24 Day Success

I finished my 24 day challenge from Advocare yesterday. And I'm proud to say that it has been the most successful "weight" loss endeavor I have ever tried.

so here is my starting weight and my ending weight:

*i stalled in weight loss these last few days because of my {cough} cycle. but 11 pounds is still awesome and i'm really proud of myself!

here is my before/after:

non scale victories: losing 11 pounds in 24 days is pretty rapid weight loss, which usually means you lose water, fat and muscle. after this my goal is to lose 1-2lbs a week. i'm proud to say that over this challenge i didn't lose too much strength, i'm fitting into my jeans and need a belt! my underclothes (lol) are looser and i'm not yelling at the kids every morning because i'm cranky.

but honestly, i told Ty last night, yes all of those things are awesome feelings but there are two things that make me love these supplements and they are this:

1. THEY HELPED ME TO STICK TO MY GOALS. I slipped here and there with bites of the kids food and a few peeps (ha) but I didn't do all or nothing. we ate out 3 times and i just ordered things that would fit (which is really easy to do). I am normal, nothing is all or nothing and to get out of that mindset for me is groundbreaking. the feeling of accomplishing my goals is the best feeling in the world. i ate lean, whole proteins, lots of green veggies, complex carbohydrates (brown rice, sweet potatoes, oatmeal) and good fats (nuts, avocados etc)

2. I FEEL AMAZING. I wake up with energy, i have energy throughout the day. i'm the most regular i've been in years {cough cough}. i told Ty that I feel better on these multivitamins than on my anti depressants that I've had to take after the babies are born.

I have always been embarrassed at my weight as I have not weighed less than 140 since my sophomore year of college. yes I'm a mesomorph, so I'm more muscular, but trust me, I have extra fat too. and when you are on the ballet company and you weigh 150, let's just say there is a lot of 'sucking in' going on day in and day out. every thing i've tried i usually lose about 5lbs and then gain back 6. before trying to get pregnant with Rodney I did break down at the doctor's office and he prescribed me phentermine, a super scary prescription weight loss pill. ack! it was awful. I took it for 3 weeks and that's about all my heart could handle. I couldn't sleep and my heart was pounding in my chest 24/7. But it helped get off the extra pounds before getting pregnant, but it was a drastic move. i'm sharing that on here because I know how desperate you feel when you just want to lose some weight. you are willing to do anything. and buddy, i've done a lot.

so when i say that i LOVE these products and they have helped me see the most success and offer a sustainable healthy lifestyle change, know that I've been around the block. and something that is sustainable for the rest of my life was exactly what i was looking for. i know that i can't eat paleo the rest of my life, or whole foods, or vegetarian, or or or fill in the blank. i do all of those and then fall of the wagon into a 4 month bingefest. but i do know that i feel better when i stay away from dairy, chicken and refined flour. and this challenge has helped me find the best balance between living the healthy lifestyle that i need and also being human.

*I'm writing a detailed post about the "HOW TO" of how I did the challenge: what i ate, how i worked out and the ups and downs during the challenge.
**Advocare is an online health and fitness supplement company used by professional athletes and just everyday people like you. for me, it's like bodybuilding.com but with costco quality products and without semi nude people everywhere. ha!  You can buy the challenge here and look at what these supplements can help you with here.