Just keep swimming, just keep swimming....

It is day 52! What? Ok so I told you last time that I was going to have one cheat day then do back-to-back challenges and I actually followed through with it! Monday was day 24 of this challenge. Yes I ate myself silly on that cheat day. Enjoyed it during, not so much after. I think I got a couple cravings under control by doing that. I still have not had a diet coke. Not even on my cheat day. (Insert loud applause, obnoxious fan squeals, etc.)

Chad and I did this challenge together. Today is day 27 for him. I was so excited for him to finally be "ALL IN" with AdvoCare. He is not a "green" eater so that posed some challenges throughout (including an all out "discussion" over English Peas being "green" "vegetables") and he has determined he would rather eat a stick than brown rice (I personally love it). I did find this recipe on Pinterest and tweaked it slightly to make it a little more challenge friendly.

Peel and cut up sweet potatoes. Try not to cut your hand off or shoot someones eye out with a rouge sweet potato piece while cutting them up. ( I am not very talented in the kitchen arena.) Spray a long flat pan with olive oil cooking spray. Spread potato pieces over tray and sprinkle 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of honey, and one teaspoon of cinnamon over the potato pieces. Kind of scoop them up and stir them around with your hands to cover them in the mixture. Bake at 400 for around 30-45 minutes until they look like the pic below. Um, can you say DELISH!

I am so proud of Chad for working hard and following all the way through with it. Here are his results:

Weight loss: 19.6 lbs

Inch loss: 9.5

WOW! He refused a whole body after photo...I will try to sneak one in a little further into his journey. He said I could post all day long about him but he is a man of few words and even fewer photos. Sorry y'all all ya get are his feet for this post. (I think he lost in his feet they look slimmer to me hehehehe.)

For my results I am posting the original (DAY 1) the End of the first challenge (DAY 24) and then the End of this challenge (Day 49) for you to see the transition. Some of the changes are subtle but there. 

This Challenge 

Weight Loss: 6 lbs

Inch Loss: 1.5

I didn't exercise quite the way I should have due to a busy schedule. My numbers aren't great but they are what they are. I considered not posting but one of the biggest compliments I get from this blog is how raw and real it is. So there ya go. As real as it gets. It doesn't just fall off. This isn't easy or magic, I have said that a time or two. Hey 6 lbs is 6 lbs though and when you look at the grand scheme of things, that is still 19.6 lbs in 49 days and I will take that as a win! 

So what now? Right when I started this challenge I tuned into an awesome webinar our AdvoCare upline provided as a tool for newbies doing a challenge. Little did I know it would motivate and encourage me in my personal journey. I can't remember who but someone on there had lost 35 pounds in 90 days on AdvoCare. WHATTTT? Do I need to remind yall how long it took me to get that original 35 lbs off before AdvoCare. This was the whole issue dampering my motivation this go around anyway. I told you in the last post I wasn't sure I could do this "AGAIN". So I was like oh it's on now. I can hang for 90 days. So that is where I am. Day 52 of 90. Shooting for a 35 lb loss to get me back in the 170's before Thanksgiving. I am a little off schedule if talking strictly numbers which JILL ACOSTA will send me a text about before she even finishes reading this to tell me to throw the scales away and stop obsessing over numbers. The very cool thing is that even though those scales didn't move quite like they did on that first challenge things are changing. I am here to TESTIFY to you that when I weighed 212 prior to AdvoCare I did not get 19.6 pounds off in 49 days. It took me almost a year with some whole months not losing one pound. I can also TESTIFY to you that at 192 lbs before AdvoCare NO WAY could I wear a size 12 skinny jean. I am going to continue eating as if I were challenging which I like to call the "AdvoCare Way". Lean meat, lots of green veggies and some shady veggies for chad ( ahem English peas), fruits, nuts, etc. As clean as possible, I'm not prepping for Miss Fitness USA people so a little "dirty" won't hurt me. (FYI: MISS MISSISSIPPI was amazing on stage, NOT skin and bones and rocked that RED jumpsuit. It was PERFECTION and I need one of those in my closet ASAP!) I am debating starting another challenge the first of October. I am considering doing another challenge starting Sept. 30th. One reason is to get that last push in before the holidays hit, another is in support of the hubs and his second challenge. I just know that no matter what I will be using my products and staying as ON POINT and consistent as I can, WITHOUT Diet Coke.

Chad in NOLA last year for his Birthday Celebration. Love this pic of my
Hottie Hubs! :) 

Chad and I will be traveling to NOLA this weekend to hopefully bring some good luck to our boys during their season opener in tha DOME.  They have got to get it together (yikes guys). We are celebrating his 34th and my 35th birthday. I am not nervous about eating while there. I will be having some local cuisine and definitely visit Cafe Du Monde but I know I have to be real and I have to live and enjoy life. I also have to know when enough is enough and quit acting like having one beignet is my last ever meal and eat two instead. I can't continue looking at weight gain and loss as punishment. I can't keep comparing myself to women on tv, in magazines, or even bloggers I follow. Each person has their own life and is writing their own story. I want to be content with who God designed me to be and that starts with letting go of ideals and unrealistic versions of myself. That isn't being healthy. Being healthy comes in lots of different shapes and sizes. So for now I will just keep swimming, swimming, swimming.