*30* Harder than I remembered

Here's a recap of the last 3 days. 

Starting weight: 120 lbs. 

I'm slightly embarrassed that I let myself get back to this point, but I guess on the bright side, I'm still much lighter than I was at this same time last year.  Considering that I'm only 4'11", this is pretty high for my stature.  Ideally, I'd like to be at 110lbs.  I think that's a reasonable amount of weight to want to lose.  Last year when I ended the challenge, I was down to 113lbs and was pretty happy with that, but I know that I can do better. 

I didn't do any measurements/pictures this time around because I didn't remember to do it before we started.  Oops!

Day 1

This time around, we decided to do the peaches and cream fiber drink instead of the citrus.  I was able to get the citrus one down without a problem last time, but it was still pretty rough with all of the grittiness.  The peaches and cream is much smoother and if you have a texture issue at all, I highly recommend you go with that.  

Breakfast: Fiber drink and egg scramble (8 egg whites, 2 yolks, red pepper, green onion, black pepper,  basil, oregano-baked in muffin tins at 350 until cooked through)

Snack: Baby carrots

Lunch: Salad with grape tomatoes and lite balsamic vinaigrette

Snack: Celery and All Natural Peanut Butter

Dinner: Marmalade curry chicken in the crockpot from the Advocare Cookbook, Green beans

Snack: Raw Almonds

Day 2

Breakfast: Fiber drink and an apple (I'll admit, I threw up about 1/2 of the fiber drink after downing it)

Lunch: Left over curry chicken

Snack: Raw Cashews

Dinner: Baked Tilapia with dill sauce, cauliflower "rice", steamed asparagus

Snack: Mocha meal replacement shake with a small scoop of peanut butter 

(I was craving something sweet and this satisfied that craving)

Day 3

Breakfast: Fiber Drink (yay-last time until day 7!) and egg scramble

Snack: Baby carrots and hummus

Lunch: Left over Tilapia and asparagus

Snack: Raw Almonds

Dinner: Cilantro Lime Chicken in the crockpot on whole wheat tortillas with fresh avocado and a little plain greek yogurt (in place of sour cream)

Snack: Raw Cashews

Thoughts

Overall, this cleanse seems SO much harder this time around than it did last year.  I keep reminding myself that it's only for 10 days and that I can do anything for 10 days.  It definitely makes me appreciate healthy snacks more than ever.  I'm getting bit tired of eating carrots and celery. What I would give to have a handful of lentil chips! We're really focused on keeping carbs out of our diet as much as possible.  We've been good though-no cheating!

Only 7 more days-we can do this!!

*29* Round 2

Almost exactly one year ago, Jake and I decided to try the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  We saw some great results and were motivated by the changes we were seeing-not only on the scale, but also in our clothes.  

Unfortunately, with moving, the holidays, and I'll admit it-laziness, we've reverted and although we didn't slide all the way back to pre-advocate weight, we've definitely regressed.  I've gained back almost 1/2 of the weight I lost and I've got my little belly pooch back with it.  So, we decided to do Advocare again.  However, this time we're not doing the full challenge.  In an effort to spend a little less money, we are modifying the 24 Day Challenge. 

Staring Monday, we will be doing the 10 Day Herbal Cleanse.  What we will not be doing is the 14 day burn phase.  When we did it last year, I reacted badly to the supplements, so our plan is just to eat as though we're doing the burn.  In addition to ordering the cleanse, we also ordered a box of meal replacement shakes (I also had 1/2 of another box I ordered a few months ago), and a box of watermelon Spark.  We still have some Leptilean, Carb Ease+, and Omegaplex left over from mid-year orders, so we're good to go on that.  I've already got our fridge cleaned out of all of the bad stuff and stocked full with lots of fresh produce.  Our 10 day meal plan with snacks are all planned out as well.  

Our Advocare arrived today, and I'm so excited to get started Monday!

*12* Day 10

Today is the last day of the cleanse!!!

Breakfast

Last day of fiber drink! I was in a hurry this morning and my water was a little too cold, so drinking a second glass of water after the fiber drink was hard and I only ended up drinking about half of it.  I didn't have time to heat up breakfast, so I grabbed a vanilla MRS instead. Yummy! I did forget my omegaplex again today :( I think I need to keep a bottle or ziplock of it in my purse just in case. 

Mid Morning Snack

Raw almonds and cashews. 

Lunch

Left over chicken bulgogi from last night. 

