Week One Review

Well, I am done with week one and all is good so far!

I am down 3 pounds... so the scale says. The thing is, I started (this time) at 188 and now I am 184. I honestly do not consider that being down 4 pounds. My reasoning? My weight can fluctuate that much already week to week anyways because I am not consistent with my eating habits. With that being said, I have been doing pretty well, so I am not dismissing the fact that the scale has gone down. However, I am not even going to do a smidgen of a victory dance until I am under 168 pounds. Why is 168 a magic number for me? Well, that is the weight that I was at when Dereck and I met. Once I can get under that again, I will allow a small victory dance. Once I am below 150 pounds, I may do a big victory dance and some clothes shopping.

It's not all about pounds lost though. I am going to be exercising and trying to get toned. That means that I may look awesome at 160 pounds. Therefore, I am going to be taking progress pictures and I need to do my measurements tonight. Pictures and measurements will tell more truth than the number on the scale.

So, how well have I done at following my own rules?

1. Work out a minimum of 2 times a week for 45 minutes at a high intensity
2. Stay between 1200-1500 calories per day
3. Follow the Eat to Live lifestyle as closely as I can.
4. Use Calorie-Count.com for support.
5. Drink a lot of water
6. Eat every 3 hours

1. I worked out twice last week. Both times it was Zumba and I actually did 60 minutes. It was tough, but it made me feel great!
2. I only went over on my calories one day. It was yesterday and I only went over by 45 which is amazing considering I felt like it was a pig out day. Even though I went over, I still netted over 400 cals, so I was still "technically" under.
3. I have been trying to incorporate as many vegetables as possible and cut down on meat consumption.
4. I've been very active on Calorie-count.com and love using the app. The calorie camp feature is great and my BFF joined so we can keep each other in check!
5. I have been very conscious about the amount of water I am drinking and even chugging some when I realize I am way under. It's hard to remember to drink a lot of water in the winter time. 
6. While I have not been religiously eating every 3 hours, I have been using the Breakfast, Snack, Lunch, Snack, Dinner structure. Eating that way almost makes you eat every 3 hours without really timing it. I started having mixed feelings on how important it really is to eat every 3 hours. Some things I have read now say that it doesn't really matter. However, I did that in the past and it worked well for me, so I am not going to abandon my previous beliefs.

I am not sure if it is in my head or not, but my pants feel a little loser in my outer thigh area. That is one of my major problem spots, so if it's true, that is awesome. That's also the reason I am going to take measurements tonight.

Calorie-Count.com

Hey guys!

I have been very active on Calorie-Count. I remembered how I was really active on there a few years back when I lost a good amount of weight. Even better, they now have an app for your phone, so all of your information is synced up and you can enter everything on the go. I love that it has a barcode reader too. On top of all of that, they have made it more involved by adding the Calorie Camp and a social media type of aspect to it. I am really enjoying using Calorie-Count.com again.

Here is the link to my profile on there, http://caloriecount.about.com/calcamp/profile/jackiel87

You should check it out! It is free .

10 pounds in 3 weeks?

I'm going to try! I booked the hotel for Sedona yesterday and it is non-refundable. My goal is to be 10 pounds less by then. When I weighed myself this morning I was pretty pissed. I felt like I had been eating good this week and worked out last weekend, but I guess it didn't matter. The scale says 188 lbs. That is completely ridiculous . So, my goal is to be at 178 (hopefully 175) by the time we go to Sedona to do wedding stuff. To achieve that goal I am going to take my own advice and do the following:

1. Work out a minimum of 2 times a week for 45 minutes at a high intensity (i.e. Zumba ...it kicks my butt)
2. Stay between 1200-1500 calories per day
3. Follow the Eat to Live lifestyle as closely as I can.
4. Use Calorie-Count.com for support. (it really helped last time I successfully lost a decent amount of weight)
5. Drink a lot of water
6. Eat every 3 hours (based off reading Jorge Cruises Three Hour Diet)


If you are interested in reading Eat to Live, click the picture to buy it on Amazon or even just read the reviews of what everyone else is saying . That is where I bought mine from and they always have great prices on books. I also just bought "The China Study" which is meantioned in Eat to Live. I'll let you know if that book was worth the buy.


(this is an affiliate link)

I'll keep you updated!

What I still buy from Advocare after the 24 day Challenge is over

Hey everyone!

I've been eating pretty well this week and I've been a little more active than normal. I still feel like I need to get back into doing Zumba though and I want to try going hiking every weekend. It's perfect hiking weather in AZ right now! We are going to Sedona over Valentine's Day weekend to check out possible wedding spots. I hope to be 10 pounds less by then so I need to really get on it.

I wanted to share with you what Advocare products I still continue to buy even after I failed the 24 Day Challenge.



Advocare Meal Replacement Shake in Berry. $44.95 for 14 pouches. The way I look at it is about $4.00 a day for breakfast (that's including about $10 for shipping).  This is hands down THE BEST meal replacement shake I have ever had. I even bought more because I found myself missing them. It gets the job done. Here's a short list of why I love it.

1. Tastes Amazing!
2. Only 220 Calories
3. I actually feel full most of the time. Occasionally I will have a banana within an hour of drinking the shake.
4. 24 grams of protein (Very important when your diet mainly consists of veggies and fruit)
5. Packed with tons of vitamins
6. Fits in with my on-the-go lifestyle

There really is nothing that I do not like about this meal replacement shake. I tried the Vanilla one and all I can say is "Bleh!". Don't do it. I couldn't even finish half the box. I have heard if you mix PB2 (a powder form of peanut butter) in with it, it will taste better. I'm just not willing to dish out the money for it. You just need 9 oz of water and a shaker bottle in order to make the shake.



Advocare Spark Energy Drink . $22.95 for 14 pouches. This is a great replacement for coffee and it gives you tons of energy. It tastes better than a lot of the energy drinks available in cans. I am a coffee lover though so I do find myself missing coffee and have actually been drinking coffee since I ran out of Spark. They offer it in a variety of flavors. Seven total flavors actually. I have tried a few different ones, but I find that I like the Fruit Punch the best. That is quite surprising for me since I normally hate fruit punch flavored drinks. If you feel like you never have energy to do anything, much less exercise, you may want to grab a box of Spark.  I buy the box since I like the convenience of grab and go individual bags. Oh and something super important that I should mention is that Spark is sugar free and only 45 calories. Just think of how many calories you would save in one week by substituting your current caffeine fix with Advocare Spark!



Advocare Catalyst. $31.50 for 90 capsules.  While I do not feel that I have exercised enough to really merit loving Catalyst, I can say that I like the idea of what it does. Typically you would take 3 capsules about 10-15 minutes before working out and without food. It's an amino acid dietary supplement that supports muscle tone and enhances strength and energy. When you are a calorie restricted diet, you can actually start losing some of your muscle mass if you aren't eating often enough. Catalyst will help you preserve your muscle mass, repair your muscles, stay focused, and give you a boost while you're working out. The few times that I have remembered to take it before working out, I have felt like it's made me more focused and more willing to persevere and work out longer.

There's tons of Advocare products that I would like to try in the future . When I do, I will definitely let you know how they work out for me. I'm not affiliated with Advocare and I bought everything with my own money. However, if I really get into using their products in the future, it's not out of the question that I could become affiliated. The opinions about are honest and I believe them to be true.

If you were to try just one thing from Advocare, I would recommend trying the meal replacement shake.
Thank you for stopping by and I'll see you soon!