And the CHALLENGE begins!!

Tomorrow, I will be starting Day 1 of the AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge!  After seeing my friends and family member's results, it is needless to say that I am VERY excited!!  I'm going to use this blog as my "Challenge Diary" over the next 24 days, and hopefully it will become a helpful guide if any of YOU want to join in and do the 24 Day Challenge sometime soon!  I'm going to put it all out there - my weight, my measurements, my before and after pictures - all of it.  Each day, I'll summarize what I ate and what I did if I made it to the gym.  One-quarter of the way through, I'll update you on pounds lost and any inches lost (Day 6). Halfway through (Day 12), I'll update you again and probably include some photos. This will be after the cleanse phase is done.  Three-quarters of the way through (Day 18), I'll do another pounds/inches update, and of course you'll get the FULL update at the end (Day 24).
I've been working out and eating a much more healthful diet since I moved back home after graduation in December, and I'm almost down to the lowest I've been since junior year of college. I've seen the Challenge work for people like Dana and Danielle, who have been eating clean and working out consistently for years, so I know that it's not one of those fads where you lose weight from an obvious, giant lifestyle change.  I really think it will work for me as well.  If nothing else, it will detoxify my body and make me feel better, as well as get me even more in the habit of eating clean and avoiding simple carbs!


Here's the thing: my wedding dress is scheduled to ship out on the last day of the Challenge, meaning I should have it a week after that.  I would love nothing more than to go try it on and have it be wayyyyy too big.  That would be awesome!


I hope you'll follow along with me! I will update on how I feel as well as how I look.  Please let me know if you have any questions about AdvoCare!


Here are my "BEFORE" stats and a picture (excuse my appearance, I had been at Six Flags sweating all day.)


Height: 5'11"
Weight: 175
Body Fat %: Around 27-28%
Chest: 40 in
Waist: 32.5 in
Hips: 41 in
Thighs: 22 in
Arms: 12.5 in
Total inches: 182.5 inches
(These measurements are what I can remember - I will update if I find my more accurate ones!)

 I just noticed that I have terrible posture!! Add that to the list of things I need to work on!! 

Terrific Tuesday

Good job me - I haven't blogged in a month.  I'm so lame! I don't even have an excuse, because it's summer and I'm not working.  I just haven't.

So I've been trying to lose weight this summer.  I've been semi successful - I've lost about 8 pounds so far.  But that's a far cry from my goal of 30 pounds.  I've been working out, but not consistently.  I've been eating pretty healthy most of the time, but going out to eat (which my family does a LOT) always kills me - I never make good choices :(  But this week I have been doing pretty well.  Someone told me this weekend they thought I was "taking the easy way out" towards working out and pushing myself.  Let's face it, I was ticked.  So instead of just being mad and not doing anything about it, I decided to work a little harder.  My awesome big, Kristin, blogged a while back about Body Rock, a free website that posts high intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, workout schedules, nutrition tips, and has a community of "Body Rockers" that support each other and offer advice as well.  Well I tried it today - it's AWESOME! The workout was only 18 minutes long, but I literally collapsed on my floor, dripping in sweat, when I was finished.  I definitely had to modify some moves because the leader, Zuzana, is in out of control shape - I'm talking probably ZERO percent body fat. See her picture below!  But I finished it, and I did better than I thought I would, reps-wise.  If you are looking for a home workout, you should try it! It's definitely challenging.  I'm going to try really hard to do it every other day, at the very least. So like Kristin said, if you talk to me, ask me if I've done my body rock workout that day!!

This week I also planned out some meals for my whole family.  I don't think my mom likes cooking very much, and as a result we eat out a lot - very unhealthy.  So I looked through the Weight Watchers cookbook I got at a thrift store for 50 cents and found a recipe for Southern Oven "Fried" Chicken.  I made it, and it was delicious! If you want the recipe, I can send it to you.  It's SO easy, and only 6 points plus per serving.  I also made a WW version of chocolate layer cake (3 PP), which was alright, but definitely tasted like diet food.  Tonight, we had a slow cooker supper of enchilada casserole from All*You Magazine and it was pretty tasty as well (7 PP)! On my Stumble Upon, a recipe from Bethenny Frankel came up for low fat fudge muffins.  I made those as well, and they are AWESOME! I made a few modifications because her recipes are 100% natural and vegan and stuff, and we didn't have all the ingredients.  But I got to use my Truvia sweetener and applesauce instead of butter.  They taste just like the full fat version :) So I am getting used to cooking and I really like it! Hint: it's so much easier when you have a plan!!

I was also pretty excited about couponing this week.  We got all the ingredients for our meals this week at Publix, along with some snacks and stuff for lunch, all for $75!! That is really cheap for a family of five with a brother who eats everything in sight when he gets off the night shift each morning!

So I will try to update more about my adventures in Body Rocking, cooking, and couponing :)
Now I'm going to take a motrin pm (which I got with couponing) and go to bed, because I know I'm going to be VERY sore tomorrow!

Caroline