End of Challenge Photos!

We're back from Sin City! We just got done wrapping up a couple days of having a good time with 2 very close friends of ours in Las Vegas and I didn't have time to post these pictures before we left (was post-call and rushing to get ready for the flight!). But Kristen took these photos of me right after we checked into our hotel on the afternoon after the last day of our Advocare 24-Day Challenge. My final weigh-in on the morning after the challenge was 195 lbs, which comes out to a 19 lb weight loss! Kristen's starting weight was 132 lbs and her last weigh-in was 125 lbs for a 7 lb loss (pretty awesome given how slim she was starting out if you ask me!).

Day 1 vs. Day 24

So the challenge is over, but I'm not done trying to lose more weight. My goal is to get below 190 lbs before we head out to Cancun in a few weeks. To help accomplish that, I'm going to keep on going with the Max phase of the challenge and I'm going to continue to eat right and exercise. Kristen's already in great shape, so she's just going to stick with the diet and exercise a little.

I'll keep you in the loop for how the next few weeks go!

P.S. My mom is down 12 lbs after 3 weeks on the challenge. Keep up the great work mom!


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 24 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

Day 24 means that the challenge is over and our results have been amazing! My weight before I left for work this morning was 197 lbs, which means that my final weight loss total was 17 lbs! Kristen's final weight was 125 lbs, which ends up being a 7 lbs weight loss! I'm working a call shift at the hospital tonight, so I'm going to wait until I get home tomorrow to take my final challenge photos and to get the final measurement on my waist. Honestly, the best part of this challenge is that I don't feel like the challenge has come to an end. Let me explain...

The last weight loss program that I completed was the Insanity exercise program. I loved the Insanity program and the results were great, but I really didn't change my diet. Also, those workouts are grueling (and long) and continuing them indefinitely after the 60-day program just wasn't realistic for me with my work schedule. So when the program was over, my diet was still crappy and my exercise routine really dropped off...and you guessed it, the pounds found their way back as well.

So that brings me to the Advocare 24-Day Weight Loss Challenge. Today, I feel great and my energy level is as high as it has been since college. My dietary habits have also changed significantly. I have also worked my way into a very manageable exercise regimen (15-20 minutes on the treadmill before dinner 4-5 times per week). Also, just because the challenge is over doesn't mean that I'm going to stop using the Advocare supplements. I won't be repeating the 10-day cleanse phase for a while, but I am going to continue the majority of the products from the second 14 days (Max phase). The Metabolic Nutrition System (MNS) has become a staple of my daily routine. I am going to continue to take OmegaPlex with dinner to fulfill my omega-3 fatty acid needs. The other product that I think has made a big difference for me is Catalyst. Kristen and I both feel that the biggest difference for us has been in the waist line. My waist has decreased by at least 3 inches (I'll know the final number tomorrow morning) and Kristen's has also decreased by 2 inches. Kristen mentioned to me this morning that she definitely can tell that her abs are more defined and she feels better in her swimsuit.

As I promised yesterday, here is my final review of the Advocare 24-Day Challenge:

I'll start with the Cleanse Phase. The 1st 10 days are definitely harder than the last 14 days. The first two days were a little tough because I had a mild headache while going through what I think was caffeine withdrawal. The Spark drinks have caffeine in them, but I don't think it's quite enough to completely fend off the withdrawal if you're a heavy caffeine drinker (like I was). The fiber drinks are also a little tough to put down, but I actually kind of liked the citrus taste and and definitely "enjoyed" them much more than Kristen did. There were a few very pleasant surprises about the Cleanse Phase. First of all, I never had trouble with being hungry. Five healthy meals/snacks per day was plenty to keep the hunger cravings away. Secondly, my energy level really started picking up by about day 2 or 3. Finally, I never had a problem with excessive urination or defecation. Part of the reason might have been that I drank a ton of pop before the challenge and caffeine is a diuretic, so I was definitely not urinating any more than usual. The other notable and expected part of the challenge is that the bulk of my weight loss came during the first 10 days while I was flushing my system of toxins and waste (13 of the 17 lbs during the cleanse).

