Workout Wednesday: A Review

I started the 24 Day Advocare challenge last month. You can read about my reasons for starting the challenge and my hopes through my posts here.  The challenge is broken up into two parts, a 10 day cleanse and a 14 day clean eating regimen with vitamin supplements.  The challenge comes with recipe ideas, daily eating guide and clean eating tips.  The recipes were simple and great for when I got bored of our normal dinner routine.  The daily eating guide and clean eating tips were in line with what I strive for my diet to look like focused on fruits, vegetables and lean protein. 

          The recommended products for the challenge include the herbal cleanse, 2 boxes of Spark, one bottle of OmegaPlex (an Omega 3 vitamin), MNS Max Supplements and meal replacement shakes. I opted not to get the meal replacement shakes to help minimize the cost. Since the challenge is divided into two parts I’m going to review each part individually. 

First up the 10 day cleanse. During the cleanse, it is suggested to avoid alcohol, dairy, coffee and highly processed foods.  However, the  box states that even if you don’t follow the food guide that you still can lose weight. There are probiotics daily as well as a fiber drink for 6 days. I chose the peaches and cream flavor as I read horrible reviews on the citrus flavors.  The fiber drink was not horrendous however it was very artificial and sugary. I enjoyed it most when I combined it in my oatmeal or smoothie. This part of the challenge is where I lost the most weight.  I lost around 3 pounds during the 10 day cleanse. The cleanse is perfect for people who want to reset after the Christmas holiday or any indulgent period. It helps to *ahem* clean you out of anything lingering around your stomach and intestines. It really gets your digestive system back on track.

Now, on to the 14 day vitamin and supplement regimen.  The pills are divided into individual packs that you take before breakfast, with breakfast and before lunch. The first thing I noticed that there are a lot of pills! There are around 4-5 pills per packet with 4 packs to consume a day. I’ll let you do the math. That’s more pills than I have ever taken in a week let alone a day. 

The claim of these packets is to help suppress appetite, increase metabolism, increase energy and aid in weight loss.  During this phase, I lost another 2 pounds.  However, I did not notice any major effects from the supplements. There was no major changes in my appetite or energy. 

Throughout the 24 days, I ate clean as best as possible and avoided alcohol. I worked out around 4 days a week while training for the marathon.  My meals and workouts were no different than what I would do typically. The main change is that I didn't indulge in a weekly splurge meal like I normally have. 

My thoughts overall on the challenge is that it did not provide the jump in weight loss that I was hoping for. Honestly,  I could have lost the weight through watching my diet and exercising without the supplements.  I believe that the 10 day cleanse was a great way to reset my eating and thoughts toward food after being indulgent over the holidays. On the other hand, I would not recommend the MNS part of the challenge.  

For myself, since I already eat clean and exercise regularly there were no major changes in my routine or diet. I think others may have different results if they make major to their diet or exercise. There was just not that much for me to change. 

One thing that I did learn was how frequent I had cravings for sweets. Until now I never realized how often I wanted to splurge on dessert or a drink after a long day. I had the craving for sweets or a glass of wine honestly about 4 times in weeknight. That's a heck of a lot more than I realized. Following this cleanse, I am going to continue eating clean by following a 80/20 guide. 80% healthy & clean choices and 20% indulgences. I also am starting to plan my meals and snacks more to include a healthy sweet such as dark chocolate or frozen Greek yogurt.  

What are your experiences with weight loss challenges? Have you tried Advocare products?