Day 7 - Into the Groove

By day 7, I'm feeling good and getting used to all of this clean eating. To be honest, I'm not eating all that different, but I have eliminated A LOT from my diet: bread, pasta, CHEESE!, yogurt, cottage cheese, coffee, milk which are some staples in my diet. Oh, and alcohol. As must as I don't want to admit it, alcohol was almost an everyday staple. Wine with dinner, beers at the beach, martini mondays - you name it, I probably drank it!

I'm proud of myself for sticking to this and I know this is something that can easily continue.

Spark
ProBiotic Restore
Catalyst

In the Blender:
Meal Replacement Shake (powder)
Handful of frozen berries
9oz. water

So delish and keeps me full!

Lunch was probably one of the best salads I've had in a long time. From Flour in Back Bay:

Ogranic Mixed Greens
Chopped Celery
Edamame
Roasted Cauliflower
Avocado

Dinner was a bowl of mixed Quinoa, broccoli, mushrooms and a cut up field roast dog with a little EVOO drizzed...

Last day of Herbal Cleanse Caps!

Days 8,9, 10....

By now, I'm totally into the groove! Feeling great and so used to this new way of eating and keeping all of the supplements in line and I finally have it down when to take what. I'm to the point right now, where I'm not missing coffee anymore and alcohol is just something that I can't have, so I haven't really thought much about it....and really, that's not like me!

Breakfasts have either been egg white omelets with salsa and avocado, or a vanilla meal replacement shake blended with water and a handful of frozen berries. I love the convenience of making it before work and I can drink it in my office right when I start to do my daily work.

Cafe visits are a thing of the past....I no longer go up for my Peets coffee, which means, I don't see the bagels/muffins/banana bread calling my name.

Lots of changes going on at work, and I'm feeling focused and energized.

Lunches have either been BIG salads with lots of greens, veggies and tofu or some nuts.
Dinners have been mixes of Quinoa, Broccoli and my new favorite Field Roast Veggie Dogs.

I have the eating clean part down...now I just need to add in more exercise.

Day 6 - Monday, Back to the Grind

Woke up bright and early at 4:30 and was feeling pretty great after 8 hours of sleep. 

Headaches are a thing of the past and I'm ready to get ready for the day...

Spark 

ProBiotic Restore

In Blender (for my to go Kleen Kanteen to have when I get to work):

Vanilla Meal Replacement Shake

frozen blueberries

fresh raspberries

ice cube

Had plans to meet some friends downtown for lunch so I suggested Sebestian's - my favorite salad bar in the city! 

In the mix:

Field Greens

carrots

cucs

pineapple

tofu

chickpeas

squash

oil and vinegar

And being the cheapskate that I am, packed a sparkling water from home to have with lunch! 

2:30 - Spark

7:00 - Omegaplex

Mixed in a bowl:

Quinoa 

Broccoli

Apple Sage Field Roast Dog 

Herbal Cleanse Pills

Bruins Game!! (too bad I fell asleep on the couch at 9!)

Day 5 - The Hardest Day

Made it to Day 5 and decided to weigh myself because I was feeling a little lighter...4 pounds lighter to be exact! I was thrilled because I felt better and looked better!
Today was Father's Day and we had a full day planned hanging out with family at the beach, which also means there was going to be a lot of good food (and drinks) around!

Morning:
Spark
ProBiotic Restore

Breakfast:
Egg white omelet filled with spinach and southwestern salsa and topped with a little avocado.

We headed to the beach and everyone had coolers full of beer and sandwiches, but I decided to bring a meal replacement shake just mixed with water and had packed some fresh fruit later to snack on and for the baby. The strawberry shake was actually pretty tasty and kept me full. A few hours later I snacked on some raspberries, cantaloupe and grapes and had some fruit infused water which was delicious.

Lemons, Strawberries, Cucumber, Mint Water

Dinner time rolled around and everyone was preparing a nice Italian meal of Eggplant parm (my favorite!), meatballs, sausage, pasta and a homemade sauce.
I took a Omegaplex, cooked some quinoa and a field roast dog and topped it with some tomato sauce, and had a side salad of romaine, roasted cauliflower and chickepeas drizzled with EVOO. Drank a lot more infused water, took my herbal cleanse pills and had a great night sleep.

Happy Father's Day! 

