28 Day Clean Eating Challenge

In the beginning of September, I took the plunge and decided to become an Arbonne Independent Consultant. After attending a Healthy Happy Hour event near me, I knew that Arbonne would be a great fit for me. I especially loved the opportunity for growth and income originally, but now I love every aspect of it — from the AMAZING products to the wonderful, encouraging, helpful, driven ladies I get to work with!

The Healthy Happy Hour was an Arbonne party promoting their 28 Day Clean Eating Challenge. At the Healthy Happy Hour, we learned all about all of the toxins and chemicals that we put into our bodies, both externally, through make up and skin care products, but also through everything that we consume. The 28 Day Clean Eating Challenge is a great way to flush all of the toxins and chemicals from your system and, as it turns out, most people lose weight doing it! It also is a great way to find out, if anything, what things can cause you problems. After the 28 days are over, every third day, you add one thing back into your diet (dairy, gluten, white flour, etc.) and this helps you to see what your body may not agree with. One of my friends used to have horrible migraines – I’m talking multiple times a week – and by doing the 28 Day Clean Eating Challenge, she figured out they were caused by dairy. She said she was at an event, ate a cube of cheese and literally had a migraine within 30 minutes!

Going in, I was pretty content with my starting weight (thanks to running and body pump!) and I probably ate a much healthier diet than most, just because I enjoy healthy food. However, I was so excited to rid my body of all of the chemicals and toxins and kick start healthy and clean habits that would last a lifetime. I also had pretty bad acid reflux and the occasional migraine and I was eager to see if they had specific triggers.

Now, obviously, I can’t spill all of the beans about the 28 Day Clean Eating Challenge, because I’d love for you to do it too! But I can tell you that how it works, is that you eliminate a lot of things that are known to be allergens from your diet. If you decide to do the challenge, you get added to a secret Facebook group, where you’ll get all of the information about what you can and can’t eat as well as weekly meal plans and grocery lists. The recipes are simple AND delicious, but if you don’t like them, no worries because you can eat whatever you want as long as it all falls into the “allowed” category.

Now, where does Arbonne come into play in this 28 Day Clean Eating Challenge, you ask? Arbonne has an AMAZING (yes, I’m biased, but they really are that great) line of nutritional products that play a pretty big role in the challenge. There are vanilla and chocolate protein powders, fiber boost (powder), digestion plus (powder containing prebiotics, probiotics and enzymes), herbal detox tea, energy fizz sticks (add to water and contain caffeine), and the 7 day body cleanse (used in 3rd week to support GI system), all of which you’ll use throughout the month.

From L to R: Arbonne chocolate protein powder, Arbonne vanilla protein powder, Arbonne fiber boost powder, fizz sticks, digestion plus, herbal detox tea & 7 day body cleanse.

Now, I want to take you through my experience on the challenge. I apologize as this part is a little lengthy!

Day 1: My products had not arrived yet, so I made a veggie omelet for breakfast and oatmeal with raspberries and almonds for lunch. I’m feeling pretty good so far, but the lack of caffeine is a bit of a struggle. I had a pretty bad migraine in the evening. 

Veggie omelet with homemade guacamole

Day 2: Headaches continued… I ran and it seemed to get a little better. Wishing I could have something sweet after dinner, but aside from that I didn’t have cravings and the food was keeping me full!

Chipotle Black Bean & Rice Skillet – Basically Mexican fried rice! This was even better as leftovers!

Day 3: Still headaches, and still eating eggs for breakfast since I didn’t have my protein. Lunch was leftovers from dinners.

Day 4: First day without horrible headaches, only minor. 

Day 5: Last night I had my 2nd Launch Party for Arbonne, so I took home the extra fizz sticks samples and drank some in the morning. I was in a MUCH better mood and feeling good! My protein was waiting outside my door by lunch, so I was able to start having shakes each day, but just without the fiber and digestion plus. 

Day 6: I went to OSU for the football game and for my brother’s dad’s day and my parents had already paid for us to eat at their event, which got BBQ catered. I did opt for turkey instead of brisket, but the only side options were potato salad and baked beans, so I went ahead and broke the rules. I didn’t have any of the white bread, or sweet tea, however. Then, we went by Andrew’s parents’ tailgate and I couldn’t resist their cookie bars or jalapeno poppers. This, I regretted. Don’t get me wrong, they were so good, but I had been doing so well with the challenge thus far. At the next tailgate I ate some grilled bell peppers and onions and after the game I got a burrito bowl from Qdoba with chicken, black beans, veggies, pico and guac. It was delicious and I felt much better about eating it even though I’m sure it wasn’t organic. 

Day 7: I had a pretty bad migraine most of the day, and I couldn’t help but wonder if it had to do with eating things the day before that I hadn’t had in a while. 

Day 8: Woke up feeling great! I didn’t have any headaches at all AND by the time I got home for lunch my other package had arrived, so I finally had all of my supplies! I did 2 shakes this day, in an effort to compensate for my mess up on Saturday. 

Strawberry, Lemon & Basil Protein Shake — So refreshing!

Day 9: Used the detox tea in the morning and at night. I added the digestion plus and the fiber to my protein smoothie for breakfast. After spending most of my afternoon at the hospital with my mom (my dad had an appendectomy), I was so tired and ended up having another smoothie with fiber for dinner. 

