Thursday, September 5, 2013

Advocare 24 Day Challenge: Day 1


Well, today's the day folks. The day we begin our weight loss journey. The day we start a 24 day commitment to kick start new habits. The day we set our eye on the prize. The day we...okay that's enough.

Anywho...

The husband and I started the Advocare 24 Day Challenge this morning. This is not a "diet" unless you're my dad who says it sounds like a diet. I don't like referring to this challenge as a diet because I feel like diets limit you and deprive you of one food group or another. So, we are going to refer to this as a lifestyle change. Cheesy, I know. But here's why. One: because we are not deprived of any food group that is good for us and two: this lifestyle change will continue beyond the 24 days of this challenge. Obviously, we're not allowed to eat junk, but that's what made us gain weight in the first place. We are going to be strict with our eating during the challenge, but afterwards we will have the occasional "reward" meal or "cheat" meal as long as we stay on track 80-90% of the time. If we start to fall off the wagon, we'll cut out the "rewards" and be strict until we get back on track.

Honestly this is going to be one of the hardest things I've ever done. I didn't grow up learning how to eat healthy, so I'm definitely learning along the way. Sometimes life throws you curve balls, and your plans get messed up. Or somebody has a birthday, or there's a holiday meal thrown in somewhere. And don't get me started on all the food commercials on tv or Pinterest recipes!!! There's going to be bad influences everywhere we turn, and sometimes we're going to give in to them. Nobody's perfect, and I will never claim to be. What I do know is that I will try my hardest to succeed so that I will finally see the results I've wanted to see for a really long time. My goal will not be reached in the near future, and I'm okay with that. I know that this weight was not put on quickly but gradually over several years. One of my favorite sayings is "Rome wasn't built in a day". As long as I am continually seeing results, even if they're small, I will be satisfied. And here's a little Pinterest motivation to start the morning off.



Sidenote: This space is going to be used as a journal for myself so I can look back later to see what we did and how we did it, what worked and what didn't, and to refer to if we do the challenge again. I'm sharing it with friends and family as well so they can stay updated on our successes and maybe even get motivated themselves to do the same thing! And let's not forget the accountability factor. I feel like if I write about what I'm doing and SHARING it with others, I need to do my best and give it everything I've got. I will post successes and failures, the good and bad, and everything in between. So here we go.

Today's menu & products we took:
Upon waking: Fiber drink, Spark, & Catalyst
Breakfast: Omegaplex, baked pumpkin pie oatmeal, & scrambled eggs with extra egg whites
Snacks: berries and almonds & celery w/ natural peanut butter and raisins
Before lunch: Catalyst and Spark
Lunch: Southwest tuna salad over romaine lettuce and spinach
Dinner: Omegaplex, almond crusted tilapia, & roasted veggies
Before bed: Herbal cleanse packet

The baked pumpkin pie oatmeal was good and really easy to put together. I actually mixed it all up last night and stuck it in the fridge; then I baked it this morning before the husband went off to work. Easy and quick recipes are my friend so this will probably be made again. Here's the recipe!


Baked Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I threw a little extra in there)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup Stevia* (it could have used a little more)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk**
1/4 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg - beaten
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
chopped walnuts - optional
cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Add oats, pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking powder, and Stevia. Stir to combine. In a separate bowl, add almond milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, egg, and applesauce. Mix well. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Fold in walnuts if using. Pour ingredients into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes*** or until set. 

*The original recipe called for packed brown sugar
**No dairy for me, but you can use whatever kind of milk you want
***Mine took about 27 minutes which might be because it sat in the fridge overnight
Sorry for being so long winded! Future posts shouldn't require so much brain vomit :)



Kelley

5 comments:

  1. Thanks for sharing.....I am anxious to try!!!

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  2. No problem! Thanks for checking it out :)

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  3. Keep me updated on how this works. I don't foresee Nick jumping on the wagon with me ,but, I could do it for myself. I hope it works for you guys, and I wish you the best of luck!

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  4. Hi there, I stumbled across your blog on the blog hop. I live in Alabama too! (Birmingham area) Good luck with the 24 day challenge. I have seen a ton of bloggers post about this challenge with a wide range of results, and none of them had said they regretted it and it was a great jump start to a healthier life, so I am sure you will enjoy it!

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  5. Awesome...looks like the blog hop is working already :) It took me a long time and a lot of reading about it before I finally decided to do the challenge. It's only the 2nd day, but we're doing well so far. Looking forward to sharing everything and the results!

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