I've been a little quite here in blogland recently and not because I don't have anything to say, that NEVER happens, but because I've been so busy with work, getting ready for the pre-ception, shooting a wedding in Chicago and procrastinating doing all the laundry and all the cleaning, ugh!
With September on the horizon and the summer coming to an end I can feel myself craving that very structured routine that slipped away from me this summer. I went into the summer with a clean mind and great routine but like all things, life happens and we were busy spending our days outside, staying up late and drinking beer, all the beer oh and eating all the snacks! Although I'm years past that "going back to school" buzz I still get a high when I see the back to school stuff start floating around. Call me crazy but my little OCD heart and brain just fill up with endorphin's and make me tingle inside, that school supply high though!
My gym routine has been a little lack luster lately (say that 10 times fast!) and my eating habits have been, how shall I say, crap-aye so it's time to get back to my happy place. This means back to really following IIFYM eating, taking my supplements (Advocare in my case) and getting my sweat on at the gym. I have already done the Advocare 24 Day Challenge before, and saw great results so with 30 days till our Pre-ception wedding party I'm ready to start another one! This will be just in time to enjoy everything we are having catered and boy am I excited for that one folks!
While I'm getting ready to start another challenge I realize that I've also been getting a ton of emails lately asking tips and tricks on how to meal prep, the best way to do the cleanse, what I eat, what workouts I do, etc. So since I'm starting another challenge myself, I figured I'd respond to the emails individually but also make one big old juicy post for ya. If you are interested in doing the 10 day cleanse or the full 24 day challenge shoot me an email or you can check out more info here.
1. Mix the unflavored fiber drink with spark. Mix the fiber drink in with a spark, any flavor will do, you won't be disappointed! My favorites are Mango Strawberry, pink lemonade and grape. It's easy to drink and gives you a little boost of energy while taking your fiber. You can also mix it into a juice or smoothie in the morning or, even into your oatmeal!
2. Download the 24 Day Challenge app. It's free and they have timers in there that will go off to remind you when to take what! You can also track your meals, work outs and water as well. If you don't want to do that, you can always set alarms in your phone as well. My first time around I didn't know about the app and I went that route, this time I downloaded the app and don't have to worry about a thing.
3. Take before and after pictures. Even if you plan on showing nobody, plan on showing yourself. Pictures say a thousands words and can make you see things that maybe that dreadful scale isn't showing you! I suggest taking pictures in a bathing suit and in jeans and a tank top or sports bra. This will help you see results in different clothing situations. Take pictures at day 1, day 10 (after the cleanse is done) and on day 24. TRY and take them in the same outfit every time too. Remember that sometimes you might not be losing a ton of weight but the way your clothes fit and how you feel on the inside is a HUGE win and can sometimes trump a weight loss. Inches have always been more important to lose than pounds in my opinion. Also, remember that muscle weighs more than fat! I noticed I gained a lot of muscle last time but thought I should have lost more numbers/weight based on how I felt. With that being said, take your measurements! Theighs, arms, butt, bust waist and hips.
4. Read the Daily Guide booklet. As soon as you get that beautiful box make sure you open everything and read the booklet. It can be overwhelming but if you take the time to read it over it will make the next 24 days a piece of cake! Plus, it breaks everything down to when you need to take certain supplements and what to eat for meals, because you'll be eating, a lot!
5. Meal plan. There's really no way to get around this. You need to plan your grocery shopping out every week with your meals in mind. You don't have to eat the same thing for lunch and breakfast everyday, but you totally can if it's easier for you. I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast but alternate a few different options for lunches. Then I always have something different for dinner. This will really help you stay on track and you shouldn't be making excuses to buy that pizza at lunch because you "don't have anything to eat."
6. Do the challenge or cleanse with someone. My cousin and her then boyfriend, now fiancé, did it together and I thought that was so smart! When I did my first challenge Jerek wasn't doing it with me but was super supportive and cooked dinner with me in mind. In fact, it actually changed his eating and exercise habits without me even having to nag him to! It's always more fun to do something with a partner, friend or co-worker especially when it comes to weightless and healthy living.
7. Do the challenge when it fits into your life. I held off doing my first challenge for almost a year because things always came up or rather, I always had excuses to not start. I personally knew that if I was going to spend the money, I was going to go 100% all in. I didn't want to start it at a time that I was booked solid with weddings, BBQ's or vacations because I know myself and I wouldn't do it well. I also get a lot of moms asking me about it and I highly suggest waiting until you have a good routine down in your life. There's no sense in starting and then getting stressed because of the timing and then not achieving optimal results because your busy trying to get your new family status under wraps.
