"I knew it was time when I watched Rob try to put on an XL ski vest at Torch Lake, and he couldn't zip it. I thought, "ugh. that's not good....and I bet I couldn't do it up, either."
I lost weight pretty easily after G (my third child) was born, but it came back as I was breastfeeding, and I watched it continue to climb. I went back to curves, but it wasn't enough. I knew I needed to do something pretty drastic. My energy has been super low and I've been at 3-4 cups of coffee a day (with LOTS of creamer!) when my friend, Jess, who'd had her third a month before G was born started talking about how much energy spark gave her. She asked if anyone wanted to join her 24 day challenge with Advocare, and I was in."
I wrote this the first week of August. I'd met Jess through MOPS two years before and I'd watched her lose almost 50 pounds on Advocare nutritional products pretty quickly. I was jealous of how quickly she'd lost weight. I was fed up with me--I'd convinced myself that the size 18 I then fit into was temporary or that sizing had changed and my stomach muscle after baby 3 needed more time to bounce back.
Excuses. I knew it. I was desperate to do something and thought if I put more money into it this time, I might work harder at it. My husband wasn't happy about the money and at first told me honest to goodness, "Fine, waste your money if you want to, but don't cry when it doesn't work." Normally he's not that harsh, but that's how bad/frustrating weight had gotten for me and he knew it. Weight loss was always going to be a challenge for me, and we all knew that--heck, we'd watched me try and fail to stop the 80 pound weight gain I'd had in the 11 years we'd been married.
Let me back up. Things had gotten so bad for me in High school with my periods, bloating and cramping that I was having trouble going about my regular school schedule and I went to my family doctor begging for relief. She had told me was just being overweight and I should just get in shape. Things didn't get better, though I did try controlling it with the pill, which caused break outs, mood swings and a host of other issues. I felt miserable at least a full week out of every month.
After college, getting married, going to grad school and moving around a bit I found a new doctor I was FINALLY diagnosed in 2009 with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. For those who don't know, it is a form of insulin resistance that makes weight loss hard, makes it hard to get pregnant the first time, hormones are rarely under control (facial hair and depression--yay!) and did I mention it makes weight loss hard? Yes, they put me on Metformin, which helped with hormones and getting pregnant (surprise to us! 3 months after hearing we might NEVER get pregnant and might never really have my symptoms under control, I was pregnant and in my first year of a PhD program. Oh boy. And stress!) but the weight loss part? I was very careful how much I gained with my first, only gaining about 20 pounds and it came off. But I was still overweight. And then with my second, I was exercising and lifting hydraulic weights regularly and the weight didn't come right off...and then WOW. Surprise pregnancy with #3, finding out 15 months after my second. That weight? REFUSED to come off and stay off. it would come down, then bounce up. I was exercising, eating better, chasing a kindergartener and a toddler and feeding a new baby and...
I saw a weight on the scale that made me cry. Seriously, it was one I NEVER wanted to reach and my clothes were all still my maternity stuff and yoga pants when I wanted to be comfortable. I swore that I was not eating poorly, I was playing with my kids (though EXHAUSTED!) and it. wouldn't budge. I hated pictures, hated looking in the mirror, hated trying to buy clothes.
So I turned to my friend and said, "let's do this." It's easier doing it with someone you know.
And then a VERY bizarre thing happened. Christa called and was talking to me about it--I didn't know Christa, but Jess did, and she told me Christa had been doing this longer and would have advice. I thought the calls would stop. They didn't. And....those who know me, know that I'm NOT a phone person, especially with people I don't know. It was WEIRD at first. But I actually started looking forward to those calls because, well, within three days of starting the challenge, I woke up and heard:
Rob: no....
Me: What?
Rob: It can't be.
Me: What?
Rob: *sighs* you DO look like you've lost weight.
YEP. I didn't lose a ton of weight at first, but let me tell you, the inches started coming off! For the first time in YEARS, I felt like I was making positive progress and my efforts were paying off. I lost ELEVEN inches on my first challenge, and it became addictive. Christa kept calling to check in and tell me about other challenges coming up (28 to great and lean in 13 are other options with different supplement/variations), and then her friend Jaclyn called, and then our team lead, Ashton called and...
Pretty soon I realized that it wasn't just about weight loss--it was a lifestyle change that was really changing me--more water, less sugar/coffee, more veggies, less bread. Don't get me wrong--I struggled and still do with parts of it and forget trying to get my kids to eat veggies (well, I try!) but I had new recipes and new friends and new support groups that really DID hold me accountable and cheer when I made those little goals.
I'd say THAT'S why Advocare to anyone who asks--even for someone with insulin resistance like me who's had to FIGHT to lose every inch and pound, it's working. It's a lifestyle change, but it's not lonely. I've made more connections in this 7-8 month period than I'd made for probably 7 years prior to that. Advocare is similar to some of the other stuff out there in terms of supplements, but I have yet to find a group like my Advocare team that's encouraging, challenging, and so driving in my faith life, self care and in my health. I've seen my kids start slowly eating better, drinking more water...and Rob? well...he saw how much energy I was getting from Spark after I gave up coffee that he started sneaking some--and HE'S lost inches and often shares Advocare and how much it's changing my life and his even more than I share! (again, we're introverts and he more than me, so it's really funny to me how chatty he gets over spark!) I love the support system here, and I love how I can pay it forward--Jess, Jaclyn, and Christa have invested time and energy into me, and I have started getting to do that for others. I love coaching and helping problem solve--and I especially love doing challenges with others because, heck, we're all in this together!
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