Monday, January 7, 2013

*1* Challenging Myself

Hello Blogosphere!  Welcome to my blog!

A few weeks ago, my husband and I decided that to jump start our journey towards a healthier lifestyle, we would take the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  I will be using this blog mainly to document our progress and possibly serve as a resource for others who may be participating in or thinking about taking the challenge.  

Why now and why Advocare?
Some may be wondering what made us choose Advocare and right now to start the challenge.  There are many reasons.  For myself, I've been wanting to lose some weight and inches and just become healthier overall.  I've had the good fortune of being blessed with a smaller body, and have never really had to think about my weight and body image-until recently.  Since my wedding a year and a half ago, I have gained about 8-10lbs and a gut (or inner tube, as I call it) that I'm none too happy about.  My problem is that I'm just not motivated enough to jump start myself.  I don't like exercising and too easily cave to bad food choices.  I am a sucker for CHEESE!!

A couple of my friends recently tried Advocare's 24 day challenge and had great results.  While I'm not looking for a "quick fix", my husband and I knew we needed something to jump start us in the right direction and give us the tools, resources, and discipline to make those changes.  Advocare is not exactly cheap.  However, by making this investment, the frugal girl in me will make sure that we whole-heartedly invest ourselves, and not just our pocketbooks, in this challenge.  

We chose this week to start because we wanted to wait until after the holidays (and all of the eating that goes with it) to start.  As cliched as it is, starting off the new year right, just sounded like a good idea.

What is the challenge?
The 24 Day Challenge is broken into 2 parts: a 10 day cleanse, and a 14 day burn phase.  Throughout each phase there are certain supplements that are taken to maximize metabolism and flush out bad toxins.  Basically it is like a reset for your body.  Some Advocare distributers and advocates relate it to an oil change.  In addition, the food component is a large part of the challenge.  It is built on good proteins and complex carbs while cutting back on sugar, simple carbs, and not so good for you fats.  In researching the challenge, I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of foods that are allowed and how many of them I like, but am just bad about eating on a regular basis.  

Goals/Thoughts
I have a few goals that I hope to accomplish as I complete the 24 Day Challenge.  
1. Improve body image/shape and lose some weight-but more importantly, inches
2. Improve food choices-making it a routine, not a challenge
3. Drink more water!!

I am very optimistic about this challenge and with the help of my husband and Advocare coach, know that I can do this-and do it well. I am very grateful that my husband agreed and wanted to do it with me because I know that without his support, I will succumb to bad food choices.  I have no restraint when it comes to food.  If it's made an option and put in front of me-I will eat it.  I may not choose initially for myself, but if offered, it's really hard for me to say no.  Having my best friend and life partner cheering me on AND going through the same routine as me, will be the best motivation. 

There are bound to be some things that I will miss.  One of them of course being cheese, but also milk.  I am a pretty big milk drinker and will almost always have a glass with dinner.  We bought some almond milk to help replace it-but I'm pretty picky about the taste of my milk-it has to be cold and HAS to be skim.  I'm so picky that I can even tell a difference between brands.  Other than that, I think that the eating plan will not be too bad.  I do like fruits and vegetables-I just don't eat enough of them.  

As my husband and I journey through this challenge, I will be documenting daily how it's going.  Included in each post will be: 
1. What we ate/took that day
2. How we're feeling


Here's to 24 days of healthy eating and wellness!




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