So I have been mulling over something the last few days. The scale is absolutely driving me bonkers. After my 24 day challenge the 1st time around I got down to 223. Then, my monthly hit and I retained water, allowed myself to get off track and I got up to 230. Then I went on a 4 day road trip. I did not do horrible but I had 2 dinners that were not great. Did not get on the scale when I got home but on Day three of eating clean and doing my 10 day cleanse, I'm up a couple more pounds. What?!?!?! And you know what that makes me wanna do? Just say 'screw it' and head to the closest Taco Bell! I'm running TO the Border baby!

This is how I have always ticked. If the scale doesn't move down, I go off on a food tangent. If the scale DOES move then I reward myself with, you guessed it, more food. This has got to stop. All of these behaviors I have traced back to the bathroom scale. That sucker has been tormenting me for 18 years and I'm done. I will not be controlled by that number any longer. Over the past year or so, I have posted my actual weight. In the beginning that was so super hard to do. Now I am going to do something that is going to be even harder for me. Tomorrow morning I will be weighing myself. Then, I will be handing the scale over to my husband for him to hide. I will eat clean, I will exercise and I will do it because that is what is good for me, not because the number on the scale is going down. I will do it not to watch the number but to teach my children healthy habits.

The plan is that, I will not step on the scale again until August 1st. Then again September 1st and so on. If I do what I am supposed to do, eat clean, exercise, then the number on the scale will go down. It will not go down just because I am watching it.

So, it has been almost 3 months since I started my 24 day challenge. What has changed? Well, I def. view food much differently than I have in the past. I have tried to stick to a clean eating plan but with anything you start allowing yourself one treat, going out to eat, not watching portion sizes and you just roll into this progressively bigger snowball. So. That was where I was two days ago. So. Yesterday I started doing another cleanse, getting back to good habits and starting to actively exercise. I am still actively using Advocare supplements, the Spark, Catalyst, OmegaPlex and the vitamins for the kids. I am still actively sharing with people about Advocare and have even had a few people want to change their lives too. That makes me happy. If there are others out there that want to try it and maybe are afraid, please talk to me!! I was afraid to try too! I was afraid it wouldnt work! I was afraid of doing all the work and not getting any results. You will get results if you do the work. Someone asked me the other day ' you are going to spend the money and do another challenge?' My reply ' yes! You don't understand! Being on the other side, it is so worth it! It is worth the time, the money, the sacrifice! '

Soooooo worth it.

So. What is my plan. What am I going to do after the challenge. Honestly the last few days I have been wondering the same thing myself. However, I think I am going to take it day to day. I plan on eating as whole as I can. However, for example. Tonight I went to the grocery. I bought almonds, plain almonds. I also bought some habanero flavored almonds. I mixed them together. So I would only be eating half of the flavored ones. Yes, it's salt, yes, it's fake stuff I am putting in my body. Yes, it is not 100% clean eating. Ultimately, YOU have to do what YOU can live with. The challenge was great. It refocused me. It cleaned me out, it gave me hope! However, I have learned I have to make this eating plan my own. So. I have decided that I will continue blogging. I will post what I eat each day. I will also share my weigh in's, and tips I come across, recipes, exercises.... I want to inspire! I want to help others know that losing weight, this way, can still be done! I am more determined than ever to fight this! Until tmrw friends......

'What were your results?' 'How much did you lose?' These are the words I have been hearing for the last few days....

First, I will say I was disappointed. I am a numbers girl. I wanted to see that scale moving. I wanted to be at least 225 by the end of this challenge. However, 5 pounds in 24 days is extremely good for me! I would struggle to lose a pound a week! So, that I am happy with. The inches, I don't really care as much about BUT, 13 inches is like huge!

Day 24..... I can't believe I am here. It seemed fast, it seemed slow. The above photo is me 24 days ago. The changes are subtle, but they are there. It is important to take photos, measurements and yes, step on that scale. I will post the measurements and final poundage count on Friday.

All of this to say, I am so happy I did the challenge. I will be continuing with some of the supplements and the spark. It has forever changed how I look at and see food.

I hope, by documenting my journey I have inspired others to take their own journey. To take their health into their hands. This country is so sick with disease and illness. Most of these can be prevented with diet and exercise.

I will post on Friday my final results.

Day 22 was today. I was scheduled to be off work today but decided to pick up 8 hrs. I know myself all too well. If I wouldn't have picked up, I would have laid in bed watching tv all day.

So I drank my shake and got to work feeling sick. It took me awhile to get over feeling sick. I wanted to come home so badly, but I pushed through.

