February was our 1 year "Advo-versary" and I felt like I wanted to really share my true story about how AdvoCare has change our lives....ENJOY! :)
In February of 2013 I came to a point that I was just
tired. Literally and figuratively, I was
tired. I was literally tired because I
was the mother of a newborn and a 2 ½ year old.
I was up during the night with feedings and running around during the
day after a toddler. I had no energy to
put into my relationship with my husband and friends. I had no idea how I was going to function
when I had to go back to work after my maternity leave to my job in the Office
of Admission at Wichita State. In the
figurative sense, I was tired because I had spent my entire (I am not kidding,
ENTIRE) life comparing myself to others and judging myself and how I viewed
myself in regard to what I thought other people thought of me. My friends, those were all negative thoughts
too. I was concerned and consumed in so
much negativity and much of it was self-inflicted because I let other people determine
how I felt about myself.
So…what happened?
After weeks of pushing off and giving excuses, I “caved” and accepted an
invitation to an AdvoCare mixer at my best friend, Jenna’s, house. I still tried to make excuses leading up to
the very day of the mixer to myself, we had double booked ourselves and committed
to going to a birthday party that same
afternoon and had to leave the party early to go to the mixer. In my head, I was thinking, “It’s okay if we miss
it…I will just tell Jenna we had to stay at the party.” (She doesn’t know that
story – sorry Jenna!) What happened
though is there was something inside me that knew I told her I was going to be
there, so we needed to go. With much
reluctance, I told Keith we needed to leave the party (he wasn’t all too
excited about going to the mixer either), and head to Jenna’s.
If I remember right, we got there just in time and when I
walked through the door, I felt instant shame…I just had a baby over a month
ago and I was ashamed of how I looked because I was meeting so many new people
(I had felt that way walking into the birthday party too). I tried my best to put on my “happy face” and
introduce myself and try and make small talk while trying to forget how
uncomfortable I truly felt inside. I sat
there and sipped on my Spark as I listened to the stories and saw my best
friend and the excitement she felt and I could see inside of her for these
products, this company and this opportunity.
I began to feel excited…to feel hope, which is something I had not felt
in a LONG time. I kinda pushed that
feeling away though and thought to myself, “I am happy for her, but it’s not
for me.”
So, let’s fast forward just a bit to later on that night…I
had my Spark when I was at Jenna’s in the afternoon and we went home and I
noticed an incredible amount of energy and it was great, but again…I pushed
back the thought of excitement, I was just too used to not getting my hopes up
(and looking back – I literally shake my head at the amount of negativity I had
in my life!). The game changer came in
the middle of the night when McKinley woke up and needed to me
changed/fed. I was still tired (there is
nothing that can replace sleep people, come on!), but for the first time in
over a month, my mind was awake in
the middle of the night! I was present and aware…not groggy and could not focus! So…the next day…I told Keith, “I want to sign
up for that discount and I want to get that Spark stuff!” We did just that. We signed up for the discount and we got our
distributor kit in the mail that week and we enjoyed our Spark (and stopped our
crazy pop habit – Keith was up to almost 2- 2 liters of Mountain Dew a DAY and
I would drink at least 5-6 cans of Diet Dr. Pepper every day).
We will fast forward again a couple weeks…Keith and I were
loving Spark and we (okay…I say we and I mean me and Keith was dragging his
heels but trying to be supportive) decided to really make a change…we were both
sick of feeling to dragged down and tired of being overweight and unhappy with
our appearance (that really is true, Keith just wasn’t sure he was on board
with this next part ;)). So…we decided
to do a 24 Day Challenge. We knew we
loved Spark and since we got the discount, we decided to go ahead and “give it
a try”. So, we ordered everything and
decided to start March 1, 2013.
During the next 24 days an amazing thing happened…something
I thought was just not possible anymore…I started to feel HOPE. I dropped 9 lbs during our challenge and over
13 inches…KEITH lost over 20 lbs and went from a size 42/44 to a 38!!! We stayed on the products and to date we have
lost a total of over 70 lbs and I have gone from a size 16 fitting tight to a
size 10 pants and from a tight Large to a Medium shirt size, and Keith has gone
down another pant size and is a size 36 in pants and from a tight 2XL shirt to
a loose XL. I have gotten to a point where I FEEL good and I don't have to ask Keith 1,000 times before we go out, "Do I look okay?" and need reassuring compliments from him (don't get me wrong, they are still nice) - this momma has confidence! Confidence is something I NEVER have had (no, never, ever...it will be hard maybe for people to believe, but I have been a good "faker" for most of my life), and it is an INCREDIBLE feeling to finally feel it and for it to be REAL!
There was a bigger change that happened in our lives during
2013 as well. We moved from our home of
Wichita, KS to Cedar Falls, IA for Keith’s job.
It’s a great job and a great place, we have met so many amazing,
wonderful people…but we are 500 miles away from family and friends that we miss
very much. However, of course to move, I
had to quit my job at WSU. We were able
to make a transition when we moved here for me to take a couple months off to “settle”
our little family and such, but the time came in the summer of 2013 that it was
time for me to start looking for a job…that time came right as we were getting
ready to leave for what is called AdvoCare Success School in Dallas, TX. I had no idea what it was or what to prepare for;
Jenna just told me I HAD to be there.
So, Grandma and Grandpa Hansen came to Iowa to watch the grandkids and
Keith and I packed up and made the 14 hour drive to Dallas from Cedar
Falls. What happened was AMAZING! We were filled with hope and excitement of
what our lives could be and what this opportunity of AdvoCare could truly bring
our family. It was MORE than vitamins
and supplements to help us FEEL great, but we could help others feel great AND
provide financially for our family! We
spent almost the ENTIRE way home from Texas talking about our dreams and hopes
for our family (something that we had NEVER done before). Who we could help, how we could help, it was
AMAZING! We had felt and seen the change
that AdvoCare had provided for our bodies and all of a sudden it was like we
could SEE what AdvoCare could provide for our ENTIRE lives!
We began to share with intention and purpose, we don’t spend
all of our time talking to people about AdvoCare, but we do talk about it a lot
(which I am sure you can all attest to, you see all my posts!:)). We talk about it because it is truly amazing
and is such an incredible tool to provide true solutions for people’s lives!
I want to be very clear about something too…the products and
this opportunity HAVE truly changed our lives but it’s not because of the
products why we have changed. Don’t take
that the wrong way…what I mean is that yes, our physical appearances have
changed (and that IS because of the products – they work!), but it’s our hearts
that have changed, our mindsets and our dreams.
We have allowed ourselves to start believing, start dreaming, start
setting goals and attaining them! We
have realized and seen how God can use us and the tool of AdvoCare to help not
only our family but other families as well to truly change the world. Not just our world, the ENTIRE world. It sounds crazy to some people, I know…but I
believe it! There are limitless
possibilities as to what God can provide and I know that when we do all of this
and have servant hearts, and we do it FOR HIM and in HIS name, it will bring us
closer to Him and provide amazing blessing for our family. THAT is what had changed us and that is what
our team stands for and I am so incredibly blessed every day to know that we
have some AMAZING people in our lives thanks to the blessings of AdvoCare.
I am so very excited to keep going on this incredible
journey and if you want to know how to get involved, let me know! We are here, we are ready and we are
EXCITED!!!!
Have a blessed day friends!!!
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