I'll start at the beginning. I was introduced to AdvoCare in August 2010 when my husband came home after a long day of football practice (he is a coach) and told me that he wanted to start taking AND selling AdvoCare products. He is in the sports industry and so AdvoCare was nothing new to him. He knew what it was, he had watched many people take and love the products and he personally knew people who were making money with their AdvoCare business.
But I was not as versed in AdvoCare and quite honestly, I was very skeptical. First, I have never understood "diet pills", which is what I initially thought AdvoCare was. (Side note: I was completely wrong and AdvoCare is not "diet pills").
Second, I thought that in order to make any real money in this business, it needed to be a full-time job (I later found out that this was also a wrong assumption). I already work full-time and I'm a mom of two busy toddlers and I didn't think I had the time to devote to it. My husband was also smack in the middle of football season and I just didn't see where we had any room in our schedule for anything else.
Third, I had never tried AdvoCare and didn't know how awesome it was. My second child was only 5 months old and I was still nursing her, so even though I really (REALLY) needed more energy, needed to lose weight and wanted to feel better, I was afraid to take anything for fear it might make my milk dry up or hurt my daughter in some way. (Again, I would later find out that this was just a fear of the unknown and that my thoughts couldn't be farther from the truth.)
Still, my husband was very confident that this was the right thing for our family. I prayed about it and I eventually decided that I love my husband so much and I have so much trust and faith in him to be the leader of our family and I knew he wouldn't lead us down the wrong path. And just like that, I left all my skepticism and fears behind me and we started our AdvoCare business.
We bought in at a 30% discount level and worked our way to Advisor in just 2 pay periods. By the time we received our first shipment, I had already found out that many of the AdvoCare products were 100% safe for pregnant and nursing mothers. So the first thing I did was open a box of Spark and took one to see what all the hype was about. All I can say is, "WOW"! After that first Spark, I got really excited about AdvoCare!
I loved Spark so much and started doing research on all the other products. I even took everything in to my doctor's office and had her review all of the ingredients and give me her opinion. She gave me her blessing on everything, but I needed to hold off on a couple of the products until I was done nursing (mainly the cleanse and MNS, two of the main components of the 24 day challenge).
So, between August 2010 and March 2011, I took Spark and Catalyst on a regular basis and was just chomping at the bits to do my own 24 day challenge. We experienced great success in selling our products and it was very easy. A lot of people already knew and loved AdvoCare and came to us because they knew we sold it. Others saw the results my husband had on his 24 day challenge (he lost about 20 pounds) and they wanted to know how he did it. All in all, it wasn't nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be and we had (have) so much support and help from our team that the time commitment and my lack of knowledge was never an issue like I originally thought.
During this time, I had seen so many of our customers and my husband himself transform right before my very eyes with the 24 day challenge. I had always known that losing weight is a very simple formula: eat less and move more. However, what I learned is that eating less is hard to do (for some impossible) when your body is craving sugar and carbs because you haven't given it the proper nutrition it needs. Moving more is also hard to do when you are run down and have no energy. That is where AdvoCare helps - its not a magic pill - but its pretty close :) There is a ton of information available about the science of AdvoCare and why it works, but since this is just supposed to be out my story, I'll spare all of those details for now.
Finally, it was my turn. March came and I had completed my 1 year commitment to nursing my daughter. On March 28, 2011, I started the 24 day challenge and kept a journal of how it went. Here are some exerpts from my journal:
Day 1: Not much to say except that I am very excited to get started. I went to the grocery store and did all of my measurements last night, so I am ready!
Day 4: Quick weight check showed that I was down 3.5 pounds. Taking the products has been very easy. Being 100% perfect on the eating plan has been less easy, but I've still been about 85% "on".
Day 8: Weight check showed that I was down an additional 2.5 pounds (6 total). Out of all the years I've been dieting, that is the most I've ever lost in one week - yay!
Day 11: Yesterday was the last day of the Cleanse. I am so happy with the results and I feel SO GOOD!!! I have much more energy, I feel lighter and look better. Before I took the Cleanse I was tired all of the time. I was just run down and felt blah. I would have to drag myself out of bed every morning and I dredded the work that lay ahead of me almost every day.
Over the last few days, I have woken up feeling refreshed and excited about the day. I still get sleepy at night, but I don't have that overwhelming sense of being tired all day long. I also FINALLY have the energy and desire to exercise. I started a running program called Couch to 5K and am so excited to have exercise be a part of my normal routine again. Overall, the Cleanse phase was a definite WIN!
Day 14: Weight check showed that I had not lost any additional weight (total still at 6 pounds). I am still happy, that is still 6 pounds in 2 weeks! I never understood the reason for this but EVERY time in my past experiences that I start working out, I would gain about 1 or 2 pounds right off the bat. A personal trainer friend of mine says that it is very common and the reason is because when you work out, your muscles break down and build back up. During that process, they retain a lot of water. Anyway, I feel that the scale probably would have shown a loss this week but since I started working out, it is neutral. I still feel great and my clothes are starting to fit better, so that is a better measure than the scale anyway.
Day 17: I ran out of MNS product today :( I thought I had more in stock, but I realized this morning that we are completely sold out. Eek!! Yes, I could easily order some more but I am choosing to hold off until next month. Why? Because at the end of the month, we are writing our very last check for my Student Loan and then we will be DEBT FREE! Can I say it again? We will be DEBT FREE!!! This is a goal we have wanted to achieve for such a long time, and now with the help of the income we are earning through AdvoCare, our dream is becoming a reality.
So, I will continue with my Spark, Meal Replacement Shakes and Catalyst but I will wait until next month to get more MNS. I am bummed because I know I won't be following the exact 24 day program, but I know I can always do it again.
Day 20: I gave up on the scale. With the amount of exercise I am doing, I just don't feel like it is a very good measure. I'll do a final weigh in on Day 24, but for now I am just going by the fact that I feel great and look great. I pulled a pair of capri's out of my pre-first-pregnancy box in the back of the closet and to my pleasant surprise, THEY FIT!
Day 24: Last day! My training is going so good. I am up to running 25 mintues straight with no walking. This is a hugh accomplishment for me because running has always been a challenge. I also weighed and took my measurements today - here are the results:
Weight: -5.00 pounds
Right Arm: -0.00 inches
Shoulders: -0.50 inches
Chest: -3.50 inches
Waist: -2.50 inches
Hips: -1.50 inches
Right Thigh: -2.00 inches
Right Calf: -0.25 inches
Total: -10.25 inches and 5 pounds!
Since the completion of my 24 day challenge, I have continued AdvoCare products and I continue to lose weight and feel great! I am now running 30 minutes straight (about 3 miles) without stopping and it feels wonderful. I am currently at my pre-pregnancy weight and my goal is to meet my final weight goal by Christmas 2011.
In September 2011, my husband and I decided to no longer just pursue AdvoCare as a hobby that brings in a little extra money, but as a true business with enough income to realize some of our life long dreams. We re-focused and have new momentum in our AdvoCare business Right now, we are working towards our Silver pin and are on track to be consistently earning $1,000 per month by Christmas 2011.
