We're ALL IN.... again!

I've been involved with AdvoCare for over 3 years and still get excited about every cleanse/challenge I do. In 2015, over 70,000 people started the 24 Day Challenge together.  This year, over 128,000 jumped in to start the year off on the best foot. Clay and I are two of them!

2015 was a crazy year for us with selling our house quickly and moving to a temporary place, designing and building a house, moving again and of course, having a baby. Needless to say, it was often tough to focus on ourselves, so we're ready to take back control and get off this fluff!

I decided to do something a little different when we began planning our challenges- I am going to blog through it in addition to using my Instagram account.

Clay is doing the regular challenge with no modifications. He did add on ThermoPlus and Crave Check.

Since I am breastfeeding, I elected to change up the products I use to ensure Riley is safe and put together a program that's similar to the challenge. I will be using the peaches n cream Fiber Drink, Probiotic Restore Ultra, OmegaPlex, Spsrk, meal replacement shakes, Catalyst and Muscle Gain. I will also use the Post Workout Recovery.

I put together our meal plans and spent an hour or so prepping on Sunday. I like to chop veggies once, put together salads in mason jars and bag dinners to make things easier and prevent excuses.

Clay has eggs and reduced sodium turkey bacon every morning, and grilled chicken and green beans/blackeye peas every day, even off the challenge. I make them and put them in bowls to grab and go every week.

I also build mason jar salads.  Put dressing on the bottom if you want, softer veggies (bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers) next, then harder veggies (carrots, onions). Top with protein and then add your greens. These hold for 5 days or so if in mason jars and make life so much easier. Just shake it up to coat with dressing and you can even eat from the jar!

I seasoned the pork chops and put them in a bag. We were having boiled cabbage with it, so I chopped it and put it in its own bag.

Clay is having cheesesteak (with no cheese. Ha) one night, so I browned the beef and put it in a bag with sliced onions and green bell pepper after it cooled.  I can pour the bag in the skillet when it's time to cook and only have to clean one dish.

I also put together overnight oats in mason jars - just the dry ingredients: steel cut oats, flavor god gingerbread cookie, cinnamon, vanilla Muscle Gain, flaxseed. I only made three because some mornings, I'll have a shake. I'll add unsweetened almond milk to a jar the day before I plan to eat it. Prep only requires a good shake and about a minute in the microwave. Another eat from the jar meal!

I cut bell peppers into strip and bagged them, as well as carrot sticks. Snack size bags are perfect and being portioned makes it easy to eat while I'm nursing. I also bagged frozen mixed berries, spinach and chopped radishes to mix with Muscle Gain and almond milk for smoothies.

I am a firm believer in prepping for the challenge and beyond. I started this a few years ago and have done it almost weekly since. With the busyness of life, it's easy to find excuses to eat for convenience instead of health, but when I do, I feel TERRIBLE. Plus I mean, who wants to wash dishes daily? This helps eliminate some of the chores that come with cooking, and I'm all for that!