I have to start today's entry off a little differently...GO BUCKS!!!!!!! I'm incredibly excited for OSU's matchup against Kansas in the Final Four tonight!
As for the challenge, it continues to go as well as I could have hoped. Last night was a lot of fun. We went over the house of the couple that we probably consider to be our best friends in Cincinnati. We have had dinner with them countless times...occasionally we order Indian, sometimes we grill steaks, and other times we hit up a restaurant that we enjoy. Last night had a little different spin. Renee grilled salmon to perfection and supplemented it with asparagus and whole grain rice. The meal was delicious and it was a very healthy alternative to our typical meals. It was a little tough watching Alex and Renee enjoy a couple tasty adult beverages, but the "no alcohol" phase of the challenge is only supposed to be strictly enforced for the first 10 days. I'm happy to report that I was able to abstain from grabbing one of those ice cold brews and my will power won out in the end.
The one lesson that I took from the beer temptation is that, by this point in the challenge, discipline and will power are the most important aspects of sticking to the weight loss plan. When the temptations aren't present, this diet has been pretty easy. With the opportunity for 5 meals/snacks per day, I can honestly say that "hunger pains" have been virtually nonexistent. It's harder when you see your buddy cracking a brewsky, but you have to keep your eye on the prize!
One other thought: When you think you might be around someone that's drinking and you think you might be tempted to join in, mix up a Spark to drink instead. You may still be wanting that beer, but the Sparks taste great and their an upgrade over pure water.
Alright, time to get ready to watch some basketball! GO BUCKS!!!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
http://www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com/
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Friday, March 30, 2012
Day 5 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge
Halfway through the cleanse portion of the challenge and our results are mind-blowing! I started the challenge at 214 lbs and I weighed in this morning at 204 lbs! Kristen started at 132 lbs and she's down to 127 lbs!
The best part about this is that we're still eating up to 5 meals a day and I really haven't felt the "hunger urges" that I used to have (even when I wasn't dieting). The other factor is that I haven't secretly been going crazy exercising either. I've been running 15-20 minutes per day on the treadmill and I played in my weekly soccer game last night. Kristen hasn't exercised at all in the last 5 days!
I had a thought last night while driving to my soccer game. Weight loss really boils down to two things. First, you need to have the desire to shed the pounds. If you're not passionate about the effort, then you'll quickly slip back into old habits. Secondly, you need to have the discipline to stick to the plan. When I started this, I was heavier than I've ever been in my life. I'm following Advocare's plan and the results have been tremendous so far!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link: www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
The best part about this is that we're still eating up to 5 meals a day and I really haven't felt the "hunger urges" that I used to have (even when I wasn't dieting). The other factor is that I haven't secretly been going crazy exercising either. I've been running 15-20 minutes per day on the treadmill and I played in my weekly soccer game last night. Kristen hasn't exercised at all in the last 5 days!
I had a thought last night while driving to my soccer game. Weight loss really boils down to two things. First, you need to have the desire to shed the pounds. If you're not passionate about the effort, then you'll quickly slip back into old habits. Secondly, you need to have the discipline to stick to the plan. When I started this, I was heavier than I've ever been in my life. I'm following Advocare's plan and the results have been tremendous so far!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link: www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
Day 4 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge
It's getting late in the night, so I'm only going to mention a couple of the notables from today.
First and most important is that my mom has decided to start the challenge as well! I am really looking forward to helping her reach her full potential with the program.
One note on the meal replacement bar...it's pretty chewy. The chocolate peanut butter taste was pretty good, but the chewiness reminded me of a Clif bar, only maybe not that chewy. Let's go with "Clif bar-Lite."
Lastly, I think I'm officially sold on the quality of the Advocare products. The tipping point was earlier today when I decided to check out www.informed-choice.org after noticing that a lot of the Advocare products are seal with a sticker with this web address on it. The large text box on the front page tells you all that you need to know. In short, "The program certifies that all nutritional supplements and/or ingredients that bear the Informed-Choice logo have been tested for banned substances by the world-class sports anti-doping lab, HFL Sport Science." Yet another tidbit of truth that Advocare is legit.
