24 Day Challenge Progress

   So today was the end of the fifth day of the Advocare 24 Day Challenge, so we'll just dive into how things have been for us!

Aimee
   I have always have joked with Glen that I am addicted to junk food, but after these five days (only five...how sad) I swear that wasn't so joke-ish after all. There were days that I swear I was going through withdrawal; at my sister's house I was 90% sure the bag of cookies was looking at me...through the cupboard...in another room. Totally crazy, I know. There were two days in particular that I was like ravenous for anything delicious and not cleanse-ey. Give me that brownie ice cream pizza french fries cheesecake....alright fine banana. But I am SO glad I didn't cheat, especially after we weighed and measured today. I think this week was particularly hard because I wasn't able to completely prep like I wanted before we started the cleanse so I felt a little like a rabbit with what I was eating. But I was able to plan for the next week so I can eat person food now too! It sounds silly but even just being five days in I can tell that preparation is huge in being successful. If you prepare it makes it easier so it keeps you from giving up. It also really helps doing it with someone else. Glen may or may not have have to hold onto my hand particularly tight when we were walking passed a table of cupcakes. Yeah...that got a little dicey. But I am so glad he's in this for the long haul too! Otherwise it would have been a flop like everything else I've tried.
   I had to admit that even though I was hopeful, I was also a pretty big skeptic. I promised myself that I would look at this experience objectively; that was the whole idea so that I could honestly either suggest or discourage it. I had heard people talk about the Spark drink before I started and how it made them more alert and able to focus. I was particularly skeptic about this but as I was thinking about it today (during my super ridiculously productive day), I realized something. When I watch Caelan during the week I usually get there about 6:30 or 7 am and fall asleep until he wakes up, then inevitably I wil fall asleep during one of his naps unless I force myself to stay busy. That didn't happen this week. I snoozed for about an hour on Wednesday morning but that was it. I was amazed! I can home and was tired at the end of the day like I should be but I was good during the day!
   My thoughts on products so far are that there is a lot to keep track of at first, but once you're in the swing of things it's not as bad. The past two mornings without the fiber drinks were lovely. That's my least favorite part but the Spark in the morning is tasty! The grape one tastes like kool-aid and the fruit punch is yummy too! I am trying watermelon tomorrow. But the proof is in the pudding (mmm....pudding):

 Day 5 Weigh In:

Weight: 145.3 lbs (-3.7 lbs)

Right Arm: 10 in. (-1 in.)

Shoulders: 42 1/2 in (-1/2 in.)

Chest: 38 3/4 in. (-1/4 in.)

Waist: 31 in.

Hip: 39 3/4 in. (-1/4 in)

Right Thigh: 21 in.

Right Calf: 13 in.

Total Loss: 3.7 lbs and 2 inches overall. 

Glen

    The past five days have been some of the toughest in regards to food. If you do not know me then you do not know how much I love eating. I eat whenever I get the chance and I eat all of my favorite foods. We are only on day 5 and I feel like I am about to go crazy and I probably will have gone crazy but I know that at the end of these 24 days I will have learned a whole new level of self control and discipline.

    Up until this point I had not realized exactly how much I used food as a crutch. Whenever I am at home and watching a show or doing some business I would get something to eat and I would eat off and on through out the day until Aimee and I went to bed.

  When I first heard about this challenge I knew people were getting their results and I was stoked for them but as far as I was concerned I was pretty certain that I would not be able to last 24 days doing a very specific routine and making sure certain things were done in incremental times. 

  Aimee then recently of course began looking further into it and one thing that I have come to learn ever since I first met her was that I could accomplish anything as long as she was by my side so I agreed to do it with her shortly after our journey began.
   There are a lot of great health products on the market and after only five days I can already see and feel a difference in myself. I have been able to have more energy and I already feel healthier. Although the first few days have been a bit hellish I see the results and as we all know results have incredible motivation to keep someone going. Plus having a great team mate and not wanting to let her down keeps me right on track. Next milestone will be to get to Day 11. So I am almost halfway there and before I know it the 24 days will be up. 

Day 5 Weigh In:

Weight: 230 lbs. (-1 lb.)

Right Arm: 15 in. (-1/2 in.)

Shoulders: 54.5 in. (-2 in)

Chest: 46 in.

Waist: 47  in.

Hips: 45 in.

Right Thigh: 21 3/4 in. (-2 1/4) in

Right Calf: 16 in.

