Phase One Complete!

It has been ten days on the AdvoCare Herbal Cleanse and I have to say there were some days that I wanted to throw my hands up. The first couple days were very difficult being that I had to put my husband on a plane, headed back to Arizona for another month... On Valentines Day of all days. When I came home I went straight to the kitchen and started cooking. When the day was done there was a homemade chocolate cake with cherry frosting "for the kids"... mmhhh... Then I coaxed Ariel into the kitchen and helped her make Chicken Alfredo, Bruschetta and Salad for Landon and Curtis. I did well on my meals those few days but I dug into a piece of cake whole heartedly. My biggest obstacle is myself. I really do believe deep down inside that I can feed my emotions and feel better. But my concise mind knows that when I am finished with the emotional eating I feel worse than when I began.

By day three I started experiencing some severior head aches. At first I thought it was the absence of coffee in the morning. But when I looked over my food log on day five I realized that I was under eating on all my regular meals and my afternoon snack was always skipped. When day six came along I was fully equipped with a new plan and had all my veggies in the refrigerator cut and all my protein for the coming week cooked and ready to grab and I had stocked my cabinet with Muscle Gain. WOW what a difference that made. I am pleased to say that I only missed one step of the herbal cleanse and that would be a fiber drink. I will drink that tomorrow just because. Keep reading and I will tell you how much weight I've lost.

Here is what I think about the products I was taking in Phase One.

• The Herbal Cleans - the supplements are easy enough to navigate and I had no problems following along. (And I am not good with taking pills; I am the one who never completes the antibiotic proscribed)
• The Fiber Drink - I ordered the Peaches and Cream - well... that may have been a wrong choice for me, I am not that crazy about peaches. I don't know why I chose that flavor. It wasn't distcusting or anything it was just a little difficult to get down on some days. Next time I will try the citrus flavor for sure.
• Catalyst - Now let me tell you something about this product...3 capsules will wake you up and get you moving. One day I took Catalyst without the Spark drink, just with water, and I was feeling energized and accomplishing allot. One day I cut back and took 2 capsules three times a day and that was good as well. I highly recommend this product to assist in cutting the coffee cravings and decreasing your appetite. for me it is wonderful. I am taking 3 twice a day to increase fat loss.
• Spark - I really like this first thing in the morning, before my breakfast, it assists the Catalyst in getting me moving. I haven't needed it for my evening workouts. I have the Fruit punch and Cherry flavor they are both really good. I add extra water and ice to mine, about 10c. total, I prefer it a little diluted.
• Meal Replacement Shake - If you told me that I had to take 5 of these a day and that was the only thing allowed in my diet, with the exception of water, I would gladly oblige. I have the Berry and Chocolate flavors and they are absolutely delicious. Hands down better than any whey protein drink I have ever tried, and the fact that it has 24g of protein and carbs just puts a big smile on my face. This is a must have for every kitchen cabinet - throw out the toaster and coffee pot today!
• Muscle Gain - I added this to my Phase one because I couldn't seem to get the mid afternoon snack in. I don't look forward to more food but I love the Muscle Gain shake and have seen significant improvements in my weight loss and my head aches are gone... wwwhhheeeww.

This is how my day plays out

• 6:30 wake up - 3 Catalyst and Spark - then I hop in the shower - yes hop by the time I get there I am that awake...haha - On days 4 - 10 of the herbal cleanse I take the Probiotic Restor pill pack too.
• 7:00 - Meal replacement shake - mmmm, good - On days 1-3 and 8-10 I take the fiber drink as well.
• 7:30 - I have my son up and we are driving my daughter to school
• 9:05 - I am spinning or swimming my way thin in Group Ride or the heated pool at TCCC.
• 10:something - right after my morning workout I have a mid morning snack, 1/4c. of almonds and on by refuel days a piece of fruit, usually a grapefruit they are the perfect winter fruit or a banana if I am on the run.

12:00 - I take 3 more Catalyst - 12:30 - My son and I have lunch - I have 2 to 3 oz of lean protein and 1c. of veggies, if this is a refuel day I'll add a whole wheat dinner roll or eat the protein on whole wheat or oat bread with lettuce, tomato, pepper and pomegranate infused balsamic vinegar topped with banana peppers... mmmm Study - Study - Study while my son is asleep

2:30 - I have a Muscle Gain shake... I have a real hard time getting a meal in so the shake is what has saved me and helped stop the head aches.

4:00 - Dinner, I have the same as lunch but usually with a salad.

5:40 - I am building lean muscle in my favorite class - Group Power or I am trying to keep up with Catiana or Marie in Step...loving these classes too.

7:00 - Muscle Gain shake with a piece of fruit added or on the side... I have this regardless of the burn/refuel day - I like something sweet to end my day and this is my best option. Just before bed on days 1-7 I took the herbal cleanse 3 pill pack.

All day I drink water - 96oz daily at least, easy for me I love water.

So there you have it. Oh yeah my weight loss. If you recall I started on February 13th, weighing in at 170lbs. Now 10 days later I am at 162lbs, down 8lbs in 10 days, I am thrilled; I am so close to the weight I was at when I ran the decathlon in August. YEAH... I look forward to the up coming week on Phase Two.

