Day 1 - Celebrate Good Times
“Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of
arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid
in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out,
and loudly proclaiming "Wow! What a Ride!”
I can completely relate. The bad news about that...well, I guess there really isn't any bad news. I have had a TON of fun. I will admit that I am a little tired. But, honestly, over the course of the last 6 months, I have celebrated all kinds of stuff.
My series of celebrations started off with running the Chicago Marathon in mid October, with one of my very favorite ladies in the whole world. We ran and raised money to help children and their families dealing with pediatric cancer through the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. I met some new (Team Bear) friends along the route and we ended up celebrating with a huge pasta dinner together with all of our families after the race. At the end of October, I flew down to Florida to meet my 1 year old German niece for the very first time. I celebrated with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and my niece, in the Florida sunshine for a few days. I celebrated Thanksgiving in November in Iowa with my cousins (karaoke machine and all). I celebrated Christmas eve with my husband's side of the family (including his 92 year old Grandma - what's not to celebrate there). I jumped out of bed on Christmas morning to fly back to Florida with my husband and kids, to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary, along my brothers and their families. We celebrated from Christmas right into the New Year. I celebrated in February with two out of town tournaments for my boys and their basketball teams (healthy eating is not a theme on these trips). And then, of course, I just celebrated my birthday for the past 3 days (have I mentioned that I love frosting). Besides running the actual marathon, none of the above things were low in calories.
So, with all of the that being said, I was truly excited this morning to start my AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge. I was overcome with a sense of control that I had been sort of absent for a while.
My day started off with a delicious fiber drink. Ok, so maybe it wasn't exactly delicious, but it was fine and you are supposed to chug it, so that didn't take long. I will take a photo of it tomorrow morning...just for fun. My AdvoCare supporting materials explains that the "Herbal Cleanse is designed to help eliminate waste and prepare your body for optimal nutrient absorption." I will also take an Herbal Cleanse packet before bed. My AdvoCare insert explains that the "Herbal Cleanse is a unique blend of vitamins, minerals and herbs. These cleansing caplets help to safely and gently mobilize and remove wastes." This stuff was all very easy and comes with a daily guide of what to take and when to take it.
The hard part or I guess, the real challenge is to choose to eat healthy food throughout the day. I purposely moved the Girl Scout Cookies from out of my sight. For breakfast, I had an Orange Spark (an AdvoCare energy drink that is included in the 24 Day Cleanse packet - I LOVE this drink), egg whites with green, yellow and red peppers, topped with pico de gallo. So, so tasty. In fact, so delicious and colorful that my 9 year old daughter asked if she could have some for breakfast as well. Mid morning, I had a snack of a banana and 27 almonds. Although we are eating healthy, it is important to make sure we are sticking to serving sizes, outside of fruits and veggies. For lunch, I had mixed greens with diced apples, red onion, sliced chicken breast and Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. For a mid-afternoon snack, I just had an Orange Spark, a whole wheat pita with almond butter and fresh raspberries. It was so delicious (pictured below). I sort of miss it already. For dinner, I plan on cooking chicken breast, green peppers, red peppers, mushrooms, onion and tossing it in a light stir fry sauce and serving it over brown rice. My kids love this. For them, I add egg rolls to spice things up.
My series of celebrations started off with running the Chicago Marathon in mid October, with one of my very favorite ladies in the whole world. We ran and raised money to help children and their families dealing with pediatric cancer through the Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Foundation. I met some new (Team Bear) friends along the route and we ended up celebrating with a huge pasta dinner together with all of our families after the race. At the end of October, I flew down to Florida to meet my 1 year old German niece for the very first time. I celebrated with my parents, my brother and sister-in-law, and my niece, in the Florida sunshine for a few days. I celebrated Thanksgiving in November in Iowa with my cousins (karaoke machine and all). I celebrated Christmas eve with my husband's side of the family (including his 92 year old Grandma - what's not to celebrate there). I jumped out of bed on Christmas morning to fly back to Florida with my husband and kids, to celebrate my parents 50th wedding anniversary, along my brothers and their families. We celebrated from Christmas right into the New Year. I celebrated in February with two out of town tournaments for my boys and their basketball teams (healthy eating is not a theme on these trips). And then, of course, I just celebrated my birthday for the past 3 days (have I mentioned that I love frosting). Besides running the actual marathon, none of the above things were low in calories.
So, with all of the that being said, I was truly excited this morning to start my AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge. I was overcome with a sense of control that I had been sort of absent for a while.
My day started off with a delicious fiber drink. Ok, so maybe it wasn't exactly delicious, but it was fine and you are supposed to chug it, so that didn't take long. I will take a photo of it tomorrow morning...just for fun. My AdvoCare supporting materials explains that the "Herbal Cleanse is designed to help eliminate waste and prepare your body for optimal nutrient absorption." I will also take an Herbal Cleanse packet before bed. My AdvoCare insert explains that the "Herbal Cleanse is a unique blend of vitamins, minerals and herbs. These cleansing caplets help to safely and gently mobilize and remove wastes." This stuff was all very easy and comes with a daily guide of what to take and when to take it.
The hard part or I guess, the real challenge is to choose to eat healthy food throughout the day. I purposely moved the Girl Scout Cookies from out of my sight. For breakfast, I had an Orange Spark (an AdvoCare energy drink that is included in the 24 Day Cleanse packet - I LOVE this drink), egg whites with green, yellow and red peppers, topped with pico de gallo. So, so tasty. In fact, so delicious and colorful that my 9 year old daughter asked if she could have some for breakfast as well. Mid morning, I had a snack of a banana and 27 almonds. Although we are eating healthy, it is important to make sure we are sticking to serving sizes, outside of fruits and veggies. For lunch, I had mixed greens with diced apples, red onion, sliced chicken breast and Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing. For a mid-afternoon snack, I just had an Orange Spark, a whole wheat pita with almond butter and fresh raspberries. It was so delicious (pictured below). I sort of miss it already. For dinner, I plan on cooking chicken breast, green peppers, red peppers, mushrooms, onion and tossing it in a light stir fry sauce and serving it over brown rice. My kids love this. For them, I add egg rolls to spice things up.
 |
| My afternoon snack. Isn't it so cute? |
So, all in all, it has been a pretty darn good day. I think we should celebrate. I'll bring the orange Spark and just to be fun, I will "skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke". WAHOO!
If you are interested in learning more about the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge or have questions, feel free to contact my friend, dietician, AdvoCare Independent Distributor and overall really great lady, Liz Blom through her Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/lizblom.nutritionandwellness
posted by cathyjmarxen@gmail.com at
1:45 PM
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