A little over a week ago I finished the Advocare 24 Day Challenged that I mentioned a few posts back. I didn't get the results I expected from it which is why I haven't posted about it until now. I'm still not completely sure what I'm going to say, but I wanted to tell my story with it as it is now.
The 24 Day Challenge consists of 2 parts, a 10-day segment, and a 14-day segment. The first 10 days is a cleanse phase. No, I didn't spend the better part of the 10 days in the bathroom. An all honesty, my day-to-day routine, as far as bathroom breaks, changed very little. I still felt a significant difference though. Even during the cleanse phase I felt more energetic and overall, better than I had felt in a long time! I lost at least 3 pounds during those 10 days alone. (I can't be sure because I didn't weigh myself until about halfway through the next phase, however.)
The next part of the 24 Day Challenge is called the Max Phase. The focus on this part is filling you body back up with the nutrition it needs, and was designed for, now that there is room for it. The cleanse phase scrubbed your body clean of toxins and junk left behind by the food we eat, and the max phase filled it back in with everything it needed! During the max phase, my energy level when through the roof! I felt so much better and ready to take on the world! The ISC Corperate Challenge took place towards the end of the max phase of the 24 Day Challenge, and I absolutely think that it is a large reason why I had as much energy as I did that day, and a big reason why I had as much fun as I did!
There is kind of a third, unofficial, part of the 24 day challenge, which is a precurser, or sorts for it before you actually start. For me, this part was full of questions, and anticipation. I kept asking my friend what to expect and was excited to start, but nervous at the same time. Leading up to it, I read stories and watched youtube video after youtube video and heard many stories about the extreme change people experienced during the 24 days alone. I was excited to see what my own results would be, but also nervous (as I always am) about not acheiving those results.
By the end of the challenge, I felt great. Better than I ever remember feeling before. The scale, however, didn't exactly show it. I lost weight, don't get me wrong, but not as much as I was expecting. In fact, it was less than half of what I was expecting. A little after weighing myself, I realized that I had been feeling incredibly thirsty for about two days before that, and drank double, or even triple the water (not to mention Spark and other liquids) than I usually do. The next day I figured out why: I had started that time of the month that every woman hates!
This brought me to another realization: every month I have a specific, almost undeniable craving for something. And almost always for something that is not healthy at all. Usually it's buffalo chicken, or french fries, or Dr. Pepper, or something like that. This month, I just wanted water. I couldn't get enough of the stuff! I also had a lower level of energy than I had been experiencing the past few weeks, but I still felt better than I had before the challenge!
Now that that time of the month is over, I want to weigh myself again and measure myself again to see how many pounds, and inches I've lost. I don't know what to expect. Maybe it will be different, maybe it won't be. What I do know is this, I feel incredible. I have energy, my mood and confidence have improved, and my attitude towards food had made a complete 180 degree turn! I no longer crave, or even want junk food. I don't want soda. I don't want potato chips or fast food. I want healthy, lean food that tastes great and makes me feel great! (Even my taste buds are different now, it seems like! Food tastes so much better!)
We'll see what the scale says, but whether or not I lost the weight I was expecting to, the attitude and mentality changes I've experienced over the last month are so much more than I was expecting with the challenge!
