Day 13 - The Big Sale

Today we posted my double running stroller, our wicker furniture and tag-a-long bike on Craigslist. By far there are more people out in the world looking for running strollers than wicker furniture or tag-a-longs. I only asked $25 dollars for it. I guess I should have asked for more.

The lady who bought it drove an hour to pick it up. When she pulled up in her Alero and had her 3 year old and 6 month old sons in her car, my heart broke. She was basically (give or take a year) exactly where I was 7 years ago. She told me on the phone that she was so excited about my running stroller because she could get out running with her sons and finally lose that baby weight. Exactly why I bought the stroller in the first place.

It took everything in my power not to start crying and give her my life story when she pulled into my driveway. All of a sudden that beat up old running stroller was priceless and my buyer and I were soulmates. All of those summer days I spent with that stroller with my little children, out for a run or on some adventure.

We showed her the stroller, she gave us a smile and nod of approval. My husband showed her how to take the front wheel off, so that it could fit in her trunk. It fit perfectly and you could see how excited she was with her purchase. Well, since she was so excited and there was such emotion connected to the stroller, I raised the price by 20 bucks and because she had driven an entire hour to get there and the stroller was already in her trunk, I guess she felt like she had to give me the money. Just kidding. We told her she could just have the stroller for free since she drove so far to get it. Plus, it was worth $25 to know that 2 little boys were about to enjoy sunny summer mornings with their mama.

I am now on Day 13 of my Advocare 24 Day Challenge. I successfully completed the first part of the challenge, which consisted of a 10 day cleanse and I am working my way towards day 24.

I have to admit that during the 10 Day Cleanse I didn't stray from the rules. I avoided dairy, alcohol, soda, wheat, sugar, etc. I did have a cup of coffee on Day 2, but decided to avoid it the rest of the cleanse. With the help of the Coffecino, it really wasn't hard. I do think the reason for my success was that I was VERY ready to make a healthy change. I was done getting ready to make a change. I also went into it knowing that the hardest part would be the first 10 days and had it in my head that it it was only 10 days my life. Not much of a sacrifice.

With that being said and the 10 Day Cleanse being over, I can say that I am easing back into regular life. For success in the remaining 14 days, it says that I need to be 90% on. Now that I have gone through the 10 Day Cleanse, "10 percent" seems sort of like a little party. So, don't mind if I do.

What I have learned is that if I eat healthy (truly healthy...back to the basics healthy) and continue choosing healthy, I can indulge once in a while without the guilt and I will continue to see results and feel good. I had a Diet Coke today. Sadly, it wasn't that fantastic. I did drink the whole thing though. :}

I have heard feedback from people that have been following my journey and feel like they wouldn't be able to do it because they would cheat. My best advice would be to follow the 10 Day Cleanse as close to the rules as you can. It is only 10 Days. It will teach you how to truly eat healthy again. But, if feel like you have to have a Diet Coke, drink one. If you want some coffee...drink it. Just always keep in mind that it is only 10 days and just do the best you can. If you are like me, what you do will be doing is better than what you were doing. I definately couldn't have eaten a handful of jelly beans or a few Doritos. I can't stop at just a handful or a few when it comes to that, so I just avoided those heavenly items.

Something that I have been doing differently, which has helped is eating when I am hungry. Granted, I am eating bananas and apples and Almond Butter and Rice Cakes, but I am eating on a schedule. This has helped so that I don't binge later in the day. I am also paying attention to serving sizes and logging what I am eating, because even though it is healthy doesn't mean I can eat the entire package.

The 10 Day Cleanse was pretty strict, but it taught me something. It taught me how to eat right again. It taught me to cut out crap that I was easily turning to and replace with fresh and healthy alternatives. The strict rules of the cleanse is making the remaining 14 days of this 24 Day Challenge (and hopefully regular life) so much easier. 90% of the time choose healthy.

Before I started this I can honestly say that I was choosing healthy 50% of the time, exercising and then eating what I wanted to because I felt like I was eating healthy and exercising. I know now that I was fooling myself.

Along with this 24 Day Challenge comes vitamins and supplements, but also a better understanding of how I might be able to balance my life so that I am truly eating right. Just like I used to balance my life when my children were little and made it a point to get out and go for a run with that stroller, I will continue to make it a point to balance with the nutrition piece as well.

For more information on Advocare or my friend and Nutrition Coach Liz Blom, please visit and "Like" her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/lizblom.nutritionandwellness