Total Loss: 1 lb and 4 3/4 inches overall. 

We're definitely still motivated! Talk after our next weigh in!!

We're Accepting the Challenge

   Oh my gosh! Two posts in a week?! Unheard of...but true. Normally my posts are about what events have happened with us recently and how we're doing; the next few aren't quite going to be like that. Glen and I have been worried about our health habits for quite some time now. Both of us have a sweet tooth that practically consume our whole heads, both of us lacked serious knowledge about where to start or even where to look for information. For the entire time we've known each other we've talked about how we have bad habits that we don't know how to shake. We knew people who had done Advocare challenges and those who not only did the challenges but were distributors and advisers for the products. We were kind of wishy-washy about it for a while until the desire for healthier lifestyles evolved into wanting to be healthy and needing to find a way for some extra income. Glen has been working already and I knew that it needed to be me who brought in that income(despite his best efforts to convince me otherwise). I looked into Advocare a little deeper and Glen and I both liked what we heard and what we were learning. But we both refused to sell anything we hadn't put to the test ourselves. Thanks to one of my family members we are able to do just that. Which brings me to....

THE ADVOCARE 24 DAY CHALLENGE:
   The Advocare 24 Day Challenge is all about resetting your body essentially. The first ten days is all a part of the cleanse phase which cleans out your body of all the toxins and junk it has built up over time. The next 14 days are the max phase which helps reset your metabolism and really retrain your body on absorbing the necessary nutrients. That's the super reader's digest version, if you want more information you can email, Facebook message, text, call, or comment down below. To start the challenge we took our before pictures and our measurements. Over the next 24 days we will periodically make a post about how things are going and we are going to be super honest because we love our friends and family and believe in being nothing but honest with you all.

Day One: TODAY!
Aimee:
   Okay, so sharing personal details about myself especially my insecurities is the hardest thing I've ever done so please be kind. I have never been the textbook definition of "fat"and I know that will lose a lot of you, but I think I represent another chunk of women that I kind of call the "in betweens." I like many others have a time where I felt at my best; for me that was toward the end of our engagement, our wedding and shortly after. This was a result of no one hiring me (because of only being in Texas a few months) and doing yoga for an hour or more every day, decreased appetite due to hot temperatures and some medical stuff that I wasn't aware of then. But I was 125 lbs which was still healthy for me but more than that I felt gorgeous. 
   My goal for the challenge was to get back to my wedding weight and learn more about nutrition and taking care of my body. Some may roll their eyes at me when I say this but it's significant for me; I am the heaviest I have ever been and even more than that I feel more unattractive than I ever have. So for me, the goal of this is my wedding weight, healthy habits, and feeling gorgeous again.

Before Details:
Weight: 149 lbs.
Right Arm: 11 in.
Shoulders: 43 in.
Chest: 39 in.
Waist: 31 in.
Hips: 40 in.
Right Thigh: 21 in.
Right Calf: 13 in.


My initial thoughts today have been these:
1. Fiber drink-unpleasant but survivable.
2. If I drink anymore water I may just float away.
3. I have never been so full while being on a "diet."
4. I miss milk.

So for some of the days during the cleanse there is a fiber drink that you have to drink and I had heard that this was the worst part so I was not looking forward to it. I am a picky person when it comes to my food and drink and to top it off I have a super sensitive gag reflex. I took the suggestion of my coach and mixed it with 4 oz of water and 4 oz of Trop50 orange, I had to mix a little extra water in though toward the end. It also helps if you brush your teeth right after.

The "rule" for water consumption is your weight divided by two is equal to the number of ounces you should consume. I hate water. Sounds strange yes, but it has no flavor so I don't like it. I fixed that problem by putting some lemon slices in the water. Made it more appetizing at least. But I am pretty sure I drank more water today than I did all last week. If I drink anymore you may find me floating somewhere in the middle of nowhere.

There are some diets or health programs that make you go through the day eating very little ("I'm stuffed...I just ate a raisin" kind of stuff). This is not the case with Advocare! You eat basically every 2-3 hours and I am so full! When you do the challenge you get all source of resources to help you but it pretty much boils down to eating what your body needs for fuel. Protein, fruits/veggies, some carbohydrates and small amounts of healthy fats. 

For the cleanse portion of the challenge you can't have dairy which is killer for me because I love milk. Normally I drink TONS but today I had none and it feels strange. We don't even have any in the fridge. Is there such a think as a milkoholic? I think I am one and I am having serious withdrawal issues. 

