MelissaStuff

The third week of my  Advocare 24 Day Challenge  was an interesting adjustment. The vitamins, pills and supplements you take are easy to follow and understand. I didn't have any kind of negative side effects. The only thing that was an adjustment for me was that the pills make me AMAZINGLY full and if I ate normally it was like just finishing Thanksgiving dinner. I literally had to lay down after the first couple of meals I felt so full. I quickly learned that if I would just eat less, I was just fine . . . which I'm pretty sure is the point. And I lost another 1.5 to 2 lbs as a result. LOVING the results I have to say. I even convinced one of the members of my family to try it out. That's a high recommendation right there. The cost is about $40 for 2 weeks of this product - but so far I have been pleased with it and would definitely find it worthwhile to jumpstart a weight loss plan or when you hit a plateau along the way. Now to finish up the last few days. Onc...

I have officially completed the "cleanse" phase of the  Advocare 24 Day Challenge . First my thoughts on the cleanse . . . #1 - It works. You can tell it's cleaning your system out. However, I didn't feel sick or like I was running to the bathroom. #2 - However, I did discover the weekends were hard for me to stay on "clean" eating. We go out. We eat out. I don't work out. So combining that with the cleanse did cause me some stomach problems. I think if I would have just stayed on the track I was on, it would have gone without a hitch. #3 - After some research I found a recommendation to mix the  Herbal Cleanse - Fiber Drink  mix with juice. It was a HUGE help. I used mango juice and peach juice which were both way better than the plain water. The original recommendation was for OJ with no added sugar. #4 - The biggest surprise in this first stage for me was the effect that the cleanse had on my skin. It was very noticeable to me . . . as was t...

If you pay attention to diet fads at all, you've heard of the HCG diet (and it's homeopathic counterparts). If you read MelissaStuff regularly, you'll remember I tried a similar diet through the Bouari Health Clinics here in the area. The biggest challenge of the entire diet is that you are supposed to eat around 500 calories a day . . . the rest of the nutrients your body needs are coming from the fat stores you are burning. At least, that's my understanding. But eating 500 calories a day is crazy ridiculous. Just try it. Everything you put in your mouth seems to count towards the limit and then you're not full and that makes most of us grumpy. It's just not a fun experience. However, I have the solution for anyone facing this dilemma - HCGourmetDallas.com . I was surprised to find out an old friend from high school was not only an accomplished chef but had started his own company catering to those attempting to stick to a 500 calorie diet. When he o...

One of the hardest parts of doing the Bouari diet plan has been not working out. I had been working out religiously for six or seven months and then I stopped cold turkey just to make sure that whatever results I got from Bouari were clearly from Bouari and nothing else. But after my checkup last week, I decided I was going to start adding my workouts back in. I had been gone from the gym about 30 days when I waltzed back in this week. Besides feeling like I was back “home” in many ways, it was great to see some faces I had been missing. When the owner mentioned that he thought I looked thinner than when I had last been in, I brushed it off as just what you say when someone works out at your gym. But then I started thinking, that doesn’t really work in his favor does it? If I lose weight when I’m not in the gym then it’s possible I could just decide not to go to the gym anymore. So that was nice. Crazy that this Bouari thing works so well I’m continuing to lose weight without bei...

I went in for my first follow up on the Bouari plan today. Going in I felt like I had lost weight but not significant pounds as some people do. But then again I had already lost 30 lbs. prior to starting this plan AND I really suck at eating according to low calorie plans. I do much better with eat these foods as much as you want and don’t eat these foods at all. So I wasn’t really shocked when she said I weighed in only one pound less than my initial weigh-in. However, I was completely shocked when she told me I’d lost two inches in my waist, an inch on each of my arms and at least two inches on each thigh! What? I mean I know my clothes were fitting loser and I was feeling more comfortable in some of the tighter shirts and jeans I own . . . but TWO INCHES?!? Here are my thoughts on this topic: 1. The spray, drops and appetite suppressants don’t bother me in any way. 2. I have not worked out in almost a solid month. And before that I was running two miles a day and lifting ...

I received a box of flavored water called Hint! to try. I was skeptical because I don’t really like water and I don’t like weird tasting items either. But, these drinks are great. They really do have just a hint of flavor in the water and no calories, no carbs, no sugar, no preservatives! Putting it all out there, one of the flavors and I didn’t get along so well . . . but I’m pretty picky so it’s more surprising that I would like almost all of them. You can find these at Whole Foods, Sprouts and Starbucks. They’re generally $1.79 or so – nice alternative to sodas, teas and juices that are full of sugar.