[tgellenbeck]

After being pregnant for almost 40 weeks and then nursing for almost 15 months, my body has been through the wringer for almost two full years and is still a little out of whack.  I’ve been exercising, eating “mostly” clean, drinking lots of water and attempting to get enough sleep.  But those pre-baby summer-white skinny crops are still snug.  Okay, they barely go up over my hips.  And although this blog isn’t about weight loss and being “skinny,” it is about being healthy, whole and happy.  And I’ll be a whole lot happier if I can get back into those skinny crops at some point. 🙂

I remained “sugar free” for 21 days when prepping for my wedding day back in 2011 and did a TLS 21-Day Challenge (cleanse) shortly after my first son stopped nursing in 2014, but this will be my first time trying Advocare.  It is pretty popular in the fitness arena here in Columbus so I figured, why not?  I’m always up for trying something new!

For this cleanse, I have to do the following for the next 10 days:

• Start each morning with the probiotic supplement, 30 minutes before breakfast, and a large glass of water
• Before one meal daily, drink the fiber supplement mixed with 4 ounces of fluids, followed by an additional 8-16 ounces of water.  The packet states drinking it with 8 oz, but some veterans suggested mixing it with 4 to get it down faster!
• Take the Omegaplex (Omega-3 fatty acid supplement) twice daily
• At bedtime, take the herbal cleanse caplets with a full glass of water
• Remain coffee free (yikes!) but can replace my love-of-caffeine with Advocare’s Spark Energy vitamin & amino acid supplement

As far as eating, just eat clean!  The thing I didn’t like about the TLS challenge was you couldn’t eat ANYTHING other than fruits and vegetables the first seven days.  I’m not a rabbit and I’m pretty active… I need protein!  The Advocare challenge allows you to have clean proteins and low GI complex carbs (in small portions and preferably early in the day) including sweet potatoes, brown rice and oatmeal.  In addition to eating clean, there are some “don’t consume these” rules…

• No coffee (or if absolutely needed, at least drink it black)
• No alcohol
• No processed foods (whole/real foods only)
• No added sugars, salts, condiments, marinades, etc

So what will I miss?  Coffee, wine, Quest bars – in that order.  Waking up to a warm cup o’ Joe is the reason I get out of bed at 5:55AM.  So that will definitely be the hardest.  I’ll also miss dairy (yogurt and cheese) & chocolate, but I already try to limit those, so 10 days should be doable. If we weren’t going on vacation in early June, I may have tried the 24 day challenge, but I wanted to be done before we started our travels to Florida.  I mean, what’s vacation without a non-fat, no-whip, half caff, two-pump caramel latte?

I stocked up on fresh produce & clean snacks (nuts, hummus) and plan to boil a bunch of eggs.  I read this post “Tips for a successful 10 day Advocare Cleanse” and mentally prepared myself.

My mother-in-law is starting tomorrow, so at least I’ll have a partner in crime.  I plan to also replace one meal a day with my go-to green smoothie recipe and drink at least 75 ounces of water per day.  Wish me luck!

Have you cleansed before?  Tried Advocare or a similar product?  Send us your tips & suggestions!