Adam starts the cleanse tomorrow! 

Day 4 - Quick Recap

Spark
ProBiotic Restore
Catalyst

Another early morning but this time out on a beautiful day to watch a friend compete in a triathlon that my husband and I have done in previous years. Made me want to get out an race!!
Not much time to prepare breakfast so I threw a packet of meal replacement shake in the blender with 9oz water and some frozen fruit and had breakfast on the go. Surprisingly good and filling. I sure did miss my Saturday morning coffee though!

Smoothie for a snack - Oj, 1/2 banana, frozen blueberries, strawberries and raspberries

4 Mile walk/run with the running stroller

Lunch:
Eggwhite omelet with spinach and salsa topped with avocado

Dinner:
Roasted Broccoli, Mushrooms and a Field Roast Veggie Dog over Quinoa drizzled with a little EVOO

Herbal Cleanse Caplets

Slept solid 8 hours!

Day 3

Day 3 complete and still following the plan and feeling great. Today is Friday and also my day off from work and couldn't be happier about that. Only downside that I had a dentist appt. at 9:30, but other than that my day was clear to hang with the babe and my twin niece and nephew who are always great for hours of entertainment!

I woke up feeling pretty grumpy and head a slight headache - I'm sure it's because I've been eating clean and most likely going through caffeine and alcohol withdrawals!

Watermelon spark and a catalyst to start the day. I definitely like the citrus flavor better - watermelon was a little too sweet for me first thing in the morning. I went about my morning routine getting myself and baby ready for the day then made myself a nice little breakfast of eggs with spinach, tomato and avocado. 

2 Egg, Spinach and Tomato Omelet with Avocado

By 2pm, I was STARVING so I made a great lunch of Tofu, roasted broccoli and a small sweet potato. I must have been too hungry because I forgot to take a picture. 

7:30 and lots of glasses of water later, I start making dinner while my husband does this:

while I drink this: 

and the baby (9 months old today!) does this:

 

By 8pm I take my OmegaPlex, and sit down for a delicious mix of Quinoa, Roasted Broccoli, Garbanzo Beans (rinsed and drained) topped with some southwestern style salsa. It was actually so filling that I wasn't able to finish the whole thing. 

Quinoa, Tofu, Broccoli, Beans, Salsa

While my husband and I stayed up chatting, he polished off another glass of cheap red wine and I took my 3 herbal cleanse caplets and had another glass of water. Time to call it a night! 

Day 2 - Dinner and Reflection

Day 2 complete and I woke up with my alarm feeling great. I'm sure it doesn't hurt that I have the day off! Yay for 4 day work weeks. 

Yesterday afternoon I had spark a few hours after my lunch and felt energized and focused. I did feel a little jittery and not sure if it was from the spark, or if I was just excited to be done with work for a few days. Usually driving home during my hour commute, I feel exhausted and just so ready to pick up the baby and get home. Not yesterday! We went about the normal routine at night - Feed baby, play with her, bathe her, last bottle, put her down. All of that went smoothly and by the time Adam came home we sat down for dinner about 8pm. I popped the Thermoplus pill and made a salad of arugula, peas and toasted pine nuts with a little EVOO and had a big glass of water. Delish! (forgot to take a pic)

Before bed I took the 3 huge herbal cleanse pills and slept for a solid 8 hours! 

Day 2 was a success and so far I'm really liking the structure of this program and find it very easy to follow especially because you can actually eat. 

22 days to go...piece of cake fruit!?

Day 2- Breakfast and Lunch

Day 2 -

Driving into work, I drank my spark and took my catalyst (6am) and by the time I got settled into my morning routine at work, I was ready to head upstairs to our cafe to get some scrambled eggs. I didn't have time to my my egg white/spinach scramble before I left but I knew the cafe always had some healthy options. I had a plan! 

Right as I got upstairs, there was a sign that read, "No hot breakfast served today."

WHAT?! 

So I settled for two hard boiled eggs and a slice of tomato. And picked up some packets of pepper because I'm truthfully not a huge fan of eggs. I took out the yolks, added some pepper and had myself a pretty healthy breakfast that met the requirements of protein, fruit (banana).

Day 2 - Breakfast - Banana, Egg whites and Tomato

By the time lunch rolled around, I had been so busy at work, that I completely forgot to drink my second Spark drink, so I guess that means that I wasn't that low on energy which is a good sign! 