After getting used to the Advocare system during the cleanse, the Max Phase was truly a breeze. By the second half of the challenge, I had established a healthy eating plan and a stable exercise regimen. Occasionally it was a little hard to coordinate the supplement schedule for the MNS (during this phase you will take one pack 30 minutes before breakfast and 30 minutes before lunch), but really only with the lunchtime supplementation (30 minutes before breakfast was easy...just took the pills when I woke up and then ate breakfast 30 minutes later on my drive to work). The Catalyst capsules seem to be more effective when you take them right before you workout, so that part was easy and convenient. The hardest part of the second phase for Kristen and I was that the "real world" temptations started to creep in. There were dinners with friends, a trip to the casino, and a 3-day bachelor party extravaganza for me (while Kristen had a 3-day girls' weekend at the same time). But these temptations are ALWAYS going to be there whether you are in the middle of a weight loss program or not! The other thing is, I partied for 3 days straight in the middle of the max phase and I still kept the weight off!

All in all, Kristen and I are extremely happy that we took on the challenge. I still want to lose more weight and try to get under 190 lbs, so I am going to continue with the Max Phase for a while longer. Kristen is in awesome shape and feeling great, so she's going to try to maintain solely using the diet principles that we learned during the challenge.

Thank you Advocare! You absolutely helped me reclaim my body and life!!!



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.

Day 23 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

I really can't believe how quickly the 2nd half of the challenge has flown by. I think my results have been incredible and I am very happy that I chose to take on the Advocare 24-Day Challenge. Before the bachelor party weekend, I was down to 197 lbs from a starting weight of 214 lbs. This morning, before I left for work I weighed in at 198 lbs, so I've already knocked off a couple of the pounds that I put on during my 3-day party with the boys! My plan for tomorrow is to give a nice, long, comprehensive review of the program to sum up the last 24 days.

The most notable change for me over the course of the last 3 weeks is that I feel like my mindset has completely changed. My self image has improved and I am now approaching my meal choices with a new set of eyes. The hospital where I work has a nicely stocked fridge with a plethora of drink choices, including Diet Dr. Pepper, and the cabinet in the lounge has a big selection of chips, including Doritos. If you remember back to my earliest posts, Diet Dr. Pepper and Doritos have been my staple junk food for YEARS. I can honestly say that I have very little interest in consuming them now. I'm sure I will try to work them back into my life in a modest fashion (cookouts and parties with friends for instance), but the days of hitting up the hospital supply on a daily basis for breakfast, lunch, and every snack in between are long gone!

Like I said, the big review comes tomorrow, but if you've been following my experience, you can tell that I'm happy with Advocare. The diet results have really validated my belief in their system. If you've done the research and you think the challenge is right for you, click here and visit our Advocare website to place your order.


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.

Day 22 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

The weekend of the Big Cheat is over! The bachelor party was awesome and some priceless memories were made. I gained back a few of the pounds that I've lost, but I was eager this morning to get back on track with the challenge. Getting back into the swing of it was actually quite easy, which I think is a testament to the way that my mindset towards eating has changed.

I wanted to share a few status updates on how some of the other people that I know are doing with the challenge. Kristen is still holding steady with a 7 lb weight loss. She did tell me today that she was very happy with how she felt in her swimsuit when she was out at the pool over the weekend! My mom is doing very well and she has lost 8 lbs through the first 2 weeks of the challenge! She feels like she has more energy and she's also noticed that her knee hasn't been hurting her as much as it usually does. My friend, A.M., is 8 days into the challenge and she has lost 5 lbs so far for a nice start. Another one of my friends, M.W. (who was in pretty good shape already before starting the challenge), is 6 days in and has trimmed a half inch off of his waist. He also thinks his abs are better defined.

I have 3 days left in the challenge. My major goal is to quickly take back the 3 lbs that I put on during the bachelor party and maybe lose another pound or two before it's all said and done!

