AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge: Results and What I Learned

After the 10 day cleanse of this 24 day challenge I was down 6 pounds. I was happy seeing the weight drop off. I was in a groove after struggling for most of those ten days. I finally got over the hump and had the cravings finally subside.

After one weekend for state robotics things fell apart for me. I had no food choices to stay the course and I went all in. I did not eat in moderation, but ate like a pig and put down so much food and none of it was on the plan. After that day things completely fell off track for me.

The next 9 days I tried to get back on track. I would be on track for about 85% of the time. I would fall apart and tear up my cravings. I struggled. By day 24 I weighed in and found that I was still at my 6 pound loss. I had not gained, but did not lose more.

At this point in time about a week later I am close to being back to my starting weight of 222. Am I bummed? Not really. I took away many great things.

1. Eating super clean all the time is not for me and will lead to burn out. I know myself and my body. I must have my chocolate and candy from time to time. It is what it is. This challenge proved what I knew would happen. Once I gave in to a craving it was over. I went overboard. Instead of eating one cookie I ate 12. I have to have those cheat meals built in.

2. I can go without dairy for the most part. I need my Greek yogurt at least once a day and cottage cheese every once in a while. I am able to give up the rest. I don't have my cheese cravings to put cheese on everything like I once did so that is good. This will pay dividends down the road.

3. Bread - don't really need it either. I will have bread or grain on my cheat days when I eat pizza and such, but I no longer crave the slices of bread or chips. I still need to work on this, but this won't be hard to do.

When it is all said and done. I feel better about myself right now with the weight back on. I feel fitter and in better shape. With my training and adding some CrossFit in a few weeks I will be feeling even better.

What is next?

Next is to go after the Four Hour Body system. I am not dieting. No way. But I like this method of eating clean and having one day a week where you eat whatever you want, however much you want, and then eat good the other six days. I will make one change and that will be that I will continue to eat fruit even though it says no fruit. I just need to eat fruit with my smoothies and all that. If I can keep my cheat meals and snacks to one day I will be where I want to be.

Additionally, in some ways I am glad I failed. I don't want to be down to race weight right now. I don't need to be there until this summer/fall. So if I carry around an extra 15 pounds it will only help with my training. I will be that much faster and my body will think it will be easier come race day when I am 15 pounds lighter.

I did not quite make it the whole 24 days, but I learned a great deal about myself and where I want to be. I take it as a success. The key is eating whole nutritious food. It is not taking some pill or wonder drug. Supplements are not the game changers. Habits are the game changers. Period. Having the self discipline to get the habits to form is the hardest part of a lifestyle change.

When it comes to March/April I will stripping away weight to get ready for some road races and I will be doing this without supplements or some pill magic concoction. I will be curious to see how things pan out. AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge works. It works for a ton of people. It has helped to open my eyes to what I need to work on and what works. I will continue to use certain AdvoCare products, but I know I don't need them all. The key is find what works for you as an individual. We are all different and all need different things to reach our goals.

For me I just need to stay the course with my training. I will be fine. When I put in the work it only makes sense to not jeopardize all the hard work by feeding my body junk. If I want to perform well I must eat and hydrate well. Pretty simple concept, but at times very hard to do in a society that surrounds each person with junk food and fake sweeteners. I will GET IT DONE! and this year will be a big year of hitting PR's and reaching my goals. This was a good kickstart to get things going!