Advocare 10 Day Cleanse Results & Recipes

If ya'll remember on Wednesday I promised to put up my final results from the cleanse today, for those of you who didn't catch that post, well, I did the Advocare 10 day cleanse, and I had some awesome results.

To learn more details about the cleanse Go HERE.

Basically the cleanse is supplements you take for 10 days while enjoying a diet of fresh fruits veggies and lean proteins. No sugar, dairy or grains. Well you can have those things, they just suggest that you limit your intake of them or use whole grains. I thought that if I'm going to spend $30 on something like this than why would I not do it to the best of my abilities? And thats exactly what I did. I followed the "rules" to a 'T'.

What did you hope to get out of the cleanse?

I hoped to 'reset' my body and mind. I was in a rut where all the healthy foods that I had come to love just weren't sounding as good any more and I was craving processed bullshit like no other. I just wanted a twix, a slice of pizza, a root beer float and giant bowl of peanut butter m&m's. I don't know why all these cravings came back so strong. But they did and along with that I was having trouble sleeping at night, and the scale wasn't budging nor where the inches. 

With all these plateaus building up like a wall, I knew I had two choices, either hit the wall and be stuck or give it all I got and burst through.

 

Thus came "Give It Your All August" to read about that go HERE. I'm determined to make that wall a pile of dust and start out the last third of the year out stronger than the beginning. 

And the Results are in:

8-5-13

Weight - 165.4

                                  Stomach - 36''                                 

Waist - 31''

L Thigh - 24 1/2''

R Thigh - 23 1/2''

L Arm - 11 1/2''   

R Arm - 12''

8-15-13

W- 162.0 (-3.4)

S - 33'' (-3'')

W - 29 1/2'' (1 1/2")

L T - 23 1/2'' (-1'')

R T - 22 1/2'' (-1")

L A - 11 1/4'' (- 1/4")

R A - 11 1/2'' (-1/2")

Not a crazy amount but I'll take 3.4 pounds gone in 10 days any time. Overall though I got out of this exactly what I wanted. I'm craving fresh fruit like CRAZY, I dream about the taste of fresh fruit. I am having the best sleep of my LIFE! I'm falling asleep with in minutes of laying down and I sleep deeply until my alarm goes off and then I'm able to pop right out of bed and start my day. It has been glorious. I'm enjoying the amount of energy I have now.

I'm still enjoying a Spark! Energy drink by Advocare daily. The energy is great and no crash afterwards.

On Saturday I'm starting the MNS MAX 3  by Adcocare and I couldn't be more excited, with the results from the Cleanse, I can only hope to see as good of results from the next 14 days as I have the last 10.

As promised here are some great recipes I enjoyed while on the cleanse.

Stuffed Breakfast Pepper

Cut the top off of a bell pepper than pull out the seeds and insides, boil the pepper in water until it is tender. Scramble 3 egg whites, onions, black beans, corn and cherry tomatoes over medium heat, adding in half a turkey sausage patty until all ingredients are cooked, remove from heat. Stuff the pepper with the breakfast mix and enjoy!

Southwest Veggie and Egg White Casserole 

1 boiled sweet potato chopped, 1/2 cup black beans, 1/4 cup corn, chopped onion, chopped orange pepper, chopped cherry tomatoes, put in a baking dish and pour in three eggs or the equivalent in egg whites and bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until eggs are fully cooked!

Stuffed Jalapenos

Halve a jalapeno and remove the seeds. Blend tomatoes, black beans, avocado, onion, and chicken breast until lightly blended. Stuff inside each half of jalapeno and bake at 350 for 10 minutes. I enjoyed mine on a bed of lettuce with fresh salsa. 

Hawaiian Stir Fry

In a skillet of medium heat combine jalapenos, onions and pineapple when they are lightly brown throw in raw chicken breast and cook until chicken is done. Sweet and Spicy!

Clean and Lean Turkey Chili

Go HERE

Overnight Oats (multiple variations)

In a mason jar combine 3/4 cup old fashioned oats with either : 

 a tablespoon of honey, one chopped banana, a sprinkle of cinnamon and a handful of sliced almonds.

one chopped banana, a handful of blueberries, a sprinkle of cinnamon.

one chopped green apple, sprinkle of cinnamon, a chopped banana and 1/2 tablespoon of honey.

one sliced kiwi, a handful of blueberries and a handful of sliced almonds.