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.

Day 19 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

I wasn't sure that I'd have the time to make a post today, but I have a couple things that I really want to share with everyone before I head out for an epic weekend! First, I have reached a new low weight for the challenge...I'm down to 197 lbs! That makes 17 lbs lost in 19 days. The second phase of the challenge is going very well and I have really gotten into a groove with my daily routine. The MNS system is very easy to follow (supplements before and during both breakfast and lunch) and I'm still taking the OmegaPlex with dinner. I added in ThermoPlus to my program a few days ago (take it in the morning when you wake up) and I'm still taking Catalyst to help with my muscle tone and definition. I have modified my Catalyst use a little bit in that I now try to take one of the Catalyst doses 10-15 minutes before I exercise.

Secondly, my friend Matt is a few days into the challenge and he shared with me a good tip that I want to pass along. As I've mentioned previously, the Fiber Drink during the cleanse phase does not taste great. During my cleanse, I basically chugged it as fast as I could. Yesterday morning Matt decided to mix a Spark with the Fiber Drink and he said that it made the Fiber Drink taste WAY better! Passing along this tip is one of the great things about the Advocare system. I talk and trade emails regularly with Dave (Kristen's cousin) and his friends (Matt and Greg) that helped get me started with the challenge. Kristen and I have also tried to keep regular contact with the people that have followed us in starting up the challenge. When you start the Advocare 24-Day Challenge, you are not alone. You are not out on an island left to work off the pounds by yourself. It really helps to pass along ideas and tips with friends and the support system really helps to fortify your will power to stick with the challenge.

Well, that's about all I have time for today...I'll give you all an update when I get back on Monday!


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.

Day 18 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

Today is the last day before the Big Cheat. Tomorrow I will be going out of town for a bachelor party that is going by a very telling monikor, The Death of Super Zak! This will be the "challenge within the challenge" and it will test my will power the most by far. I'm jokingly going to refer to this trip as the Big Cheat because I know that we will be going out to eat for every meal and enjoying a plethora of adult beverages. I have no intention of ruining all of my hard work over the last 18 days, so I'm going to have to choose wisely from the restaurant menus. I'm also hoping that the hotel has a small gym with a treadmill because I would love to go for a quick run in the morning. It also might be feasible to go for a run outside near the hotel, but I have no clue what kind of neighborhood the hotel is in and whether or not that would actually be a safe option. From a diet standpoint, my major goal is to come back on Monday weighing the same as when I left!

Until today, I hadn't realized just how many professional athletes are Advocare endorsers. I knew that Drew Brees is a big endorser (he has Advocare listed on his personal website right next to the other products he endorses...Nike, Verizon, Vick's, etc.). There are pro athletes in pretty much every sport that are using Advocare to increase their energy levels, recover from workouts, and enhance their performance...legally of course! If you're curious, click here to see all the pro endorsers. The football list is particularly long.

I'm not sure whether or not I'll have the time to fire off a blog post before I leave town tomorrow, but I'll definitely give you an update on Monday of how I navigated through the Big Cheat!

Product of the Day:

Herbal Cleanse

Part 3: Herbal Cleanse Tablet

The Herbal Cleanse Tablet is the final component of the Herbal Cleanse Kit and it is taken at bedtime for the first 7 days of the cleanse phase. This tablet contains a complex combination of ingredients that help to detox your body through both your GI tract and your urinary tract. I'm going to paraphrase the product description from the Advocare website to give you an idea of what's in the tablet.

Senna leaf extract, commonly used as an herbal medication individually to treat constipation, is included in the tablet to move waste through the GI tract. It also has some appetite suppressant properties to it as well. Beet root power and wheat grass juice are included to help reduce metabolic waste byproducts. Cranberry juice powder helps to flush toxins through the kidneys. Milk thistle extract, with its active component silymarin, has antioxidant properties and is reported to have protective effects for the liver. There are also several ingredients that are included to boost your immune system (echinacea, astragalus, garlic, zinc, and vitamin C) and to improve your energy level (B vitamins).

