Taking a 24 Day Challenge!

The next few blog posts will be about my journey on the 24 day challenge with Advocare.  I have been getting a lot of "cleanse" questions lately.  It just so happened that my friend and Pure Barre instructor, Molly, was starting a 24 day challenge with a 10 day cleanse period.  So here I am... ready to give you my experience, thoughts, and tips on this cleanse & challenge specifically, while also providing insight into cleanses in general.  If there is a specific cleanse that you have a question about, email me at BriTexas@gmail.com

8/25: The Day Before...

As with anything starting up, I always get a mix of feelings the day before “go” day.  I get excited to try something new.  I get anxious to see what positive or negative results I may get.  I get determined with the preparation and making sure I know exactly what I need to do to kick it off right. 

A few fun facts:

The cleanse part!

• I have a sweet tooth so am going to give up sweets and sugar (for the most part) during these 24 days.  Think 80-90% of the time.  I don't believe in complete restriction!
• Because of the above, I may or may not have had a little extra sugar today in preparation.  I don't recommend that, but I am definitely human... and the last package of Nutter Butters were calling my name.
• The first 10 days of this challenge are part of the "cleanse" phase with the first 3 days including a Spark energy drink, fiber drink, Omega 3 supplement, & a cleanse supplement.
• A cleanse does not mean you have to be on strictly liquids.  I get to eat on this challenge.  Side note: you should eat on any cleanse you do too.  Liquid diets do NOT teach you anything and just cause you to gain weight back once you are off them.
• If you are interested and serious about doing cleanses, you only need to do a cleanse once every 3 months.
• In reality, your body is pretty AWESOME and can cleanse itself.  Fruits and vegetables help cleanse your body too.  But, a "formal" cleanse like this one every now and then do not hurt either if you prefer it (and especially if you feel you have a few too many Big Macs, overly processed baked goods, or the like).
• I do the grocery shopping in our house. I secretly decided to buy treats that only Matt likes to keep me from being tempted by the aforementioned Nutter Butters he normally keeps upstairs.  Good thing he doesn't read my blog (start evil laugh now).

8/26 & 8/27: Days 1 & 2...

My first day went excellent.  I literally woke up, drank my Spark, and felt so great that I went for a run.  I am not a natural morning person.  It takes me awhile to wake up and I was tired.  Okay, realllllllyyyyy tired this morning.  But after I drank a Spark, within 10 minutes, I felt much less tired and had plenty of energy to get my workout on early in the day.  Now, keep in mind that I am not a coffee drinker so I wasn't replacing anything with Spark- just adding it to my daily routine.

My second day didn't go as well, but I am not blaming it on the challenge.  I am blaming my "aha!" moment for not clicking in BEFORE breakfast.  You see, there is such a thing as too much fiber and it does not feel good on the tummy-tum-tum.  My breakfast should NOT have been muesli with greek yogurt when the fiber drink has 10 grams of fiber per serving already!

My thoughts after the first 2 days:

My 10K Training Tools!

• I will eat a high protein, low fiber breakfast (think eggs!) when accompanied with a fiber drink.
• I am drinking a lot of water.  I always drink water, but I feel like I am drinking even more which is always good.
• I am excited about the Omega 3 supplement.  I do not eat fish on a regular basis so definitely need my Omega 3's.  Omega 3's help reduce inflammation in the body and are great for the skin, among a whole host of other benefits.
• The fiber drink is weird.  But, I mix mine with orange juice and let's be real... orange juice can make anything weird taste good.
• Fruit punch is my favorite flavor of Spark so far!
• Taking the cleanse pills right before I go to bed makes me a little nervous.  Not really sure why.  It's definitely a mind over matter thing.  I am sure I will uncover the reason or uncover my nerves after a few days.
• I am "training" for a 10k currently so run 3x week.  I am way more of a dancer than a runner so this running thing is not easy for me.  I think Spark is going to help me train better... and that excites me!

'Til next time...

Eat well,

Bri

Cinnamon Apple Chips

Best snack ever!

The other day I ventured into Central Market.  That place is like Tiffany's... I find a new gem every time I walk in! This time, I grab my favorite peanut butter (Central Market's brand of crunchy) and see some new items to the left.  They are bags of baked apple chips.  I am an apple lover so these intrigued me.  Bought a bag of the Crunchy Cinnamon Apple.  It was love at first bite!

