My lifestyle

What I love most about AdvoCare is that it isn't a diet. It's my lifestyle. I know you hear that word thrown around a lot but it's really true for me.

AdvoCare is a nutrition company.... that means vitamins. Everyone should be taking the very best vitamins you can get, right? No matter what age you are! AdvoCare is all about giving your body the vitamins and minerals that are lacking from our food, so your body does what it's supposed to do. There isn't a reason for me to ever stop taking my vitamins.

Everyone keeps telling me, "You look great, don't gain the weight back!" I won't. And you know why? I don't feel like "cheating" on my "diet". I eat what sounds good to me, and that isn't burgers and fries and mountain dew! My body gets what it needs so I don't want to eat garbage. I feel great, I have a ton of energy, and I love to run!

I was just on vacation for over a month. I was home in Seattle for almost 3 weeks, and then my good friend from England came to visit me here on the east coast and we did a road trip for almost another 3 weeks. I only gained 5 lbs in 5 WEEKS! I came home and started the 10 day herbal cleanse again and got back to the gym. I've lost 3 of the 5 lbs already and I'm only just starting day 4. I love it! Before AdvoCare, I went on a 5 DAY cruise and gained 5 lbs. I kept it on... and then some. Never again! Join me!

Please visit my new team website at www.AdvoCareNewEnergy.com to learn more about me and AdvoCare!

Mad at the scale!

Sometimes I get really frustrated when the numbers on my scale aren't going down. I read an article yesterday that makes me feel better...

Health Magazine says that you can lose a dress size by gaining 3-4 lbs. If those pounds are muscle, not fat, you lose inches, even if the number on the scale is a bit higher. Why? Because not only does denser muscle tissue take up less space, but the number of calories incinerated by a body with lots of lean muscle is higher than if the person's weight is made up of fat.

This actually makes a lot of sense to me. I am in a smaller size than I have been in the past, when I weighed less!

I credit this to AdvoCare's Catalyst! Catalyst is an amino acid supplement that feeds your muscle so you don't lose it when you work out. It preserves lean muscle so your muscle does its job and burns the fat. I've heard it called "Liposuction in a bottle", "Gut and butt be gone", and "Shrinkwrap for the body". It's one of my favorite products! You can read more about it here:
https://www.advocare.com/0902323/Store/ItemDetail.aspx?itemCode=T2010&id=search

My daily diet

This is what I eat on a daily basis to lose weight. (I included my AdvoCare supplements as well!) It's a variation of what used to be recommended by LA Weightloss (They went out of business) and AdvoCare's Lean in 13 program. As a general rule, I don't eat white starches or red meat. Also, I allow myself a free meal every week. Usually Wednesdays at lunch is the meal I eat pretty much whatever I want. So, if I'm craving something bad, say, on Saturday... I need to wait until Wednesday to eat it. (And by then I usually don't want it anymore anyway, I'm on to craving something else!)

Breakfast:

AdvoCare Meal Replacement Shake (chocolate)

MNS Max 3 vitamins

Catalyst

Thermoplus

24 oz of water with lemon, (or a 16 oz Spark, and a 16oz rehydrate)

Mid morning:

Fruit (apple or a banana usually)

Dairy: Yogurt or cheese

Lunch:

MNS Max 3 vitamins

Protein

Veggies

Carbs

24 oz of water with lemon

Lunch examples: Salmon, brown rice, and broccoli

Chicken greek salad with half a whole wheat pita

Spinach salad and homemade whole wheat turkey-pepperoni pizza

Deli sandwich on whole grain bread and carrots

Mid-afternoon:

Fruit

100 calorie pack of mixed nuts

Catalyst

(Spark if I have class at night)

Dinner:

Protein

Veggies

(No carbs for dinner!)

24 oz water with lemon

Dinner examples: Taco Salad with ground turkey

Roasted chicken and zucchini

Salmon and mixed veggies

Chicken or salmon caesar salad

Energy to run!

Last week, I was at a friend's house. Her son and my son Tyler were riding bikes together down her street. The kids were supposed to race to the fire hydrant that was a little way down the road and stop. Tyler apparently didn't hear this bit of crucial instruction and kept going. He didn't hear me when I yelled stop. So I ran after him. I ran down the street, caught up to him, had him stop and turn back towards the house. My friend commented that it's a good thing I've been running lately because I ran super fast and wasn't even out of breath. She's right, I didn't even think about that! Before AdvoCare, I think I would have been huffing and puffing and sitting on the pavement after a little run uphill like that.

I run a lot with Tyler lately. He drives his power wheels jeep to the playground on high-speed and I have to jog to keep up with him. And when we're at the playground, I don't usually sit on a bench anymore. I chase him around and play with him. It's incredible to feel this way!

My old addiction

I wrote this a couple years ago during undergrad. It was published in Cornish's literary magazine called "Birds and Whistles":

"I used to only drink socially but it became more of a necessity as the stresses of daily life increased. I attend an art school full time, I have two freelance jobs, and I have a baby at home. He wakes in the night and when I wake up in the morning, I have to have a drink just to get a start on my day. My habit is draining my bank account. I chew gum after I drink so my husband doesn't know I had been drinking. I drink alone most of the time, often while driving. On many late nights at school, I am at the theatre until midnight. I drink much more on those days. And I'm not the only one with this problem. Many of my fellow classmates drink together after one person is sent out to buy drinks and returns to school with them. My teachers drink with us as well. I've been drinking so much recently, I start with four shots and I don't even feel it. I've tried to quit in the past, but the withdrawal symptoms are horrible, especially the headaches. I just can't quit cold turkey like that. I was able to really cut down during my pregnancy, but even then I just had to sneak in a drink every once in a while, but it was usually decaf. It's horrible how much I love coffee."

That was how addicted to coffee I used to be! I now drink coffee maybe once a week, if that. (And only because I still like the taste every so often.) Instead I have found AdvoCare Spark. It's a sugar-free, 45 calorie energy drink full of vitamins and amino acids. I feel so much better drinking Spark than coffee. It's a different kind of energy. It clears the cobwebs from my brain and makes me feel alert all day. I have the energy to workout in the morning, to run and play with my 4 year old, to spend a good chunk of my day promoting my AdvoCare business and organizing a women's networking group, and then I go to class at night and maintain a 4.0 in Grad school. I've lost almost 40 lbs and 3 pant sizes since starting on AdvoCare products. (I'll talk more about my other favorite products in future blogs.) Please visit my website if you'd like to learn more, about the products or the business. I feel like I'm doing my own personal Biggest Loser competition. The more weight I lose, the more money I make! My friends and family tell me I look fabulous and they start ordering products, fall in love with them as much as I have, and then sign up to be on my team. It's been really fun helping everyone meet their health and financial goals!

Thanks for reading!

http://www.advocare.com/0902323 or http://www.advocare-newengland.com