So as you can see, Advocare attempts to pack a mighty punch to drive your weight loss during the cleanse phase of the 24-Day Challenge. I have heard from some people that the Herbal Cleanse Tablets can cause you to go to the bathroom more frequently and based upon the tablet's mechanism of action, I'm really not surprised. I slept through the night pretty soundly during the 1st 10 days of the challenge, so I never had a problem with waking up in the middle of the night to urinate. I did notice that I was going to the bathroom a little more frequently than usual during the cleanse phase, but it really wasn't an inconvenience or significant interruption during my daily activities.


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.

Day 17 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

Kristen and I have decided to formulate a plan for introducing "cheats" back into our lives. What are we calling "cheats?" These are food and beverage choices that don't fit within the guidelines of the 24-Day Challenge. My plan is to continue the Advocare supplements and healthy eating choices after the challenge officially ends, so it's going to be very important to have a gameplan for cheats. Our plan is to limit them to twice per week with an effort to save them mainly for social events with friends. We're also going to save alcohol for social gatherings. Limiting the frequency of the cheats is going to be a key factor in maintaining and improving upon our achievements during the challenge.

I learned something interesting today that may help you to relate Advocare's Spark drink to a product that is more well known. Advocare's Spark and the Crystal Light energy packets share a lot of the same ingredients. The two products both contain many of the same vitamins and both have caffeine. The main difference between the products is that the Spark drinks also contain several amino acids so they help provide "heightened mental focus and performance."

Product of the Day:

Herbal Cleanse

Part 2: ProBiotic Restore Ultra

The probiotic is taken in the morning before breakfast during days 4-10 of the challenge. The reason that the probiotic is included in the cleanse is because it supports your immune system, supports intestinal health and function, aids in digestion and enhances your weight loss. ProBiotic Restore Ultra contains 6 strains of "good" bacteria: 3 species of Lactobacillus and 3 species of Bifidobacterium. This ensures coverage of both the large and small intestinal tracts.


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 16 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

I decided to have a little fun today and I created a logo for the blog. It's pretty simple, but I've never claimed to be a graphic designer! The 214 refers to my starting weight for the challenge, so the white triangle is supposed to represent a scale...and 214 is a number that I never plan to see on my personal scale ever again!

The other exciting part of my day as it relates to the challenge is that I found a great recipe for chicken tostadas when I was at Meijer today. I stopped by the store on my way home from work to pick up some chicken and while I was walking through the meat department I saw a rack of free, healthy recipes on notecards. A dozen or so recipes caught my eye, but the one that I chose to make for dinner tonight was "Lightened-Up Chicken Tostadas." To make a long story short, they turned out to be fantastic! Kristen can be a tough critic when it comes to new recipes that I try, so for her to love it adds a lot of credence to the dish in my book. Furthermore, the tostadas were only 350 calories per serving. I tried to quickly look for a link to the recipe on the Meijer Mealbox website, but I couldn't find the exact recipe that was on the card I picked up in the store. Keep an eye out for it the next time you head to Meijer!

Product of the Day:

Herbal Cleanse

Part 1: Fiber Drink

The Herbal Cleanse encompasses the major components of the first 10 days of the challenge, called the Cleanse Phase. The Herbal Cleanse system helps to flush the toxins and waste from your body. There are three parts of the Cleanse Phase: Fiber Drink, ProBiotic Restore Ultra, and Herbal Cleanse Tablet. Today I will focus on the Fiber Drink.

As the name implies, this drink is loaded with a mixture of fiber. Each serving contains 10 grams of soluble and insoluble dietary fiber. As you would expect, the Fiber Drink helps to move toxins and waste through your GI tract while simultaneously improving intestinal nutrient absorption.