Well, that's all for tonight. Tomorrow is a big day! It will be Day 5 and it marks the half-way point for the 10-day cleanse period, so I am going to reveal my first weigh-in results!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link: www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer: I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
First and most important is that my mom has decided to start the challenge as well! I am really looking forward to helping her reach her full potential with the program.
One note on the meal replacement bar...it's pretty chewy. The chocolate peanut butter taste was pretty good, but the chewiness reminded me of a Clif bar, only maybe not that chewy. Let's go with "Clif bar-Lite."
Lastly, I think I'm officially sold on the quality of the Advocare products. The tipping point was earlier today when I decided to check out www.informed-choice.org after noticing that a lot of the Advocare products are seal with a sticker with this web address on it. The large text box on the front page tells you all that you need to know. In short, "The program certifies that all nutritional supplements and/or ingredients that bear the Informed-Choice logo have been tested for banned substances by the world-class sports anti-doping lab, HFL Sport Science." Yet another tidbit of truth that Advocare is legit.
Well, that's all for tonight. Tomorrow is a big day! It will be Day 5 and it marks the half-way point for the 10-day cleanse period, so I am going to reveal my first weigh-in results!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link: www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer: I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Day 3 - Mike & Kristen's 24-Day Challenge
I came across another encouraging piece of information today with regards to the validity of the Advocare products. What I came to learn is that a staggering percentage (30%) of the Omega 3 fatty acid supplements are bogus and they don't meet acceptable standards. This knowledge was gleaned from a clip from the Dr. Oz show in which he was talking about Omega 3 fatty acids. He brought in the guy that was responsible for testing a ton of the different Omega 3 products out there. To my pleasure, at the end of the segment he and Dr. Oz recommended two different Omega 3 supplements for consumers to consider buying....and you guessed it, Advocare's OmegaPlex one of them!
If you want to check out the clip for yourself, follow the link below. The video is only about 2 minutes long.
YouTube clip from the Dr. Oz Show highlighting OmegaPlex
My whole point is...the more time goes by, the more encouraging things I have found out about Advocare. I still have the MLM/pyramid scheme stigma in the back of my mind, but there is another distinction that is starting to take shape for me.
Advocare has two sides: the product side and the business side
The jury (in my mind) is starting to reach a verdict regarding the product side. The products seem to be legit. In other words, I think they are effective based upon the results I'm starting to see. Also, when high profile figures like Dr. Oz look upon it favorably (or at least OmegaPlex), then I feel even better about the safety aspect FOR MYSELF (you'll have to make up your own mind).
Finally, I'll give you a little update on my day from a dietary standpoint. I've found it pretty easy to stay on course. The mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks have really helped me bridge the gap from one meal to the next. I'm still a big fan of the chocolate meal replacement shake as well. I stepped on the scale today and it's really starting to look like I'm going to be sharing with you a pretty impressive number for the Day 7 weight-in!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
If you want to check out the clip for yourself, follow the link below. The video is only about 2 minutes long.
YouTube clip from the Dr. Oz Show highlighting OmegaPlex
My whole point is...the more time goes by, the more encouraging things I have found out about Advocare. I still have the MLM/pyramid scheme stigma in the back of my mind, but there is another distinction that is starting to take shape for me.
Advocare has two sides: the product side and the business side
The jury (in my mind) is starting to reach a verdict regarding the product side. The products seem to be legit. In other words, I think they are effective based upon the results I'm starting to see. Also, when high profile figures like Dr. Oz look upon it favorably (or at least OmegaPlex), then I feel even better about the safety aspect FOR MYSELF (you'll have to make up your own mind).
Finally, I'll give you a little update on my day from a dietary standpoint. I've found it pretty easy to stay on course. The mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks have really helped me bridge the gap from one meal to the next. I'm still a big fan of the chocolate meal replacement shake as well. I stepped on the scale today and it's really starting to look like I'm going to be sharing with you a pretty impressive number for the Day 7 weight-in!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Day 2 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge
The challenge has gone pretty well so far! I won't spill the beans and share our current results, but I am very confident that we will both be happy with the numbers that we see on the scale at the end of Week One.