After all ingredients are added, secure lid, shake jar and leave in fridge overnight. In the morning shake well and then enjoy!

"Fried" Banana's

On a tinfoil lined baking sheet cut (1-2)banana's in half length wise, place on baking sheet, drizzle with honey and a handful of sliced almonds sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes flipping the banana's half way through. EIther enjoy right away or put in the fridge for later.

I also enjoyed bell peppers with hummus. I ate a lot of green apples, banana's and cuties oranges.

I plan only slowly re-introducing everything I haven't eaten slowly so not to shock my system.

Yesterday for supper I had a tortilla with a babybell low fat cheese wedge spread on it with grilled chicken and handful of cherry tomatoes, chopped onion and one chopped orange pepper. It was delicious. I missed CHEESE!! Today I'm going to have my all time favorite meal, a Veggie delight Subway sandwich on wheat bread. I'm drooling as I type this.

Any questions, comments or thoughts about the products I used or recipes, just ask!

Have a great day!

-J

 

Final Day of Cleanse and Tickets To the Gun Show {W.O.W Linkup}

Happy Hump Day Ya'll!

Of course I'm going to link up with Skinny Meg for Workout Wednesday!

So most of you know that this month I'm holding my own personal challenge for myself called Give It Your All August and you can read about that HERE.

Today is my final day on the Advocare 10 Day Cleanse.

I have lost weight and I have lost inches, I will have the exact and final measurements up on Friday along with a bookoo of recipes.

But I promise I did see results.

As for the cleanse in general, I heard a lot of negativity about the "dreaded" fiber drink. Personally I love the Peaches and Cream Fiber Drink, I'm considering ordering more of it as a daily drink.

I also have fallen in love with Spark! Watermelon and Mango Strawberry are my favorite flavors!!!!

The cleanse was hard, I gave it my all and followed the rules as best as I could.

You don't HAVE to give up anything, they just encourage you to limit the intake of certain foods, well 

I cut them out. 

It's give it your all August so why not?!?!

For the last TEN days I have not had dairy ( I MISS CHEESE!) bread, tortillas,grains (except some old fashioned oats), flour, salad dressings, sugars or any additives. 

I have engorged on fresh fruit and veggies and some tuna and chicken. 

I have drank gallons of water each day and eaten my fruit like a trooper as a box of cookies stared at me at work. 

I survived.

And I feel great. 

The main thing I wanted to get out of the cleanse was to get my diet and mind back on track. And that's exactly what I got. I'm CRAVING fresh fruits and veggies like no other right now. I do miss my cheese and can't wait to enjoy it and my greek yogurt  and my occasional coffee again. But I know my mindset is back where it needs to be, when I want something sweet I reach for fruit again not processed bullshit.

Strangely, the biggest change I noticed and I'm not sure if it's accredited to the supplements or just the diet change, but I have been sleeping EXCELLENTLY!!! The last week of sleep has been the best effing sleep of my life. I wake up feeling refreshed, and I lay down and quickly drift into a deep sleep.

Over all I LOVED the cleanse and plan on doing it again and well probably again.

I'm taking a two day break from supplements and on Saturday I'm going to start Advocare's 14 day supply of MNS MAX 3 and see what benefits that has to offer my flubby tummy.

But now for the real reason your poppin' by Workout Wednesday.

Today I'm giving you a killer arm work out to turn those bat wings into lethal weapons.

After incorporating this workout into your routine, you'll be selling tickets to the gun show in no time.

I know I posted this before, but you can see the definition is growing all by doing this workout in with my normal routine!

How's your workout/wight loss journey going?

How did you get over plateau's?

Do you have a favorite Advocare product you'd recommend to me?

Have a GREAT hump day!!! I'll see you all Friday!

-J

Becoming BFF's WIth The Dressing Room

Every girl who has ever been overweight or disliked her body for some reason know what I'm talking about when I say, I hate trying on clothes and shopping for clothes.

