So today is the final day of our AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge (which they currently have on sale for the new year, in case anyone else would like to try it!). To start, I will admit that I went into this with more of a “quick fix” attitude than I should have, because AdvoCare is NOT a quick fix. It is a tool to help you achieve maximum energy and health, thus giving you the ability to exercise and maintain that healthy lifestyle we all crave.

But if we’re honest, we all really want the quick fix, don’t we? 😉

We want it all! We want the quick fix AND to live a healthy lifestyle, but often those two do not go hand-in-hand. I obtained the quick fix from SlimGenics, but then found myself eventually backsliding (I do attribute a lot of this to the fact that I moved out of state before the end of my 4 balance weeks, let alone going through ANY maintenance weeks with them 😦 ) to pre-SlimGenics eating habits, especially when a little stress was added in to my life.

I realize that while I desire to be thin and in shape NOW, it’s just not going to happen that way for me if I want to maintain it for the long haul. I no longer have the luxury of SlimGenics counselors to help me, so if I’m going to do this on my own, I have to do slower and to learn along the way how to keep doing it.

#1 tool – AdvoCare. I haven’t lost a ton of weight on the challenge, but I have definitely lost. I think I’m maybe down around 7 lbs or so. But – I absolutely DO feel a ton better!! I have more energy and I just have a better sense of being than I did prior to the challenge. The Spark Energy Drink is amazing and gives me a far more meaningful amount of energy and mental focus (and lasts a lot longer) than coffee ever could – AND I don’t have the crash that comes later from drinking coffee. I can’t imagine NOT having Spark now that I’ve tried it (although I’m still drinking coffee, more for the experience and taste than the energy and caffeine now).

#2 – Motivation from others. This week, one of the bloggers I read regularly posted about another blog that she came across and she shared it. I am going to do the same – the blog IS AMAZING. It’s about a woman who lost 135 lbs and has kept it off for like 5 years. I can’t believe the amount of REAL LIVING this woman does and how much encouragement and motivation I gleaned from simply reading her blog! Her blog is called: Can You Stay For Dinner? I HIGHLY recommend taking some time to read through this blog. It’s amazing and it’s HONEST. It’s what I needed to read and judging from the amounts of comments, it’s what a lot of people need to read. Thanks to Jennifer for sharing this find!

So, over the course of the challenge, we ate bad food 3 times. One was last night. We had pizza. It was good. 🙂

The other two times were both New Year’s Weekend. Both Saturday night and Sunday afternoon of that weekend we ate out and the food was NOT diet-friendly. But… here’s the kicker! I weighed myself around Tuesday and I was DOWN from the last time I had weighed myself, so obviously the bad food no longer affected me the way it might have before. Hmm… maybe there is something to taking healthy supplements, eating healthy most of the time and occasionally indulging in something you really crave?

All in all, even though I had hoped to lose like 15 lbs, I’m happy with the challenge. I’m glad I did it. I AM down, I DO feel better and I actually feel like I learned how to have a better long-term outlook to living healthier. I also learned how to NOT worry about food constantly (thanks to the encouragement of a couple of AdvoCare veterans) and obsess over every little thing I put in my mouth.

I realize that while I do want to be healthy and fit, I also don’t want to be miserable and feel deprived all the time. I hate feeling like I HAVE to constantly deny myself foods I enjoy and that I HAVE to spend hours in the gym, which I don’t enjoy. What good would being thin be if I hated life because of it? (Read the blog I linked – she talks about this in depth!)

There is balance to be found. There is food to enjoy. There is a desire to get my body moving (I haven’t gone to any Zumba classes yet, as I just haven’t had the time; I need to FIND the time)!

Stay tuned… the end of the challenge is just the beginning. 🙂