Advocare Challenge, diet, exercise...not working

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owensmommy0925
owensmommy0925 Posts: 14
in Health and Weight Loss
I am on Day 8 of the Advocare 24-Day Challenge, and I am seeing no results. I only use the products as a supplement to my diet and lifestyle changes for the extra boost that I have heard so much about. I am doing a mile brisk walk with my son in the jogging stroller 1-2 times a day, and a 20 minute ball workout regimen. I eat only vegetables, fruit, lean meat, and plenty of protein. I have completely cut soda, sweets, and fast food out of my diet. I am only drinking water: 1.5-3.0 liters a day. I eat 3 meals a day plus a light snack or two at night at work ( I work night shift). I try not to eat after 9pm. I just do not understand why I am not seeing ANY results. I know it has only been a little over a week, but I thought changing my eating habits so drastically and actually working out would produce some results up front. I will take any advice.
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Replies

  • MTBrob
    MTBrob Posts: 513 Member
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    First off thank you for what you do ... My Wife is also a nurse and I know her daily ends and outs and I know it can be rough

    Second lets see your diary... Open it up so those who will respond can make a better assessment.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    You might want to open your diary if you want advice :smile:

    That being said, I have a couple of thoughts:

    1. Advocare itself is not going to make you lose weight.
    2. You may not be eating enough (most of those shake products are very low calorie), especially if you are exercising and I saw on your profile that you are an ER nurse? I'm sure that keeps you busy.
    3. You don't need to waste money on products to give you a "boost" - most of that is placebo effect anyway. Beware of any complany telling you how great something is, especially if they want your money!
    4. There is absolutely no reason you can't eat after 9pm, especially if you work nights. Eat when you are hungry!
    5. Get a tape measure - it's generally more accurate than the scale
    6. You're only 8 days into this. Give it time.
  • stronglikebull
    stronglikebull Posts: 402
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    First off thank you for what you do ... My Wife is also a nurse and I know her daily ends and outs and I know it can be rough

    Second lets see your diary... Open it up so those who will respond can make a better assessment.

    this.
  • owensmommy0925
    owensmommy0925 Posts: 14
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    I am really bad about keeping to my diary. I really need to get back on doing it. I usually eat 3 eggs for breakfast with either a small porkchop or almonds. A snack I will eat fruit such as an apple or banana with a rice cake with some all natural peanut butter. Lunch: I eat a big salad with green onions, tomatoes, light dressing, no cheese, and a chicken breast. Maybe another snack I will eat carrots and celery. Dinner may consist of a bag of steamable vegetables, chicken breast, and a serving of whole grain rice. This is just a typical day. And at least 1.5-3 liters of water
  • owensmommy0925
    owensmommy0925 Posts: 14
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    My diary is now open. I just noticed that it wasn't. I am not up to date with it, but you can see what I was doing before when I was good about it.
  • owensmommy0925
    owensmommy0925 Posts: 14
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    First off thank you for what you do ... My Wife is also a nurse and I know her daily ends and outs and I know it can be rough

    Thank you. It can be and it is so hard to find a schedule that works with your night shift nurse life especially when you have a one year old at home waiting on you. I typically stay up with him during the day, nap when he naps, and then go back to work that night for my 12hr shift. Rough, but worth it.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    My diary is now open. I just noticed that it wasn't. I am not up to date with it, but you can see what I was doing before when I was good about it.

    You can't expect results for work you aren't doing (Ripped that off from another MFP member - Yoovie! It rang of truth and stuck with me when she wrote it.)

    If you aren't tracking your food, how do you REALLY know what you are eating and whether or not you are hitting your calorie goal.
  • owensmommy0925
    owensmommy0925 Posts: 14
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    I just know approximately how many calories, and grams of fat, carbs, and protein is all the foods that I eat. I dont stray to far off my diet in regards to changes in meals. So it is easy for me to calculate especially when I am not cheating myself on the whole straying from the diet.
  • LoraF83
    LoraF83 Posts: 15,694 Member
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    I just know approximately how many calories, and grams of fat, carbs, and protein is all the foods that I eat. I dont stray to far off my diet in regards to changes in meals. So it is easy for me to calculate especially when I am not cheating myself on the whole straying from the diet.

    Key word: "approximately"

    No offense, and I'm not trying to be harsh, but typically if you want maximum results, it helps to track everything. Just a suggestion.
  • MTBrob
    MTBrob Posts: 513 Member
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    Yeah sorry.... I can only give generalized advice..

    First you need to be working out Cardio and I would recommend atleast two days of some type of weight training.. I know your schedule can be busy, so may I recommend something like Beach Body's insanity which is a @ home workout. You can also find a lot of free ones online and follow their routines..

    As for diet.. just try doing a lower carb higher protein minimum fat food in take.. by your above post you seem to already be doing that but since you dont track hard to tell for sure..

    I challenge you to track your self for at least 10 days straight... TRACK EVERYTHING YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH .... Even if it is bad, be honest with your self... You will get a better idea with what you got going on and can adjust as needed..

    Not the answers you were looking for sorry..
  • owensmommy0925
    owensmommy0925 Posts: 14
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    I just know approximately how many calories, and grams of fat, carbs, and protein is all the foods that I eat. I dont stray to far off my diet in regards to changes in meals. So it is easy for me to calculate especially when I am not cheating myself on the whole straying from the diet.

    Key word: "approximately"

    No offense, and I'm not trying to be harsh, but typically if you want maximum results, it helps to track everything. Just a suggestion.

