Monday, July 30, 2012

End of week one

Yesterday was the end of the first week of the 24-Day Challenge. I've lost 6 pounds. I don't know about the inches though, because the weight loss was enough of a bonus for me.

I feel great. Even after the first day, I felt a difference. I have more energy, and I look forward to the day, rather than dread all that I have to do. The system is rather easy, compared to what I know about others. It is all about portion control. For the first 10 days, you can't have dairy because of the way your body breaks it down. Beyond that, everything is easy (though I must say, I eat a lot of vegetables anyway, so it wasn't really different for me), and there is an easy to follow shopping guide which helps immensely. There is a daily guide for the first 10 days, showing what you take when. Eating a small snack between meals really helps me from overeating, or wolfing down my food at lunch and dinner (which everyone should do anyway).

Now that I have a week under my belt, I will start running or walking every day. Watch out now!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Update

Today is Day One of my 24 Day Challenge using Advocare products. I am nervous. There are a lot of things that I have no control over: the weather, how old I am, how much free time I have. One thing that I can change is how I feel, mentally and physically.

This blog was started as a kind of accountability meter as to the success of some changes I made to my habits regarding my health in the past year. But, as you can see, it didn't really help. My life got kind of hectic (who can say that theirs isn't?), and blogging wasn't at the top of the list. And as a result, my healthy attitude fell by the wayside also. I regret it every day, especially with a goal I set for myself drawing nearer. So now, with this challenge, I have a legitimate reason to record everything, if only for posterity's sake.

A little background: I started using Advocare a couple of months ago, after asking one of my coworkers what they used when working out. I had no stamina, and I'd start flagging in the middle of a workout, and very rarely hit my second wind (the time when your body actually starts to burn the stored fat, instead of what you ate that day). She'd used the products, and knowing that I was just starting to take my workouts seriously, she suggested that I use Catalyst and Arginine Extreme when I worked out to help boost what my body was already trying to do. Now, if you are like me, you are skeptical of anything that could possibly enter your body. So I did my research. I found out that that Advocare only uses the highest quality ingredients in their products, and from reading the back of one of the boxes, that it is mostly vitamins. After one run, I was hooked. I felt better, more fluid. This coming from someone who hadn't done anything more than climb the stairs in 3 years. I felt, for the first time, like I was a runner, not just someone who could fake it for a bit. My breathing wasn't strained, I could run for longer stretches of time, and the best part was that after a run, I was not plumb tuckered-out like I had been. In short, I felt great. That was what sealed the idea that I would actually make a go of this thing called exercise.

I am doing the challenge to create a clean slate. I'll be updating (hopefully) at least once every other day, so everyone out there in Bloggerland can see what progress I'm making. There is no sense in changing the outside if the inside is not strong enough to maintain it. I've also heard that there is more of a psychological incentive if you have someone to go along with you, so we are doing a competition (of sorts) at work. I feel as though this is a step in the right direction, and because of it I decided to become a Distributor so that I could help someone else take a step in the right direction. If you want to know more about these products, or get some for yourself, let me know. Ask questions. Do research. You only get one life, so enjoy it. (The website is here, and the science behind it is here.)