Mid-Afternoon Snack

Celery and natural peanut butter

Dinner

Spaghetti squash.  I remember eating it as a kid and hating it! I decided that since my taste buds have changed a bit, maybe I'll like it now. Nope.  Definite nope.  I had a really hard time choking this down without gagging.  Perhaps I'm not cooking it right. At least I tried right?? 

Evening Snack

Handful of cashews and some sugar free strawberry jello

Water Intake

I think I was just shy of 100oz. 

How I felt

Great.  I'm super excited to see what the scale and measurements say tomorrow. Fingers crossed they are nice to me.  Though, I have a good feeling they will be.

*11* Day 9

Breakfast

Today went much smoother than yesterday.  Fiber drink was just terrible.  I think I tried to drink it too fast today, which actually made it worse.  I also had an egg bake "muffin" on my way out the door. I did manage to get my spark this morning, but forgot to take my omegaplex :( 

Mid Morning Snack

Raw almonds and cashews. 

Lunch

Left over salmon from last night, and a small salad with tomato and 1/4 of an avocado.

Mid-Afternoon Snack

More almonds and cashews. 

Dinner

One of my favorite meals pre-challenge is Korean Chicken Bulgogi.  I realized last night that I should be able to make it using Bragg's Liquid Aminos and Truvia instead of the soy sauce and sugar that's in the marinade.  I honestly didn't notice a difference, and it was nice to have one of my "comfort foods". All it was missing as rice. 

Evening Snack

Cashews-I really need to switch it up, but I just LOVE them. 

Water Intake

Good!

How I felt

Good. I got more sleep last night than I have the last couple of nights.  I also have noticed that I'm not really craving sugar anymore (while I'm not typically a sweet-tooth, the first 2-3 days of the challenge, all I wanted was something sweet).  AND, my rings are looser and spinning on my finger a lot more. 

*10* Day 8

Breakfast

Today was rough.  Being that it's day 8, we're back to the dreaded fiber drink.  It went down ok, but I am still not a fan. Then, on my way to my car, I dropped my spark bottle-breaking it and spilling spark everywhere :( AND, I forgot my egg bake breakfast.  

Mid Morning Snack

Some more raw almonds and cashews. 

Lunch

Left over orange chicken from last night with a bunch of steamed veggies. I also had a mini-cheat when I took ONE noodle from the macaroni salad that was sitting out on in the lounge while I was heating my food.  It was SO good.   

Mid-Afternoon Snack

Carrots and red pepper hummus. 

Dinner

Crock pot salmon from the 24 day challenge recipe book.  

Green beans with a tiny bit of olive oil and fine sea salt-baked in the oven.  This is my substitute for french fries-so good. 

Evening Snack

Last night I made up a chocolate MRS with about a tablespoon of all natural peanut butter.  Then I poured it into a dish and stuck it in the freezer to make some "ice cream".  It hadn't set by the time I went to bed last night, so I was eager to try tonight.  SO YUMMY! It reminds of a malt cup that I used to get at baseball games, except way better, since there's peanut butter in there.  It was almost like eating a frozen Reeses Peanut Butter Cup….almost. 

Water Intake

Much better than yesterday.  I am still bummed about my spark, that was an additional 12oz that should have been consumed before 8am.  Oh well I guess.  I had another 25oz by the time lunch was over, 25oz by the time school was over, and another 25oz by the time I got home from tutoring.  Not too shabby.  I was definitely over my gallon goal by the time I hit the sack. 

How I felt

Pretty good.  I was up late last night, so I was sleepy this morning-plus I didn't have spark. Other than that though, nothing out of the ordinary. 

*9* Day 7

Breakfast

This morning we decided to switch it up and have pancakes for breakfast! You heard right, pancakes!  After the restaurant yesterday, we stopped off at HyVee and picked up Hodgson's insta-bake pancake mix made with 100% stone-ground whole wheat.  We topped that off with sugar free syrup and some fresh, cut up strawberries.  Voila-the breakfast of champions.  

Mid Morning Snack

A handful of raw cashews.  These are seriously the best.thing.ever.  I could eat them all day long and never get sick of them. 

Lunch

Buffalo turkey burgers over a bed of mixed greens.  Delish.  A little spicier than I would like in the future, but good.  These were hubby's fave.  I have found that while I like turkey breast and carved turkey, ground turkey just isn't my thing.  Part of it may be a seasoning issue.  It also has too dry of a texture for me.  Adding some dijon mustard to dip in helped a lot. 