I have had several people ask me about the diet during these first 2 days. Many people have never heard of Advocare, so I've found myself starting from the beginning and then trying to explain it. I start by explaining that it's a 2-part challenge with a cleanse phase for the first 10 days followed by a little more liberal last 14 days that helps increase your energy level, fuel your metabolism, and control your appetite while you continue to shed pounds. You have to focus on eating better while using their supplements and meal replacement shakes to facilitate the weight loss.
A couple people have basically mentioned that this isn't much different than just modifying your diet by eating better and cutting the carbs. In a way, they might be right. But here is where I have started to see my mentality towards this challenge change from a healthy dose of skepticism to guarded optimism. I have tried straight up diet modification (no carbs, a lot of salads, and a lot of chicken). Kristen and I tend to stick to it pretty well for a few days, but then without the structure of a program to follow, we quickly fall off the wagon. It's not long that I start drinking a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper and making those extra stops in the cafeteria for some Doritos and pretzels (my co-residents know exactly what I'm talking about). I am hopeful that the 24-day challenge will keep me focused and on track and that the products will deliver on their promise to help me shed the pounds. When you really think about it, the 24-Day Challenge Bundle is going to end up costing us less than $10 per day (per person). If the pounds continue to come off, then the monetary investment will be well worth it!
It's still WAY too early to judge the effectiveness of this program, but I am cautiously optimistic that these products are going to "deliver the goods!"
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
I have had several people ask me about the diet during these first 2 days. Many people have never heard of Advocare, so I've found myself starting from the beginning and then trying to explain it. I start by explaining that it's a 2-part challenge with a cleanse phase for the first 10 days followed by a little more liberal last 14 days that helps increase your energy level, fuel your metabolism, and control your appetite while you continue to shed pounds. You have to focus on eating better while using their supplements and meal replacement shakes to facilitate the weight loss.
A couple people have basically mentioned that this isn't much different than just modifying your diet by eating better and cutting the carbs. In a way, they might be right. But here is where I have started to see my mentality towards this challenge change from a healthy dose of skepticism to guarded optimism. I have tried straight up diet modification (no carbs, a lot of salads, and a lot of chicken). Kristen and I tend to stick to it pretty well for a few days, but then without the structure of a program to follow, we quickly fall off the wagon. It's not long that I start drinking a lot of Diet Dr. Pepper and making those extra stops in the cafeteria for some Doritos and pretzels (my co-residents know exactly what I'm talking about). I am hopeful that the 24-day challenge will keep me focused and on track and that the products will deliver on their promise to help me shed the pounds. When you really think about it, the 24-Day Challenge Bundle is going to end up costing us less than $10 per day (per person). If the pounds continue to come off, then the monetary investment will be well worth it!
It's still WAY too early to judge the effectiveness of this program, but I am cautiously optimistic that these products are going to "deliver the goods!"
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Day 1 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge
Day 1 is almost in the books. Overall, the day went well and the dietary program was pretty easy to follow. If you want some details on the basic pattern of the first 10 days of the challenge (the cleanse portion), this link has the essential information: http://www.advotips.com/wp-content/uploads/Cleanse-Sept-2010-2.pdf
I've been thinking about the best way to report our challenge experience and I think the best way will be to highly notable parts of my day. Which products do I like? Dislike? Something else of interest? You get the drift. We're going to report our weight loss progress every 6 days during the challenge. I think that should give a fairly accurate assessment of our progres without dwelling on each individual scale reading.
So here are my initial thoughts from the first day:
It's definitely advisable to take the herbal cleanse tablets at night right before you go to bed. Kristen slept completely through the night, but I did have to get up once to use the bathroom. With these cleanse tablets and the frequent water consumption throughout the day, I am anticipating that I'm going to be taking potty breaks a little more often than usual for the next 24 days.
Overall, I'm very impressed by the taste of the products. I had been warned that the fiber drink isn't very good and you just have to choke it down, but I actually found myself sipping it at a leisurely pace and enjoying it a little bit. Kristen also felt the same way. If that's the worst-tasting part of the challenge, then the taste of the products definitely won't be an impediment to success. I had a chocolate meal replacement shake for lunch and that had a great taste as well.
