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Over the course of the last 8 weeks, I have been working on my health by completing a challenge. I signed up for the Whole Life Challenge because it seemed like just the thing to get me working toward the healthy goals I have for myself.
The challenge is an online platform in which you sign up and join teams. Each day you earn points for completing healthy habits for the day. There are seven habits each day to think about: nutrition, exercise, mobility, sleep, water intake, reflections, and a lifestyle habit. What I noticed is that just signing up for the challenge really set me up to put my mind in a place to develop new habits. Starting with my New Year’s resolutions, I have been working to create my best life and be healthier.
As far as nutrition goes, I had really gotten far from the way I wanted to be eating. My husband and I were spending way too much money on fast food and restaurants and going “out for a beer” too often. I love to cook and I know what a healthy meal looks like, but I had gotten lazy. This challenge gave me some pretty strict parameters in which to function. I had to get creative. I basically had no bread, no pasta, no cheese, no beer, no french fries or potato chips, and no added sweeteners except Stevia. Was I perfect doing this? NO. But that is what was cool about this challenge. Each day I had 5 points to start with. For everything I ate that was not compliant, I lost a point. This had the intended effect of making me think twice about the treats I chose to indulge with. Just changing my eating habits in this way has made me feel better. One of the treats that I was allowed in this level for nutrition was one glass of wine a day. I learned to appreciate savoring that glass of wine and to be satisfied with just that. This was a big change for me too. I never overindulged and got inebriated, but I definitely had at least 2 glasses of beer or wine whenever I did drink.
The exercise and mobility part of the challenge were a breeze for me on the days that I had Barre class. I had to make a conscious effort to move on the days that I did not have a class. I did better with this toward the beginning of the challenge. In the coming weeks, I would like to tweak my morning routine to include some movement every morning as I was doing at first.
The sleep component was good for me. I set my goal at 7 hours a night of sleep. It made me be very conscious of what time I was going to bed and what that meant for my sleep goal. I am not sure exactly what has made the difference because I have been working on so many things, but I have not had any nights of insomnia this winter. That is a big improvement!
I thought water was going to be a challenge because of the I-am-a-teacher-and-can’t-use-the-bathroom-whenever-I-want-to thing. But I actually drink a lot of water anyway. Now that I also started using doTerra essential oils, I have a set amount of water I drink with a different oil in each water bottle. I can’t remember the last time I was actually thirsty. I am glad that I am making this hydration a priority.
The lifestyle practices were good for the most part. What was awesome was that some of the practices were things I had started doing in the New Year. Having them come up as practices that this team valued as good, healthy habits was a great affirmation that I am on a good path. My favorite were the meditations and the gratitude journal, which are both part of my morning routine.
Reflection is a vital part of my day every day so having to write one each night was fine. Some days it was hard to come up with something to say, but most of the time it was easy to reflect on how I was doing.
Overall, this 8-week challenge has taught me that I did not need many of the things that I thought I might not be able to do without. I don’t particularly miss cheese. I will splurge and indulge every once in a while, but I won’t need to sprinkle every recipe with shredded cheese. Our new favorite recipe is roasted vegetables and chicken breasts. It is so full of flavor and does not need anything else. Just eating better has made me feel so much healthier and full of vitality.
My results in the challenge have been good. I lost a total of 5.5 inches in my waist and hips and about 10 pounds. I also just feel better with more energy. I am definitely going to continue to eat pretty much in this way as I move forward and I will be signing up again for the challenge that starts in May. Maybe this time I will do a stricter nutrition level. We shall see.
This challenge was the best thing I could do in this moment of my life when I am working to develop a healthier version of me. I highly recommend the experience…what is life without a little play? Come join me with the challenge this Spring, I dare you.
Wow, Andrea, you should be proud of yourself! 8 weeks is a long time for such a challenge! I would love to join you on this challenge this spring! 🙂
Wow, what a meaningful challenge you gave yourself! And I’m glad you saw such positive results!
I just finished my second Whole Life Challenge. I benefitted too. I really feel it’s the awareness of what you’re eating and how you’re moving your body. Congratulations.