You will have the Fiber Drink in the morning with your breakfast on days 1-3 and 8-10 of the challenge. The drink is pretty thick and "grainy," but the citrus taste helps to make the drink reasonably palpable. I'll put it this way, it doesn't taste great, so you just have to put it down quickly. So far, it really is the only part of the challenge that doesn't taste well, but the benefits from flushing your GI tract with this drink is more than worth it! I am confident that this drink played a huge part in my quick weight loss.

One other notable point with regards to the fiber drink, there are some reports that the 24-Day Challenge can be particularly helpful for people with conditions like IBS. If that is truly the case, I am sure that the fiber drink plays a central role in helping to regulate your body. Just a thought...

Tomorrow and Thursday I will highlight the other 2 pieces of the Herbal Cleanse kit.
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.

Day 15 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

Picture day! After multiple requests, I have decided to post pictures of what I look like now. I wasn't planning to take pictures until the end of the challenge, but I have no problem sharing halfway point pictures.

In case the tape measure is hard to read in the new picture, it says 39.5"! So that's 15 lbs and 2.5" lost in 2 weeks! Skinny mini Kristen is still holding steady with a 7 lb weight loss. She measured her waist and, surprisingly, she has cut 2" off of her waist (31" to 29")!

There is one more interesting tidbit that I want to share today. I had an insurance physical performed today and my blood pressure was 104/66 with a resting heart rate of 50 bpm. Those are some pretty perfect vitals. If only my patients all had preoperative numbers like those! I really wish that I had checked my heart rate and blood pressure before the challenge for comparison. I have never had problems with high blood pressure so it's not like that number was any surprise, but I am fairly confident that my resting heart rate probably was higher than that before the challenge (I'm pretty sure it was in the mid 60s the last time that I checked).

As I promised yesterday, here is the new segment that I'm going to add to my posts...

Product of the Day:

Spark Energy Drink

The Spark energy drink is one of the staples of the 24-Day Challenge. Per their website, this is Advocare's #1 seller. On the back of the packet, it is described as "a sugar-free source of long-lasting energy and heightened mental focus and performance." Advocare actually sells Spark in 7 different flavors and you can buy a box of packets or one big cannister. The 24-Day Challenge comes with 2 boxes of Sparks (14 packets per box) with one box of fruit punch Sparks and the other box being mandarin orange Sparks. So far I have tried 5 of the 7 flavors and fruit punch is my favorite. I think the mandarin orange flavor is one of the best as well (so it's a good thing that those are the two that come with the challenge!).

Spark is only 45 calories per serving and is packed with 21 vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. Spark does contain caffeine (180 mg), so I found it to be particularly beneficial during the early days of the challenge while I was "withdrawing" from my Diet Dr. Pepper habit. The energizing quality of the Spark comes from  the caffeine teamed with the multitude of vitamins. The effect lasts a while because of the B vitamins and the mental enhancement appears to come from the amino acids added to the mix.

I think the Sparks are awesome. Since there are 28 packets for a 24-Day Challenge, I try to limit myself to one per day. Early in the challenge I used them to help get me going in the morning. But as the challenge has progressed, my baseline energy level has really improved. So I have been saving the Sparks to drink for the rare times that my energy has waned. But since those times truly have been rare, I've typically been drinking my daily Spark with lunch or dinner because it tastes so good!


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 14 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

We're now two weeks into the challenge, so I decided to take a look back at the first post that I wrote the day before the challenge started (http://reclaimyourbodyandlife.blogspot.com/2012/03/advocare-24-day-weight-loss-challenge.html). After rereading that first post, I have to say that I'm a little surprised by how my attitude towards Advocare and the 24-Day Challenge has changed in two short weeks. In retrospect, I definitely had a healthy dose of uncertainty regarding the efficacy of the products. Now, I truly have no doubts that the Advocare supplements work and I have the proof to support this. In two weeks, I've lost 15 lbs and my wife has lost 7. My mom has already lost 5 lbs by her 6th day of the challenge. If you stick to the program, your weight will improve (that line feels like a cheap knockoff of the famous Field of Dreams line..."If you build it, they will come!").

