Lots to Drop

Day One is in the bag! 

I feel great and I'm so excited to see where this challenge will take me. Since moving to Florida I have been really focused on taking risks, joining things and putting myself out there. I haven't been quite as good at dropping my fears. Over the next 24 days I'm hoping to not only lose a few inches and pounds, but to drop some fears in favor of gaining some confidence and wisdom. 

Here goes nothing! 

The key to success is making sure you set yourself up to succeed. I have all my supplements arranged based on where I am likely to take them. Spark, meal replacement and phase two supplements in the pantry. Cleanse, catalyst, omegaplex and night recovery in a bathroom drawer. No excuses. Everything is right where I need to it to be! 

This fiber drink is what holds the whole cleanse together. The packaging suggests mixing it with 8 ounces of water, then following with one to two glasses of water. Let me tell you, this stuff is important and magical in its own right, but it is also nasty. I could never make myself drink 8 ounces of it! I add just enough to get all of it wet and moving around, then follow it quickly with two glasses of water. I know some people like to mix their morning Spark right into the fiber drink -- but I LOVE spark, why would I ruin it with the fiber? A friend of mine who  also started a cleanse today cleverly used her fiber packets to make some fiber muffins - genius! The fiber is what helps really scrub your system during the first 10 days. You drink the fiber for the first 3 and the last 3 days of the first 10 day phase. Then your body is ready to make to most out of all the great vitamins and nutrients you put into your body during the second phase. 

Like I said I throughly enjoy my morning Spark! 

Add to that a cup of berries 30 minutes post fiber drink and another bottle of water and this girl was set to hit up clinic meetings for the day. 

While I was at clinic I also had three hard boiled eggs for my mid-morning meal. AdvoCare suggests either three hard boiled eggs, oatmeal or fruit. I find the protein and fat in the eggs helps keep me satisfied until lunch. Especially on a day like today where lunch gets pushed back further than expected! Turns out having clients is more stressful than I imagined. I felt lost and confused today, but so grateful I started this challenge. 

All I wanted to do was drown me fears in chocolate. 

Which sounds fun, but ultimately would lead to me feeling worse about myself, not a good place for a clinician to be in. I need to be confident and poised. People are paying for my services and expertise, and they come to clinic expecting me to be completely available to them. In order to do that I need to continue to be my best self every day, and today that meant staying on track with this challenge. 

Ok this picture turned out pretty pitiful. The top was lunch, one and a half salmon burgers with spinach and sweet peppers. The bottom was what was left of my dinner once I remembered to snap a photo. Grilled chicken, asparagus and half a sweet potato. I was on the phone with a good friend catching up and before I knew it I had picked at nearly my whole dinner. And yes, I was sitting on my bedroom floor, eating dinner, talking on the phone and researching treatment ideas! I am becoming quite the multi-tasker! 

All in all today went well. It my rest day from training, so it was easier to focus on school and keeping my eating clean. Might need to eat a bit more tomorrow, considering I have a bike ride on the training menu. Luckily it is one of our "recovery" weeks, so the training load is a bit lighter than in recent weeks. Good place to be for focusing on nutrition and school. 

I had a lot more I wanted to share with you, but I spent too long editing pictures and chatting on the phone (totally worth it!). I have a bit more reading I want to get done tonight, I already have several meetings lined up for tomorrow and I want to be prepared for them. This graduate school thing is getting scarier by the minute, and it will quickly turn into a monster I can't control if I don't stay on top of it. I'm going to try to blog consistently during my 24 Day Challenge, but I apologize if I leave it on the back burner every now and then! 

For now I'll leave you with a few things I'm using for inspiration, because this self-improvement journey isn't just about dropping pounds or inches. Its about dropping negativity and bad behaviors. Its about re-energizing and focusing in on my goals.  

xoxo Sweat&Sparkle