Today people were talking. I had two separate people comment about my complexion, my skin. 'You have great skin', 'people pay money for skin that looks like yours'. For me, it was a very strange compliment to get. Usually people compliment my hair (yes, it's naturally curly), or how pretty my makeup is that day or the biggest one , 'you smell good'. The skin thing is new and I can only think that it is AdvoCare.

I was also told today that it really looks like I am losing weight. People are noticing and they are saying things, complimenting me. I smile back and say 'Thank you, I have worked hard!' There is nothing worse than giving someone a compliment and then people act like it isn't a big deal. Or they try and be modest and humble. I am saying to you, think about who is giving you the compliment. It's hard for people to say 'great hair' or whatever they are complimenting. They don't want to be shot down with a 'well the lighting is wrong ' or ' I have no idea where you are getting this from'.


The next time someone gives you a compliment, accept it. Cherish it. You worked hard for it!

For me, receiving a compliment is adding fuel to my fire. You do this, eating right and exercising. You do it everyday, you look in the mirror everyday. You see little change because you are you, you are not seeing it happen. However, other people are. It's the people that don't see us often that notice the difference. It's like coming back home to your toddler after being gone a few days, you feel like they have grown 2 feet since you left! Or its like putting on some weight, going to grandma's and her saying ' wow! you have put on some weight! maybe you should stop eating!' ( True story, happenned for real !!!) People see you and think and hopefully say ' wow you look great! You have lost some weight!!' Instead of being bashful and saying 'oh go on' say ' Yes!!! Thank you for noticing! It truly helps me to keep going!' Make it add fuel to that fire! This will help you to continue on this road! Also, be the compliment giver too! If someone smells good, tell them! If someone has a great hair day, tell them! You will feel good giving the compliment and you will make their day too!

Not too much tonight. Just to say tmrw is my last day on the challenge. However, I will continue to use the habits I have gained on the challenge. I am also going to wait until Friday to weigh in, that is my typical weigh in day. I will continue to drink spark, I have 2 more weeks of the MNS supplements. I have started the kids on Advocares multi vitamins and they actually love them and want to eat them! I will probably also continue to take catalyst and I might even try a few of the other products.

I am looking to put together a team of 12 Challengers. I would walk you all through the challenge, provide support, recipes and exercise options. If you are interested please get in touch with me. 12 people would also help Brian and I reach out first goal we want to reach as distributors. This would get us to the Advisor level. So by helping yourself, you would be helping us as well!

Be a blessing..... Be blessed...

Yes. This is me. Squatting in my front yard. I kind of had the thought, after the fact that people may have been watching. Then thinking to themselves, I wonder what she is doing.... You don't often see someone squatting in their front yard. That is done in a more 'private' area of your home!

So, by now people are talking. Some are amazed, some are bitter and some are even proud of you! You have made it 3 weeks on this plan! People are starting to notice changes and they are starting to talk. They make comments about how much you drink, they poke fun at your healthy eating. They crack jokes..... 'man does not live on carrot sticks alone.'

So. How do you not let it 'get to you.' How do you get to a point where you could care less of what people think? I think, you just cross that bridge, you come over that hurtle naturally. You are doing what's right for you and your body. You are feeling the results, you area starting to see those results. Once you start seeing it work, you really don't care what people have to say.

My whole life, I have dealt with what people think of me. I still, to this day am uneasy in crowds. Being overweight for my whole life only made this worse. However, I am noticing with every pound I lose, I gain just a little bit of confidence. It's making it easier to be in crowds, to eat healthy in a peer situation, to do squats in the front yard.

I feel like, this challenge has reached me physically but it also has reached me mentally. It has taken a few pounds and given me confidence. What is that worth to you?

So it's Day 19 of this challenge and I am putting this out there. The challenge is getting comfortable, not in a good way. It will soon be three weeks since I started this. The first week was very new, exciting and full of chicken. You stick to what you know. I knew chicken, very well. The 2nd week became comfortable. You branched out, you found new and exciting recipes to try, you start really feeling the results. Now I am closing on week three. It's not new, it's not exciting, it's kind of too easy. You know what you can and can't eat and you start getting lazy.

Laziness will kill any plan. ' But I don't feel like packing my snacks, I don't feel like making a grocery list, I don't feel like making things from scratch!' This is what I have been dealing with this week.

So how do we battle this? How do we get to a point again where it's exciting, new and fresh?

You go roller skating. I'm serious. Well it doesn't have to be roller skating per say, but doing something new and different! I have said this in a previous post. At this point in my life, going to a gym is not motivating for me. I would much rather work out at home, bike ride, roller skate, take a walk. In order to keep it interesting you need to make it interesting. You! You need to search out new and fun things to do! You need to find new and fun things to eat! This, is all on you!

This is why networking is so important. There is no way I would be able to do this on my own. I have a whole group of people rooting for me!

