Beginning my AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge

If you have gotten to this post, you are probably at least interested in trying Advocare, right? Or you may be one of those people like I was a few months ago that was just SICK of hearing about it! Well either way, my goal is to share with you my Advocare journey through several posts...

So what made me break down and try Advocare? Well, I really have no self accountability when it comes to eating. If I'm going to succeed at eating healthy and exercising, I need some sort of plan. I did lose ten pounds in 6 months just by using the MyFitnessPal app and having to log in all of my food, so I thought the Advocare plan would help hold me accountable. In addition, everyone I knew had lost weight using it, so it was sort of a challenge to me to see if I could match or top their weight loss results. That alone adds a second layer of accountability. And lastly, it costs quite a bit of money so I knew I'd be less likely to just quit after a few days! For those 3 layers of accountability alone, I'd say anyone who wants to lose weight should try this.

As I'm writing this post I am on day 4 of the challenge and I have lost 4 pounds. Not bad, right? I also feel really good. What I am surprised by is how much energy and focus I have first thing in the morning when I haven't even taken any of their products yet. That tells me the combination of clean eating and vitamins is really working on me in a healthy way. It's one thing to have energy because you drink an energy drink, but its completely different to have energy when you haven't even taken any of that. I was also worried the products would make me feel jittery and cause me to not be able to sleep like other energy/appetite suppressants do. Not at all. Actually completely the opposite. I find myself falling and staying asleep better and longer. Again a sign my body is becoming healthier in general.

The actual "diet" part of it is really a lifestyle change. It is basically clean eating and it has gone well so far. Since the first ten days are a cleanse and you are supposed to have any certain ingredients, I have found that I'm not cheating. There's no gray area during the cleanse which has made me completely avoid sneaking in a potato chip or taking a bite of my kids food, etc. I have found myself put something in my mouth unconsciously, but I have literally spit it right out, even at a restaurant!

I plan on posting several of my recipes and daily meal plans as I go on the blog to give you an idea of what I'm eating. I'll also post recommendations as I go and keep you updated on my weight and inch loss. Wish me luck!

Marvelous May Menu

Spring is officially here!  The weather is warm and we are starting to think about bathing suit season...Yikes!  I guess we should all pay a little more attention to what we are eating.  We spent the last few weeks experimenting with new recipes and taking some of the tried and tested and making them a little better for our waistlines.  We love to cook even more in the spring and summer because of all of the possibilities added with the availability of so much more seasonal produce!  We also love that we can fire up the grill a few nights a week which gets our husbands involved in some of the cooking too!
The Magical Moms March Menu Madness and Appetizing April Menu feature many of our favorites so be sure to check them out!
*Recipe coming soon

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
			1 Mexican Chicken Chopped Salad	2 Skinny BBQ Chicken Pizza on the Grill, Honey Grilled Pineapple	3 Athenian Chicken, Henderson Hummus {updated}	4 Buffalo Chicken Salad with Homemade Low Fat Spicy Ranch
5 Red Pepper Turkey Burger Sliders, Baked Sweet Potato Fries with Cinnamon Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce	6 *Beef and Barley Soup, Fresh and Fancy Fruit Salsa	7 Peppered Steak Salad with Low Cal/Low Fat Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing	8 Skinny Suiza Enchiladas	9 *Maple Chili Glazed Pork, *Krazy Quinoa	10 Lemon Grass Skewered Shrimp, Lemon Orzo Salad with Asparagus and Tomatoes	11 *Steak Fajita Lettuce Wraps
12 Coco Loco Chicken, Sweet Potato Crisps	13 Black Bean and Corn Potatoes, Zucchini Chips with Chive and Onion Dipping Sauce	14 Slow Cooker Rotisserie Chicken,	15 *Chicken Tacos, *Fresh Corn Salsa	16 *Mediterranean Chicken and *Quinoa	17 Orange Chicken Brown Fried Rice, Secret Fruit Salad	18 Grilled Chicken, Awesome Asparagus Risotto
19 Spaghetti and *Turkey Meatballs	20 Low Carb Italian Chopped Salad	21 Kahlua Pork  Tostadas with pineapple salsa	22 Turkey Gyros	23 *Steak Carnitas	24 Deep Dish Portabello {Pizza}	25 *Tequila Lime Shrimp, Brown Rice
26 Parmesan Spaghetti Squash, Cucumber Salad	27 Lean Mean Chicken Bacon Machine (Gluten Free), Strawberry Spinach Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette	28 Hot and Spicy Fajita Piles, Cilantro Brown Rice	29 Gluten Free Bacon, Onion and Garlic Pizza	30 Fiesta Lime Grilled Chicken, Oven "Fried" Zucchini with Spicy Garlic Dipping Sauce	31 Teriyaki Beef and Broccoli