    I just added everything I did yesterday if you want to take a look at that. I am going to try keeping it on it, I just do not have the time.
  • owensmommy0925
    owensmommy0925 Posts: 14
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    Here is a quote about time i wrote on my webpage
    A great excuse is, “I don’t have time to eat right and exercise.” Time is something we all have in common. We all have the same number of hours in a day. There is a person right now who doesn’t have time who is working out right this moment. If you were 100% committed to do something, what will stop you? Nothing. If someone is 100% committed and determined, they will move heaven hell and earth to get what they want. You think time will stop them? I know some people who have pretty intense schedules. Such as wake up at 7am, get kids ready for school, go to work, pick up kids, go to school after work, then do homework. They’re not in bed till around 1-2am. What about workout breaks at work? At school load up your bag and run up and down the stairs for 5mins, do 20 pushups and 50 crunches at work every hour. Why can’t you read your study book on a exercise bike? Get rid of the “I don’t have time excuse, it’s petty.”
    [/quote]

    I agree with you. I have always been that way..using it as an excuse, but now I do make time to work out and eat healthy. I start my day off at 7am with my son, sometimes stay up all day, go to work at 7pm, and not get off work until 7am. I have definitely altered my lifestyle to coincide with my goals. I just may not have the time to get on my phone and log everything...all that I was saying (:
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    no, you don't need to log everything to lose weight but... studies have shown that on average, those who do log everything they eat lose about double compared to those who don't. Not people who keep track in their head, people who actually log everything, in a way they can look back on and reflect on, and make changes based on what they see.

    I like the reasons why outlined in this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-kirkpatrick-ms-rd-ld/how-writing-everything-do_b_780535.html

    edited to add: it takes me maybe 5 minutes per meal to log if there are multiple items, and 1 minute to log a snack. That's under 20 minutes a day. not long at all.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,411 MFP Moderator
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    Drop the advocare crap. It's expensive and won't provide any more benefit than any other whey protein. It's possible you are either eating too much or too little. Nurses burn a bunch of calories just from work. You are already lightly to moderately active. Then you add in any exercise and your body requires a ton of calories. So log for a few days and let me know.
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    oh something else to consider, based on your profile photo, you are already relatively slim... the less weight you have to lose, the slower it comes off. For the person in that photo, It's not uncommon to lose less than a pound a week, even at a significant calorie deficit.
  • SNorris01
    SNorris01 Posts: 97 Member
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    Drop the advocare crap. It's expensive and won't provide any more benefit than any other whey protein. It's possible you are either eating too much or too little. Nurses burn a bunch of calories just from work. You are already lightly to moderately active. Then you add in any exercise and your body requires a ton of calories. So log for a few days and let me know.

    I agree, although it worked for me for a little while. It really messed with the wife. I cannot tell you what all it did to her. Get off of it and do the natural thing. I looked into being a distributor once I found out how it was working for me. I will say it worked very well for me, but, after finding out a lot of things that being a consumer you don't know, I would say get away from it and run. It isn't good for you even though they say it is...

    You can PM me if you want to know more...
  • elyelyse
    elyelyse Posts: 1,454 Member
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    no, you don't need to log everything to lose weight but... studies have shown that on average, those who do log everything they eat lose about double compared to those who don't. Not people who keep track in their head, people who actually log everything, in a way they can look back on and reflect on, and make changes based on what they see.

    I like the reasons why outlined in this article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristin-kirkpatrick-ms-rd-ld/how-writing-everything-do_b_780535.html

    edited to add: it takes me maybe 5 minutes per meal to log if there are multiple items, and 1 minute to log a snack. That's under 20 minutes a day. not long at all.

    I also think a big part of it is... just experience. I have been doing this for a long time. I know about the amount of calories I need, and how much food I can consume on average. If i stall out for about a month or 2 i'd go back to logging to see where i stand, then make adjustments as necessary.

    absolutely, but as you said you logged for a year before you stopped doing it regularly right? that's very different than someone who is just starting to pay more attention to changing their habits.
  • McDougal416
    McDougal416 Posts: 74 Member
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    [/quote]. I start my day off at 7am with my son, sometimes stay up all day, go to work at 7pm, and not get off work until 7am.
    [/quote]

    This might be your problem..I've noticed w/my weight that if I don't get AT LEAST 7hrs of sleep..I don't lose weight. If I get the 7-9hrs of sleep my body "really" needs (not what I feel good at, sometimes I feel good w/just 5 or 6hrs), I can drop weight..if I don't get the sleep..I stay steady or even gain! Might want to try that and see how that works for ya..
  • McDougal416
    McDougal416 Posts: 74 Member
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    Also..have you tried maybe getting a FitBit? I got one around Mother's Day and it is AWESOME! It tracks how much you are really burning, it syncs w/MFP and give you a little better idea of how many cal's you are burning..
  • dmeyrich89
    dmeyrich89 Posts: 21
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    I have used Advocare before and it works great as long as you are eating enough and working out (as with all supps). It takes longer than 8 days to see results. first you have to let the supps get into your system and start working then lose the water weight.
    I lost 30 lbs in 5 months using Advocare and working out for an hour 3-5 days a week. I did weight training and cardio. I was in my best shape and when I stopped using Advocare, I also stopped working out, I gained 10lbs back. it is semi expensive but with all supps it will get expensive.

    Don't give up and keep with it. The 24 day challenge is rough but I have seen amazing results on it!!!!

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