Whether you are an apple lover or not, you have got to try these!  Seriously, I will be buying these more regularly from now on.  And get this? The only two ingredients are apples and cinnamon.  Hell yes!  Tasty?  Absolutely... beats any chip I have ever tried out of the water!

These are small bags and have two servings each.  I got mine for $2 so $1 per serving.  I think this is a good price, especially when it can replace another not-so-healthy snack.  These snacks are organic too.  Apples have one of the highest pesticide count and are part of the "dirty dozen" so going organic with apples is always a good idea.  

Keep in mind that I am talking about the barefruit brand.  I saw a different brand at Kroger that added sugar.  These are sweet enough on their own and do not need sugar!

All you moms out there- even your kids will like these.  Perfect fit for a brown bag lunch!

Eat well,
Bri

Find more info here: http://www.barefruitsnacks.com/products.php

La Croix

How many of you absolutely love the taste of water and never want or need anything else to drink?  I am willing to bet that there aren't many.  Most of us get bored with water at certain times and need some flavor.  

I am not a huge fan of soft drinks or diet soft drinks.  If you can't live without these, have them every once in awhile (newsflash: once in awhile is not once per day).  Perhaps it is just the fizz or carbonation you crave?!  If so, you will love my latest drink obsession: La Croix.  

What do I love about La Croix?  Ohhhhhh let me tell you.  Here is what I love:

• No calories (I like to eat my calories- not drink them)
• Tasty (they come in so many different flavors!)
• It's fun to say (make it even more fun by saying it with an accent)
• Hydrating (it does count towards your daily water intake)
• Soothing (what other drink makes you think of the island St. Croix?)
• Natural flavoring (the flavors are essence oils extracted from the fruits... no artificial sweeteners here!)

So many great reasons to give this drink a try.  I will tell you this, I have a few favorite flavors, one I do not like much, and several others that I have not yet tried.  Here is my scoop:

• Can't resist: lemon, pamplemousse, orange
• Buy every so often: lime
• Not going to buy again: Cran-raspberry
• Haven't tried yet: peach-pear, coconut, pure, berry

Check La Croix out here: http://www.lacroixwater.com/product/varieties/  You can find these at most grocery stores.  Surprisingly, these are cheaper for me at Central Market than at Target, but you can find them at both places.  I have seen them at Kroger and Tom Thumb as well, but I didn't find as good of a flavor selection the last time I went.

Want to make your drink even more fun?  Try out this recipe I found on their website.  It's the La Croix skinny mojito:

• 6 oz La Croix lime
• 2 sprigs fresh mint
• 3 wedges fresh lime
• 4-6 pkts Organic Zero Sweetener (Whole Foods)

Squeeze fresh limes over mint leaves. Muddle mint, lime juice, and sweetener.  Add ice. Top with La Croix lime. Garnish with mint leaves and fresh lime. Recipe source: http://www.lacroixwater.com/product/recipes/

Drink well,

Bri

Yummy Yasso!

The heat is cranked up in Texas.  In fact, forget the sauna.  Just go outside when you want to meditate, read a magazine, or sweat some toxins out.  It's amazing what Texas heat can do!

Most of us have childhood memories of eating a popsicle or ice cream cone in the summer.  Unfortunately, most popsicles and ice cream pops are full of sugar, chemicals, and such.  But, I found some that are not too shabby.  Ever heard of Yasso novelty bars?  At 80 calories a pop, these bars also have 6g of protein.  The protein comes from the greek yogurt used to make the bar.  They do have 13g of sugar, but since these are still considered a "treat" they are a healthier alternative to most other treats.

I have only tried one flavor- the mango.  I love the taste of mango so knew this would be a good flavor for me; however, there are plenty others:

• Raspberry
• Blueberry
• Strawberry
• Vanilla bean
• Coconut

I found the Yasso novelty bars at Target, but they are available at other grocery stores too.  I think I spent $4 on a box of 4, which is higher than some, but comparable to others.  $1 for a treat isn't bad to me.  Find more about these treats here: http://www.yasso.com/ 

Have you tried a Yasso?

Eat well,
Bri