Day One

I just want to address a comment that a nutritionist left on my facebook status when I posted that I was trying Advocare and would be blogging about it. Her (quite valid) concern was about my choice to use supplements that contain "natural and artificial ingredients" (in the Herbal Cleanse) including sucralose, and a meal replacement shake that uses whey protein. (I don't eat dairy.) I replied that I was already aware of the presence of sucralose in the Spark energy drink, the whey protein, and the "artificial flavors" in the Herbal Cleanse. While I generally try to avoid these ingredients,  I am putting my faith in the team of scientists and medical experts who endorse Advocare. I will be using half as much Spark as the program recommends, due to a sensitivity to caffeine, which will reduce my sucralose intake.

From my limited research so far, it appears that sucralose is considered the "safest" of the artificial sweeteners, and is present in such a small amount in the products anyway that it is apparently unlikely to cause any adverse effects. Also, I will be substituting the Advocare protein shake for one I already use and know I can tolerate, Vega - a rice/pea protein blend (with lots of other nutrients) available at Whole Foods. Although I don't know how or whether this will affect the interaction of all the ingredients that have been formulated to work together during this challenge, the substitution will take care of my "dairy issue."

I love reading and learning about nutrition, and I always appreciate other people's feedback and comments. I will make it a priority to find out as much about the "artificial" ingredients and sucralose used in the products as I can. To me though, "artificial ingredients" seems to be a very broad term, and really could cover any number of ingredients, and lead to a whole other debate of what is considered "natural" food in this country. We could discuss the contraversial role of the FDA, or we could get into a conversation about stevia vs. sucralose vs. aspartame, etc - but since I'm definitely not a health expert, nutritionist, or doctor, and only have my own research and knowledge of my own body to go by, I can't really make any valid claims or statements - nor do I even really want to open up that can of worms here! I will simply check into Advocare's ingredients some more, and post anything here that I find interesting or consider important about what I learn.

Just keep in mind that everything I post is simply my opinion (educated or otherwise) and everyone else is entitled to theirs.


Moving on, here are my notes about Day 1:


SPARK:
I followed the directions and drank a package of the Spark energy booster upon waking. Here I am an hour later writing a blog, and the words are literally flying out of my head onto my iPad. By the way, this is the first blog I've ever written - so I'm guessing the Spark works!!! A package of Spark contains 120 mg of caffeine, and my sensitivity to (everything!) caffeine was a concern I addressed with my coach last night. His advice: "drink half." I drank a whole package just to "see". It took about 30 minutes for me to notice the effects (slower than coffee, which hits me immediately and after less than half a cup) but about 90 minutes later I feel jittery, slightly sweaty, and very awake. I don't feel ill, but I will definitely only be drinking half a package tomorrow! My guess is that for those who aren't sensitive to caffeine or are used to drinking coffee on a daily basis, it won't be an issue. Another concern I have is that Spark contains Sucralose. As a rule I do not generally consume any chemically altered sugar such as sucralose, aspartame, etc. However, I am putting aside this concern for the moment, just for 10 days, and putting my faith in Advocare's scientific and medical advisory board and product certification program - but I have to be honest, the presence of Sucralose makes me slightly nervous and does contribute a little bit to my decision to only use half a package of Spark from this point on.

FIBER DRINK & CATALYST:
Half an hour after drinking the Spark, the directions are to drink the "Fiber Drink" along with three "Catalyst" pills. The Mandarin Orange flavor cleanse powder has a lot of fiber - it's very pulpy and gets thicker the longer it sits. This is slightly offputting, but not really offensive, and it doesn't taste bad. I will just have to drink it very quickly each day. It's hard to say whether the Fiber Drink and Catalyst pills have added to the energy boost I described above. The ingredients seem to be amino acids, probiotics, vitamins and minerals, and digestive herbs. As I scan the containers I don't see anything at first that I recognize as an energy supplement, but then I notice"Taurine", which a little internet research tells me is apparently a derivative of the amino acid Cysteine, and is widely used in energy drinks. Perhaps this, along with the combination of everything else in the Fiber Drink, is contributing to my extra energy. Either way, I am definitely slightly "jacked up" on energy this morning, and so is my husband. I have made a note to research Taurine.


HERBAL CLEANSE:
The directions are to take 3 herbal cleanse pills at night. Since I was sleeping (off and on), I do not know whether these pills had any adverse effects on my body. I didn't notice anything.


OVERALL EXPERIENCE - DAY 1:

Overall, Day 1 has me experiencing the following:

1. Jitters - I don't feel unwell, but I am slightly jittery, though not shaky. I don't feel as caffeinated as I used to in high school when I took diet pills (for a very short time, as I couldn't handle them, and no 16 year old should ever try!)

2. Sweating/Cold - I am sweating quite a lot in the first part of the morning and quite cold throughout the rest of the day. Since my house is old and therefore usually very cold, it's hard to say if that's a side effect or not.

3. Pooping! - I am spending more time than usual in the bathroom. (I'll spare the details, but it doesn't look like "expelling waste" during the cleanse stage is going to be a problem!) I work from home, but for those of you who work at an office, it's not awful, but you should be prepared to poo a lot! (If you can't poop-a-loop with other people around, you will want to find yourself a nice private bathroom somewhere on another floor.) 

4. Hunger - I got the thumbs up from our coach to eat as much as I normally do (about 1600 calories a day, and every 2 to 2-1/2 hours.) That's good, because it looks like I am going to be quite hungry on this program. My coach recommended I continue to eat following my usual patterns, although obviously I will be staying away from alcohol, added sugar, processed carbohydrates, etc. I don't plan to starve myself on this program though, and I will trust the nutritional supplements to do their jobs without deliberately reducing my caloric intake. Every time I eat during Day 1, I instantly feel better.

5. Sneezing - After I drink the herbal cleanse powder I sneeze quite a lot, a reaction I typically have to antioxidants, which apparently these products are loaded with! My sneezing stops after a few minutes, however.

6. Headache - My second dose of Spark (a half package) on an empty stomach, in the late afternoon, coupled with more Catalyst pills, has given me a dull headache. It's not that bad, and I attribute it partially to the caffeine/energy boosting ingredients, and partially to my body trying to purge itself of toxins. Later though, my headache gets worse - I even have trouble getting to sleep because of it. I can attribute this to the caffeine in the Spark, which is either too much or I'm withdrawing from it, or not eating enough calories throughout the day (I got sidetracked with blogging and work!), or maybe not drinking enough water (even though I felt certain I'd drunk a huge amount!) I've also heard that a headache is a common cleanse side effect, which occurs because your body is getting rid of so many toxins. I make a note to eat and drink more tomorrow.

7. Irritability/Sleeplessness - I have quite a lot of trouble getting to sleep the first night, and I wake up often throughout the night. I am really irritable, either from the caffeine or because I took my before photos right before bed and was pretty upset when I looked at them - which is enough to ruin any girl's night! Not exercising for a month has changed my body more than I thought - either that or I thought I was in a lot better shape than I am! Either way, I need this challenge more than I realized. (I'm still reeling in horror.)

Overall, I'm experiencing standard cleanse side effects. As long as I can sleep tonight, it should be pretty manageable.


Here are my top 3 tips based on my experience so far:

1. DO NOT take your "before" photos in the evening. Trust me on this one! It's for your mental stability! Take them when you wake up, when everything is tighter and less puffy. You're also likely to be in a better mood and not view the photos as negatively.

2. Drink a TON of water. When you think you have drunk enough, drink more!

3. If you're caffeine sensitive, only drink half the Spark drink.