Thursday, July 25, 2013

The End! Finally! aka my Advocare 10 day challenge experience

The short version:
I'm glad to be done.  Is that bad? I dunno, but its the truth.  Did I learn from the experience? Definitely.  Will it carry on into everyday life? Perhaps.  Will I do it again? Probably not.

The long version:
After vocalizing my frustration on 2 days without a loss, a coworker asked me what I had hoped to gain from the cleanse.  Advocare is very clear on all there information that this is not for weight loss purposes, although that can be a pleasant side effect.

I admitted that weight loss was my primary reason.  My coworker had lost 6 pounds on the cleanse, and he's already very small.  I figured I had as much (or more) to lose.  I also wanted to get my healthy eating habits kick started, and establish a pattern for myself that would be easier to stick with.


I've been pleasantly surprised at Jay's willingness to go along with this new outlook.  He even came to me and mentioned the Paleo lifestyle.  After learning he would have to cut out hot dogs and hamburgers, he quickly decided we would be better suited doing "Jayleo." 

I wanted my weight to get down into the 130s.  I know, I know.  Its just a number.  To me 140s feels hopeless, 130s feels like progress.

I wanted to feel better.  I'm sick of trying to come of my anxiety meds, only to find they are a crutch I need.  I hate dealing with afternoon slump despite getting a full night's sleep the evening before.  I wanted my runs to feel effortless and strong.

The results:
I've proved to myself I can do it, I'm just not sure the drive is there to follow through.

The new way of eating hasn't helped my runs - if anything, wasn't consuming enough carbs or calories at the first of the cleanse to properly fuel myself.  I had to resort back to calorie tracking to make myself eat enough.  On one hand the food choices were easy - save a few cravings that were few and far between.  On the other, I just don't feel good.  Why bother being strict with myself - packing my own salad dressing to a restaurant or saying no to the cake or glass of wine or trying to plan my life around food, rather than rolling with the punches?

Day 1 - 144.6
Day 2 - 142.6
Day 3 - 141.0
Day 4 - 141.2
Day 5 - 141.2
Day 6 - 141.2
Day 7 - 140.2
Day 8 - 139.8
Day 9 - 139.8
Day 10 - 140.4
challenge end: 140.8

Cheats: 1 glass wine (Ragnar Relay meeting), 1 tbsp. salad dressing, 1 beer (Goody bag stuffing/running group)
 

4 comments:

  1. I could see how a cleanse could hurt training/running, especially if you weren't consuming enough. Is there anything in particular you think that you'll do differently now that the cleanse is over?

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    1. i'm definitely hoping to keep some of the habits. waiting until the Advocare - after the final rose...erm...1 week post cleanse to get a better idea of what I truly took away from the experience.

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  2. Good for you for seeing it through to the end. I'm interested in how you feel in a week.

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  3. Did/do you still feel that afternoon slump? Does is have anything to do with B12? I've been exhausted in he afternoons lately, and I'm not sure what I need to do to make it better. I hope you're able to continue eating more healthy. I need to be better about it, too.

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