Days 12-18

I know I know! Its been forever since I posted but I've been out training to save the world one day, so I kinda had to put the blog on the back burner.  Now that I am all caught up, lets pick up where I left off.

My energy is still incredibly high.  I do not get a case of the 2:30's anymore.  You know, that feeling that you just want to close your eyes and take a power nap?  Not this guy.  I feel great all day.  I've been meaning to add a page that details my diet and workout regimen, so I will try to get that today. 

I had a great chest workout this morning.  I changed up my bench press style to a more bodybuilding style rather than a traditional power lifting method that I have been utilizing for about three years. I could not lift as much but my chest got a better workout.  My diet is still very strict, but to be honest I really don't feel the need to eat the bad stuff anymore.  I have heard the same story from several Advocare users and I am glad that I don't feel the need for the after work chips and salsa or the other junk that I used to consume. 

The one thing this program has allowed me to do is sharpen up on my cooking skills.  Mrs. Farrer and I have always enjoyed cooking with each other and if you ask the family, we are pretty darn good at it.  Well we still want to be good and eat good, but sometimes it takes a bit of creativity to pull it off.  Today I am trying a new creation from Mrs. Farrer's kitchen - Fish Stew.  Now I'm not a big stew eater, but I love fish, so it will be interesting to try and I'm sure its muy delicioso.

Ok, it's time for a little class participation.  I want to hear from all of you who have started your 24 day challenge after or around the time that I started mine.  I want to know what your energy is like and what your results have been (good or bad).  Please feel free to be open, there is no one here that is going to judge you if you have had a few bad days, or slipped off the wagon.  So let me know! 

Note:  I just want to say how proud I am of my wife.  I haven't posted any of her results because it is a personal journey and if she wants you to know, she will tell me to post them.  But I have seen that beautiful lady really commit to this program and the results that she has attained so far go so much deeper than pant sizes or digital scale readouts.  She is a more confident and beautiful woman on the inside because she has really amazed me with her fortitude and being 100% "on" when doing this challenge.  She isn't competing against anyone, just herself, and our biggest rivals in life are ourselves.  I applaud her commitment and wish her the best of luck.

Days 8 - 11

Well, I was a little worried yesterday morning when I weighed in because I shot up to 313 for seemingly no reason at all, but it didn't bother me too much because I had not cheated on my diet at all and I still felt like my metabolism was high. Today I started the second phase of the diet with the MNS 3 kit.  I took the recommended vitamin pack thirty minutes before breakfast.  This brings me to a good point.  All of the other mulitvitamins/multiminerals that I have taken have been loose pills in a bottle with the exception of Animal Pak.  The strip packs that these come in give you timing directions as well and this makes it very handy if you are on the go like I am because I can take my vitamins with me and get them while I'm on patrol or training. I had the berry flavored meal replacement shake (MRS) this morning and out of all of the protein shakes that I have tried in the past, this one tastes better than 99% of the mass manufactured five gallon tub proteins that are sold at major chains.  This one has all the nutrition I need and after working out last week on an empty stomach, my workouts were great after eating the MRS. 

I had a great chest workout this morning, then came home and ate three eggs with one half cup of oatmeal along with four strawberries. For lunch I had chicken fajitas made with a six ounce chicken breast, one half cup of fresh homemade salsa, two carb balance tortillas and three tablespoons of fresh homemade guacamole.  YUM-O!  I am fixing eat me a snack made (today will be two rice cakes, two table spoons of natural PB and some grapes) and for dinner tonight I am having Talapia on a spinach salad.  This will be the basis for my diet throughout the remainder of the 24 day challenge.

Keep it up! 

Days 4 - 7

I am on fire with this stuff!  I'm down nearly 15 pounds and feel great. I have been eating pretty much the same diet as described in days one, two and three.  My energy is still up but I do have to admit that I have cut my calories so much that when I get hungry I need to eat quick because I start to get a little shaky.  You might not want to cut your calories this much.  But so far so good.  I stopped taking the Fiber Drink as directed by Advocare and started the Probiotic Restore.  I will start the Fiber Drink again tomorrow along with the Probiotic restore and discontinue the Herbal Cleanse after tonight's dose.  This program seems to be working very well in my body. I feel great and my clothes are fitting better.  We took a picture today at work and I think I look ten times better than my before picture.  I'll photoshop the others out and paste it.  I still need to post my diet which I will do either today or tomorrow. Until then, carry on.

Day Three

Good morning guys!

Yesterday we went grocery shopping and when we got home I had three eggs, 1/2 cup of oatmeal, and about a cup of raspberries.  For a snack I had two rice cakes with about two tablespoons of all natural peanut butter and some spark. Then I had four ounces of shrimp, six ounces of chicken, with charred sweet bell peppers and 1/2 cup of brown rice for dinner.  Finally, for my snack, I grilled a white peach and added about 1/4 cup of tart pitted cherries. Yum-o! Before I went to bed I took the Herbal Cleanse pills again.  I've been expecting to wake up and have to make a run for the restroom but that just hasn't happened yet.  This must be a very gentle cleanse.  I think that it is effective (I'll spare you the details, just use your imagination) but it works in a gentle manner. 

