Friends and Family 24 Day Challenge Day 1

I want to start this post out, saying that I went a little over board yesterday on my eating.  It was fun -- but I am so excited to do this 10 day cleanse after it.  I started off having some French Toast at the Whip In for Brunch, I had a fish taco, a chicken enchilada, and some pecan sandie cake at Guerro's for a late lunch, and I had the Terralingua Burger (frito pie burger), french fries, and a caramel/sea salt milkshake from HopDoddy for dinner.  Needless to say, I have not eaten this many carbs in months -- especially not in one day!  The only thing I can say, is after eating all of that -- I am not going to want to eat any carbs for the next 24 days!  It was all very delicious!

But today is a new day!  And it is also the first day of our Friends and Family AdvoCare 24 Day Challenge.  We have a group of 22 people doing this challenge with us -- and I am lucky to have 3 of my best friends doing the challenge with me here in Austin -- this is so much easier to do with people around who are going through the same thing -- it holds us all accountable, and we are all here to support each other.  You may be asking what this challenge is, so I want to break it down and explain it the best I can:

From the AdvoCare website
Days 1-10 Cleanse Phase
The first ten days are about cleansing your body of toxins and preparing for optimal nutrient absorption, and you may enjoy weight loss as well!*

• Herbal Cleanse-Citrus: helps to cleanse and detoxify your body.*
• OmegaPlex®: essential fatty acids for increased overall wellness.*
• AdvoCare Spark®: nutritionally-advanced energy*

Days 11-24 Max Phase
Give your body the best tools you need to achieve your next weight management goal during days 11-24!*

• Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS®): Max 3 - weight management, appetite control and overall wellness.*
• Meal Replacement Shake - your choice of chocolate mocha, chocolate, vanilla, or berry: Complete nutrition in a great-tasting shake!
• AdvoCare Spark®: nutritionally advanced energy

On top of the actual Advocare 24 Day bundle above, we are also practicing the paleo lifestyle through out this challenge. 

I got this info from the cookbook Make It Paleo:
The paleo diet (I do not like this word - so I am replacing it with lifestyle) is based upon the idea of eating the foods our bodies were designed for through thousands of years of evolution.  These foods were available to early people through hunting and gathering [meat and fish, nuts and seeds, fruits and vegetables].  During modern times, advances in technology have made other forms of food available for consumption [grains, dairy, and processed foods], which are not as easy for our bodies to digest.  The foods recommended in the paleo diet generally provide our bodies with more efficient, long-lasting energy that also aid in burning fat.

So to make it easy here is the list of foods to eat:
Meats, Vegetables, Fruits, Nuts, Seeds, and Healthy Fats
Foods to avoid:
Grains, Legumes, Dairy, Processed Foods, Alcohol, and Starches

So the easiest way for me to describe it, is to just eat "real" food!

Today was the first day of the challenge.
My starting weight is 184.5lbs
Body Fat % is 35.79
Waist is 38"
Hips are 46"
Right Arm (Flexed) is 14"

In 24 days, I will post my after statistics, and my before and after pictures.  I am optimistic about this challenge and I know in 24 days I will look and feel like a new person.  This is just a jump start to a healthy and happy new me!

Day one so far has been an experience - as mentioned before, the first 10 days of the challenge is a cleanse.  First thing this morning was the fiber drink with a breakfast of a couple of servings of fruit.  I am not sure why there is not a warning on the fiber drink -- it had to be the worst thing I have ever drank.  It took a really long time to drink, and I had to keep adding water to it.  I am being very honest about this -- I am very glad that this is not something I have to do for all 24 days -- because I may have quit already.  But hopefully it gets better!  If anyone has any tips on the fiber drink, please leave a comment and let me know.