MY FIRST LEAN IN 13, I MAY BUY MYSELF A TROPHY WHEN THIS IS OVER

I will have been with AdvoCare for two years as of April 23, 2014. I have read about Lean in 13 so many times. Printed out the checklist, watched the training videos, asked questions. I had never been brave enough to try it until March 22, 2014.

Today's post is about days 1-6. Why Lean in 13 and not a challenge? Well, I just finished a challenge. I do an AdvoCare 24 day Challenge every 90 days. This is great for your gastrointestinal tract and a great way to jumpstart your metabolism. I am on a mission right now to get back to "where I was" this time last year. One thing I have discovered about myself from reading Made to Crave by Lysa Terkeurst is that I keep sabotaging myself by working really hard, eating the right foods, not drinking sodas for momentary weight loss and satisfaction then I re-vert back to my old ways and gain. I start relying on food for comfort. I lose my will-power to resist past a bite or a treat. I need to wear a sign that bounces up and slaps me in the face every day that says "Kellie you are not naturally skinny, you have to work for this, you were made for more." Made for more than temporary satisfaction in a clothing size. Made for more than a certain number on the scale. Made for more than just half-hearted workouts. More than whining about the scales not moving.  Which brings me to Lean in 13. For me, I can't just challenge every 90 days and abuse my body in between. I have fought this viscious cycle over and over for two years. Now let me say this. I don't want to discredit what I have done. There were a ton of tears, blood, and lots of sweat into those pounds I lost. But just like we allow sin to creep back in our lives when we aren't focused on God and what He has for our lives so does food, empty calories, cravings, and defeat. I have to have something to keep me focused. Even when I reach maintenance I will apply these principles or I will end up right back where I started.

Lean in 13 uses the zig-zag method of burn for three days, refuel day, repeat this process for the 13 day duration. Then on day 14 you get a free day. Which means you can eat without a pattern. That does not mean you can go mow the door of GiGi's Cupcakes down. You can have a "treat" if you want but not overeat.

I am really really not wanting to post these pics. I mean the weight, ah, that don't bother me. I've told you before that I don't whisper my weight or hide it. The "all up in dem blue jeans" photo and measurements however are another story. Nothing like seeing it plastered in black and teal. I have to though. It motivates me to know that I have people that will check back here next Thursday to see what I have done on and off the scales.

STARTING WEIGHT MARCH 22, 2014

BEFORE PICTURES

DAY 1

DAY 1 SATURDAY

BURN DAY

I packed and planned in order to avoid disaster. Not pictured is my shake. Yes, that is a 74.4 oz water jug. Yes, I have toted it with me each day. Yes, I have managed to drink that plus a 16 oz glass at breakfast and another 16 oz glass at supper. I had a full day out of the house planned and I knew I would fail miserably if I didn't. 

I started the day with my MNS Max 3 before breakfast pack. Thirty minutes later I had an AdvoCare chocolate meal replacement shake. I then took the two after meal (two bottom packs) packets of MNS Max 3. 

About an hour after breakfast I had my morning Spark. This was at the beginning of my son's High School Archery meet. Roll Tornadoes, GO PATE!

TORNADO FANS!

Around 10:30 I had three catalyst. Mid-morning I had natural almonds for a snack. I love them. To me they taste like pecans. Ok, maybe I am just making that up but whatever works right? Thirty minutes prior to lunch I had my before lunch MNS Max 3 packet. For lunch I had grilled chicken breast and an individual green bean from KFC. Ok, don't start bashing me here. I did what I had to do. I was in town and it was my best option. I peeled the skin back and didn't use ketchup. We then went to Neshoba Lake and fished the entire afternoon with our boys. Normally I would have loaded up on sweet and salty snacks and tons of soda. Not this time. I took my protein shake, afternoon spark, water, and one extra pack of almonds (day one people I needed them for security) with me as we walked out to the island area. 

