Advocare 24 Day Challenge: Day 8

No progress on the weight loss since the last post. Today I resumed taking the Fiber 10 drink (days 8-10 of the cleanse) so maybe that'll take a couple of additional pounds off!

Went to lunch with Menie yesterday, and I had to make the best out of a restaurant menu. I chose to get the Salmon Kebab entrée with Greek Salad (and no cheese). I think that was the safest bet, even though it probably wasn't Advocare approved. And of course, I didn't eat any of the white sauce. Even still, it was REALLY DELICIOUS!

And more grilled chicken with blanched vegetables. Grilled chicken is more work than broiled chicken, but is definitely juicier and more delicious.

My Advocare instructions don't say I have to only eat white meat (it just says chicken or turkey meat, not fried) but I may further limit myself to white meat during the second phase. I'd like to lose just a little bit more weight!

Advocare 24 Day Challenge: Day 6

I'm running out of ideas on ways to prepare chicken! This was poached chicken, it was..... only alright.

Steel cut rolled oats taste better than instant oatmeal. MIND BLOWN.

Cucumber soup. I love soups, especially now when the weather is cooling down.

Tuna, spinach, and hard-boiled eggs. YUM. Fave dinner so far I think?

The weight loss is slowing down. Have I hit the plateau? Sigh, I might actually have to exercise to get to my goal...

Advocare 24 Day Challenge: Day 4

As each day passes, I'm getting better and better at this whole diet thing.

I'm trying to make my meals more interesting by adding things like grilled chicken.

The Spark drink is actually replacing coffee just fine, I thought I would be a zombie at work from not getting my caffeine fix. Turns out I'm not an addict!

I'm loving the yam part, I can eat yams for days. I think it's the only sweet non-fruit item that I've had since I started. I also made lemon pepper broiled chicken breast for dinner today. It was delicious!

And finally my current weight. When I first started, I was weighing anywhere between 127 and 130 (fluctations throughout the day) and today I weighed in between 123 and 125. Progress is an excellent form of motivation, and I can't wait to see how much more I can lose in the next 20 days!

Advocare 24 Day Challenge: Day 2

Preparing meals has been a challenge for me, and I'm finding it highly stressful. Staying at my boyfriend's house every other night means that I have to plan meals two days in advance, not just one.

Another challenge is drinking the Fiber 10 drink. IT IS ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING. I feel like vomiting WHILE I'm trying my best to chug the shake. The best way to describe the consistency is probably coagulating fat, with dirt floating in it. Luckily it's the first thing that I drink in the morning, so I'm still half asleep. I can't wait until the fiber shake part is over.

Do I feel slimmer yet? No, I feel bloated from drinking boatloads of water. I also feel like I'm starving because I can't eat at night any more - I used to eat a majority of my food after dinner (tsk tsk, I know). I miss coffee, and alcohol, and eating bbq. But this will all be worth it. I'm already down to 125.5lbs!

Advocare 24 Day Challenge: Day 0

So, you know all of those awesome food pictures that I've been posting since I moved to Seattle? Every one of those plates has been catching up to me, as has age. My weight fluctuates between 127 and 130 throughout the day, and that is certainly the heaviest I've ever been.

I've decided to give the 24 Day Challenge from Advocare a shot. If I can't get back into shape now, I'll be hopeless in a few years! Also, I've accepted a job offer very recently and will be starting in a few weeks. I definitely want to look my best so I can feel my best, and win everyone over! It's a contract-to-hire opportunity, so the key here is to get hired. Who doesn't love an upbeat, healthy, glowing, hard-working temp?

My goals:
- To fit comfortably into the jeans that I wore when I first moved to Seattle
- To have more energy from a balanced diet
- To feel healthy again, no more muffin top creases when I sit down

If I could lose 10 pounds in the next 24 days, I would be thrilled! I'm actually not expecting to lose more than 10 pounds because that's lower than my average weight. Realistically, I'll be satisfied if I lose 5 pounds. The more valuable gain here is learning how to control my portions and make healthier eating choices.

I've read the instruction sheets at least 10 times per page, and started divvying up the supplements and separating them by assigned days. I have an Excel sheet with meal plans ready but I'm still anxious about getting it right. Halloween is just around the corner, and I'd really like to trim down a bit before then. LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

Terrace Club: Mariners vs. Orioles

Awesome seats, and an amazing time with great friends.

Rock The Bells & Reno Rubfest

Summer has been INSANE - a vicious cycle of anxious planning, being really busy, and then ending up absolutely exhausted!

The job search is still ongoing, I had a resume workshop with a professional and learned a ton about how to better customize each application. Although he assured me that my content was solid, I definitely feel that the advice he gave me on the delivery will help me tremendously. And so I apply, and wait, and apply, and wait again.

I've also been working remotely nights and weekends again. Thankfully, my assignments have conveniently fallen between big events so I haven't had to choose.

The weekend before last, I went to Rock the Bells in Mountain View! Salt 'N Pepa was wildly entertaining, with the baby daddy and the husband on stage - I love their dynamic! I also thoroughly enjoyed Ice Cube, he is an AWESOME entertainer. The way he transitioned from one hit to another kept us on edge, and he always dropped the beat at the perfect moment. Watching DMX was pretty great also, until he started preaching about God. I don't mind that he's deeply religious, but I didn't pay to see that. DJ Quik and Bone Thugs were good, but I wish E40 and Too Short were there - they would have completed by perfect RTB lineup. Overall, it was an amazing weekend. We stayed over at Hiep's friend's house in Mountain View on Saturday night and had a giant sleepover. SO FUN! <3 br="">
This past weekend, for Labor Day, Charles, Victor, and I went to the Rib Cookoff in Reno (dubbed the rubfest per miscommunication between Alex and myself, LOL). The ribs were excellent as always, and I'm glad this has become an annual tradition. Charles was cracking me up the entire trip, from the airplane rides, to the ridiculous comments he made throughout the weekend, and his overall loveable personality. I'm glad Charles and Victor made the trip this year, I think everyone enjoyed the company through and through. We went to a new club in Reno called Rise, and it totally blew our minds. The venue was definitely on part with San Francisco clubs, maybe even on the same level as LA clubs! Beautiful, open spaces with easy access to drinks and awesome music. We had such a blast dancing our butts off!

For September, I think I'll be taking it easy. I've got two remote work assignments the next few weeks, and I'm going to start a 24 Day Challenge (diet) mid-month. I'm trying to slim down before Moonlight Masquerade on 10/13, and definitely before FreakNight! All of this yummy food and experimental cooking has given me a nice, juicy, spare tire. Not cute.