I Can Do ANYTHING for 24 Days!

I keep seeing before and after pictures of friends on Facebook who are doing this new diet program. Well, they say it is a lifestyle change but it does include a restrictive diet so let's call it what it is. The Advocare 24 Day Challenge is a two part program, the first being a cleanse phase, the second is a Max phase {whatever that means}. It is a combination of supplements, meal replacement shakes, energy drinks and a clean eating diet. Clean eating means NO: Alcohol {yikes- no wine?!?}, dairy, sugar, nutrasweet (Splenda is okay but sparingly), salt, or complex carbs {white potatoes, bread, rice}. You eat five times a day and only eat veggies {raw or steamed}, fruit, lean protien {salmon, tuna, chicken- not fried, turkey, ground turkey, VERY lean ground beef}, "good" carbs sparingly- sweet potatos, brown rice, quinoa and black beans and "good" fats sparingly- All Natural peanut butter, hummus, uncooked olive oil, avocados. So I talked to Honey and he decided to try out this Challenge with me, not that he needs it. Really neither of us need to lose weight, we just want to be tighter and toned and healthier. So, here we go with Day 1.
Note: I read somewhere that it is best to only have fruits and veggies the first day and to not exercise.
Starting weight: 133 (Up 1 pound from my normal weight due to the pizza, beer and candy I binged on knowing I couldn't have any for 3.5 weeks)
End Goal: Lose 5 pounds and get a tighter, toned tummy in time for summer!

Woke up Drank a Sparks- surprisingly good and definitely felt the jolt of energy but no jitters Followed by the Herbal Cleanse Fiber drink- Nasty, gagged, made the mistake of mixing the powder packet with a full glass of water so I had to drink a full glass of it
Breakfast- grapefruit and berries
Am Snack- banana
Lunch- steamed broccoli and half an apple
PM Snack- MISSED bc I was at the grocery store- CRAP! I'm messing this up all ready!
Dinner- grilled portabella mushrooms (brushed with lemon juice then seasoned with LOT of Mrs. Dash Garlic and Herb seasoning (salt free and Advocare friendly)
After Dinner Snack- 1/2 an apple

What I learned- 1. Do your grocery shopping before you start! There were Girl Scouts selling those fabulous little cookies outside the entrance to my store and it was TORTURE, PURE TORTURE to pass them up. Also, the chip aisle was a tough one to pass and I don't even eat chips often. I guess just knowing I couldn't have any made them seem that much more appetizing.
2. Shop the sales and freeze what you can. I bought a TON of squash and zucchini on sale, like more than we can eat in a week, so I chopped them up, put them in ziplock bags and froze them for next week.
3. I miss coffee the most.

The Dirt on Little Ole Me

I was always a skinny girl growing up and never gave much thought to diet or exercise but time has a way of catching up with you. In college I waited tables which had me on my feet for 8 hours 3-4 times a week. Working was basically my exercise until I met and fell in love with my Honey. He is a gym rat and encouraged me to hit the gym as well. So I started working out when I could, no real schedule. Fast forward a few years and Honey is now my hubby and I am working at a desk 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I put on about 5 pounds but didn't let it phase me. Fast forward another few years, Honey and I have welcomed Princess in to our family...and I was not enjoying what pregnancy did to my body. I was 15 heavier than when I got married and it was all settled in my mid section, arms and thighs/butt. After 18 months (yes, twice as long as it took me to pack on the pounds) I was sick and tired of the way I looked so I decided to sign up for a couple 5K races to keep me motivated to run in the gym. It took me a couple of weeks to get in the groove but I was hooked! Running is addicitve and so is watching the pounds fall off due to all the cardio I was doing. So 2 years after Princess arrived, I arrived to my prepregnancy weight again. Then, BAM! Here comes Number 2! I was better with my second pregnancy, I ate more fresh fruit and veggies, less Big Macs and milk shakes and I gained a healthy 27 pounds. 12 days after Lil Sis arrived I was out pounding the pavement again and then added a 6 week bootcamp to help tighten the tummy muscles. 5 months after Lil Sis was born, I was back to my prepregnancy weight again. I longed to get back to my college weight so I ramped up my diet- eating mainly carbs at breakfast, microwavable lunches with an apple then a salad with low fat dressing and some soup for dinner. I managed to get back to my college weight but I didn't stay there long, my weight floating back up about 3 pounds to it's comfortable spot. I was happy with that, I AM happy with that number. I do weigh myself every morning {shameful, I know} but that is just to see if I am inching up and need to tighten the reins on my diet for a few days. Even though I am happy with that number on the scale, I do wish my tummy were more toned and tight....so a couple of months ago I stepped up my exercise routine. I had been doing cardio (running a 5K) then adding in 15 minutes of ab work 2-3 times a week. I got curious one day about a "Circuit Breaker" class at my gym so I tried it out....I wanted to puke, no I thought I was going to puke about half way through my first class. Then I was sore for three days after, but I LIKED it! SO I went back the next Monday and it was a little easier and with each passing week it got easier. I started seeing more definition in my arms and shoulders because we do A LOT of pushups and some tightening in my abs. And the thing about exercise is once you start seeing results you are more and more motivated to see more results. So my current gym schedule is Monday- Circuit Breaker class, Wednesday- Pump Class then run 2.5 miles on the treadmill, Friday- Hour long Spin Class.

Hello Out There Blogworld

Hello out there Blogworld!! Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Haley. I live in the beautiful state of Tennessee {you never would have guessed that, huh?} and this here {we Southerns love to say things like "this here", "y'all" and "fixin' too"} is my fitness blog. Now, I am no expert in fitness, I am not a trainer nor have I ever had any sort of training or education about health or nutrition so take what I say here with a big 'ole grain of salt {there's goes my Southern creeping out again}. This blog is meant to record my attempts to get bikini ready in the next few months through clean eating and busting my tail at the gym.