The Carrot

Traveling. I love to travel. I think I get this desire from my Dad. While we went to a lot of destinations in the U.S. over the years, we never got to experience a tropical vacation. We just really didn’t have the finances to do it. However, my Dad had always hoped that one day we could take a trip to Mexico or some place like that where we could just hang out as a family and enjoy the warm rays of the tropical sun without a care in the world.

Since marrying The Beard, I have been fortunate to have been able to travel to some of these beautiful destinations! In Mexico we have seen Cozumel, Cancun, and Puerto Vallarta, but our favorite place has been, Montego Bay, Jamaica.

     

This summer will be our 5 year wedding anniversary and an event just as notable, The Beard’s 40th birthday! To celebrate the two milestones, we will be headed back to Jamaica and I couldn’t be more excited!

So when I decided to try the Advocare 24 Day Challenge, Jamaica was definitely one of my carrots. I want to be in the best shape I can be, by the time we leave.  

I have 133 days remaining.

I am about to share with you my starting photos, weight and measurements. This is a little surreal when I think about it because it wasn’t that long ago that I wouldn’t have DARED share this type of information with anyone, for fear of embarrassment or being judged. I am grateful that I have now come to a place where I am not as fearful of that. It is what it is.

My hope is that my attempts at transparency might be found helpful to others in their own journeys.

Day 1 – January 5, 2015

I apologize for my late night AWESOME look in these photos. Haha…aren’t all BEFORE pictures supposed to look like this!

Weight: 167.4 pounds

Right arm: 11.5 in            Left arm: 11.5 in

Chest:  36.5 in                 Waist: 32.75 in

Right thigh: 24 in             Left thigh: 24.5 in

Hips: 43.75 in

These are my before photos and starting numbers. I will not share this information again until the end of the 24 day challenge.

While I will not be posting my meals everyday, I thought I would share with you some of what I’ve been eating: 

Typical breakfast:

    

Lunches: Tuna on whole wheat w/baby carrots; sliced turkey breast w/salad, dinner leftovers w/almonds

Dinners: Whole penne rigate w/spaghetti sauce; baked chicken fajitas; tacos (minus the shell); chicken and noodles

I have been sure to weigh my food and measure out my servings so that I am getting the nutrients I need without over indulging. This is something I learned during my very first transformation and while I do not do this all the time, it is constantly in my mind and helps make me more aware of the portions I’m eating…or overeating! Haha.

The process has been going well so far. I won’t lie, after day 2 I was struggling a little bit. It wasn’t because of the products or the foods I was eating, as honestly, I’m still eating many of the things we normally eat. I think it was just my my mind knowing that I had chosen to be on point this week and consciously track what I was putting into my body so I felt like some of my freedom and flexibility was gone. 

I pushed through the mental struggle of day 2 by that carrot dangling in front of me, knowing that this is part of the plan in making progress toward my ultimate goals.

This morning’s weigh-in had me at 160.6 pounds. That’s a 6.8 pound loss! 

I am very happy with the results for this first 5 days, but I somewhat expected them as my body normally responds extremely well to cleanses such as this. I also know that things will now slow down, as that is just how the process goes (and should go) to healthily lose weight. I have met my Diet Bet weight loss goal (early), which is an added bonus.

Now that I am toward the end of this long run with the crud, I plan to resume exercise this week, but I will be easing back in to make sure my body is truly ready. My mind DEFINITELY is as I have missed running and boxing.

I will update again later in the process. Until then, I have a carrot to chase!

~ Ashley ~