8. Don't cheat. At all! Coffee and alcohol was going to be my biggest downfall the first time around. I knew that going into it. I was happy to report I didn't have a sip of either and I actually now drink about half the amount of coffee as I use to. Cheating takes away from your commitment and your overall success. A bite of carrot cake here, half a glass of beer there, it adds up and every time you will just think, 'it's just one bite...it's just one sip.' This isn't called the "24 day give it a good try" it's a CHALLENGE people and it's 24 days! You'll be fine!
9. Exercise. This is not a weight loss pill or a magic potion. The challenge is designed to give you a guideline for your food intake combined with supplements to help you drop some lbs and inches, and give your body a fresh reset. While I really believe that 80% of weight loss is based around what you put into your body the other 20% is exercise. You need to keep moving, do something! You can't just eat good, take the supplements and expect total change. So get off your buns and go build that bootay, go shrink that waistline or grow your biceps! Whatever your goals are, just get up and DO IT!
10. Pinterest food ideas. It's easy to buy fast food, pick up a bag of chips at the store or skip a meal all together. Like I said before, you need to meal plan but to get ideas outside of chicken, rice and veggies, hop on over to Pinterest and look up 24 day challenge food ideas or healthy easy dinner ideas. This is not a diet that you do for 24 days, it's a lifestyle change that you should keep implementing well after your 24 days is up. I love pasta but I also know how many carbs and sugars it holds so now 99% of the time I will cook up some spaghetti squash with lean ground turkey to satisfy my pasta needs. Here are some other things I eat while doing the 24 day challenge or not.
11. Don't weigh yourself every day. I didn't have a scale when I was doing my first challenge. I made the mistake and bought one after and I step on it every morning when I wake up. Dumb dumb dumb. While on the challenge only weigh yourself on day 1, day 10(after the cleanse) and day 24, when you are done with it. There's no need to analyze the numbers day after day.
12. Ask for help. I can't tell you how many emails I got from my last post after finishing the challenge. People were asking me for help and advice because they bought their challenge no one reached out with meal ideas, work outs or anything. I remember I reached out to my coach all the time during my first challenge and have met a ton of other women, mothers and new friends through this process it's been very inspiring and exciting.
13. Stop making excuses. Everyone always asks me how I manage to work full time, take on motherhood duties, run an Etsy shop, a blog, a YouTube channel, workout, etc, etc. My view is this, everyone gets the same 24 hours in a day, how you choose to spend it depends on you. Yes, there are days where I wake up early to work out before anyone gets up and nights where I stay up late waiting for the kids to fall asleep so I can edit a video or write blog posts until 2 am. Some nights I make everyone's lunches the night before, I shower, have all the laundry done, watch a few shows and clean out my inbox all before midnight. Then there are days where I do nothing but sit on my couch and stare aimlessly at my phone, complaining because I'm so lazy and eat all the carryout one can in 24 hours. But I always find that when my schedule is full, my heart and brain are full, they are satisfied because they are moving. So stop making excuses that you will start tomorrow and start today. So what if you ate a crappy lunch, don't tell yourself you will start in the morning, start at dinner, just stop making excuses.
5. Meal plan. There's really no way to get around this. You need to plan your grocery shopping out every week with your meals in mind. You don't have to eat the same thing for lunch and breakfast everyday, but you totally can if it's easier for you. I tend to eat the same thing for breakfast but alternate a few different options for lunches. Then I always have something different for dinner. This will really help you stay on track and you shouldn't be making excuses to buy that pizza at lunch because you "don't have anything to eat."
6. Do the challenge or cleanse with someone. My cousin and her then boyfriend, now fiancé, did it together and I thought that was so smart! When I did my first challenge Jerek wasn't doing it with me but was super supportive and cooked dinner with me in mind. In fact, it actually changed his eating and exercise habits without me even having to nag him to! It's always more fun to do something with a partner, friend or co-worker especially when it comes to weightless and healthy living.
7. Do the challenge when it fits into your life. I held off doing my first challenge for almost a year because things always came up or rather, I always had excuses to not start. I personally knew that if I was going to spend the money, I was going to go 100% all in. I didn't want to start it at a time that I was booked solid with weddings, BBQ's or vacations because I know myself and I wouldn't do it well. I also get a lot of moms asking me about it and I highly suggest waiting until you have a good routine down in your life. There's no sense in starting and then getting stressed because of the timing and then not achieving optimal results because your busy trying to get your new family status under wraps.