Good Day
Neshoba Lake

Around 3:00 p.m. I had three catalyst. I had my first ever AdvoCare Muscle Gain Protein Shake around 3:00 p.m. To be honest I was ready to chug because I had no idea what in the world it was gonna taste like. All I can say is wow. Chocolatey goodness just in time! Around 5:00 I had my afternoon spark and about 15 minutes later broke down and ate the "extra" almonds. I was hungry. Not exact to the plan but on the plan so I say for day one that is a win for me. For supper I had grilled tilapia with a dash of olive oil and seasoning and steamed broccoli. One of my favorite clean meals. I didn't exercise on Saturday, I had been up helping at the meet, while fishing, and walked a good bit while at the lake.  I went to bed a little hungry and a lot tired but a good tired. 

DAY 2 SUNDAY

BURN DAY

Sunday is my first run day of the week. I get up, run, study my lesson for Sunday School and then get ready for church. No, they are not as simple as that sounds. Here is more what our Sunday mornings look like most of the time. 

MORE LIKE A TYPICAL SUNDAY MORNING

I did however manage to get all of that in and only make myself late this past Sunday, my husband and kids were actually on time. 

Same products/snacks as day one for breakfast to lunch. For lunch I had chicken breast strips grilled on the George Foreman grill and the left over steamed broccoli. 

Again, three catalyst mid-afternoon. Protein shake around 3:00. Afternoon Spark around 4:30. I have choir on Sunday afternoons so I made my supper ahead of time before going to choir so I could make sure I had something "on the plan" and not fall off due to getting in late, getting ready for school the next day etc. I made rotel egg muffins with ground turkey. Top with a little salsa, yum! I added a little cheese to the top for the hubs and one kid. One kid wouldn't touch these with a ten-foot pole cheese or no cheese. 

Recipe can be found under What's for Supper tab.

DAY 3 MONDAY

BURN DAY

Mondays are my sculpt/shred/cardio days. I try to alternate workouts so that my body doesn't get used to the same thing. This day I chose Sculpt from the Can You 24 Level 2 Workout Series. It incorporated the resistance band and exercise ball. Tough 36 minute workout, but it was so good. 

Same products/snacks as day one for breakfast to lunch. For lunch I had leftover grilled chicken breast strips that I shredded up and put on top of the rest of the leftover steamed broccoli. My family doesn't always eat what I eat and I have to be okay with that. We are all different and it's not their responsibility to make me eat healthy foods. So I seal an store my leftovers and eat them until they are gone. 

Again, three catalyst mid-afternoon. Protein shake around 3:00. Afternoon Spark around 4:30.  I had the "egg" muffins again for supper to finish them up.

DAY 4 TUESDAY

REFUEL DAY

I built this day up in my head big time. Yay me I could have clean carbs. It was run day. I literally cried on the treadmill. I know, such a girl. Then Toby Mac's Eye On It came on. Here are the lyrics that stood out to me:

I set my eyes to the west, walkin' away from it all
Reachin' for what lies ahead, I got my eye on it
I see my sweat hit the ground
I put my foot in the block
This is the race of my life
And I can't wait for this shot

I sucked it up and quit crying. Kind of hard to when that song is on. Highly recommend some Toby Mac for running!

Same breakfast routine as days 1-3 but at mid morning snack time I had an apple and almonds. Then for lunch I had an AdvoBar. I have never been more happy to have an AdvoBar as I was today at lunch, chewy, yummy, clean-carb goodness. Again, three catalyst mid-afternoon. Protein shake around 3:00. Afternoon Spark around 4:30. 

I have never been so excited about a sweet potato as I was about the one I had for supper with my turkey burger (no bun), and brussel sprouts. I did add Carb-Ease here just because I had more carbs this day.

DAY 5

WEDNESDAY

Same products/snacks as day one for breakfast to lunch. I wasn't feeling well this day. I am not sure if I had a bug or just sinus headache, maybe a little of both. Apparently whatever is blooming in Mississippi is not liked by my allergies. 

