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How cool is that!  All you do is go to http://www.wordle.net enter in any text you want and walla! a cool word pic, play with it! SOOOOO fun

Advocare Update

I have not been able to update this for a while due to our awesome internet connection!  Sorry!  I have had a lot of questions about the diet and workout program I have followed.  Here is the information and tips that I have done for the last 8 months! 

I started in June with the Advocare 24 day challenge and was very strict about following the eating guidlines.  I didn't eat any dairy other than the plain greek yogurt that is allowed, I also had no sugar and flour for the first two months.  I started working out three times a week for at least 20 minutes in July and when I added flour back in it was only whole wheat, almond, or oat flour!  NO WHITE FLOUR OR WHITE SUGAR!  I also used agave as a sweetener or Stevia.  (yes i know about the debate on agave and how it contains high fructose sugar, i still like it in moderation since it doesn't spike bloode sugar levels)  I have a page on Pinterest that I have saved the recipes I have made and liked and one with recipes to try.  I will share those below.  For the Advocare Recipes page remember I have not made these or changed ingredients to make sure they coform to Advocare. 

After 4.5 months I lost 13 pounds, and went from a tight size 6 to a loose size 4.  I started at 130 lbs and got down to 117.  I was not extremely overweight to begin with but am ecstatic with the results.  I am not only smaller than I ever remember being but I feel wonderful and the cravings have subsided!

After October I travelled a lot and with the Holidays around I tried to stay on my diet 80-90% of the time, I also lacked in the workout dept! The good news is I stayed around 120 and have gotten back on track. 

TIPS:

make salads ahead of time in mason jars (see previous post on this)
plan!  always have nuts on hand and celery or carrot sticks to munch on
have hard boiled eggs in fridge always
make a few protein balls to put in freezer for when you have a sweet tooth! (I like the cookie dough balls and date sweetened chocolate coconut balls)
Drink a lot of water
keep some lime, lemon, or orange slices in freezer to add flavor to water when it gets boring!
When you want a side dish make brown rice or quinoa
Make oatmeal in jar like salads so on the mornings you are in a hurry it is ready!
Use plain greek yogurt as sour cream, and in baking and for making cream sauces
if you drink milk make it 1% and limit it
Use plain unsweetened almond milk in recipes


http://pinterest.com/kdinalaska/advocare-recipes-i-have-made-and-like/

http://pinterest.com/kdinalaska/advocare-recipes/

please feel free to ask questions :)

March 2012

May 2012

June after first 24 day challenge

August 2012 after maintaining eating clean and working out

with my stud dad that started Advocare in Jan 2012 and looks amazing

 

Wine Cork Letter

Made this for a friend for her birthday. was super easy, I just hot glued the corks together and glued some wood scraps to the back to make it sturdy.  Also used the trick I saw on pinterest and used coke tabs as the hangers.

Summer Wildlife

Here are just a few pics of the wildlife we have been enjoying this summer

my husband and his first king of the season

there were so many ducks and babies to watch the kids and I spent a lot of time on the dock at mom and dad's watching them

Dad's Retirement Party

My father retired in June and we had a little pig roast for him.  I used a lot of ideas I found on pinterest.

made this cakepop try and made carrot cake pops

I set up a photo booth

had a table to write memories down at with old pics hung up above it

made the signs for the pig roast

used the new glitter vinyl from expressions vinyl

made airplane cake pops (dad is a pilot and retired from faa)

used dad's helmet for some fun pics

Recovering Old Chairs

Ever since I can remember my grandma has been sewing.  She has made us outfits that we have designed, fur hats, recovered furniture, prom dresses, and wedding dresses.  So when she came to visit in June I had a project ready for her.  I had bought 3 old chairs at garage sales and picked out a fun piece of material.  She finished all three of them in 3 days.  It was cool that she could do this for me, but it meant a lot more than getting a few new chairs.  I will always have the memory of her sitting at the table sewing the covers and helping me add color to the living room.  She is an amazing woman and I am so proud and lucky to have her as my grandma!

my grandma finishing the last section of the chair pad

I will always remember these hands sewing everything from chair cushions, to fur hats, to wedding dresses

I wanted to capture this because it brings back so many memories

I bought two of these for $45 at a garage sale

I bought this one for $10 at a garage sale

I think it turned out pretty cute

This one is my favorite, I can't wait to put them in my living room

Advocare Challenge and recipes

I have completed the 24 day challenge that I began the beginning of June and am proud to say have stuck with the healthy eating and working out since then.  I lost a total of 6 pounds, and am thrilled.  I went from a tight size six to a loose size 4!  I am positive that if I hadn't had two babies in the last 3.5 years and gained 50lbs with both of them, I would have a flat stomach right now.  So now my goal is to maintain this weight and tone up!

So here are my tips and what I did.  Once again, I AM NOT an advocare rep, I am just sharing what I did and some of the recipes I have found that we (my family) use to stick close to the advocare program.

Continue to drink a lot of water, do not drink coffee or alcohol.  I did 'cheat' two days of the 14 days because one was my dad's birthday and a week later was my mom's.  I had one cake pop for my dad's bday and I had a skewer with strawberries and 3 small pieces of angel food cake for my mom's bday.  I had a hard time with the burn days and honestly didn't do three in a row, I ate fruit when I wanted to because we had some fresh pineapple and raspberries.  I know you aren't supposed to but I did and I am still happy with my results.  I worked out a lot more the last half of the challenge and have kept that up also.

** Update as of August 8: I have lost 9 lbs and feel wonderful!

Below are some of the recipes that we like!

Quinoa Black Bean Burgers ( these are a favorite) click on link for original recipe

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 C dry quinoa
1/4 C ww bread crumbs *  This is half the amount original calls for
1 egg * I added to help hold them together
1 tsp chili powder * I don't measure just sprinkle it in and more than a tsp
1/2 tsp cumin * use lots more I love cumin
1 Tblsp tomato paste
2 cloves garlic minced
some onion powder * I hate onions so I didn't add real ones just put in some powder

2 Tblsp honey mustard
2 Tblsp Canola Mayo

cook quinoa in a cup of water, mix all ingredients together well, form patties and cook in a little olive oil for 5 min each side.  These rock served with a little of the dip and some avocado on top!  I serve them to the kids with a side of sweet potato fries.

The best recipe so far for curing the sweet tooth has to be the raw cookie dough bites!  I don't like walnuts so I added more oats and no walnuts to these.

Another fav cookie is the peanut butter cookie:

1 C Peanut Butter

1 egg

3/4 C stevia

** water or coconut oil next time to combat dryness

These are awesome, I used my pampered chef scoop that is 2 tsp big and it made 26, they came out to 71 cal a cookie.  I also put one choc chip on top of them for the kids.  so mix together, drop on cookie sheet, press down lightly with damp fork, and bake at 350 for roughly 10 min.  Next time gonna add some water or coconut oil as they were a little dry...

Ok, and I love the Vanilla Meal Replacement Shake Pancakes!

Just mix in a blender one packet of vanilla replacement shake, 2 eggs and 1 banana.  Pour onto hot griddle and eat.  I sometimes sprinkle a little stevia on top, but don't need to!  you can sub applesauce for the banana!