Get Ready for Summer!

You guys! I am a tad jealous that this incredible deal wasn’t around when I joined. If you’ve been thinking about jumping on board with Advocare as a retail customer or as a distributor yourself getting the automatic 20% discount but haven’t, now is the time to do so. FREE shipping and FREE Spark!! Yes, you heard right. Get your 24-day challenge bundle and even if you aren’t ready to start a 24 day challenge right now, you’ll have it on hand for when you are. This offer is only for a limited time, don’t procrastinate. I’ve ordered mine, let’s order yours. NOW is the time!

AdvoCare

If you have watched basketball, football or Nascar, then more than likely you’ve seen an advertisement for AdvoCare. If you’ve seen any of my previous posts, there’s a chance you’ve heard me mention AdvoCare.

What is AdvoCare you ask? AdvoCare was founded in Plano, Texas in 1993. They provide nutritional, weigh-management, sports performance, and skin care products that are backed by the latest scientific knowledge and ingredients and created safe and effective. AdvoCare products help to improve lives through superior nutrition and wellness.

How I got started with AdvoCare
A friend of mine offered to share products with me to try and I was instantly hooked on AdvoCare’s Spark. Spark is a vitamin and amino acid supplement energy drink mix. I tried the grape, pink lemonade, and fruit punch flavors. You just mix one service with 8 ounces of water and drink. The amount of focus and energy I had was amazing. No more groggy feeling, I was ready to tackle the day. If I’m being completely honest, I wasn’t a fan of the meal replacement shakes, they just aren’t for me. However, Kasey loves them and has one daily. He really enjoys them and their many flavors. Like with all things, one product isn’t going to work for everyone but for me. I knew I would be ordering Spark and I wanted to share Spark with friends and family, so why not get a discount while doing so as well? That’s just what I did. Back in Oct. 2015 I signed up as a distributor so that now when I purchase products for myself or others, they are discounted.

I am still learning more and trying different AdvoCare products. I am currently in a 24-day challenge with the same friend who first shared AdvoCare with me. She has been an amazing accountability partner during the challenge so far and I will share with you more about the challenge once we’ve finished. There is such a wonderful support group and I’ve been able to reconnect with a few ladies that I went to high school with. I am hoping that not only out of a more healthier lifestyle, I will establish long lasting friendships as well.

I am going to add a tab at the top of my site along with my Young Living and Photography business information incase you want to read more about AdvoCare. I will link my site there as well and if you have any questions or would like to try a product on me, please just ask!

Have a day full of sunshine!
Hollie

Monday Matters

So much of the time, once Monday rolls around we get in a slump and aren’t excited about the day. That’s not me today though! I have so much to look forward to. I confided in you about some of my struggles in my previous post but although I struggle, I have hope.

This Monday morning I am excited about the day. For the first time in awhile, we meal prepped last night and I am stoked to share the recipes with you. Also today, a friend of mine and I are beginning our Advocare challenge. Today marks day 1 of the cleanse phase. Then tonight, my second season of Run for God begins. We participated in the program a few years ago but haven’t stuck to running. During the program last time I completed my very first full 5K run. Usually, I had just walked them. I felt like I was on top of the world and to be honest, was probably in the best shape of my life then. I’m ready to get that me back! It’s coming.

Now, for the meal prep last night. I made a delicious one pan dish that included chicken, green beans, and red potatoes. I also made vinegar cucumbers and clean deviled eggs. Just look at how delicious all of this looks! I will be sharing the recipes in separate posts.

Make it a marvelous Monday!
Hollie

Pedal On!

How ironic is it that my last blog post was about how I nailed day 3 of the Advocare 24 day challenge and here I am being completely vulnerable and honest letting you know that I slipped. It’s so easy to do. I’m human. However, I refuse to let that define me or my end goal. There has been a period of time where I stopped the challenge. I knew my decisions were poor, my heart wasn’t in it, other circumstances were consuming my mental and physical focus, and I knew that I didn’t want to waste the products I had if I weren’t allowing them to work effectively.

Does that mean I’m a failure? No. It simply means that I was aware and honest enough with myself to say, the same exact moment the nation is doing the 24 day challenge, wasn’t the best time for me as an individual to do it. So, here I am letting you know that I am mentally prepared to get back on it. My stress levels are on the road to being in control and not consuming me while I am mentally ready to focus. I have my biometric screening tomorrow for work which is somewhat of a clean slate since we have certain guidelines to meet each year so it’s the perfect time to regain my focus.

How often in life does this happen to all of us. Not just with a weight loss goal but just in life in general? It’s so easy to be motivated when things are falling into place perfectly but once we hit that speed bump, it’s also easy to swerve and get off track. That doesn’t mean you’re a mess up, it simply means you are human. I am human. We all have positive days and we all have negative days. What’s important is that we don’t fall into that trap and stay there. What’s important is that we have enough self respect that we can stand back up and pedal onward to the right path, right? After all, no one said this road of life would be easy. Even the most difficult moments make us stronger and prepare us for the best days to come.