This Challenge, the 24 day Challenge, isn't 24 days at all. This is a lifestyle Challenge. It is 'Challenging' your lifestyle...... Challenging it and changing it in 24 days. It does not stop in 24 days, it continues on. After the 24 days, you begin your new lifestyle. You begin to do what you have been taught, without being prompted. This is the Challenge. This is what it is intended to do. It is not a quick fix. It is not a diet pill. This is how you lose weight. This is how you become healthy. I am hoping, after my challenge, some of you reading and watching will come forward and want to change. It has been so good for me. So very good.

( I will be translating for Brian. Brian signs ASL. His writing is ASL. So to make things easier for you all, I will be writing it for him in English. So do not misunderstand his words for mine. He will be speaking right now.)

' Advocare has worked for my wife. I have seen a huge change in her, from when we had Mia, our youngest. Monica started having issues when it was time for her monthly. Every month she became mean, wanted left alone and she would 'leave me out'. During the mood swings, I struggled with the feeling of Monica hating me. That she did not want me. I have struggled with this for 6 years, during that time of the month. It felt like our relationship was suffering, that we weren't going to make it. Then she would snap out of it, I would feel loved again but I was so confused. What in the world was happening to my wife? Why couldn't the doctors see there was something wrong!
Almost 2 years ago, Monica started taking birth control to try to level out her mood. With the birth control it made a difference. It made Monica more level and stable. When Monica told me she wanted to go off birth control to see what the spark would do for her, I thought to myself 'oh no, I hope she doesn't come back', but she didn't.
There is a huge difference in Monica and I feel like now, she wants to be close to me. When Monica started on the spark, it was almost a month afterward that I noticed the change.'

'Since I have known Monica, since we have been married, she has always needed a nap, mid day. She has always gotten extremely tired and had to lay down. When we started with Advocare, it became less, she didn't need naps anymore. She started doing more activity, she is spending more time with the kids. Napping is not completely gone yet, but there is a huge difference. After Mia was born, Monica started really struggling to lose weight. She would try everything, exercise videos, different equipment, YMCA, she would exercise but not lose weight. She has always done some kind of diet. Weight watchers was what she did the longest, then she counted calories on an app. she also did 'body for life' .She started going to different dr's but with no improvement. Since starting the challenge, her body is changing. It looks like her body is back to where it started when we first got married!

' I believe that Advocare was the answer for Monica. Advocare can provide everyone with the results they are looking for. I want to encourage you to try these products. To see for yourself what they can do for you. The products are worth every penny.

I also want to say a little something about the income opportunity. This company has changed lives in the financial aspect as well. The products work, the products sell which means the business is successful. My wife and I are looking to supplement our income selling these products that have changed our lives. We would appreciate your support if you feel lead to try Spark, the 24 day challenge or any of their other products. We will always use Advocare. I will work side jobs to pay for it, if I have to. Having my wife back, is worth every penny. I am so thankful to AdvoCare. I am so thankful to The Lord for bringing Advocare into our lives.'

Day 17: if I could label this day, the label would read, ' I am so OVER today' and I was saying that as I was getting out of bed.

I don't even wanna do a 'play by play' today of my day because it was pretty bad. I didn't do bad eating, work was just insane. What I do wanna do is talk about when do you say 'Uncle'.

The last few posts have been about temptations. Okay, it's all well and good to learn to say 'No' to our temptations but when is it okay to say 'Yes' ? Well. I have a super example of a 'Yes' today.

So it was a very long hard day. I was basically working two different jobs, at the same time. It's towards the end of my shift and I walked into the break room and what is lying their on the table?

Now. If you aren't from the area where I'm from, this gold box will mean nothing to you. However, if you are a Daytonian, you know all about this shiny gold box.

This, dear friends, is the exception. This is when you say 'uncle'. Esther Price is legendary. This is when you take a 1 minute hiatus from clean eating and 'ENJOY' a piece.

Now, this may not be your 'cup of tea'. Chocolate may not be your thing. However, this 'thing' can't be something that is common. It can't be a Hershey bar from krogers or a piece of fried chicken from KFC. It has got to be so rare that when it does 'show up' it is special.

Every birthday, for at least 17 years my mom makes me a birthday cake. It's not 'any' birthday cake. The name of the cake is 'cherry chocolate cream cheese cake'. It is only made once a year, and only for me. This is another example of a rarely eaten sweet. These are the things you eat, this is when it's ok!

This eating plan is not about saying 'No'. It's about eating well so you can say 'Yes' to the special things that come up and not feel guilty about saying yes!


I am looking for people to help. This challenge has taught me so much. I am in such a better place now than I was a month ago. I am happy that we decided to jump in and I am sad I waited as long as I did.

Don't wait, like I did. It is so worth it on the other side.