My mid-afternoon I was feeling some better and went ahead and worked out. It would normally be YOGA-DAYYYYYY since it was HUMP-DAYYYYYY but I had three Catalyst and a Spark about 15 minutes prior to my workout. I decided to go ahead with a Shred Total workout from the Can You 24 Level 2 series with Ja'Warren Hooker and trade my yoga day for Friday morning. Shred is the perfect word to describe this workout. It incorporated the resistance band and the exercise ball. I did manage to stay on the ball (which is a win for me) and only almost pop myself in the face with the resistance band once (another win). I also found a new favorite exercise in this video. Pop-up push ups. You start with hands in center then pop out to a push up then pop back to center. I did the modified or "girl" version to this but I can't wait to do a "real boy" version of these. Welcome to the gun show baby! One new exercise on this video I did not care for was reverse Burpees. Not sure why I thought I would like reverse ones I DESPISE the regular ones. I did them anyway, not perfectly, but they job was done. Followed my workout with a Muscle Gain Shake.

For supper I had fajita chicken. This awesome recipe can be found on the "What's for Supper" tab. I had it with a side of steamed brussel sprouts and no wrap. I fixed myself about a cup of chicken and about a cup and a half of sprouts. I was a little hungry so I had another 1/2 cup of the fajita chicken. Lean in 13 tells you that if you are still hungry eat a few more bites of protein until satisfied. That did the trick.

DAY 6

THURSDAY

Today was run day 3 for me. It wasn't a bad run. I only got in about 2 miles but it was a solid two miles. Each day it gets a little easier. 

Same products/snacks as day one for breakfast to lunch. For lunch I had KFC grilled chicken breast and I ordered green beans. However this is what they put in my box:

Are you kidding me? Mashed potatoes and gravy...Seriously.  I don't normally even really like mashed potatoes and gravy but oh my word this looked and smelled good.  So what did I do? I put them back in the box and luckily caught the school cafeteria before they closed and they happened to have green beans. Wooooo!

 Again, three catalyst mid-afternoon. Protein shake around 3:00. Afternoon Spark around 4:00. Peyton had his first track meet of the season in Meridian so I had to bump some things up in order to get my products mixed up before driving. Peyton did an amazing job. There is nothing like seeing your kid work for something. He improved his time from last year by almost 4 minutes! A couple times this week every member of the Penson family ran. That is something that has become a "happy place" for me. Even though its hard, it's a release. I love that my healthy/active lifestyle is filtering over to my sweet kiddos. A love for running is something that has to be learned. Landon has been very inquisitive about calorie burn etc. They both have learned to love baked Tilapia and brown rice has now replaced white rice. For supper we went to Captain D's. It is Peyton and Landon's favorite place to eat. I chose the grilled shrimp and beef skewers with steamed broccoli. It was served over a bed of rice but I let Landon have that. 

So this was to the half-way point pretty much. I will talk to you guys on day 13 to fill you in on my final results. I just wanted to go ahead and show you what I am doing, tell you why, and make myself accountable to finish this. I have been 39 days without a diet coke. As some of you saw on facebook yes I will take my medal now. Seriously this is a very hard thing for me. Water, water, water, more water, Spark, and a little OJ here and there is all I have had. Tomorrow is yoga day and Friday! I am actually excited to get up and do this workout. Power Yoga Flow with Mia Finnegin on the Can You 24 Level 2 Workout series is one of my favorites! I am also on week 5 of Couch to 5K in preparation for my first ever 5K in May. I am doing the Color Run. I plan on having a pretty cool #OOTD for that and of course and entire blog post about it.

I also want to give a shout out to the hubs here. For several weeks he has been getting up working out, making healthy choices, and struggling just like me. I have always said it's easier for men. I have changed my mind. I have watched him work hard and be defeated too. Because they are tough they just handle their defeat differently than we do. Another small win for me has been finally convincing him to use the AdvoCare products to supplement his nutrition. He is now Sparking, Omegaplexing, and Coreplexing. My house isn't always clean and he has to treasure hunt for socks in the basket that haven't been folded some days but he does not complain. He has been so supportive of my efforts in AdvoCare and I appreciate that more than he will ever know. But having him doing this with me is super exciting. 

If having a partner in crime is better than going at it solo then this should be a piece of cake. No, not cake, how about a piece of freshly sliced apple. But only on refuel day. 

Prayers are appreciated.

John 16:33

 (KJV)

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

If it was easy it wouldn't be worth having. He overcame death, hell, and the grave for us. Surely we can overcome our struggles through Him that overcame the world.