With 5 opportunities to eat or snack today, I can honestly say that I did not go hungry. I really like the opportunities for the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks to bridge the gap between meals.
The only other thing of note today is that I think I might be going through a little bit of carbohydrate withdrawl. Basically, I just started to get a low level headache late in the day. I really don't think it's anything too remarkable and the same thing happened when I cut out carbs while briefly fooling around with the South Beach Diet several years ago. A couple more days and it should become a non-event.
Well that's about it for today. I'm not sure that I'll leave a post for every single day of the challenge, but I'll at least leave a progress update every couple days or so.
One down, 23 more to go!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
I've been thinking about the best way to report our challenge experience and I think the best way will be to highly notable parts of my day. Which products do I like? Dislike? Something else of interest? You get the drift. We're going to report our weight loss progress every 6 days during the challenge. I think that should give a fairly accurate assessment of our progres without dwelling on each individual scale reading.
So here are my initial thoughts from the first day:
It's definitely advisable to take the herbal cleanse tablets at night right before you go to bed. Kristen slept completely through the night, but I did have to get up once to use the bathroom. With these cleanse tablets and the frequent water consumption throughout the day, I am anticipating that I'm going to be taking potty breaks a little more often than usual for the next 24 days.
Overall, I'm very impressed by the taste of the products. I had been warned that the fiber drink isn't very good and you just have to choke it down, but I actually found myself sipping it at a leisurely pace and enjoying it a little bit. Kristen also felt the same way. If that's the worst-tasting part of the challenge, then the taste of the products definitely won't be an impediment to success. I had a chocolate meal replacement shake for lunch and that had a great taste as well.
With 5 opportunities to eat or snack today, I can honestly say that I did not go hungry. I really like the opportunities for the mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks to bridge the gap between meals.
The only other thing of note today is that I think I might be going through a little bit of carbohydrate withdrawl. Basically, I just started to get a low level headache late in the day. I really don't think it's anything too remarkable and the same thing happened when I cut out carbs while briefly fooling around with the South Beach Diet several years ago. A couple more days and it should become a non-event.
Well that's about it for today. I'm not sure that I'll leave a post for every single day of the challenge, but I'll at least leave a progress update every couple days or so.
One down, 23 more to go!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
As with every post that I'll make, here's my disclaimer:
I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Weight Loss Challenge
For the first 21 years of my life, I think it's pretty safe to say that I was at the peak of physical fitness. I was active in sports all through my childhood, played soccer and ran track in high school, and then continued on to play 4 years of Division II college soccer. Then, I embarked upon a 4-year, all-consuming, massive expenditure of time and energy, also known as medical school. It wasn't until my first year of medical school that I truly experienced the "freshman fifteen." My playing weight my senior year of college was about 180 lbs and by the end of my first year of medical school I weighted in the mid-190's.
Since that point in time, maintaining my weight has been a constant struggle and a continuous cycle of failed attempts at weight loss. My main struggle has always been with my diet. As most of my friends know, I have a particular weakness for Diet Dr. Pepper and Doritos! Given my athletic background, the will to exercise has never been a problem. Recently I even had a lot of short-term success doing the Insanity program (excellent program and I highly recommend it!). But, when the program ended, I got lazy about working out and my eating habits continued as they always have and now my weight is right back where it was. Today I weighed in at a staggering 214 lbs with a 42" waist.....
Roughly two weeks ago, my wife's cousin mentioned to us that he was in the middle of a weight loss program that he was (and is) really excited about. It's a 24-day weight loss challenge created by a company called Advocare. The program starts with a 10-day metabolic cleanse. Then during days 11-24, known as the "max phase," the products are supposed to help you obtain additional weight loss. One thing that makes this challenge a little different is that it does not appear to be an exact how-to recipe. You establish healthy eating habits as well, which I am really excited about and hope I can continue after the challenge to keep the weight off. There are a couple other important items to mention before I close out my first blog post.
