In the weeks leading up to each new month, we’re busy behind the scenes at Model Behaviors conducting interviews, gathering photos, and figuring out giveaways. One of my favorite parts of all this planning is when we choose our next Woman of the Month.
It’s with great pleasure that I announce our April Woman of the Month—Candace Oliver.
She plays many different roles in her everyday life. She’s an AdvoCare distributor, a mother of three, a wife, a daughter, and a friend. Recently, she’s also been serving as an adviser for the Mommy Makeover Contest, guiding our participants through their AdvoCare 24-Day Challenges and cheering them on even after the Challenge was completed.
She has a warm, encouraging presence and I’m so thrilled that we get to shine a little spotlight on her this month. Please read on for Courtney’s interview with Candace Oliver, our Woman of the Month.
MB: Back in January we announced you as one of our Mommy Makeover Contest advisers. Since then, you’ve coached our participants through an AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge and helped them pick out the perfect supplements for the rest of their makeover journey. How did you first get involved with AdvoCare and what made you finally decide to take the leap and become a distributor?
CO: I’ve been involved with AdvoCare for almost eleven years now. My parents introduced AdvoCare to me. I was modeling in LA when they made a career shift from owning their own business to becoming Sales Vice Presidents of AdvoCare. To be totally honest, I wanted nothing to do with “distributing” product, but I said I would “support” them (like they needed me to…ha!) and take the supplements.
The products changed my life! I was busy traveling and working long hours, and Spark gave me the energy I needed to maintain that lifestyle. Sometimes amazing opportunities will show up in your path, but you may be so distracted by your circumstances that you never see them for what they’re worth. I was wrapped up in modeling, so I didn’t take a good look at AdvoCare.
When I unexpectedly got pregnant, everything changed. In that moment I realized I wanted to help other people feel the way I’d already felt for years on product. I wanted to pursue AdvoCare as a business so that I could stay home with my son. I made a decision to be intentional with sharing what I loved, and that’s where my journey began.
MB: That’s such an awesome story! And I definitely connect with the idea that sometimes we have what we need right in front of us, but we don’t realize it in the moment. Deciding to completely switch career paths is huge. When you chose to leave modeling and pursue a career with AdvoCare, did you have any major doubts? If so, how did you work through them?
CO: This is my “circle of trust,” right? To be totally transparent, I don’t think I was doubtful to leave modeling and pursue AdvoCare. I have a crazy drive and whatever I set my mind to, I’m extremely passionate and work very hard to accomplish the goals I have for myself. It was more ego than doubt. When I talked with my amazing husband about the shift to be at home with the kids, pursue AdvoCare, and step back from modeling, he was nothing but supportive. It was a really, really, really difficult transition for me because in that shift I came to realize how much of my identity was wrapped up and tied to “being a model.”
I got so much confidence and security from that label, a label I used to define myself. Sometimes we can hide behind those labels for so long, we get lost in the title and forget who we really are. So, here I am at thirty-three years old and asking myself, “Wait, who are you?”
My season as a model had ended, and my season for impacting lives and focusing on my family began.
MB: That’s such a beautiful way of looking at it. If only I could feel that sure of myself when making big decisions! So now that you’ve been with the company for eleven years, what’s your favorite thing about being a distributor?
CO: It’s hard to narrow down my favorite thing! Obviously I’m obsessed with the product, which means consuming the product and living a healthy lifestyle are up there. As I’ve been involved for so long, my favorite things about being an AdvoCare distributor are the culture and the relationships. I’m constantly challenged on a personal-growth level as well as a fitness level. I feel inspired and motivated daily by other people involved in the company. Some of my very closest friends I’ve met through AdvoCare. My kids get to see that and are directly affected in a positive way as a result of the healthy lifestyles and relationships that have been cultivated. The legacy will live on!
MB: When you’re working with a client and they’re having a bad day—maybe they don’t want to work out or they aren’t seeing clear results and are feeling discouraged—what do you say to keep them motivated?
CO: The pain of discipline versus the pain of regret is something that really stands out to me. More so than keeping them motivated, I bring them back to purpose. I’m there to remind them of why they started in the first place, whatever that may be. When I sit down or talk on the phone with a client, it all starts with purpose followed by a decision instead of a simple desire for change.