There are also two big events coming up in my life that I want to mention. First, one of my really good friends is having his bachelor party in Atlanta next weekend! I'm very excited for the trip down to the ATL, but I know that this trip is going to put my will power to the test. I'm sure the unhealthy food options will abound and it'll be my challenge duty to make health-conscious choices. Don't get me wrong...I won't be a saint and I'm not going to abstain from enjoying the festivities of the weekend. My main goals are going to be portion control and smart choice selection. For instance, if we go to a burger joint, instead of french fries on the side, maybe I'll choose steamed veggies or another reasonably healthy alternative. I am also hoping that there is a free gym at the hotel. A few morning runs on the treadmill could really help combat some of the food choices (and help sweat out the alcohol from the night before!).

The other big event around the corner is that we are going to be heading out to Las Vegas soon! This trip will be right after we finish the challenge, so it can serve as our reward for leading a healthier lifestyle and successfully completing the 24-Day Challenge! I'm sure the weather is going to be awesome and the pools are going to be open. Two weeks ago, I would've been embarrassed to take my shirt off around the pool, but by the end of the challenge I think I'm going to be looking pretty darn good! Heck, I'm not afraid of ditching the shirt now without feeling self-conscious, so I know I definitely won't be when I shed another 5 or 6 pounds.

There's another completely different idea that I want to share with you all...

I don't want to sound redundant by reiterating my belief in the effectiveness of the products day after day afer day, so I am going to shift gears a bit for the remainder of the challenge. When I have enlightening tips for the challenge that come to mind, I'll definitely still share them. But starting tomorrow I am going to add a new element to the daily posts called the Product of the Day. The goal will be to try to provide some detailed reviews of the Advocare product line to help everyone get a better feel for the contents of the challenge. I am going to explain how the product is supposed to be used in the challenge along with any relevant background  that I think you'll want to hear about.

I'm excited to add this new wrinkle to the blog, so I hope you'll like it too. Happy Easter everyone!



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.

Day 13 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

According to the dictionary, a goal is "the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end." Everyone's weight loss program starts with one or more goals in mind. People usually formulate a series of results that they want to achieve. It may be a specific goal weight for which you are shooting. Maybe you want to look better in your swimsuit during an upcoming vacation. Or you may be in a competition with others and your main goal is to be the "biggest loser."

My pre-challenge goal was to get below 200 lbs. Starting at 214 lbs, I thought that it would be quite an accomplishment to lose 14 or 15 lbs in a 24 day period. A little over 3 weeks...lose 4 or 5 lbs a week. Seems tough, but possible, right?

With the help of Advocare, I broke through the 200 lb barrier on DAY 12! That's 15 lbs in 12 days using the Advocare supplements, healthy eating, and moderate exercise.

I was definitely somewhat skeptical 2 weeks ago at this time, but I am now completely convinced that the Advocare system teamed with a little hard work and self restraint produces results.

I now have a new goal for the next 11 days of the challenge: I want to be down to 194 lbs by the end of the challenge. Based upon the weight loss I've experienced so far, I may be selling myself a little short. But if I get there early, then I'll reassess and shoot for a lower goal! My ultimate weight loss target is 180 lbs. I definitely don't expect to get anywhere close to that number in 24 days, but I hope to get there by the end of June.

What are your goals? Do you have a weight loss goal in mind? Do you have a vacation right around the corner? Or maybe a wedding? No matter whether you choose the Advocare 24-Day Challenge or another weight loss program, make sure that you set goals and reassess them frequently. Aim big and shoot for the stars, but don't forget to set some intermediate milestones to reach along the way.



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 12 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

So I fell asleep last night while starting to type up yesterday's blog post. I was going to write something about making goals and reassessing them as the challenge progresses. But then I heard some horrible news before leaving for work this morning and all of a sudden blogging about weight loss became a lot less important today.

