Friday, May 30, 2014

Recap: Advocare 24 Day Challenge

So the end of the Advocare 24 Day Challenge has come and gone now, and safe to say this is not the post that I thought I would be writing. 

At the end of the Cleanse Phase I was doing great and going strong! I saw losses in both weight and inches. I was also feeling good being back to clean eating. I had missed being "stricter" with my food choices. My body responds and feels so much better when being fueled with good for me foods vs. too many burgers and fries (delicious in their own right, and I will never ever fully give up!).

Then with a little over a week to go I was struck with some sort of allergic reaction. I am not allergic to ANYTHING, except bee stings. No known allergies. It is kind of a running joke about how awful I can be when it comes to my skin (like wearing make up to bed on oh a daily basis and never moisturizing) yet as my sister proclaims have freakishly soft hands and smooth skin and it's clear. So when this random rash breaks out and is spreading (while on vaca in MIAMI nonetheless) I was in slight panic mode. Talking legs, arm, foot, back...these tiny red rash bumps. 

Note - also do not WebMD "itchy red rash that is spreading" you will NOT like the results. Trust me. 

The only thing I could do was to stop with supplements (per doctors orders) and wait it out until I got home and to the doctor. That meant no more catalyst and MNS effectively stopping with the challenge. 

Definitely a bummer. So now I am on steroids until next week (instant relief!) and then can think about reintroducing myself to the products. 

I am not weighing myself or taking measurements at the moment. I weighed myself the day back from vacation pre-steroids and was down below the 10 day mark. But I know I am retaining water right now and any results will not be true. 

But I will recap some thoughts about the experience regardless if finished completely or not!

  • If you are Type A like me, then this is definitely good. The guidelines are clear I didn't find a lot of gray area - cut and dry what to eliminate from diet and what to eat. Very easy to plan.
  • On the flip side, the supplements - also if like me you have a crazy busy day. I definitely on more than one occasion got swamped at work and would forget the one prior to lunch. I did the best I could.
  • My stomach had a REALLY tough time with the supplements in the morning. Like really tough. On a few occasions I worked out after them and once almost had to excuse myself from Flywheel class because I thought I was going to puke. Not fun.
  • Not sure if it was the combo or what but a couple times the Spark + Catalyst before working out made me feel funny while running. I drink a TON of coffee normally so not caffeine sensitive.  
  • I'm also not sure if I totally believe in them. I have never been big on supplements in general (or vitamins - minus I am deficient in a lot and should take them...oops). I'm torn. I bought more MNS towards then middle of the max phase...and I do plan to hop back on the max phase when I can and then see if I can alter the timing and see how I feel. I also bought O2Gold to try out. We shall see the jury is still out in my mind. 
  • I do however LOVE the Spark. Fruit punch is delicious I will be continuing that. 
  • I have now given up my splenda addiction! Good bye to those little yellow packets. None for me in my coffee.
  • I also haven't had a diet soda since I started. Another great habit to break. I don't even think about it much. 
  • I was really good about eating clean and not cheating. However, I did drink some alcohol. I confessed that during my Cleanse recap and when I was in Miami I had 4 drinks over the long weekend. Sorry, totally NOT sorry. One. Bit. 
  • Good food choices are second nature yet again. I have been to countless happy hours and been around a multitude of candy jars without flinching. Willpower reengaged. 
  • Totally noticing a difference in my running. While my stomach is far from perfect (I had a GOD AWFUL Brooklyn Half Marathon I haven't recapped - 6 bathroom stops) I am getting better. I am giving it time and hoping that if I continue to feed myself well that it responds positively. 
So I think that is the most of it. Overall the 24DC was a positive experience - I am so happy that Becky included me. It helped me jump start back into a healthier lifestyle. I love a challenge - when I am given something I do not like to fail. I am pretty good at self accountability. 

I plan on updating when I start back again on the Max Phase! Don't count me out. I want to "redo" it and have a good results recap for you all. 


So there you have it. Any questions or comments let me know! 



12 comments:

  1. What did your rash look like? I completed the Cleanse phase with no issues. I started the Max phase and have experience nausea and just noticed (I'm on day 5) that I have broken out in an irrating zit like rash all over my back, neck, torso and shoulder. It's only being irritated more now, because of the cold weather my my obsession with comfy, warm clothes.

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  2. I, too, have a terrible rash on my back and shoulders. It is so itchy and driving me nuts. I have flair ups of eczema and thought it was that, but this rash started with the mns phase. I think I'll stop with the mns pills. What's in them that does this?

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    1. its the niacin. I've read lots of reviews and then googled it. I broke out in hives all over my legs and the only thing that would be different was taking advocare

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  3. I got red bumps/rash on arms legs chest during MNS phase

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  4. I too, got the rash starting on my upper back, then to the back of my arms, and now over my entire upper arms and beginning on my torso. How should I treat this?

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    1. I never knew whether to attribute it to any Advocare products or not it could have just been bad timing. I just had an allergic reaction to something unidentified. I did stop with all their products though.

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  5. I recently started taking Advocare Spark and have noticed I break out pretty severely in a hives like pattern that is insanely itchy. It appears on shoulders, moves to mid back, then spreads to legs, feet and behind. I have since stopped taking Advocare Spark and will find another supplement to replace it. I take MusclePharm's preworkout Assault and have no issues with that so guess I will have to stick with that.

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    1. I know it definitely wasn't the spark for me since I still drink it occasionally and am fine. I never learned what to attribute my reaction to.

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    2. I too recently started the Advocate 24 day challenge and completed the cleanse phase without any difficulty. Upon starting the MAX phase of the program, I broke out in a red rash over my face, neck and chest area. I called customer care support and was advised to stop the MAX phase(of which I already had). My 100% money back guarantee involves me paying to have the products shipped back. What a JOKE this company is, sorry to say!! I sure hope the rash and itching goes away or more of my money is out the door to cover doctor bills.

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    3. The rash is most likely from the Niacin, called "Niacin flush:". The Spark contains it, as well as the MNS packets. I just started the 24 day challenge and read reviews before starting, and I've seen alot of complaints about rash. Being in the medical field, I went back home that day and read about every pill and supplement. So far, I do not have an issue with the Spark, but I think anyone that moves on to the Max Phase and continues the Spark and begins the MNS, would have this problem. I will not be doing the MNS packets when I get to that point.

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  6. Just like most of the respondants I had a great cleanse experience and still love my spark however, the max phase brought on a terrible case of hives (palms of hands, down my throat) that required an out patient visit to a walkin on vacation in Florida for a shot followed by 10 days of prednisone. It was definitely the advocare, I will continue with spark only. As for the person who was pleased a out giving up her splenda, I believe spark contains the same or like ingredient.

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