That's all for me!

Glen: 
   Growing up I was a very active kid and well into my teenage years even but after high school because I no longer had P.E or went swimming all summer. I lost all physical activity and I started working as a security guard to help pay for my mission. The first place they put me at had me walking around more but the last place they put me before I left for my mission had me sitting in a booth for 8 hours and for those 8 hours for 6 plus months I was constantly eating and never doing any physical activity so slowly I began to gain weight and by the time I left on my mission I was overweight and unhealthy. For the 2 years on my mission I was walking around quite a bit so I lost some weight but I never got back down to my ideal weight of 175. 

   After getting home from my mission I followed a pretty unhealthy pattern of eating all the time and doing some moving around but not much, so as you can guess my weight fluctuated and sadly I have never been able to get below 200 pounds. 
Before Details:

Weight: 231
Right Arm: 15.5 in.
Shoulders: 56.6 in.
Chest: 46 in.
Waist: 47 in.
Hips: 45 in.
Right Thigh: 24 in.
Right Calf: 16 in.

 Here is what I am looking to accomplish in this 24 day challenge
1. Reach the 199 lbs mark
2. Create better daily habits
3. Be more self disciplined
4. Be in better shape to do more activities with Aimee
5. Learn healthy habits

   After the first day I know that this is going to be incredibly hard but because of the support of my wife it is going to be a lot easier. I am looking forward to watching both her and I get healthier and personally I feel like we will grow closer together as a couple. 1 down and only 23 more to go!

Here Comes Summer

   Hi everyone! Time to update things from the past couple months. The weather has been getting warmer here in Texas so we have been doing some playing outside, which has been nice! A little while after my last post we had an uncharacteristically mellow Saturday and wanted to take advantage of the nice weather by going to the park. But it looks a little strange walking around the park on a nice Saturday without a kid, so we stole Megan and Gavin's and went to the park! It was so fun! We played on the swings and the slide and climbed on the jungle gym (as much as a munchkin can at 8 months old). After we had played ourselves all out, we went to the car and played with the horn for a few minutes then we headed back to return the kiddo.
    Since I posted last Glen got a job. He works for Leslie's Pool Supplies and really seems to enjoy it. It's not quite full time but he's been doing well at it and it's helping to ease the financial stress. He's still working  on his t-shirt business and the website looks awesome! He's added a bunch of new designs and just recently he added some fun flip flops, just in time for summer! You guys should totally take a look! http://shirtsjustforyou.spreadshirt.com/. The company that hosts the website did some tweaking to the site for him and made it look awesome! They also sent us a couple free t-shirts so we can see how they printed; they looked so awesome! Glen used one of the samples to get me one of the ones I really liked. Corrine came for a visit in the beginning of May and it was a busy and fun visit!
   My semester is over and I am so glad it is! It was my last semester of having to take 15 credit hours, so I am hoping that the next semesters feel a little lighter than the ones before. I am doing 6 credits of summer coursework after which I will start my last year in the education program (wow...did I really just say that?!). In the fall I will spend one full day every week in my cooperating school and I will be working on taking a bunch of certification tests. In the spring I will be in a cooperating classroom full time, then I will finally graduate! This summer I will prepare for and take the first of my certification tests and I am so freaking nervous! There's a whole process you have to go through to even clear to take the test, so that's my focus now.
   After my semester ended, I got really home sick for New York and my family there, and Glen as he usually does suggested I go. Thanks to my Dad who had an extra buddy pass, I was able to go and be there for Lucy's birthday (it was the first I have been able to be there for since her first). I also got to see one of Justin's baseball games and surprise my Grandpa Friday. I was so happy to see everyone and it made me even more excited to go back with Glen in the beginning of July. I already have a list of things I want to do with him there. So excited!

Lucy taking a swing at her pinata at her birthday party.

Some of the pictures I took at Justin's game. He's so fun to watch!

   Glen and I are also starting something that we are both excited and nervous about. After memorial day we are starting the Advocare 24 Day Challenge. We have both struggled with maintaining healthy habits and really learning how to eat healthy and really take care of our bodies. It's going to be an interesting 24 days and I am looking forward to seeing what it does for both of us. Keep an eye on my Facebook, we'll post before and after information and share our thoughts on the program and the challenge. I think it will be really good!