The Advocare Experiment

On January 22nd I was at the gym doing Group Power, this is one of the group class that I love. You lift weights to great tunes with fun instructors. At the end of class Shawna the trainer invited everyone to a demonstration. I went and that is were I met Doug and Cam Gross, Independent Distributors for Advocare. I heard about the product listened closely to the results people were experiencing. One thing that got me was the energy and vitality of the 60 year old man who didn't look or act "his age" that would be Doug. I have seen and heard it all and you know I've tried pretty much everything else, so I gave an active listen. When I went home that night I just couldn't get the fact out of my head that nothing comes easy. To make a long story short I bought into it. I became an Independent Distributor on the 24th and started accumulating my goodies with a set date to start - February 13, 2008.

My husband is a Superintendent for Hunt Construction Group, we moved from Arizona to Washington to build a prison. With that job complete and the economy the way it is, Hunt offered Joe a job in Arizona. We have kids in high school, and we were not certain how long this job would last so we opted to stay in Washington while Joe moved to Arizona. He left on January 9th. He would be coming home on February 6th through the 14th. I didn't want to start Advocare until the 13th so I could share with him all the great comfort foods that I perfected while emotionally eating my way through this experience.

On February 13th (Friday the 13th..jk...) my husband and I went to the gym for Electrolipograph (ELG), it is a computerized hardware system that analyzes human body composition (Percent of Body Fat and Lean Body Mass). Some studies have indicated that the ELG system is the most accurate and scientifically valid system available.

Boohoo...I didn't like what I saw... the harsh reality of winter hum drum and New Years Eve chips and dips, emotionally eating frenzies, they all reared their ugly heads on my back side... and in all my humiliation I will post the report for viewing pleasure.

You can double click on the pic to get a closer look.

The positive is that I now have a base line to measure my success. So here is the regimen that I must follow.

I start out with a 10 day herbal cleanse. I take catalyst, meal replacement shakes, spark and herbal cleanse. Then I move to a 14 day results program called "Lean in 13" the 14th day is a freebie, you don't have to eat on a schedule. So we'll see how it goes. I will post again when I have completed my first week. In the mean time I will end this with a positive affirmation "I can do all things through God who strengthens me"!

The YO YO

For the past eight or so years I have struggled with my weight. In the ninety's I was a steady 120 give or take a few pounds here and there. I started realizing that I had put on a few extra pounds when I saw a picture of me New Years 2000. I'm guessing I was around 130lbs. I went through allot that year. I had gallbladder disease, couldn't work and was awaiting surgery when I came down with pneumonia. When I finally got back to work I was close to 140lbs. When my house was being built in 2003, I promoted to a comfy computer position and packed on another 10 or so pounds.

The next few years came and went with a little gain here and there. I was in a relationship that ended really bad, and by the time I was finished emotionally eating my way out of it I had reached 173lbs. Which is were I have yo yo'd back and forth to ever since.

In August of 2005 I was married. I dropped down to 158lbs. I was walking every morning and on the Jenny Craig diet.

The following year in May we tried to get pregnant and on July 28 2005 we found out that we succeeded. In August we moved from Arizona to Washington and I got in to see an OB/GYN in October when I discovered I was back to the famous number that has plagued me over and over again 173lbs.

I maintained that weight most of my pregnancy, in fact I weighed 178lbs. just before my son was born. April 1, 2007

In November while I was pregnant we joined a gym in Pasco, WA. I truly believe this is what saved my pregnancy. I was able to stay active,

I ate healthy and felt better than I had in a long time.

Landon was born in April, then in May he and I flew back to Arizona for a week. In August we drove back to Arizona and then we drove to Portland OR and SunnySide. When the summer ended and winter began rolling around again I was at an all time high "i mean weight-high" I weighed more than I ever did with all four of my children 196lbs.

I went back to the gym finished out the year contract and then I switched over to one closer to my house with a pool...my intentions...

to complete a triathlon. I tried the Michael Thermon diet, Atkins diet, Biggest Loser diet. Yo yo Yo yo YO... I lost enough to run a 5K and then back up I went.

It takes months to loose 20lbs., It takes one Holiday to gain 10.

This is the latest picture, February 14, 2008 170lbs.

I am tiered of living life this way. I need to get down to the bottom of what drives me up and what can keep me down.

You can choose to follow this blog if you wish. I am publishing it just to have a running record of what is going on. There may be posts that bore you to death and others that you could totally relate to. What ever plays out I just want you to know that I am laying it all out on the table. Good, Bad or Ugly it will be real. And I am doing it for me.

My Sucess Story

Last May my husband and I started the Biggest Loser Diet, mind you my husband is 6' 3", 240lbs. and really doesn't have a weight issue. any way... my starting weight in May for this was 173lbs and I am 5'4" on a good day..with great shoes. I knew that if I wanted to be successful in my weight loss journey I needed some motivation. So I started imaging myself doing a triathlon. September 20th I weighed 160lbs and ran my first 5K. That is me at the end of my run waiting for my daughter who is coming up behind me. HAHAH EAT MY DUST ARIEL! Just kidding. I am pretty proud of this day for many reasons. I met a goal, I completed the task in 42 minutes, while running a fever because I had a bladder infection. Yeah! I had hoped to do the duathlon but opted out with all things considered. I later went to the doctor and was all fixed up. I would love to say that I set a new goal and got after it just days later, but that's not what happened.