Days 4-6 The Cleanse

Days 4-6 of the Rest of My Life

My Journey through the 24-day Challenge

(Or, Why am I Doing This Crazy Thing?)

The Cleanse

The Cleanse Phase of the 24-Day Challenge has been a good experience. I've wanted to do a cleanse for a long time and I feel like I'm doing something healthy for myself.

The 3 stages of the cleanse are clearly explained in the packet instructions, but I'm going to keep it simple and show you what an average day on the cleanse looks like, for me at least:

Wake up - take PrioBiotic Restore pills, sip on Spark
Breakfast - eggs, oatmeal, or a meal replacement shake
Mid-morning snack - a piece of fruit and some almonds
Lunch - lean protein, a complex carb, and at least 2 fresh fruit and/or veggies
Mid-afternoon snack - fruit and/or veggie with almond butter or a small portion of lean protein
Dinner - take OmegaPlex supplement; eat lean protein (typically fish), steamed veggies, fruit or a small amount of complex carbs
Before bed - take Hearbal Cleanse pills

All in all, it's a pretty healthy diet.  Combined with the Omega 3 supplements and the various pills to clean out the system, it's a win-win.  I've felt relatively normal, for the most part.  At times, I've had lots of energy with a spring in my step. When I feel myself dragging, I usually realize I haven't had enough water or I'm late eating my snack.

As far as the elimination process goes (I know you're wondering!), it's not a big deal.  I probably wouldn't choose to be on a long flight or attend a 6-hour seminar and sit in the middle of a long row, but otherwise it's all good.

I know this was pretty general, so I'd be happy to answer any specific questions. Or, you can find more information on www.teamdestinyusa.com.  You'll see the 24-Day Challenge section on the scrollbar on the left-hand side.
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Coming up:
The Confession, Part 3 (conclusion)
The Surprising Announcement

Day 3 - The Confession, Part 2

Day 2 of the Rest of My Life

My Journey through the 24-day Challenge

(Or, Why am I Doing This Crazy Thing?)

The Confession, Part 2

Before I say what's changed in the last two weeks, I should mention some things I've tried in order to be the patient Mommy I want to be.

- No more calling my kids "high maintenance". Even thinking it steered me in the wrong direction.
- No cokes or tea in the morning. Forget coffee. The crash in the afternoon just wasn't worth it.
- No more chocolate after dinner.  An hour later it made me agitated.
- Better sleep. I tried, but this one was very hard.
- Prayer.

All these things helped, but at the end of the day I was still in over my head.

Two weeks ago Duane came home with an energy drink, Spark. I wasn't interested. But when he told me it was different--productive energy and better mental focus without the crash and burn--I figured it was worth a try...
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For those who want to know more about the challenge itself, Day 4 should answer some of your questions.  Thanks for reading!!!

Day 2 - The Confession

Day 2 of the Rest of My Life
My Journey through the 24-day Challenge
(Or, Why am I Doing This Crazy Thing?)

The Confession


I have a terrible temper. When I'm really mad, I even throw things.
There, I've said it.

Very few people know this about me, even close friends. In fact, those who know me personally often comment on my calm and patient demeanor. The true story is that I have a pretty long fuse, but when I get to the end of it, the result can be sudden and explosive.

Lately with Duane gone so much of the time, I've struggled to keep things together at home with our four children. In the evenings when we're all tired and cranky, I've had more blow ups than ever.* The harsh words ring in my ears and my heart hurts to see the kids turn around and explode at one another, domino style. My frustration with the children has only been surpassed by the sadness I feel when I go to the mirror and look myself in the eye...

In tears, I cried out to God to help me.  That was 2 weeks ago...



*No children were harmed in the making of this blog.
I feel I should be clear that I have never thrown anything at my children (or anyone else) or become physically or emotionally abusive towards them in any way. While my anger is definitely ugly, it's not mean or violent.

Day 1 of the Rest of My Life - The Beginning

My Journey through the 24-Day Challenge (Or, Why Am I Doing this Crazy Thing?)

Day 1
The Beginning

First of all, I have to say that the idea of writing my thoughts for all to see is a bit daunting.  Not because I haven't done it before; to put words down and send them out isn't really all that hard. We do it on Facebook all the time. My momentary pause is due to my intention to really put it all out there with stark honesty... to share from the soul and let the chips fall where they may. Why would I do this? There's a story on my heart to  share with the world.  Because if we don't really "go there" and say things that matter, what's the use?

What does this have to do with the Advocare 24 Day Challenge?  In a word... everything. But more about the story soon. If I spill it all now, the children might burn the house down as they wait in anxious boredom for their dinner...

For now, I want to share about Day 1.

Day 1 is the first day of the 10-day Cleansing Stage, which cleans out your system.  Kind of like Spring Cleaning  for the body.

I've always thought that an herbal cleanse was scary, and well... messy.  But I've been assured it's neither, and so far that's true.  Today has been fairly easy and painless, and I've had plenty of energy to do my life today, including working out.

In a nutshell, today I've had:
A fiber drink, a lot of fruit and vegetables, nuts, a meal replacement shake, and fish.  Along with that, I took some pills and drank my favorite new drink, Spark. (It's part of the story.)  The first several days will look at lot like this.

So, back to the story of why I'm doing this.  It's a story about love, family, and tension. There are overtones of joy, sadness and surprise, mingled with some searching and a bit of anger.  But mostly, it's just a story about life, and what God is whispering about meaning and purpose.

It's about a journey...