8. Don't cheat. At all! Coffee and alcohol was going to be my biggest downfall the first time around. I knew that going into it. I was happy to report I didn't have a sip of either and I actually now drink about half the amount of coffee as I use to. Cheating takes away from your commitment and your overall success. A bite of carrot cake here, half a glass of beer there, it adds up and every time you will just think, 'it's just one bite...it's just one sip.' This isn't called the "24 day give it a good try" it's a CHALLENGE people and it's 24 days! You'll be fine!
9. Exercise. This is not a weight loss pill or a magic potion. The challenge is designed to give you a guideline for your food intake combined with supplements to help you drop some lbs and inches, and give your body a fresh reset. While I really believe that 80% of weight loss is based around what you put into your body the other 20% is exercise. You need to keep moving, do something! You can't just eat good, take the supplements and expect total change. So get off your buns and go build that bootay, go shrink that waistline or grow your biceps! Whatever your goals are, just get up and DO IT!
10. Pinterest food ideas. It's easy to buy fast food, pick up a bag of chips at the store or skip a meal all together. Like I said before, you need to meal plan but to get ideas outside of chicken, rice and veggies, hop on over to Pinterest and look up 24 day challenge food ideas or healthy easy dinner ideas. This is not a diet that you do for 24 days, it's a lifestyle change that you should keep implementing well after your 24 days is up. I love pasta but I also know how many carbs and sugars it holds so now 99% of the time I will cook up some spaghetti squash with lean ground turkey to satisfy my pasta needs. Here are some other things I eat while doing the 24 day challenge or not.
11. Don't weigh yourself every day. I didn't have a scale when I was doing my first challenge. I made the mistake and bought one after and I step on it every morning when I wake up. Dumb dumb dumb. While on the challenge only weigh yourself on day 1, day 10(after the cleanse) and day 24, when you are done with it. There's no need to analyze the numbers day after day.
12. Ask for help. I can't tell you how many emails I got from my last post after finishing the challenge. People were asking me for help and advice because they bought their challenge no one reached out with meal ideas, work outs or anything. I remember I reached out to my coach all the time during my first challenge and have met a ton of other women, mothers and new friends through this process it's been very inspiring and exciting.
13. Stop making excuses. Everyone always asks me how I manage to work full time, take on motherhood duties, run an Etsy shop, a blog, a YouTube channel, workout, etc, etc. My view is this, everyone gets the same 24 hours in a day, how you choose to spend it depends on you. Yes, there are days where I wake up early to work out before anyone gets up and nights where I stay up late waiting for the kids to fall asleep so I can edit a video or write blog posts until 2 am. Some nights I make everyone's lunches the night before, I shower, have all the laundry done, watch a few shows and clean out my inbox all before midnight. Then there are days where I do nothing but sit on my couch and stare aimlessly at my phone, complaining because I'm so lazy and eat all the carryout one can in 24 hours. But I always find that when my schedule is full, my heart and brain are full, they are satisfied because they are moving. So stop making excuses that you will start tomorrow and start today. So what if you ate a crappy lunch, don't tell yourself you will start in the morning, start at dinner, just stop making excuses.
"There are only two choices; make progress or make excuses"
I hope you found this helpful for anyone that has emailed me with questions and you feel confident and excited about joining in on the 24 day challenge or even the 10 day cleanse! If you still have more questions make sure to read my last post on my first experience here and feel free to email me with anything additional! {eastwillowgrove@gmail.com}
My excuses stopped when I headed back to the gym and started my 24 Day Challenge. It was one of the best decisions I've ever made as it provided me with overall wellness and a plan that has extended well past 24 days. It's easy to say you want to start eating right, you want to exercise but until you come up with a plan and actually start doing these things, you will keep making excuses. I'm not saying you have to do the 24 Day Challenge, there are certainly many other programs out there that could be the swift kick in the ass that you need, but you need to have a plan and one with guidance is key. I fully believe you must do something for a certain amount of time to break bad habits, learn how to eat correctly and find what exercise's work for you specifically. Once you have gotten the basic's down, you start seeing and feeling results you will then be able to prepare and commit yourself further into a lifestyle change.
HAPPY FRIDAY FRIENDS!
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