I recently received an email of concern from a good friend of mine. He has been a reliable friend and a great resource throughout my weight loss journey. His concern was that I didn't get hooked on a "magic pill" to manage my weight. I am glad that this topic was brought up. I think he has a valid point. I don't want to mislead any of you into thinking that if you take the Advocare 24 Day Challenge that you will lose a ton of weight and keep it off for ever. It needs to be clear that the 24 Day Challenge is a TOOL for use in losing weight and succeeding with fitness and weight loss goals. The only true way to lose weight and maintain a healthy body is by changing your lifestyle!
If I lose a bunch of weight during the challenge, but then go out and eat fast food every day I will fail. There is no pill that I can take that will save me from horrible eating and health habits! I can not say it enough times - IT MUST BE A LIFESTYLE CHANGE!
A year ago when I was 70 pounds heavier than I am today, I had a whole different lifestyle. I didn't worry about what I ate or how much I ate. I was a guy that would heat up the leftover pizza for breakfast, have a few sodas, take a bunch of crackers and chips along with my lunch, or even worse drive through McDonald's for a Super-Sized Lunch. I remember many days that I would hold off eating as long as I could during the work day thinking that I was doing myself a favor. Then at 2 in the afternoon I would be so damn hungry that I would drive through Burger King or McDonald's and order twice as much as I would have at 11:30 or noon! I just didn't know how to change, I was trapped in a vicious cycle. I knew that I shouldn't eat so much crappy food, but I'd let myself get so hungry that I could no longer fight off the cravings. I'd give in, eat what I knew I shouldn't, and then feel guilty and depressed about it. I even remember days where I would take my own lunch, eat it during the morning and then eat a huge drive-through lunch late in the afternoon, and then come home to a wonderful home-cooked meal that my wife had prepared for us. Even if I wasn't hungry, I'd eat with her rather than admit that I had already eaten the lunch that I took to work as well as driven through McDonald's and eaten another entire meal!
Thank God that I made the decision to change! And to be honest, the hardest part was the decision to do something. That meant that I had to actually believe that I COULD do something about my weight and my lifestyle. Once I made that decision, I have never looked back. I have had plenty of ups and downs, but I have kept fighting and I am winning! I am not an expert, but I feel like there are a lot of things that I have learned along the way. I will try to share as much of my knowledge as I can with all of your over the next 24 days. If you find yourself in a similar situation as I was, please know that once you make the decision to change, the rest will fall into place! I would be happy to work with you to help you attain your goals. I would be happy to get you started on the 24 Day Challenge with me. But - if you are looking for a "magic pill", please look elsewhere. Like I've said, the 24 Day Challenge is a powerful tool to help you kick start your journey, or as in my case, smash through a frustrating plateau. But if you don't make the decision to change your lifestyle, you will lose out on the long term benefits.
Wishing you all health and happiness!
Michael
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