Chris "Slaughterhouse" Smith was a guy that I had met on a few occasions. I had met him through my friend, Dan, and Chris' personality was infectious. He was always happy and fun to be around. Chris was the kind of guy that, after a few minutes of talking to him, you could have sworn you had been friends for years. Last night, the unimaginable happened and Chris was taken from us far too soon. He was the innocent victim of a senseless act of reckless driving by another person. Here is the link with the details of the crash:

http://www.examiner.com/mma-in-cincinnati/professional-mma-fighter-chris-smith-killed-car-crash

When I first met Chris, he was a big guy that wasn't in the best shape. However, shortly after that first meeting he started mixed martial arts (MMA) training. He soon took on the Slaughterhouse moniker and got in amazing shape (you can tell from the picture in that link). Kristen and I actually went to see him fight a while ago in an amateur event and he completely manhandled the guy he faced. His MMA career was still on its way up when this tragic accident happened yesterday.

I'll get back to blogging about our challenge experience tomorrow, but I wanted to use today to talk about a great guy who lost his life far too soon.



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.

Day 10 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

The cleanse phase is over and our results have been excellent so far! I have lost 13 lbs (from 214 to 201) and Kristen has lost 7 lbs (132 to 125).

Now it's time to begin the Max Phase. This phase will last for the remaining 14 days. For the remainder of this post, I want to talk about the most common question that I've received over the last 10 days, "So what is this 24-Day Challenge? I've noticed what you've been eating. Is this just another low-carb diet?"

I think the best way to describe the 24-Day Challenge is to say that it is a supplement-based weight loss program. The supplements improve your metabolism (burn more calories), increase your energy level, and help provide appetite control. Then, you follow their recommendations for diet modification to facilitate those goals. Finally, like any good weight loss program, they want you to exercise on a regular basis. So the supplements are the engine that drives the weight loss, but then you do your part by improving your dietary habits and working out frequently.

The dietary recommendations are structured in a way that provides a fair amount of flexibility; however, I do not have a ton of imagination, so my meals have been pretty similar on a daily basis. Fruit for breakfast, fruit or the occasional hard-boiled egg for mid-morning snack, salad +/- chicken for lunch, fruit or peanuts for mid-afternoon snack, and chicken with veggies for dinner. What can I say? I'm set in my ways. If you look at the Advocare Shopping Guide though, you'll notice that there are plenty of other options than this.

Eating well will result in weight loss, but not 13 lbs in 10 days. Eating well will make you feel better, but it definitely won't boost your energy level like I've felt these last 10 days, and eating well has never really suppressed my appetite. In the past, after several days my appetite would slow down. But with Advocare my appetite has been in check from day one.

Two other things that I want to mention before I close out this post:

1. I talked to my mom yesterday and she's doing well after 2 days. She said that she can already notice an improvement in her energy level. She has completely weaned herself off of her morning tea and she actually hasn't drank a Spark yet. So she's stopped her usual source of an energy boost (tea), hasn't used Advocare's energy boost (Spark), and she still has more energy after only 2 days on the challenge.

2. The distributor kit comes with extra Spark and some Slam (their version of a 5-hour energy drink). My wife tried a Slam recently and she noticed that she had some flushing on her face. I looked a little closer at the bottle and it contains niacin, which was probably the source of the flushing. Niacin is one of our body's essential nutrients and it has a lot of health benefits (in particular, it improves your HDL level, which is your "good" cholesterol), but it's major side effect when taken as a supplement is flushing. If you're prone to flushing from other exogenous sources of niacin, then I wouldn't recommend using the Slam energy drink.

That's all I've got for today, talk at you more tomorrow!


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 9 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

Only one more day left in the cleanse and it's been an overwhelming success so far! I'll share my 10-day weight loss results tomorrow on the final day of the cleanse phase. The weight isn't coming off at a meteoric pace like it did during the first 5-7 days of the challenge, but I am still shedding pounds. In reality, I knew that the pounds would slow down a bit as I get in better shape. That just seems natural to me. The key is going to be keeping the weight off and working hard to continue dropping weight.