Well I used too.

I used to fear that little cubicle in the back of the stores surrounded by mirrors and little skinny store associates. I used to try on clothes and sit in there and cry and blame the clothes and the store and everyone but myself. I was the one shoveling in the snack cakes. 

Little Debbie doesn't make you too little.

For the first time in forever I didn't cry when I went clothes shopping this weekend. 

It was a glorious feeling this weekend.

I wanted some new workout clothes, so we went to a local sporting goods store. As usual I looked around thinking "I wouldn't look good in that" and ignored it. I went for my usual sizes and big unshapely items. I was feeling a little brave so I grabbed a few items with the expectations of  looking like a busted sausage link in them. 

The crazy thing was that this time, this time, it was different. All those sizes that I clung to because I thought they helped hide my body, swallowed me whole.  As I looked in the mirror at myself in a sweatshirt that 7 months earlier would have been tight, I realized I wasn't that girl anymore. The body I was trying to hide was one that I have worked my ass off for. 

I have put blood, sweat and tears into losing this weight and I don't want to hide this body. 

This body is like a trophy now. 

I want to show it off.

 So I threw off the oversized sham of fabric I was hiding in and had my hubby go grab me smaller sizes in all the cute clothes I was scared to touch. 

Then things got crazy. 

He brought them too me and they didn't fit, he had to go back and get the next size down. 

I tried on these smaller sizes and I felt like a million freaking bucks. Trying on clothes didn't make me cry anymore,  it made me happy I couldn't believe it. I didn't want to leave this little cubicle anymore. It made me feel good. The feeling that those Little Debbie snack cakes of evil will and never will be as good as it was slipping into a pair of medium spandex shorts. 

Screw you Little Debbie, its over. We are never ever getting back together.

Dressing Room's, you and I are now BFF's, I will be visiting more often and I promise not to cry.

My new gear :D

It's all about progress not perfection

I feel like a fitness ninja! In all this black spandex!

3 weeks progress on arms, do you want a ticket for the gun show?!

How's your relationship with the dressing room?

What changes in everyday things have you experienced after weight loss?

-J

Excuses Don't Burn Calories

Surprising isn't it?

Ever since I've been making such good progress on my weight loss and lifestyle change journey people have been asking how I've done it and what advice I can offer. I have absolutely zero issues offering help, advice or encouragement to anyone who wants it. Plenty of my readers contact me and I do my best to reply back immediately or with in a few hours. 

I like the contact and I like to help people. 

But I can only help people who want to help themselves.

You all know I don't sugar coat anything. 

No one needs to increase their chance of diabetes around here. 

A person I know from where I'm from, came to me for help a few months back, I was more than happy to oblige! So she began and that was all great. She was putting forth effort to exercise, but when it came to eating habits, she didn't want to budge. She wanted to continue to drink each night, indulge in fast food for every meal and she expected the weight to "fall off".  I explained about healthy choices and what good food can do for your body. You don't have to "give up" your favorite foods, you don't have to starve yourself, every thing is fine in moderation. Pay attention to the amount of the more unhealthy foods you eat and that will help you a lot. She contacted me again today saying how nothing is helping and she just can't do it, it's too hard, healthy food is too expensive, she can't afford good foods, working out is a hassle, there isn't enough time in the day to workout, workouts cut into her partying time, the list goes on and on. She asked how I mange to do it. I don't "manage" to do it, I make time to do it. I make my schedule fit. I work 40-50 hours a week, and i still have plenty of time to do food prep, cook healthy meals from scratch, workout for 45 minutes to a hour and a half each night, tend to my blog, watch TV, play with my puppy, and spend plenty of time with my husband. It is just all about making time for everything, not making excuses. I tried to help her, but she wasn't wanting to put forth the effort, she figured she could walk a mile or two a week and the weight was going to fall off overnight. 

You don't put your weight on overnight, so why would it come off overnight.

She has all the power in the world to do this, but until she is in the right mindset, then she won't be ready.

