AdvoCare 10 Day Cleanse: Complete!

In case you’re just tuning in, yesterday marked the final day of my 10-Day Cleanse, which is the first leg of my 24-Day Challenge.

Over the past 10 days, I steered clear of dairy, alcohol, sugar*, white starches**, soda***, coffee, and fried foods ****.

*There may have been sugar in the raspberry drink I had in Chicago last weekned.

**I ate white rice in sushi while in Chicago too.

***I had one sip of Diet Pepsi at work last week, and one sip of Zevia Cola last night. I miss soda more than any food.

****I had an overwhelming urge to eat a fry at work earlier this week. So I ate 6. At least it wasn’t an entire order of fries?

So I wasn’t perfect. But I did better than I ever thought I would. Let’s look at the bright side. I did NOT consume any dairy, unless it was hiding in something that I ate, but I really don’t think so. I did NOT consume any alcohol. And I did NOT consume any coffee.

And the really sunny side, my results!

MY LOSSES:

ARMS- 1/2 inch each

WAIST- 1.5 inches

BELLY- 3 inches (across belly button)

HIPS- 1/2 inch

THIGHS- 1 inch each

CHEST- 1 inch

TOTAL POUNDS= 7.4!
Note: I did what every diet tells you not to do, and weighed myself every day, plus took measurements halfway through. My weight is actually up a bit from midway, and my waist loss is down a little. I measured closer to 2 inches lost on Monday, but whatevs, some fluctuation is obviously expected.

Not too shabby, eh?

THE PROS:
-I feel good. My clothes are fitting better, my muffin top is feeling more like a mini muffin (R.I.P.) top. Getting dressed is not nearly as depressing as it was just two weeks ago. My face feels (looks?) thinner and my chin feels more like a single than a double. My face is always the first thing to show weight loss/gain.
-Overall, I definitely have more energy. I usually only drink one Spark each day, as I really don’t find a need for a second or third. As I’ve mentioned before, coffee has never been a must for me, I usually just drink it because I like the taste. Same with soda. I don’t drink it for the energy, I drink because I like love it. I think the amount of water I’m drinking (around 120 oz. every day!) is helping with energy levels so the desire for the added Spark isn’t necessary.
-I’m not hungry. I’m not craving sugar, pasta, etc. I was really worried about this, but can honestly say that until someone says “sandwich”, “cheese pizza”, “beer”, or “cookie”, I don’t really think too much about those things. Even when browsing Pinterest or the bunches of yummy food blogs I follow.
-The Meal Replacement Shake. Honestly, without this, I would be eating pancakes for breakfast. Eggs were just too much for me. I love the Mocha shake and it is a completely satisfying breakfast.

THE CONS:-This isn’t really a con about the program at all, but I’m disappointed in my skin. I really thought that by cutting out dairy & processed foods, and adding SO. MUCH. WATER. that my skin would clear up. Nope. Still struggling with major chin and neck acne.

Actually, I think that’s the only negative thing I can think of.

MY STRUGGLES:
-I’ve really been struggling with eating so often and timing my meals 2-3 hours apart. My job is not static, it is completely unpredictable at times and it’s nearly impossible to determine whether I’ll be in my office and able to eat every 2-3 hours. But I’m doing my best. Additionally, I struggled to even be hungry enough to eat that often, especially on the fiber drink days. Man, that stuff fills you up! There were a few days where I couldn’t eat the recommended amounts of food because I was simply too full. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, just makes it tough to follow the suggested plan.
-As I may have mentioned already a billion times, I miss soda. I wasn’t even drinking that much of it before I started the Cleanse, maybe 1 or 2 a week, but I miss it like crazy now. I miss chips too. Not gonna lie. Chips and soda are about the only two things I think of without them being brought to my attention by someone else. I’m really going to try to hold off on the chips until I go on vacation next month so that I can eat allll the fresh tortilla chips I want without an ounce of guilt. Keep in mind, that’s approximately 39 days away. I may have a weak moment before then.
-Carbs. Specifically starches. My greatest weight loss results show when I really minimize starch intake. I stuck to black beans for my main starch at the beginning of my cleanse, but over this past week I was a bit more lenient. I ate a piece of whole wheat toast, some cous cous, brown rice two nights in a row, and my weigh-ins the next morning weren’t as exciting. I also didn’t feel as good. I’m not planning to eliminate them as I know they are part of a well-balanced diet, I’m just going to try to really minimize them from my nighttime eating from here on out.

Today begins the Max Phase. I’ll continue eating like I have been, with a little more excitment and creativity. Admittedly, I’ve been pretty boring with my eats for the past ten days. I also have a bottle of Catalyst coming today (FedEx pulled up no less more than 4 minutes after I typed that!), which is supposed to maintain muscle mass while burning fat. I won’t pretend I have much muscle to maintain, but I’ll keep any little bit I can!

I’ve been doing a lot of reading throughout these past 10 days. Many other reviews of the AdvoCare products/results/experiences. I find that many people say that the Max Phase is where you are actually supposed to lose the weight, and that losing weight during the Cleanse Phase isn’t necessarily a given, as it’s really just meant to rid your body of the toxins from eating all of the junk we eat when not cleansing. I think it’s pretty obvious though, that giving up dairy, alcohol, white starches, sugar, etc. would mean pretty quick weight loss.

I’m jazzed about my results and I’m looking forward to losing more pounds and inches and continuing to feel better.

Sorry for all the rambling. Are you ready for the Challenge yet? You can order your 24-Day Challenge bundle right here.