Jumping on the Advocare Bandwagon and Trying the 24 Day Challenge!

It's been a very long time since I blogged here (any blog time I have lately has been dedicated to my business blog), but when I decided to try AdvoCare's 24 Day Challenge, I knew I would want to document my journey and this lonely lil' blog seemed as good a place as any!

I'm starting the challenge tomorrow, along with my live-in boyfriend, Babe (obviously not his real name - he's über private and doesn't quite "get" why I need to post all this in cyberspace) and my mom (Mom, of course!). We all have different goals (hopes?) for the challenge - I'm hoping to shed those pesky 5 pounds that my body thinks it needs that I feel better without; Babe has 15-20 pounds he's hoping to get a jumpstart on losing, and Mom is looking to get off the plateau she's hit in her weight loss. 

Our Advocare 24 Day Challenge gear!

What first turned me on to AdvoCare was the rave review a girlfriend from junior high gave after completing the challenge about 6 months ago. She had struggled to lose the last bit of baby weight from her third son, and like me, had some very unhealthy eating habits. The challenge was tough, but when she was done with it, her cravings for carbs and sweets were completely gone! Also gone were the intense migraines she'd suffered from since her teenage years. In the months after completing the challenge, she has been able to maintain the healthy lifestyle the challenge helped her achieve - still no more migraines or cravings!

I'm fortunate to not suffer from migraines or any other health issues, but I crave carbs like nobody's business, and I generally have the eating habits of a six-year old. I routinely count calories, and almost always manage to stay within my allotment for the day - I try for a net of 1350-1500, after taking into account the calories burned during my workouts. (My Fitness Pal is excellent for food tracking, btw.) But I've never concerned myself with the quality of the calories (and in turn, the food) I'm consuming. I eat a ton of processed and prepackaged foods - Lean Cuisine and Smart Ones frozen meals, Fiber One brownies, Goldfish crackers, Skinny Cow ice cream cones, Special K crackers, tons and tons of Honey Nut Cheerios. These foods sustain me, and for the most part are low-caloried, but they are certainly not "clean" and filling up on them often leaves little room in my daily calorie allowance for fruits and vegetables. I'm so ready to change up the way I eat, and am excited for AdvoCare to help me do that.

We hit up Costco and our local Co-op yesterday for lots of fresh fruit and veggies, nuts, and organic chicken and ground turkey. The fridge and pantry are stocked, and we're all ready to get started!

Wish us luck!

~Heather