You have to fully invest in a change. If you want it to be permeant you have to do things to permanently change it. Slow and steady wins the race, if you go about this the right way and lose your weight slowly and steadily by making changes to you activity level and your diet then you are on the right path for losing weight and keeping it off.

Not to sound like a broken record but progress is progress, because no matter how fast you are going you are lapping every single person who is parked on the couch in front of the TV. Don't focus on the time its going to take you to meet your goals, regardless, the time will pass anyways.

Please don't have ridiculous expectations and out of this world hopes that 50 pounds will melt off in a month. Set little goals that are easy to achieve versus setting goals that seem really far out.

I know I drone on about this but it is so true. I preach to myself daily about these things, because no one is perfect.

Hell I re-read my own blog too. I need reminders,motivation and reality checks too.

What really pisses me off about excuses is the "eating healthy is too expensive". Are you freaking kidding me???

You can afford to eat take out three times a day, plus pop and candy bars for snacks and some ice cream at the end of the day, but you can't "afford" to go grocery shopping.

No. 

I don't think so.

You CAN afford it. If you WANT to do it.

My husband and I spend roughly $400 a month on groceries and we eat out maybe three times a month. And for us, eating out means subway or frozen yogurt.

 Oh the exciting life we lead. 

The money we spend on groceries is for our meals at home. Or  I make up food to take with us. 

There is no shame of taking your own food on trips to save money, time or calories. 

You CAN do this, if you ARE WILLING to do so.

"Whats your excuse?"

Now I'm going to leave you with this new yummy recipe I came up with. 

Clean and Lean Turkey Chili

1lb lean turkey burger

10oz tomato juice

3 sm/md roma tomatoes, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

2 whole green onions, chopped

1lb black beans, pre cooked 

1lb red beans, pre cooked

1 small sweet potato, chopped

Cumin

Paprika

1 TBSP olive oil

In a large pot over medium heat add oil and all the vegetables, stirring occasionally. In a separate skillet brown your turkey burger, drain. Add turkey burger to vegetables, stir in tomato juice. Let cook slowly over medium heat stirring occasionally for twenty minutes. Add seasoning to taste, let sit on burner with heat off. Serve away or let cool and freeze.

This is delicious, filling and hubby approved.

Even though it's summer this stuff hits the freaking spot.

I hope you all have a marvelous Monday!

As always,

-J

Even When Your Hope is Gone, Move Along

This post has been in the back of my mind the last few weeks, it was just a matter of finding the best way to say it all. So my friends here we go..

Weight loss is hard. Its a journey that's filled with a lot of ups and downs. It's not for the weak. It takes so much dedication, will power and pure desire. 

Some days are easier than others and then some days you want to throw your scale at the mirror, throw on sweat pants order a large cheese pizza and slip into a food coma.

I truly feel this way someday.

These days are the ones that define you.

You can either sit down and mope because the scale isn't where you wanted it to be or you can get off your ass and move mountains.

I'm sorry if your looking for sugar coated fairy dust, I'm not that type of gal, I'm going to give it to you straight.

What you need to remember is how far you have come already and how much further you can go. That little voice inside your head that tells you you are tired and you should give up is a LIAR. You are more than capable to do anything and everything your heart desires. Your body was meant to do great things not cause you to be upset. Don't let this happen to you.

I know its hard, the scale isn't the only way to measure your progress though, when your scale disappoints you, pick yourself up and take a picture, try on old clothes, measure inches, see your progress through another set of eyes. We all need to remember that muscle weighs more than fat does, it just doesn't take up as much space. So while your scale hasn't moved you've lost fat and gained muscle. 

No one ever said this journey was going to be easy. If it was going to be easy more people would do it. I'm not just preaching this to the world on here, I have to tell my self all of this too from time to time. I'm not perfect and forget sometimes how far I've come. Instead of moping, I reminisce on my progress, and you should too! 

I was in such a funk last month but I didn't let it stick around. I'm kicking it the ass this month. Last night I was so tired after work and a run that I didn't want to do my 30 day shred video, I wanted to curl up in bed and watch Prison Break on netflix. As much as I wanted to do that, I pushed through and did my video, It wasn't easy, the first few minutes I felt I wasn't giving it my all that I was just half ass-ing it and then I thought to myself, how disappointed I would be with myself for slacking when I was perfectly capable of powering on. So I did. I gave it my all and before I knew it, the workout was done. I didn't die and had more energy then to get through laundry, dishes and other household fun.