So this morning after my morning paperwork, I stepped on the scales.  316.4. That ladies and gents is another two and a half pounds.  So far I have lost almost eleven pounds and this is the morning of day three.  I'm stoked! 

I don't think that my body will continue to shed weight like this and I don't think that it is very healthy to loose 10 pounds in two days, and I'm not sure if this is typical, but I'm enjoying it.  A friend of mine had similar results when he did his first cleanse loosing 4 pounds the first day and 4 pounds the second, loosing a total of 22 pounds the first 24 days.  So I'm not the only one that is responding to this program with superior results. 

Things to do today: 

1. Add a list of my goals to the blog.
2. Add up my caloric intake for the day.
3. Add my diet to the blog so it is easy for you to follow it if you choose.
3. Watch the Cowboys beat the Texans!
4. Pulverize my competition in my Fantasy Football League. 

I have a very busy day! 

Okay guys, there you have it.  Two full days on the cleanse and 10 pounds lost.  I'm going to go cook me three eggs and eat some grapes.  Keep up the good work!

NOTE:  If you start the program, please leave a comment and let us know how you are doing!

Thanks,
Matt

24 Day Challenge Website

Hey guys, just a quick post here.  I added the link to Danny Miner's website.  He is my good buddy that I mentioned in Day One.  I didn't want to put him on the spot without permission so I asked him yesterday if I could link his website to mine.  Check out this guy's before and after pics.  It is truly inspiring.  You will also find a great grocery list and a few videos about the advocare products.

Thanks again,
Matt

Day Two

Good morning campers!  Its 8:38 in the a.m!  Time to rise and shine! 

Let me start where I left off yesterday.  Yesterday afternoon I had another Spark and a Nut-trition pack from planters for an afternoon snack.  Then I marinated some chicken and made some brown rice for dinner.  I had about 6 ounces of chicken, 1/2 cup of rice, and about 3 cups of broccoli for dinner.  It was very tasty because by this time I was pretty hungry.  My energy stayed high all day, although I did get pretty hungry at times.  But, in all honesty, I went from eating anywhere from 2500 to 5000 calories a day to eating less than 1500 calories.  So it is expected that I might get hungry. 

You know that weighted down feeling you get after a heavy meal?  I didn't have that yesterday and I really felt the food supplying me with energy instead of dragging me down. 

I took the Herbal Cleanse pills before bed last night and I expecting to have to make a run for it (it being the throne) when I awoke this morning, but I didn't.  My digestive tract seems fine.  No rolling sensation in my stomach or any ill side effects.  I feel pretty awesome. 

So after taking care of my morning paperwork, I stepped on the scale.  319 lbs. 319 lbs?

319 pounds after one day? Eight pounds in one day? No way, no way, no way. This is crazy! I know that alot of it is water weight, but that is wild. I feel great this morning and I just had the Fiber Drink mixed in with a Spark. My energy is high and I don't feel hungry at all. My bride and I are going grocery shopping today and I'm going to eat an orange when I get close to the store for breakfast.




I'll post some more this afternoon, stay tuned!

Day One

Hey guys!  Thank you so much for stopping by and reading my blog.  This blog will cover my journey through a 24 day challenge using Advocare products.  I am a distributor but I promise to give you an honest play by play so you can decide if this program is for you or not. 

I heard about this program from a buddy of mine who has done a phenomenal job using this program.  He went from 303 pounds to 249 in a little over three months.  That is insane! We are built alike, he is broad shouldered and carries himself well.  I am bigger framed and taller, but we share the same attributes.  When I saw him for the first time after he began this program I was amazed. He looked awesome. So he told me what he was doing and I had to try it. 

My biggest fear is loosing muscle that I have worked so hard to attain. I do not want to lose strength or muscle endurance because it takes me so long to earn it (due to rhabdomyolysis which is for another blog...lol).  But at this point I'm ready to shed the belly and show off the muscle that I have gained over the years.  Currently I'm 6'2 327 pounds, I bench press over 350 lbs (haven't maxed in a while), squat 405 for reps, leg press 1100 for reps, and run a 9 minute mile.  All of these stats need to improve, especially my mile time.

So now that I have laid some of the ground work here is where I am.  This morning I drank the Fiber Drink along with a bottle of water.  I consider a bottle of water to be a liter of water, just FYI.  I ate half an orange and half an apple about thirty minutes later. I then went to the gym for my shoulders and triceps workout which was awesome.  About 15 minutes before I got to the gym I took three Catalyst and three more after working out.  I came home and ate three eggs and a half cup of plain oatmeal.  Today my energy is very high and I don't really feel hungry.  Usually by this time I'm starving but this may change over the next few days as I reduce my caloric intake.  Tonight I will take the Herbal Cleanse pills and report back tomorrow how they affect me.  So far so good!