Well here we are. . . Day 25. I know it's a 24 day challenge, but day 25 is the hardest. There are no "rules" to follow. Do you continue with this lifestyle or do you stuff your face and blow up all your hard work? I continue! I continued last year with great success. I was stronger last year. There were no cravings. . . no desire to stuff my face. That's not so true this year. But I'm focused and trying really hard to find that strength I had last year. I can't deny I have cravings and I'm not sure why cause I kicked that during the challenge last year. But here I am. . . as such, for my cravings I made Advocare protein balls, using their meal replacement shake. I've never ever made these in all this time doing Advocare. They turned out a bit dry and I might tweak the recipe next time, but it sure did make me feel like I had a sweet snack last night.
I realized yesterday that I took (and posted to FB) a photo of breakfast, lunch and dinner. Geesh. I don't know what got into me. But this is what I ate - minus the snacks (and yes I snack - often)
A shake for breakfast, tuna "salad" (tuna, pickle relish and eggs) on top a bed of quinoa for lunch and a new recipe - Autumn Minestrone Soup for dinner. All of these were YUM!! When I really eat clean I crave that lunch combo all the time. I don't question it. I just eat it. My snacks were carrots and hummus, strawberries and cashews . . the protein ball after dinner. And handfuls of grapes every now and again. I snack often and a lot. If I get hungry I blow it. Big time.
So the results. . .
I'm down 9.6 pounds.
I don't have a before of the fat %, but it was 32.8. So I'm down only 0.6% in fat. I thought that was a bit on the low side.
As for the inches, I lost a total of 6.5 inches broken down like this:
Chest: -2
Waist: -2
Hips: -2
Thigh: -0.5
Overall I'm pleased with the results. I had hoped for more. And I had hoped to reach 183. Why that number? I was lower last year (in the 170's) when I got sick. I bounced to 181-183 and held there for some time. My body likes that range and I wanted to get back there during the challenge and proceed to get myself over that hump. But I will get there. . . I am motivated.
One thing that motivates me is before and after pics because you can "see" the difference. I'm very suspicious of many before and after photos. I think many are rigged in some way: clothing, camera angle. . . I wear the same clothes, take the photo in the same place in my house and do the same poses.
You probably have to make that bigger to see, but the differences are there. And that's motivating to me for sure!!!!
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My husband did the challenge with me. He lost 8.2 lbs and 5.5 inches. I can visibly see him shrinking. I guess cause you can always see progress in others before yourself. We are always so critical of ourselves.
I really want to see the 170's and reach a certain hole (that I punched last year) on my belt. So those are my next goals. I felt like I did so much better on the challenge last year but I need to stop downplaying this year's results. I think I struggled more this year regardless of the numbers that resulted. Mentally is was harder and I was discouraged by that. I love the challenge though and I love the Advocare product line. So the goals are within reach! I just gotta get there.
I made this fun collage of some of the food I've eaten over the past 24 days.
I'm still on this plateau of 182-183. I need to hit 181 to get to 30 pounds. I never imagined I'd still be playing yo-yo with the scale at this point. I really really wanted to hit that goal before yesterday when we went to a Cardinals baseball game. I had that planned as my cheat "meal" and I decided I was doing it no matter what the scale said. Since I'm kind of a cardio junkie I ran every day Thurs - Mon hoping to make some progress. I also really wanted to get some miles on my legs. On Sunday morning I got in 5 miles and I can't tell you how long it's been since I've done that route. My legs were beat and I knew I wasn't in shape enough to run it. I walked twice for a total of 1 mile, so I was happy with that. I really want to get to a point where I do 5 miles once a week consistently.
So what did I eat at the ballgame? I did not eat clean, that's for sure.
My husband and I shared nachos with pulled pork BBQ sauce, cheese, salsa and toppings.
I had two Shock Top beers.
I had one mudslide. My cousin was drinking them and I had forgotten my love of the mudslide. So I got one. Funny how they put a lid on it. It almost looks like chocolate milk for a kid. I said I got mine in a sippy cup! :)
The game went to 11 innings and we won! Whoop! We got home much later than expected. Then I topped off the day by having an oreo McFlurry from McD's. Yes I really cheated. I prefer to just cheat one meal and not most of the day like this. But at the same time I kind of needed to get this out of my system. I'm ready for a good week and hopefully to get to my goal of 181 by the weekend. Then it's on to to the 170's! I think I'm going to take measurements and some updated pics on Sat.
Speaking of pics. . .
I downloaded a new app on my phone so that I can make collages for instagram :)
I know any before and after is legit, but I haven't been as heavy as I was in 2008-2009 since then. . . I have gone up and down. I really want to get together some before and after from my Advocare journey. However, I do think there is value in these photos. I don't even identify with the 2009 version of me. In the full body shot. . . gosh I knew I was big. . . I've seen that photo before. . . I just didn't realize how chunky my legs were. I remember those pants. . . I loved them. I was sad when they were too big on me, which is silly. But it's hard to find pants in long lengths that I love. I loved those pants! But I never want to fit into them again. I hope I gave them away, but I need to go through some clothes again and just purge.
From my perspective these photos motivate me and keep me dedicated. But I hope they motivate others too. Sometimes it just takes the right photo to encourage people. For me I've seen many before and afters, but then one clicks. I'm like if she can do it I can do it. I've seen some crazy before and afters - where the after is like bikini competition ready. That is likely not realistic for me. That is not my goal and I know that I don't have that kind of dedication. I'm just the average girl looking to be more confident and hopefully have a better time shopping for clothes. Though I've started to wonder if that's ever really easy as a woman? I'm not sure it is, no matter the size you wear!
Hope you all had a good holiday weekend. Summer is here and while I'm more active in the summer, I'm also in positions to eat more food. So summer is always a challenge. I'm determined to make this one the healthiest summer yet!