You are entitled to a bad day. One bad day isn't going to undo all your good days. Just like one good day won't undo days of bad choices and slacking. Sometimes you just need a little reminder as to why you started.

What I'm really trying to get across is that don't let one bad day, a scale or slow progress hinder you from doing great things. Slow progress is still progress and its progress not perfection anyways.

You have come to far to throw the towel in now, pick that towel up right now and use it to wipe up your sweat. You are doing great and will continue to do great, I'm sure of it. Please don't give up on yourself.

"Go ahead as you waste your days with thinking, When you fall everyone stands. Another day and you've had your fill of sinking, with life held in your, hands are shaking cold, these hands are meant to hold. Speak to me, when all you got to keep is strong, Move along, move along like I know you do. And even when your hope is gone. Move along move along just to make through, move along..."

This is why I keep going. Because this girl right here is done hiding behind sweatshirts, done wearing sweatshirts in the middle of the dry kansas summer and feeling ugly. This girl is rocking her progress and going to show it off!

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday and remember why you started and keep pushing through.

- J

Give It Your All August {Workout Wednesday}

Waaaaake Up San Francisco!

I watch a little too much Full House on Nick at Nite...

Its Hump day my friends! So let's get down to the main attraction, Work out Wednesday! Again I'm linking up with Skinny Meg!

So It's August, in July I feel like I slacked a little in my workout area, or something for that matter, I've hit a serious plateau. I also felt like I was just in a fitness funk. I just wanted to stop. I wasn't losing, but I wasn't gaining either. I wanted to eat all the crap food I could find. I wanted to stop what I'm doing and curl up on the freaking couch and eat candy and drink pop. Or stuff my face with pasta and breadsticks. The more negative thoughts that filled my head, the worse I felt. I finally had to go through all my pictures, have a chunk of dark chocolate and tablespoon of peanut butter and remind my self why I started doing this. And why I never want to start over again. Then I came up with a comeback plan. I'm only human, I wish I could eat what I want when I want and still look like a supermodel. 

PSH.

Who am I kidding, that ain't me. 

I'm a former fatty that has sweated my jiggly ass off to get to where I am and I'd be damned if I'm going to go back.

You can't make me.

I also couldn't let all my new blog and instagram friends down that want my help. Hell I can't let people who think of me as an "inspiration" see me give up easily. 

(that whole being an inspiration thing still makes me blush and laugh, for real I'm just a former fatty on this journey like everyone else is, I'm not a superhero, nor am I perfect, I just focus on progress not perfection.)

I hated that feeling.

So to bust the shiiiit out of that feeling and get back to my norm, I've made August

"Give It Your All August"

I'm facing everything head on I take you on, head strong I'll take on anyone.

Heres all what I'm doing:

1st-30th {Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred}

5th-14th {Advocare 10 Day Cleanse}

17th -30th {Use Advocare MNS MAX 3}

All Month Use Advocare Spark! and up my daily water intake.

This is in addition to my normal run/walk regime and 30 minute ab routine.

I've heard a lot of good things about Advocare's products and have been researching and asking around about them. I'm giving these products a shot and if I have good results with them, I will probably incorporate them in more regularly.

I'm on day 3 of the cleanse and so far It really isn't that hard, I'm following it to a T. I'm not having dairy, sugar or bread. The fiber drink in Peaches and Cream really is a pretty good drink. It's not as bad as everyone made it out to be. 

I took before pictures for the 30 day shred, and I took measurements for the cleanse. I will post about each as I finish them up.

Now whose ready for a work out????

This 10 minute will kill your abs and legs. 

Your butt will thank you and your muffin top will hate you.

To up the difficulty add in hand weights during lunges.

Try it and let me know your thoughts on it!

What do you do when you get in a funk or hit a plateau?

And to leave you with a little motivation....

(sorry to my instagram followers for the repeat)

This is the same dress, the poor thing was just stretched to all get out in the first picture..