Day 10: At this point, I was starting to love my new routine of a smoothie for breakfast. I was feeling great and found that with one fizz stick right when I got to work and one after lunch, I had a ton of energy throughout the day. I also was getting used to eating smaller meals and snacking throughout the day. I started carrying a bag to work with snacks, just in case I would be out somewhere and get hungry. I was on the go for lunch so I grabbed an organic salad from Whole Foods. For dinner, my parents ordered in mexican, so I just ate chicken fajita meat and grilled veggies with salsa. I also snacked on carrots and an apple with almond butter. After dinner my sister and mom had ice cream for dessert (my favorite) and I wasn’t even jealous OR tempted to eat some. THIS WAS HUGE FOR ME. 

Day 11: I was feeling great! I was only having the occasional teensy tiny sweet craving that was quickly satisfied with a homemade protein ball! For dinner I had a baked sweet potato topped with a little taco seasoning, avocado and salsa — so filling and tasty!

THE BEST: Homemade protein balls

Day 12: My boyfriend got home from a 2 week work trip, so he hadn’t seen me since before the challenge started, and he could tell that I’d lost a little bit of weight! It’s always nice to get a little reassurance from time to time that what you’re doing is working!

Day 13: I had a pumpkin pie protein smoothie for breakfast that was SO delicious! I’m telling you, these smoothie recipes taste more like dessert than anything else! My energy was up and I was just feeling really good all around! I also was noticing that my reflux was significantly reduced — so exciting! 

Pumpkin Pie Protein Smoothie

Day 14: Still feeling great! 

Day 15:This is the first day of using the 7 day cleanse. It is a liquid that you mix with 32 oz of water. I learned that you’re supposed to drink it throughout the day, not all at once, for optimal results. The first day I pretty much chugged it because I really like the taste of it! Haha! 

Day 16: Didn’t get enough sleep last night because I had a lot going on between work and moving apartments, but after a fizz stick this morning, I was wide awake and feeling great! 

Day 17: Made quinoa crusted chicken parmesan for dinner and it was better than some of the unhealthier versions I’ve had! I’m definitely making this again!

Quinoa Crusted Chicken Parmesan with salad with homemade Italian dressing

Day 18: By this point, I had gotten good about planning ahead and bringing snacks when I knew I wouldn’t be near something that would qualify as “clean eating.” 

Day 19: I began to realize that I was looking forward to my daily shake(s). As I mentioned, they’re really more like desserts and I never get sick of the endless options! Plus, they couldn’t be easier, which is great when you need something quick or on the go! 

Day 20: Had a very productive day, was full of energy and got everything done! At the end of even the craziest of days, I love relaxing with a calming Herbal Detox Tea (caffeine free). 

Herbal Detox Tea

Day 21: This was the start of a crazy week at work. With an event the following weekend, I knew I’d be working long hours. I had to be sure to bring snacks and meals I would be able to eat because “clean eating” isn’t available at most  quick or delivery restaurants that I’d usually go to on a week like this. 

Burger with avocado, mozzarella (dairy free) & salsa, roasted delicata squash and a salad with homemade avocado and lemon dressing.

Day 22: At this point I realized that I was no longer STARVING when it was time for my next meal. By eating snacks every 2-3 hours, I had helped to maintain my blood sugar (without spikes) that can cause that super hungry feeling that normally results in over eating.

Day 23: Really learned how helpful (and lifesaving) fizz sticks can be when you’re sleep deprived. Normally, when I don’t get enough sleep I over compensate with coffee and end up with pretty bad headaches. This week, I got plenty of caffeine from the fizz sticks and hadn’t had a single headache yet!

Day 24: My sweet boyfriend said I was psycho when I told him I brought my blender to work to make a smoothie for lunch. Haha! He doesn’t quite get it yet. 🙂 

Day 25: I just couldn’t wait 3 more days to share my results with y’all! I will note, sharing pics like this is not normally my cup of tea, but I decided to do it just for y’all!  

Now for the results….

I am feeling so great, that I wouldn’t want to go back to some of my old ways! No, I’m not going to keep following the 28 day challenge rules as strictly, but I’m definitely going to continue to have daily protein shakes and eat clean as much as possible. That’s not to say I won’t enjoy the occasional treat or glass of wine, but I just love how clean eating makes me feel! And I definitely can’t complain with how my body responded to it either! Even though my changes maybe aren’t super drastic, I am feeling much more confident and happy!

Here are a few more results pictures from some other participants. Most people try to lose weight to get skinny. It makes me so happy to see people get healthy, which results in achieving those weight loss goals! Who wouldn’t want that confidence?

If you’re at all interested in the 28 Day Clean Eating Challenge, just let me know and I’d be happy to send you more information! There are so many possibilities here: I can invite you to a local Healthy Happy Hour, you can host a Healthy Happy Hour and I’ll come do the presentation for you and a group of friends, or I can send you a link to a Healthy Happy Hour presentation for you to watch and even help you get signed up and get your products if you’d like! To participate in the 28 Day Clean Eating Challenge, it doesn’t matter at all if you live near or far, because you will be given all of the tools you need via the Facebook group! The next challenge will begin Monday, October 13th, so the sooner we can get you signed up, the more likely you’ll be to get your products in time! We start a new challenge on the 2nd Monday of each month, so if October doesn’t work for you, just let me know when does. But I just have to say, what better time for the challenge than right before the holidays?

Email me with any and all questions at jackiendavey@gmail.com. I’d love to help!