I’ll warn my client, they may not always “like” me because I won’t tell them what they want to hear. Rather, I care so much that I’ll always speak the truth and hold them accountable. We’re also human beings, which means it’s all about progress not perfection. I go by the 80/20 rule. Eat 80 percent right and do not beat yourself up if you have a bad day—just start over!
MB: I’ve seen that “purpose” mentality really come alive in our Mommy Makeover participants and with the Comeback Circle group as a whole. Before we move away from AdvoCare, I want to do a lightning round of sorts. I get to look at all of our website stats at Model Behaviors, which means I get to see what people search for in Google in order to end up on our site. There are a lot of questions about AdvoCare, and since you’re an expert, I figured we might as well get a few of those questions answered! So here are the top five AdvoCare-related questions we receive.
1) Can I eat popcorn on the AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge? (Seriously, so many people are curious about this one.)
CO: People may have different opinions on this. For my clients and myself, I advise against popcorn during the cleanse phase which is the first 10 days. I like them to eat extremely clean, complex carbs, healthy fats, veggies, fruits, and protein. On days 11-24, they can absolutely have popcorn for a snack!
2) Does the AdvoCare cleanse make you poop?
CO: The cleanse is meant to clean out your GI tract, so in other words, your gut. I like to let people know “this is gentle and uneventful.” So many people are concerned with having diarrhea or weird stomach cramping, but have no fear, this is gentle on your system. If you have extra waste, the cleanse will help eliminate that. A lot of women in particular struggle with having a bowel movement daily, strangely enough, it’s one of my passions to help women “poop regularly!” I personally struggled with that, and since I’ve been taking AdvoCare, I go daily! The cleanse is a great place to start so that your body can function the way it’s supposed to. Sometimes we just need to clean the junk out, which is why the cleanse is recommended every 90 days.
3) Why am I sleepy on the 10-day cleanse?
CO: Any time there’s a change to your diet, you can become tired. When you cleanse, a lot of people will often cut out caffeinated and sugary beverages, so your body is used to functioning a certain way with certain foods. When you change that, you naturally become tired. You’re also cleansing toxins out of your system so your body is working very hard to clean itself up. Usually by day three or four, your energy comes back! The Spark helps tremendously in this process.
4) Does the AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge give you headaches?
CO: If you’re a person who drinks a lot of sodas or coffee, or you eat a lot of refined sugar, when you start the 24-Day Challenge, those items need to be eliminated. Since your body is used to having the extra caffeine or sugar, when you cut them out, you may go through caffeine and sugar withdrawals, leaving you with a headache. Have no fear though, because those will go away quickly as you start to increase your water intake and pump your system with healthy foods and supplements. If you do experience a headache, they are temporary, and the way you feel after a 24-Day Challenge is incredible! Everyone should feel that way!
5) Does the AdvoCare 24-Day Challenge work?
CO: Absolutely! If you’re committed and take the product correctly and consistently, you’ll get results. It takes twenty-one days to make or break a habit. Therefore, being committed for twenty-four days means getting rid of bad habits and creating new healthy habits. This is one of the reasons that I believe the 24-Day Challenge is so effective. It’s not a quick fix or a diet. It’s a lifestyle change. So after the twenty-four days, you continue the lifestyle and maintain the results (or continue working toward your initial goal). From my personal experience, I sleep better, have more energy, decrease cravings, and my general mood is elevated when I do the 24-Day Challenge. Not to mention, I tone up and lose inches!
MB: You recently welcomed your first daughter and third child, Bella, into this world, and since our contest is all about mamas, what advice do you have for moms out there who want to get back into a healthy routine but struggle to carve that space out for themselves?
CO: I can speak directly to this since I’m walking through it right now! Everything starts with nutrition. After I had Bella (she is five weeks now), I made a decision to cut out refined sugars and re-commit to healthy food choices. I’m currently about fifteen pounds away from my pre-baby weight and feeling amazing! Thank you, Spark!