Kristen's cousin, Dave, sent me a helpful document today. It's an Advocare shopping guide to help you decide which food is good for the challenge. There is also a section at the end that talks about foods to avoid. The best part though is that it only reconfirmed that I was on the right track...because virtually all of the food that I have been eating is in the approved section! I wanted to attach the file directly to this post, but I haven't figured out how to accomplish that yet. If I come across a web link that takes you directly to the Advocare Shopping Guide, then I'll add it to this post later.

Today is the first day of the challenge for my mom, so I'll try to keep you updated on her progress. Also, my brother-in-law's fiancee has decided take on the program. Good luck to her as well!

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 8 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

Tonight's entry will be rather short. I've really fallen into a pretty reliable daily routine. Today I tried salmon on my lunchtime salad instead of chicken. A little variety is crucial to Challenge success because you don't want your food choices to get stale and repetitive.

The cleanse phase is almost over and I'm hoping that I can break through the 200 lb barrier by the end of it. That would've been unfathomable to me at the start of the challenge. I would've said something like, "214 to 200 in 10 days? Get real!"

The other big news is that my mom will be starting the Challenge today, so I"ll keep you updated on her progress as well!

Well, it's getting pretty late, so I'm going to short-change you guys tonight, but I'll make sure to make tomorrow's post a little lengthier to make up for it...


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 7 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Weight Loss Challenge

At this point, it's pretty clear to me that the keys to a successful challenge are will power and perseverance. I guess this is true of any weight loss program out there. As I've mentioned in previous posts, the Advocare challenge is structured in a way that allows you to have 5 meals per day (plus an optional nighttime snack). With this frequency of eating, I can honestly say that I have not had problems with being hungry for the majority of the challenge. However, the temptations to fall off of the wagon are beginning to mount. On Friday, one of my coworkers asked me to go down to the cafeteria to have breakfast with him. Even though I had already eaten my breakfast on the way to work, I obliged. Then I proceeded to sip on some water while he wolfed down biscuits and gravy, bacon, and fried potatoes! A little over a week ago I probably would've eaten the exact same thing. That is just one example of where will power and perseverance to stick to the challenge was crucial. If I had given into temptation in that instance (or a few others that presented themselves in the last week), then I would never have achieved the 12 lb weight loss that has ensued in the last 7 days!

My wife and I are notorious for making bad meal choices and then trying to make up for it later . If we weren't in the middle of this program, I may very well have grubbed up on some biscuits and gravy with the intention of eating a lighter lunch. Then, when lunch comes around I make another poor choice with the plan to exercise after work and eat a better dinner, and so on.

With the monetary commitment to buy the challenge and with a 5 meal per day diet structure to follow, I have some much needed help in the will power department.

A couple other random items that I've noticed in the last day or two:
- The fruit that I've been eating seems to be tasting better. I bought several apples at the beginning of the week and I swear that the apple I snacked on today was better than the first one I ate a week ago.

- I think I'm starting to have more energy throughout the day. I worked a 24-hour shift yesterday into this morning and today, on my post-call day, I still haven't drank my Spark for the day. Now granted, I did get about 5 hours of interrupted sleep last night, but usually I'm pretty gassed during my post-call days even when I do get some sleep at the hospital. To top it off, I have already worked out today and I mowed the lawn and I still don't feel tired. My plan is to drink the Spark during dinner because it's a lot more tasty than plain water.

- Lastly, unsalted peanuts are my new friend. I've never been big on peanuts, but now I really look forward to eating them for my afternoon snack!

Well, time to fire up the grill and start cooking some chicken with veggies. We bought a new lemon pepper sauce that I'm going to marinade the chicken with and I"m excited to see how it'll turn out.

Oh yeah, Kristen's still doing well with the challenge too...down 6 lbs in one week and she's still not exercising at all!

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 6 - Mike & Kristen's Advocare 24-Day Challenge

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.