If you’re feeling like you are in a rut and like you are a failure, you are not. You couldn’t be more wrong. You are a strong, important, and special individual with a purpose. Find your why and know that tomorrow is another day to get back up and pedal on!

Nailed it!

Day 3 of the Advocare ALL•IN 24 day challenge has been my best yet. I finished all 101.4 ounces of water (my daily goal is 98.5 ounces), stuck to my meal plan, got in a good 50 minutes worth of cardio along with some good strength training, and had all of my Advocare products and supplements. Major non scale victory for me!! Just what I needed to gain some confidence during this challenge. Go me!

ALL•IN

This year I said “Yes!” to Advocare in a way I hadn’t been willing to before. You see, I have a handful of friends who have shared their Advocare journey with me and what they experienced by a 24-day challenge but I still for some reason not fully convinced. Then a friend of mine shared Spark with me. I loved it, it gave me the boost that I had been needing for the long work hours, late night study sessions, and never-ending wonderful but tiring motherhood moments. With the schedule I keep, it’s easy to feel run down. Not with Spark, it’s a great and better for you than energy drink, pick-me-up. (If you haven’t tried Spark before and would like to, I’d love to send you a sample.. just let me know). I attended a Advocare event at her home and was able to try different flavors of Advocare products including shakes and snack bars. To be honest, I’m not a fan of the shakes. It’s the texture thing for me but Kasey however, he loves them. It’s all personal preference.

So what exactly did saying yes mean? It meant that I was going to be a part of the Nationwide Advocare ALL•IN 24 day challenge. This challenge was the perfect way to jump start 2016 and the pre-order bundle didn’t only come with free shipping but free meal prep containers, Advocare bracelet, and Advocare shaker bottle.. heck yes!

This gal loves herself some free stuff. The amount of people who are doing this challenge which began yesterday, January 11th is unbelievable. I wanted to share my day one with you and a point that also proved me to be human, my day two lesson.

Let me start with my day two lesson. After such a successful day one it was only fitting as a human that I would fall off the wagon persay as not a mistake but as a lesson. A lesson that would remind me, it’s okay to mess up. I’m not perfect and I can be more than one negative meal choice, as long as I let it be just that and not allow myself to spiral out of control. After all, that’s why I’m here doing this challenge, right? I need accountability, I need growth, I need to learn, I need to have a plan. So how exactly did I fall off tonight? It’s my grandmother’s 80th birthday. Just look at how beautiful this woman is.

We had dinner as a family in celebration at a Japanese restaurant. I had planned to only have grilled chicken and grilled vegetables with no sauces but guess what? I caved. Yep, my willpower wasn’t as strong today as it could’ve been but you know what? I am confident that my willpower on day 24 will be much stronger than it is here on day 2. So, I ate myself a very unhealthy Japanese dinner and leaving all the icky details, paid for it later. But, I’m still here with an opportunity to do better tomorrow. That’s exactly what I’ll do.

In the midst of this evening’s poor food choice, I have a wonderful day one to reflect on and grow from for day 3. I am going to share my food from day 1 with you now through pictures.

As you can see, I ate. I ate a lot. Sometimes I wasn’t even feeling hunger but I knew that my body needed fuel every 2-3 hours in order to be successful. My morning started with a grape Spark, my Fiber packet, and probiotic restore tablets. My body isn’t used to caffeine because I am not much of a soda drinker or coffee drinker on a regular and I could definitely tell I had taken the Spark. My body was on caffeine overload compared to normal. Before dinner I had my OmegaPlex gel caps which are ginormous. The first one went down just fine but the second one gave me some trouble. I didn’t attempt the cleansing tablet before bed. Some additional positives from my day one is that I drank right under 100 ounces of water, super huge accomplishment for me!

I also got in a short workout I found on Pinterest that seems super easy but it kicked this gal’s booty. I’ll post it below.

All in all, I look forward to what I gain from this challenge. My “why” for doing this challenge (other than the obvious reason of not liking my current reflection) is to gain a better understanding of eating clean, being on a nutrition/fitness plan, and celebrating successes off the scale. Yes, I weighed in when I began and I will weigh when I’m finished but I also took my measurements and some before photos. I am not sure if I’ll ever be brave enough to post them but they serve as a reminder of who I don’t want to slip back into.

If you are looking for a community of honest, supportive, and encouraging individuals on the same path to bettering themselves like you are, and want a jump start on your 2016, please let me know. I can get information for you if I don’t know it myself and we’d love for you to be a part of this journey with us.

Here’s to a better self!

Hollie

SWP – Day 11

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice,”‭‭Psalm‬ ‭95:1-7‬ ‭NIV‬‬