I’m nursing so I don’t want to do anything that will negatively affect my milk supply. Every meal I have, I ask myself, “Is this serving my body? What does my body need right now?” Instead of an unhealthy relationship with food, I’ve become detached from the thought process of, “I wish I could have that (insert indulgence),” and attached to the thought process of, “I get to eat this (insert healthy food option)!” I think about how I will feel after I eat something and that helps me to make great food choices. It’s often what we whisper to ourselves that determines so much of our actions.
One more thing, I also give myself permission to have a little me time so I can be a good mommy. Suffering does not equate to being a good mommy. Taking care of ourselves and modeling the behaviors we preach to our children is being a good mommy!
MB: What’s been your own biggest challenge as a mom (so far)?
CO: This is so fresh since I just had Bella. I was a single mom for five years before I met my soul mate. He was also a single dad. It was just Kason (my son who’s seven years old) and me for so long. After Bryan and I got married, it went from two to four just like that. I now have my bonus son Tadem (who’s eight years old). Transitioning into that was difficult because there are so many moving parts with their other parents, schools, opinions, and so on. Bringing sweet Bella into this world has been the biggest blessing, but it’s also been extremely difficult because not only am I sleep deprived, but it’s hard for me to be that “same” mommy I was before she came. Meaning, I don’t go in and snuggle and wake the boys up every morning because I usually am sleeping myself. I’m not making breakfast every morning or picking them up from school because I’m nursing Bella or napping. I struggle with the “guilt” of not giving the boys enough attention and sometimes feel like I’m falling short.
I have to redefine my new normal. Motherhood is a constantly evolving process which I must learn to embrace! I think having unrealistic standards in my head leaves me discouraged, so that’s been my biggest challenge. I need to drop the unrealistic picture I have created in my head of what being a mommy is and simply do the best I can every day!
MB: That feels like such a huge challenge, but I have a feeling with your confidence and powerful decision-making skills, you will figure this one out! A few questions earlier, you mentioned carving out a little bit of “me time” as a mom. So I’m curious! Outside of AdvoCare, what are some of your hobbies or passions?
CO: I’m passionate about faith, family, and people. I have a hunger to help people. I absolutely love meeting new people, hearing their stories, and having in-depth conversations about life. People fascinate me and every single person has such a special story. They have specific gifts and talents and a calling, and I love to learn more about that. Some people forget they were created with a specific purpose on purpose, and I love to be able to encourage someone who may have lost their way.
I tell my children that all the time. They have a calling, and I encourage their individual gifts and passions. My favorite thing to do is have dinner as a family followed by a game of UNO! Nothing beats family time.
Then, I know this is completely random and on the other spectrum of depth, but I love, love, love to do people’s makeup! HA! I did it for years while modeling, but then modeling took precedent because it paid more, but I’m absolutely passionate about enhancing a woman’s natural beauty. God gifted me with that talent, and I love making a woman feel beautiful, not only on the inside, but by making her face flawless, too!
MB: I love it! I’m always the person who cries during makeover scenes in books and movies. There’s just something magical and revealing about that moment when a woman sees herself in the mirror after she’s had her makeup done. For our final questions, what big dreams or grand visions do you have for yourself in the future?
CO: I’ve always wanted to have a women’s retreat center. I’ve envisioned it for years. It may be in seven to ten years from now, maybe five, but mark my words this day…IT WILL HAPPEN!
I’ve walked through some extremely difficult seasons in my life. I was very broken. God healed me and made me whole. He showed me who I was through His eyes, and I’ve never felt more confident or beautiful. This retreat center would be a place for every single type of woman to come to. It would be a place for the broken to find comfort. It would be a place for restoration of the soul and encouragement. Sometimes as women, we need to gather together and empower one another. My vision is that this place would offer just that. Women being transparent and encouraging one another and laughing together, growing together, lifting each other up, and spreading joy! I would love to have one more, maybe two more babies. I want for all of us to live on a compound and do life together…LOL! But I’m serious! I love family and this life is short. I want to enjoy every minute of it!
Thank you so much to Candace for the wonderful interview! Be sure to stay tuned in. Later this month we’ll feature Candace again in our Day in the Life series. Plus, we have an incredible giveaway lined up that you won’t want to miss. See you soon!
Be sure to follow Candace online: Website | Facebook
