I didn't want to track every bite I took every day. That's not me, not my lifestyle, and it didn't fit. I quit. Basically I would splurge on lunch or dinner and had the frame of mind that I already blew it, might as well enjoy it. 

Dieting is not easy for me. I love food. All kinds. Sweets. Soda. Beer. Wine. Cheesecake. Mexican food. Brownies, etc. All kinds - I say. I'm not racist when it comes to food. I eat it all. 

What's funny is, I love healthy food. too. Fruit, veggies, salad, chicken, etc. I love it. I'm an equal opportunity lover of food. Yep that's me, porky pig here. NOM! 

Anyway, I wanted to find something that was healthy and easy for me. Something that could work with my lifestyle and it would still be beneficial, so when I heard chatter about Advocare, I started researching. It's a wellness company and has a lot of great reviews. Everyone was talking about this 24 day challenge bizness, so I looked into that. 10 days of the herbal cleanse...uhhhhhhh. Then 14 days of a lot of pills, but you aren't required to follow a strict diet 100% of the time. It suggests 90%. In my mind, I'm like "Yeah buddy, 10% to eat what I want!"

I contemplated selling it, because I like having control of that sort of thing, but I already sell Scentsy, so I didn't want to add anything else to my plate. (on top of my cookie making business, ya know)

I texted my sister and begged her. I think my exact text was "Will you please sign up to sell Advocare, so I don't have to?" I didn't get a response back from her...until later. A few quick messages back and forth and she was signed up. I told her I "Dan misted" her into doing this. (BB14 was in full swing then). We ordered the 24 day challenge and I started mine on October 9th. Well I didn't measure myself beforehand (bad girl) and I didn't weigh myself beforehand (bad, bad, girl), but I have lost weight and inches. 

I know I have lost about 6lbs. Maybe more, but I didn't weigh the first two days of the 10 day cleanse. I know I have lost several inches. My pants are becoming looser and I'm sagging like a brother in some pants. My "FUPA" is shrinking a bit. but nowhere close to being gone.

Here's what I love...it has been fairly easy. Really. Much easier than I anticipated. I went from drinking 2 to 3 cups of coffee per day, to zero cups. Drinking one coke zero or diet coke almost everyday, to zero. 1 glass or 2 of wine every evening, to zero.

I drink my Spark twice per day. 

I survived the 10 day cleanse. (It really wasn't bad at all...the worst part is the fiber drink. It was pretty dreadful, but it's a fiber drink, what do you expect?) 

There's a lot of pills. (A lot of big pills, but if I can tolerate them, I'm sure you could too! I'm really amazed.)

I don't crave a lot of the crap I was consuming before. (wine, bread, soda, coffee)

I eat, or try to eat, every 2-3 hours. (Breakfast - snack - lunch - snack - dinner)

If I do splurge on dinner (Chick-Fil-A or Sonic), I don't beat myself up. If I start to feel bad about it, I go for a walk

I drink a boatload of water every day. 

I pee a lot - because of said water consumption

I really do feel good. If I were to fall off the wagon, it would have happened this week. Hubby is traveling, so this is my chance to blow a diet by eating take out. Monday night, I made pizza on the grill. Tuesday night was Subway. Tonight, it was just me and my son, so we splurged on Sonic. Otherwise, it would have been BLT's. I ate chicken nuggets and a few tater tots. Felt a little guilty (as I weigh myself daily and want to see a smaller number), so I went on a walk. No biggie.

Everything is okay in moderation. That's my mantra. I don't need that crap in my body. It tastes good for a second, but then it's over and gone.....

2nd day of the challenge. This shirt fit me snug then. Now it's much more loose. 

Today. Not a great comparison, so I will see if I can get a full body pic taken soon.

Guilt is over, my stomach is still crazy full, and I'm outta here to go rescue my piggie from the backyard.