This is about the
craziness I'm gonna put myself through for the next 24 days, starting
tomorrow.
What, you wonder?
The AdvoCare 24
Day Challenge, is what!
AdvoCare is a
highly reputable company that has been in business for nearly 20
years (read: almost as long as I've been alive! That's cred.) They
operate on Christian values, and it shows. So many people have found
their lives again by using their products, and I can't wait to see
the revolution they create a few years down the road.
AdvoCare is backed
up by doctors and scientists with over a century of combined
experience behind them. When they are not developing AdvoCare
products, they are practicing, they are teaching, they are
researching. They are putting their careers
on the line to add their names to the products.
There are hundreds of non-paid athletic endorsers. The kicker? They
have to sign a contract that while they endorse AdvoCare for no pay,
they cannot endorse any other products.
So what are these products?
With the exception of the "Noticeable Difference" line
(which covers skin care), they are nutritional supplements –
powders or pills – that charge up your metabolism, melt away body
fat, and result in a better-built you.
I learned about AdvoCare through Hannah, who herself spent extensive
time thinking and praying before deciding to give any of it a shot.
Friends of hers (whom I have since met, and they are legitimate,
serious people) used the products together – they are a married
couple – and the results are amazing. Even the 80-year-old
mother-in-law had incredible results. Last Saturday, I had the
pleasure of going to a massive mixer in Seattle, and the couple along
with many other people got to go onto the stage and share their
story.
The first AdvoCare product I tried was SPARK. It's one of their
top-selling products. It's an energy drink formula, without the
crash. I used it to get through the second half of a nine-hour day of
training, and boy did I feel it when it hit, but I didn't notice when
it stopped. No crash. Fantastic.
Basically, if you try no other AdvoCare product, try SPARK.
--
I've since received my 24 Day Challenge in the mail, and I'll be
staring tomorrow.
The 24 Day Challenge is a recommended first-time purchase for new
AdvoCare customers. It includes a gentle herbal cleanse, omega-3
supplements, SPARK, a Metabolic Nutritional System of your choice
(more on that later) and meal replacement shake powder in the flavor
of your choice. The purpose of the Challenge is to clean all the muck
out of your system, and then put all the good stuff back in.
Recommended add-ons are ThermoPlus, which kicks your metabolism to
burn an extra 150 calories per pill; and Catalyst, which basically
shrink-wraps your muscle so you don't lose lean body mass while
you're changing your diet.
I bought only the Catalyst as an add-on. I'm hoping the MNS that I
bought will negate the need for ThermoPlus, and I'll get to that in a
moment, I promise.
So here I am, with my 24 Day Challenge and eager to start. I
have goals, and here's your "Before" shot:
Physically
I haven't had as much energy to work out as I would like. So I
haven't been working out. I do as many push-ups as I can while I wait
for dial-up to dial in. But I'm not climbing stairs all day to get
everywhere at SMU, and I'm not walking nearly as much. I'm not eating
as well (not so much free access to veggies here), which is
aggravating my BED. It's not anywhere near as bad as it was last
summer, but it is bad enough that I don't fit into my slimmer pairs
of pants anymore. I'd rather not have to wait again until I get back
to SMU to lose the fat I've gained since January.
How ironic that I would lose weight being in college, right?
Mentally
I still have a lot of insecurities, mostly about how I relate to
people and how others see me. I'm only okay with my quirks so long as
others are, and so when people tell me I'm "wrong" because
I'm not exactly conventional, it hurts. When people hurt me in that
way, especially when I think they ought to know better based on how
long/well we've known each other, I have a lot of difficult letting
them back in. I think I've said as much before: If you burn me, I
delete you. I don't mean just from Facebook, either. This mindset is
okay in the moment, but it's overstayed its welcome. I'd kind of like
for my brain to permit me to date again...
Emotionally
Fairly stable. Still, I am in a period of relapse considering my BED,
and episodes tend to mess with me emotionally as well as mentally. I
feel like I've been needing to learn how to stop and address my
emotions before everything else all over again, which is highly
frustrating. I still need to forgive myself for being a damageable
human being.
Other
Getting a decent amount of sleep every night due to a temp job that I
get myself up at 5:30AM for.
Addicted to caffeine, though I've been decaffeinating myself for the
past couple days, because coffee is not permitted during the 24 Day
Challenge. Addicted to sugar and to salt, because I've allowed myself
to succumb to the ridiculous amount of processed junk in the house on
too many occasions.
Drinking plenty of water. Trying to get back into the tea habit.
Daily, I take: one 80mg aspirin (follow-up from a childhood illness);
three omega-3 fish oil capsules twice a day; a one-a-day
multivitamin; one probiotic tablet; three calcium supplements twice a
day.
Occasional zit due to horrible eating habits and hormonal cycling
aside, acne is well under control.
The first ten days of the 24 Day Challenge is a cleanse. This
includes the OmegaPlex (which I take continuously through the
challenge), and a probiotic supplement. The MNS contains truckloads
of vitamins, and the meal replacement shakes have a hefty supply of
calcium. While I'm on the cleanse, I will continue taking my calcium
supplements, but at a reduced amount. I don't know for sure yet if I
will continue taking the aspirin – I went for years without taking
it and suffered no ill effects, before taking it up again earlier
this year. I can't imagine the aspirin would hurt either way,
however.
The guidelines provide suggestions for meal components, and they're
pretty standard for cleanses and the like – fruits and vegetables,
cut out sugar, eat lean protein and healthy fats. They also suggest
eating five, six times a day, which makes me nervous given my BED.
I've been assured when you're on the challenge, your cravings change.
I'm hoping for this to happen. I need to break out of this, because
it has not been any fun at all to struggle with; I wouldn't wish it
on anyone, nor do I wish it upon myself.
Now's as good a time as any: The MNS comes in three types.
MNS E focuses on energy. MNS C focuses on controlling cravings (this
is the kind I got, for pretty obvious reasons by this point). MNS 3
does both, and costs slightly more. All three are about pumping your
body full of the nutrition it needs.
So, here I am, today. Literally, I took that pic about an hour ago.
It's right after dinner, or my tummy would be a bit smaller, but you
get the idea.
These were my measurements June 28th (I've probably gained
a little more weight since then, but I'm too lazy to retake them all
again, and I don't think it'd make that much of a difference; either
way I obviously don't have that much fat to lose):
Weight: 135 lbs
Upper arms, measured at halfway point: 11 ½ / 11 in
Bust: 31 in
Waist, measured at "natural" point: 26 ½ in
Hips, measured at widest point (with clothes on): 37 in
Thighs, measured at widest point: 23 ½ in / 23 in
(I include two numbers for arms and thighs because my left of each is
large than the right. No really. You can even tell if you look which
is really aggravating; I dislike my asymmetricality, even though
everyone has a little of it.)
Using these measurements and a formula in the book "Protein
Power," I calculated my body fat percentage at about 18.87% (or
about 25.41 lbs), which makes 109.59 lbs of my weight lean tissue
(muscle, bone, organs, hair, etc.). This puts me as underfat, which I
personally disagree with, but my lack of menstruation probably has
something to say about that, too... I know, I know, TMI.
Anyway.
Here we are. Expect another blog post when I finish this craziness,
if I'm not compelled to write again sooner!
~Sarah
No comments:
Post a Comment