First, my wife, Kristen, is also going to be doing the challenge with me! For those that don't know her, Kristen is already in good shape. She also completed Insanity and had truly impressive results (she was back to the level of fitness that she had when she was a college volleyball player). But even she has put back on a few of the pounds compared to when we finished Insanity in December.
The next important topic is what I've learned about Advocare after researching their products and through talking with Dave and a couple of his friends. Advocare is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. Prior to a couple days ago, I knew very little about MLM's other than hearing that my in-laws had taken part in Amway with less than stellar results. Advocare has some nice background features. The company has been around since 1993. Drew Brees and several other pro athletes endorse Advocare and use their products. My beloved Ohio State Buckeyes football team were big proponents of Advocare during the Tressel era (not sure if Urban has changed things up or not). Tressel's former OSU strength coach is involved with Advocare and supposedly there was even an Advocare banner hanging in the OSU locker room (again, not sure about the newly minted Meyer era). I have a healthy dose of skepticism with this though, because I did notice a few interesting/potentially concerning tidbits about Advocare. Supposedly, Advocare makes contributions to Drew Brees' charity foundation even though they tout him as a non-paid endorser (honestly, I'd be more shocked if he truly had no ties to the products other than personal use). Also, Advocare claims to have Olympic level quality to their ingredients, but there is one Olympic athlete that tested positive for a banned substance. She attributes it to Advocare, but they disputed it. If there are really a bunch of college and pro athletes using Advocare, one positive test result out of all of them isn't too bad in my opinion.
Now it's the time for the full disclosure portion of the post.....
Kristen and I weighed the pros and cons of everything that we could find about Advocare and we have decided to make a larger purchase of the products beyond the 24-Day Challenge ($185 retail plus shipping and taxes). This enables us to get a kick-back from any product purchases that others make through the little Advocare microsite that they assigned to us.
Ding, ding, ding...there it is. That's why he went through the trouble of creating some stupid blog. Now he and Kristen are going to start hounding all of their friends to buy stuff!
I can honestly say that Kristen and I are not going to active push these products on people. We're definitely not trying to ruin any friendships or make any enemies with this. Furthermore, other than this blog and a few Facebook posts, we really aren't going to suggest it for anyone (or at least not until I have a significant weight loss that I can maintain). Our only true financial goal is to make back the initial money that we put back into buying the products. Anything past that is purely icing on the cake. Our close friends know that we live pretty comfortably right now and that finances surely won't be an issue when my fellowship ends in a little over a year. However, if the results turn out anything like our Insanity experience, there will probably once again be several friends asking how we did it and trying it out for themselves. The other safeguard that helped with our decision to buy enough products to reach what they call the "Advisor" level is that if the challenge doesn't help us lose weight, then all unopened products can be returned for a full refund (clearly mentioned when we signed up).
So here's to hopefully having an amazing 24 days!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
Mike - Day 1 (214 lbs, 42" waist)
Kristen - Day 1 (132 lbs, 31" waist)
Time for a couple disclaimers:
Disclaimer #1: I have no proof that any of the background details regarding Advocare are truly factual. It is information that I came across while researching whether or not I wanted to try these products for myself. I believe it to be true, but I'm not going to bet my life on it.
Disclaimer #2: I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
Since that point in time, maintaining my weight has been a constant struggle and a continuous cycle of failed attempts at weight loss. My main struggle has always been with my diet. As most of my friends know, I have a particular weakness for Diet Dr. Pepper and Doritos! Given my athletic background, the will to exercise has never been a problem. Recently I even had a lot of short-term success doing the Insanity program (excellent program and I highly recommend it!). But, when the program ended, I got lazy about working out and my eating habits continued as they always have and now my weight is right back where it was. Today I weighed in at a staggering 214 lbs with a 42" waist.....
