AdvoCare challenge spurs Baldwin secretary’s 80-lb. weight loss

HER STORY

Brown says she was never skinny, but after high school when she started driving more and walking less, she started putting on weight. Through a few diets, she lost 30 pounds, but a car accident laid her up for a while and she gained all the weight back.

In 2015, Brown became interested in AdvoCare, a nutritional supplement and weight management company, through a Facebook friend in Texas who was regularly posting photos of her weight loss. When the friend called and encouraged her to join a 24-day nationwide AdvoCare challenge, Brown signed up.

She says that for the first 10 days, she was on an herbal cleanse besides eating healthy meals. The next 14 days involved a daily regimen of nutritional supplements, a meal-replacement shake, and AdvoCare-suggested meals. Brown lost 10 pounds and seven inches in the challenge. “I said, ‘I can do this’ and I kept going. Here I am today, down 80 pounds and 27 inches.”

Brown enjoys what she calls non-scale victories. “When my best friend’s son hugged me, he said his hands used to not touch each other and now they do. When I got out of the shower at a hotel recently, the towel wrapped fully around me. I’ve even gone down two ring sizes,” said Brown. She added, “I’ve gained a lot of muscle from weight training and look forward to taking my fitness to the next level. I love my new lifestyle.” Brown says she wants to lose another 30 to 40 pounds.

HER DIET

Brown has a meal-replacement shake for breakfast. Lunch can be scrambled egg whites and green peppers on a piece of multigrain toast and a clementine. Dinner is often grilled chicken, string beans and brown rice. She snacks on almonds and cashews midmorning and a protein bar for an afternoon lift before the gym. She tries to not eat after dinner, but if hungry, she may have a 60-calorie pouch of Dole’s dark-chocolate-covered frozen strawberries.

HER EXERCISE

Five to six days a week, Brown goes to a gym and warms up with 15 minutes on the elliptical and then one hour of weight training. She wraps up with 15 minutes of cardio on the step machine.

HER ADVICE

“It’s not about the weight you lose, it’s about the life you gain. This [experience] made me find my calling. I’ve become a health and wellness coach for AdvoCare.”