The Beginning

Yesterday I decided to try Advocare's 24-Day Challenge.

I've been heavily into nutrition and fitness for about 6 years. When I was 25 I began noticing red patches and breakouts on my skin. I had also started to exercise in preparation for my wedding that year. I wasn't exactly fat at the time, but I was overweight by my standards, and I needed to lose about 15-20 pounds. I was having a really hard time losing the extra weight, especially in my midsection (story of our lives, right ladies?!) Before that time I had very little interest in working out and definitely did not eat healthy food.

Following the advice of a new friend (who I will always credit for starting me on a path that totally changed my life) I sought help from a naturopathic doctor who drew blood and ran a food sensitivity panel. The results led the doctor to recommend that I cut out wheat, dairy, and cane sugar, as well as soy and a few random fruits. While this blog is not going to be about that journey (maybe I will write it down some other time), that dietary lifestyle is one that I still follow, so it will affect my food choices while I'm on the 24 day challenge. It's also important for me to note those discoveries as the beginning of my journey down the "rabbit hole" into the natural health and fitness world.

I lost fifteen pounds in the first two weeks of the elimination diet my naturopath recommended, and it's weight that I've kept off for five years, sticking to the "diet" (I actually consider it a lifestyle) and getting regular exercise. My skin cleared up too - I've now almost completely eliminated the rosacea symptoms. (I also incorporated a new skin care regime and herbal supplements to support my liver.) More importantly, the process completely changed the way I look at food and nutrition. A few years later, in 2009, I studied for and passed the NASM Personal Trainer Certification exam.

My Advocare journey started last night when my husband and I met with our new Advocare coach for more than two hours. He introduced us to Advocare by reviewing some success stories, and describing the business opportunity and the products. We're not interested in the business opportunity at this time (who knows what the future will bring) but we did discuss our specific goals, needs and concerns. My husband is easy - he wants extra energy and weight loss. My goals are similar, but with more focus on general wellness, clear skin, better sleep, and burning off that stubborn top layer of fat that refuses to budge, even after five years of exercising religiously four or five days a week, eating organic and whole foods, and avoiding chemicals, processed foods, gluten, dairy and refined sugar. Chalk it up to genetics, bad posture, weak abdominal muscles (not helped by an appendectomy in 1993), not doing the "correct" or most effective style of crunches, or my chronic sweet tooth - whatever the cause, like most women I know, strengthening my abdominal muscles is a major goal of mine and an ongoing challenge.

I've also been forced to cut back on my workouts lately - I had a bad cold over Christmas that lasted almost two weeks, and then, before I was fully recovered, I went to a step aerobics class (my very favorite form of cardio!) and, like an idiot, fell off my step and twisted my ankle. There's nothing like being sick and then injuring yourself to make you feel old. Not being able to work out in the manner and frequency my body and mind craves for close to a month now has been challenging to say the least, and since my ankle is still healing I wanted to do something that would help facilitate weight loss (or at least weight maintenance) and keep me healthy while I'm "out of the game."

The goal of this blog is to record how I am using the Advocare products, how they're making me feel, and ultimately to compare my end results to my initial goals. I decided this morning (in a "Spark" fueled moment of genius?) that I'd like to record how each supplement makes me feel so that I know which (if any) to continue ordering after the 24 day challenge is over. It will also be useful for me to have a review of how I've felt on this program (symptoms, sensitivites, changes to my mental and physical state) for the next time I decide to do this. If you've been curious about Advocare or considering the program, and you're reading this, and you make it all the way to the end with me (!) maybe these notes will also be helpful for you in deciding whether or not you want to take the challenge. Or (forgive me for starting a sentence with "or") it will simply be an interesting read - I hope it will be both.

To learn more about the Advocare 24 Day challenge, check out www.advocare.com - and if you're interested, e-mail me so that I can put you in touch with my coach.