I had the same lunch as yesterday, but added in a few chickpeas and a few beets from the salad bar.

Day 2 - Lunch - Quinoa, Arugula, Tofu, Evoo

I ate quickly at my desk then headed out for a quick lunchtime pedicure!

2pm - time to Spark! 

Day 1 - Dinner and Reflections

Good morning! It's the day after, day 1 and I'm ready to tackle another day of the challenge.
Before I get to talk about my new meals for the day, I'd like to rewind to talk about my dinner last night and my reflections on completing day 1.

By the time I got home from work last night, I was so busy getting the baby fed and ready for bed, that I hadn't really thought all that much about what I was going to prepare for dinner. I wasn't feeling as hungry as I thought I would, but I think that's partly because I drank so much water throughout the day.

My husband had requested stuffed peppers for dinner so I thought that would make a great meal for the both of us. I've been vegetarian for just about 5 years, so it's pretty common that I'm making two separate meals. I cut the top off of two peppers, removed the insides, sprayed them with a little EVOO and put them in the oven at 375F to bake for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I got two frying pans going with a little olive oil and added all of the same ingredients to each, except for mine, I left out the ground beef. I began sauteing chopped mushrooms, carrots, and quinoa and a little tofu and a few chickpeas that I had already drained and rinsed in the fridge. Once the peppers were a little soft, I stuffed one with the beef mixure and topped with some cheddar (MMMMM!!) and the other, stuffed with the veggie mix (NO CHEESE, wahhhh) and put back in the oven for about 12 minutes. So tasty and so filling.
Husbands enjoyed a glass of red wine, while I had yet another glass of H2O! I took my 3 herbal cleanse pills and could barely keep my eyes open to stay up for the Bruins game.

Day 1 was a success! I stuck to the plan, and I think the hardest part about the day was just not being able to enjoy coffee in the morning and a few glasses glass of wine. 

I woke up this morning with a little headache. I looked at the empty coffee pot and reached for my spark packet. 

Just had my fiber drink mixed with a little OJ and am about to have some scrambled eggs and a banana for breakfast. 

23 days to go!

Day 1 - Lunch

30 Minutes after my Spark drink - (okay more like 15but who's counting), I had my lunch:

The "directions" are pretty broad and list 3 things:
Protein
Vegetables
Complex Carb

After a little googling, I figured out what a complex carb was and was thankful that the quinoa that I whipped up at 5:30 this morning fell under this category. My lunch was very satisfying, and something that I've had on numerous occasions: Quinoa, Arugula, and some tofu all drizzled in a little EVOO.

Tofu, Quinoa and Arugula - Lunch Day 1

Day 1 - Spark

Coffee...Spark Drink

Okay, so it doesn't replace the taste of a warm cup of Peets Coffee, but it does the job. I'm not tired, I'm not hungry, but I am ready for lunch. 

Day1 - It's About Time!

Starting with the 24 Day Challenge -

This is my first post on my very first day of the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.
I'll keep it brief but I must start by saying that I miss coffee. Already.

Rather than focus on what I can't have, I'll turn my focus to some new recipes, some clean eating and my return to exercise. I'm done with the excuses. I'm ready. I'm ready to lose the extra pounds that is no longer a result of having a baby. (she was born 9 months ago!) and I'm ready to start exercising and stop feeling tired all the time. Let's do this!

Day 1-
Alarm goes off at 5. SNOOZE LAND! Up at 5:10 and down to open the box of this "challenge" I'm about to take for the next 24 days. Why on earth did I wait until the day of to look at what I'm supposed to do? Typical! So I poured myself a big glass of water and  read the directions.

30 Minutes before breakfast - Spark and a Catalyst.

I decided to wait for my spark until I start on my hour long commute to work where I typically down a VERY large coffee! So I pour the spark into my coffee mug and blend up my fiber drink to have at work before I eat breakfast. Blended and poured into my kleen kanteen. Whipped up a batch of Quinoa and scrambled some eggwhites and spinach and packed it all up and headed out for a long day at work.

At work, I sit down to have my fiber drink. OOPS! It's now in gel form. So I added some water and down the hatch it went. Wasn't too bad at all.

For breakfast I'll have my spinach/egg scramble, some water and a banana. This doesn't seem so bad.