Advocare 24-day Challenge

[kayadogg]

Has anyone heard of or tried the Advocare 24-day challenge?  It's a 10-day "cleanse" and then a 14-day "Max" phase.  I went to one of those home meetings that are MLM setups in disguise, trying to get you to pay to become a distributor, etc. etc. but this time I was intrigued by the product and did a lot of research on it and decided to give it a shot (just buying the product, not becoming a part of the bs MLM). 

Today is day 1 for me.  Good timing for after the holiday and will finish shortly before the next gorge-fest.  The part I'm most scared about is giving up coffee for a little while.

http://www.the24daychallenge.com/img/24_Cleanse.pdf

[Strand Leper]

keep us posted yak!

[piece of 8]

   K dog- I was looking at the food list and it was very similar to Paleo except for the clean carbs(rice ,hummus, oatmeal)  I ended up buying "The Paleo Solution" as recommended by SEA on this forum so you may want to check that out as well.
   I'm somewhat of a skeptic anyway , but its seems as though the foods alone in the Advocare program would be cleansing. To me it looks like a way to sell expensive supplements , but please let us know it goes. I myself could not live without coffee so good luck with that.

[freetobeme]

for me coffee IS the ultimate cleansing 

hope this deal treats you well! 

[kayadogg]

piece, i was skeptical at first too.  I got a really good deal on the products so it was less of a risk.  I needed something like this mentally, just to get back on track and to help stay strong through the holidays and winter months so I liked the idea of a structured plan to make it easier for me.

Day #3 and so far so good.  The food is pretty much what I'm used to eating.  I do miss coffee and cheese.  Booze I can do without for a few weeks, that's no issue.  Part of the program is what they call, Spark energy drink.  Vitamin & amino acid supplement.  Has caffeine.  No coffee withdrawal headaches (and I drink a lot of coffee) so that's a good sign. The Spark tastes really good and has no sugar.  It's just hard breaking the morning habit of having a cup of coffee while taking the dog out, especially on these colder mornings.  All good though, I will make it through and post results.  

[Chilly]

Kayadogg, I think it’s great that you want to clean up your diet. I don’t want to discourage you from doing it. I just see a red flag when they want you to eliminate coffee and replace it with Spark? What’s wrong with coffee?  I say have your coffee as long as you’re not loading it up with artificial cream and sugar.  If you do lose weight and feel better after the program it will be because of the recommended diet, not Spark.

[kayadogg]

Chilly, you make a valid point.  I'm not naive, Advocare is a for-profit company and obviously the more products they sell, the better they are.  They don't say you have to give up coffee necessarily, but they recommend Spark as a replacement 1.) so you don't add sugar/cream if that's how you take your coffee and 2.) it's less acidic than coffee which is easier (supposedly) on your body during the initial cleanse.  Marketing hype?  Possibly.  Either way, I will not be giving up coffee for good, just for these 24 days.  I'm already looking forward to that first cup 

[SEA]

   K dog- I was looking at the food list and it was very similar to Paleo except for the clean carbs(rice ,hummus, oatmeal)  I ended up buying "The Paleo Solution" as recommended by SEA on this forum so you may want to check that out as well.
   I'm somewhat of a skeptic anyway , but its seems as though the foods alone in the Advocare program would be cleansing. To me it looks like a way to sell expensive supplements , but please let us know it goes. I myself could not live without coffee so good luck with that.

Hey P of 8 

How do you like that book Paleo diet solution ??  What are your thoughts on it ? have you benefitted from the info within that book ?  Just curious . Hope all is well and it is working for you .

Aloha

[piece of 8]

Sea- Thanks for the heads up on the book.
  My biology background certainly helped to understand the science behind the diet as laid out by the author. I could see this aspect of the book being a little cumbersome for some, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
   My cholesterol was a little high about 6 years ago(270) even though I ate pretty healthy. My doctor wanted to put me on medication, without advocating any dietary or lifestyle changes. When I suggested changing my eating habits he said"Why , do you want to eat like a rabbit?" That was the last time I saw that doctor. I don't believe in solving all your health problems with pills.
  Just like the book said, I went on a low fat, high carb , way of eating that our government encourages. Lots of grains, bread, oatmeal etc. and very little meat other than fish or chicken. My cholesterol dropped about 10%, but I still gain about 15 pounds each winter.
   I've been Paleo about 90% of the time for 2 months now after reading the book. I haven't had my cholesterol checked recently but I am going to soon. My weight has been constant since the summer. A year ago this time I was 218 lbs. with a 36 inch waist, now 195 lbs. and a 34 inch waist. I'm thoroughly enjoying the reintroduction of lean type proteins such as bison, grass fed beef, pork loin etc. The first week I was constantly hungry, but I think it was my body adjusting to getting its energy from protein, as opposed to carbs.
   I'm finding that I'm eating much smaller portions,for some reason. If I'm hungry I just grab a handful of almonds to hold me over.
   All in all, I thought the book was great, and a real game changer for me.
   

[piece of 8]

K Dogg- Didn't mean to jack the thread. I saw some similarities with your program. Let me know how you make out after going through it. Looks like we're going to be light and leaner for the CCBC next summer!

[kayadogg]

No worries at all, I enjoy all of the info regardless, I've been reading a book about Paleo and I'm thinking about giving it a shot, starting in January

[SEA]

Hey P of 8

Just one thing. I find most people who are beginning pale and who are lacking in energy, are not getting enough good fat in their diet. Remember when doing this way of eating we need to be getting 60% of our calories from good fat. For most people it is hard to break away from the low fat , lean meat indoctrination. I went through this in the beginning however after playing around with various amounts of coconut oil hich I added daily to my protein shakes I overcame that lack of energy and my endurance and energy levels went way up. Hope that helps.

Aloha

[kayadogg]

SEA, are you saying you made up the difference with only coconut oil?  On average, how much did you add to each shake?  Would you cook with it too?

[piece of 8]

Sea- my energy level seems fine. One thing I did was to switch from olive oil to organic coconut oil for cooking because it seems to be healthier and burns at a higher  cooking temp. than olive oil. It adds an interesting flavor to cooking. Last night I put a grass fed beef patty in a frying pan and cooked it along with a couple of portobello mushroom caps to use instead of bread. I had spinach as a side and wow, what a tasty meal.