Roughly two weeks ago, my wife's cousin mentioned to us that he was in the middle of a weight loss program that he was (and is) really excited about. It's a 24-day weight loss challenge created by a company called Advocare. The program starts with a 10-day metabolic cleanse. Then during days 11-24, known as the "max phase," the products are supposed to help you obtain additional weight loss. One thing that makes this challenge a little different is that it does not appear to be an exact how-to recipe. You establish healthy eating habits as well, which I am really excited about and hope I can continue after the challenge to keep the weight off. There are a couple other important items to mention before I close out my first blog post.
First, my wife, Kristen, is also going to be doing the challenge with me! For those that don't know her, Kristen is already in good shape. She also completed Insanity and had truly impressive results (she was back to the level of fitness that she had when she was a college volleyball player). But even she has put back on a few of the pounds compared to when we finished Insanity in December.
The next important topic is what I've learned about Advocare after researching their products and through talking with Dave and a couple of his friends. Advocare is a multi-level marketing (MLM) company. Prior to a couple days ago, I knew very little about MLM's other than hearing that my in-laws had taken part in Amway with less than stellar results. Advocare has some nice background features. The company has been around since 1993. Drew Brees and several other pro athletes endorse Advocare and use their products. My beloved Ohio State Buckeyes football team were big proponents of Advocare during the Tressel era (not sure if Urban has changed things up or not). Tressel's former OSU strength coach is involved with Advocare and supposedly there was even an Advocare banner hanging in the OSU locker room (again, not sure about the newly minted Meyer era). I have a healthy dose of skepticism with this though, because I did notice a few interesting/potentially concerning tidbits about Advocare. Supposedly, Advocare makes contributions to Drew Brees' charity foundation even though they tout him as a non-paid endorser (honestly, I'd be more shocked if he truly had no ties to the products other than personal use). Also, Advocare claims to have Olympic level quality to their ingredients, but there is one Olympic athlete that tested positive for a banned substance. She attributes it to Advocare, but they disputed it. If there are really a bunch of college and pro athletes using Advocare, one positive test result out of all of them isn't too bad in my opinion.
Now it's the time for the full disclosure portion of the post.....
Kristen and I weighed the pros and cons of everything that we could find about Advocare and we have decided to make a larger purchase of the products beyond the 24-Day Challenge ($185 retail plus shipping and taxes). This enables us to get a kick-back from any product purchases that others make through the little Advocare microsite that they assigned to us.
Ding, ding, ding...there it is. That's why he went through the trouble of creating some stupid blog. Now he and Kristen are going to start hounding all of their friends to buy stuff!
I can honestly say that Kristen and I are not going to active push these products on people. We're definitely not trying to ruin any friendships or make any enemies with this. Furthermore, other than this blog and a few Facebook posts, we really aren't going to suggest it for anyone (or at least not until I have a significant weight loss that I can maintain). Our only true financial goal is to make back the initial money that we put back into buying the products. Anything past that is purely icing on the cake. Our close friends know that we live pretty comfortably right now and that finances surely won't be an issue when my fellowship ends in a little over a year. However, if the results turn out anything like our Insanity experience, there will probably once again be several friends asking how we did it and trying it out for themselves. The other safeguard that helped with our decision to buy enough products to reach what they call the "Advisor" level is that if the challenge doesn't help us lose weight, then all unopened products can be returned for a full refund (clearly mentioned when we signed up).
So here's to hopefully having an amazing 24 days!
If you want to explore the Advocare site more for additional details, here's our link:
www.reclaimyourbodyandlife.com
Mike - Day 1 (214 lbs, 42" waist)
Kristen - Day 1 (132 lbs, 31" waist)
Time for a couple disclaimers:
Disclaimer #1: I have no proof that any of the background details regarding Advocare are truly factual. It is information that I came across while researching whether or not I wanted to try these products for myself. I believe it to be true, but I'm not going to bet my life on it.
Disclaimer #2: I am a physician and protecting my medical career is of paramount importance to me. I have researched the Advocare products thoroughly and my wife and I have chosen to use them for our own personal weight loss endeavor. However, I will not provide an official medical opinion with regards to the safety and efficacy of the products for others. I've put in too many years of hard work to put my medical license at risk. Basically, I've chosen to use Advocare products for myself and you'll have to decide for yourself or consult with your personal physician to figure out if these products are safe for you too.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)