Have a wonderful workout Wednesday!!!!

-J

The Glow Run that Blowed

I had been looking forward to The Glow Run since June. I had had sooo much fun at The Color Run (Read about it HERE ) that I thought the Glow Run would be just as much if not more fun.

Boy was I wrong.

Now let's keep in mind that there were over 4,000 participants.

The run itself, probably wouldn't be bad in other towns, but the one at this location (wichita ks) was so poorly put together it was pathetic.

It was so far beyond un-organized it was disgusting. 

The Race began at 8:45, packet pick up began at 6 p.m, we got there right at 6 just to discover that there was zero sanctioned parking. You could park next door at a complex that was hosting the minor league baseball hall of fame or something like that, so if you found a spot and were okay with the chance of a fly ball  smashing your windshield, you were golden. So we parked and walked to get our packets, then we went to look at the goodies, the tent had one worker working and a bunch of people trying to buy stuff, we stood there forever trying to get her attention. After we did she took our card and we waited while she helped a bunch of others before finally giving me my card back! Ugh. So we took our packets and headed to my brother-in-law's house to visit for a bit before the run. We returned around 8 to get in line at the starting chute. Oh my freaking gosh. Every other 5K I had seen and the one I'd been in had rules, runners to one side, walkers in the middle and strollers on the other side, to keep the flow good. Well this had everyone mixed in and to top it off the course itself was a single road split down the middle by traffic cones, you ran down on one side then turned around and ran back on the other. 4,000 people running in a giant cluster fuck sharing a single traffic lane. And of course people had no courtesy to others, people would be running in front of you and then come to a dead stop, or they would pass you, swinging their elbows and nail you in the rib cage (thanks jerk in the bandana). The turns were even smaller space so every one piled up. It was like a traffic jam at 5:00 on a Friday during an apocalypse. I had to come to a complete stop more than once just waiting for a chance to move. Then there was the water station, the ones I seen had a table and  trash can, this one had people holding milk crates handing out cups of water, did I mention they were standing randomly in the middle of the road?? Then the "trash can" were empty milk crates in the middle of the road too. Yeah I had to jump over some. Then as the icing on the cake they had an ambulance making its horns sound randomly following the last of racers. I almost had a heart attack at that first screech. We finished, I was in a bad mood, it wasn't what it was cracked up to be, the people were rude, the course was pathetic and the beer in the beer garden brought out the "best" of people. 

Not. 

We are probably the only 21 and 24 year old that you'll meet that don't like drinking. We don't care if others drink, we just aren't drinking people, we maybe have 4 drinks between the two of us a year.

Yeah we are weird,

 eh don't care.

Then the cake got sprinkles too, the screen on my phone went out. It still played music but I couldn't see the screen for the random break out of rainbow that covered it. I have no idea what happened, but I have a good feeling that the bandana guy that elbowed me had something to do with it, ( he hit my phone and then the rib cage). 

So we left right after we got our medals, we went straight to the car, hopped in, and drove an hour to IHOP. Yeah we were both that angry that we wanted to drown our sorrows in pancakes. It didn't help that we hadn't eaten since before 6 and all I had that day was protein french toast and then a side salad later. I was hungry and angry. A deadly combination, so I let loose I had a four pancake stack of cinnamon roll pancakes with icing, and dammit I enjoyed every last bite. ( I paid for it later with a hell of a stomach ache) 

We got home, I had a small private funeral service for my iPhone5 and did a final backup of it on my computer.

When I woke up on Sunday I grabbed it to get the numbers off the back and began to call apple, for the hell of it I tried turning it on, it was a MIRACLE!!!! It turned on with no glitching, no damage and crisp clean screen resolution. I was SHOCKED. I screamed and might of pee'd a little. It lived. That made up for the bad run experience.

 The plus side of the day was spending it with my hubby.

Don't get me wrong her, I'm not saying that the Glow Run 5k is bad, just the one at this location was horrible. I'm sure there are others with different opinions but this was my experience.

End of Rant.

We may have not had the best of time, but we sure looked cute!

Have you had any bad race/event experiences??

-J