Mid-Afternoon Snack

Another handful of cashews and some water

Dinner

Crock pot orange marmalade curry chicken (now that is a mouthful!) This is another one of my favorite Advocare meals.  It has the perfect balance of sauce of spice-and the chicken was perfectly moist.  We had that with a heaping serving of steamed veggies (cauliflower, yellow squash, and broccoli)

Evening Snack

 small dish of sugar free strawberry jello. 

Water Intake

Not enough.  I did ok, but didn't keep very good track of exactly how much I had.  I would guess somewhere between 50 and 75oz. 

How I felt

Great! I had a lot of energy and got a lot done.  Very productive for a Sunday-which is typically my lazy, do nothing but lay around and sleep day. 

*8* Day 6

Breakfast

Our blender bottles arrived yesterday, so I mixed up my Vanilla MRS in there and it was delicious.  It was a lot thicker and creamer than doing it in the Ninja.  I'll be curious to see if I get the same with the chocolate tomorrow.  I will definitely be savoring it, because Monday we go back on the Fiber drink for 3 days.   Of course, we had our probiotics and omegaplex to start off the day as well. 

Mid Morning Snack

almonds and baby carrots. 

I went to see Gangster Squad with my husband today and boy can I tell you, it was SO incredibly hard smelling popcorn and not being able to get it!  We survived though, and both our bellies and our wallet thank us. 

Lunch

Tuna salad in a lettuce leaf.  The husband had his in a whole wheat wrap. 

Mid-Afternoon Snack

Zucchini chips that I tried making and a few almonds.  The Hubby and I also decided to split a spark since we wanted a little energy boost, but didn't want to be up all night.

Dinner

A bunch of friends met up at a bar/restaurant to watch the 49ers/Packers game.  It was difficult, but I think Jake I did really well.  I ordered Tilapia with steamed veggies.  Jake got a spinach salad with tomato, and egg, and had a few bites of my fish. It probably wasn't as healthy as if we had made it, but I think for eating out, we did really well.  I had asked for the veggies to be steamed, and they were sautéed.  I'm pretty sure it was just in olive oil though-because I made it clear when we ordered that we couldn't have any sauces, butter, or vegetable oil. While not the most thrilling meal, it still tasted good. 

Evening Snack

Peaches warmed up with cinnamon on top.

Water Intake

I did really well today.  Between drinking a liter at the movie and at least 4 full glasses at the restaurant, plus the morning, and what I drank at home, a lot of of water was consumed today.  

How I felt

Pretty good.  It felt awesome to go out twice and restrain ourselves from all of the temptations.  However, we agreed that while we'll significantly cut back on the eating out, and make some smarter food choices…movie w/out popcorn, is not fun.  That's one indulgence we will be adding back in once the challenge is over (don't worry, we only go to movies once every few months). 

*7* Day 5

Breakfast

Today we did the Chocolate Meal Replacement Shake (MRS), which I like better than the vanilla.  It's not as overwhelming sweet.  Our blender bottles should arrive today, but I might continue to mix it in my ninja anyway. 

We also had 2 catalyst before heading out the door. 

Mid Morning Snack

Handful of almonds 

Lunch

Avocado/Chicken salad on a 100% whole wheat wrap and fruit.  

Mid-Afternoon Snack

Baby carrots and red pepper hummus, with a handful of almonds and a spark. 

Dinner

Ground turkey meatloaf, w/faux mashed potatoes (made out of cauliflower).  I added some garlic, a little bit of almond milk to help smooth it out, pepper, and nutmeg (my secret mashed potato ingredient).  I blended it smooth in my ninja processor.  Unfortunately, seasoning cauliflower is nothing like seasoning real potatoes and I put in WAAYYYY too much garlic.  It was inedible :(  I also was not a fan of the meatloaf-at all.  It was too dry and didn't have much for flavor.  I ate it because I should, but did not enjoy dinner at all tonight. 

Evening Snack

Hard boiled egg whites.  I also made some apple chips with cinnamon, but didn't spray the pan first.  They stuck and wouldn't come up, so that was a fail.  I will be trying again tomorrow. 

Water Intake

I did better than yesterday, and got back to my 100oz. 

How I felt

I felt good today.  It helps that it's Friday!  We had a food day at work for lunch, and it was SO hard to resist all of the yummy smells and treats tempting me.  I managed though and was really proud of myself.  

Happy Halfway!!!!