Today marks the 1st day of this 21-Day Challenge. Congratulations, you have made a great first step in improving your health in 2012. I hope to provide you with insight and ideas for ways to feel better, look better, and be better. You should have received an email with your exercises for this week, as well as the nutrition goals I sent out as well. My suggestion with this challenge is just that: to see it as a challenge. It will require you to test your willpower and mental toughness. There will be days when you want to cave and give-in, because it’s easier to go back to your old habits. But trust me, if you get through this first week, you will feel empowered to do this for the next 2 weeks. Obviously after this challenge is over, you do not have to continue this strict regimen, but I DO challenge you to take several
So for today’s initial blog post, I want you to comment on why you chose to do this challenge. This will be the motivating reason why you push through these next 3 weeks to break old habits and create new, healthy, energy-producing habits! I can’t wait to read what everyone has to say.
Here we go!!
Image by adria.richards via Flickr
21-Day Challenge 
I have two young children and a baby. I spend all of my time taking care of them and other people which I love to do, but often that means not taking time for myself. So, this year, I have decided to do something positive for me. Plus, baby seems to wake up every 45 minutes at night, so I could use the extra energy! :o)
I’m doing this challenge because I actually have time to do it! I quit working full time to be home with my son when he’s home from school. So I actually have time to exercise. Plus after taking my measurements and weighing myself, I saw I needed to do something! I’ve taken your challenges before and have enjoyed them.
I am doing this challenge for similar reasons, I stay at home chasing my children around most days, and have cut back my work to 2-3 days. Finding a balance is key. I have a tendency to push myself to doing to many things and then regret it later because I’m always tired, grouchy, and have no energy left at the end of the day. I HATE feeling that way. So…I know I have issues with wheat/corn/gluten…so I’m eliminating all grains completely for the 3 weeks. We have been pretty much dairy-free because of my 5-year old having a milk allergy…and eliminating all grains usually takes care of the sugar issue, anyway. So…my goal is to slow down and be specific about my health, my choices, and my life.
I have done almost every one of these challenges–is it weird to say I love them? Perhaps, but I really do! I love the accountability and challenge of it all. Since my diagnosis of celiac disease, I have become more aware of how much nutrition plays a role in healing. I’ve already eliminated dairy from my diet because of my daughter, so sugar is the next step. With that, I’m choosing to eliminate all grains for the next 21 days as well, just to see how I feel. It will definitely take this challenge to the next level for me. In the last year I’ve also discovered I have hypothyroid (which is really common with Celiac), so I’m trying to take off the rest of the weight that crept on while I was unbalanced.
Sometimes it seems impossible to put the energy into paying attention to my needs and habits. Life with little ones, for me, was no comparison to having 3 teenagers and one in elementary! But, I know I MUST take this time and be purposeful about my health and habits and get on the right track. My main motivating factor at this point is probably knowing that I will have 3 seniors next year and my time with them will never be the same after that. I don’t want to be a fat senior mom, and I am not done playing with them, or my 10 year old either! Taking the time to think about the workouts and the information you send, feels like the biggest challenge! Slowing down is not an option, but I need this, and at least for today, am pretty charged up about it. It will be more about reorganizing.
I am going to eliminate sugar and wheat for these 3 weeks. I do have some xylitol that I can sub for sugar that wasn’t on your list, but I think you would sanction(?).
Forgot to say what I was eliminating. I’m doing without milk products. Hopefully that will help my sinus/coughing problems.
This is my first attempt with a health challenge. I have chosen to eliminate wheat/gluten from my diet. There are several symptoms outlined with the gluten allergy I do suffer from but the headaches/migraines are at the top of the list. Being of one who does not like to take medications, I am hoping my body can find the relief of migraines! I am looking forward to showing off the beginning of my challenge results at my daughters wedding in April!
With two young children, I can’t seem to find enough “me” time to fit in regular exercise. I seem to do good one week, but then the next week we have nightly activities and my exercise plan is out the window. I signed up for this because I need the accountability. Nutrition is going to be the hardest part for me. I have always been in to exercise, but have eaten whatever I wanted. So I guess I’m going to eliminate wheat/gluten from my diet and see if I can survive 🙂
I’m doing this challenge as I need help eating better and making better food choices. Getting back to an exercise routine will be a positive of this program. I just hope I can get through eliminating all sugars, that will be tough.
I am being strict in no dairy, and elimating gluten and sugar as much as possible (may be a bit tricky on vacation, but more of a challenge) :). I like the short workouts and can usually get those in before work. I always exercise, but like variation and more things that I can do from home!! I loved the detox challenge last year, but have gotten off the wagon, so hopefully this will refocus me!
The reason why I am doing this challenge is because there are many nights when I come home from work I eat and sit on the couch. Something that I don’t want to do but I do it anyways. I have a two year old at home and I need to more motivated. So I have choosen to cut out dairy from my deit for 21 days. Many years I have dealt with issues with dairy but have never taken it out of my diet. So here it goes. Oh and one more thing I have also going to cut out sugar because I know I consume way too much of it.
I am doing this challenge cause I want to start eating healthier and I definitely need all the energy I can get. I am a mother of 4 young children and I do daycare so by the end of the day I am just plain tired. I decided to cut out dairy but I am also going to cut out sugar as much as possible.
I am doing this challenge because I need some motivation to get back on the right track!! I have the time to workout now that I’m not working, but I just don’t do it. I have done well on the challenges before and they always set me back on the right path.
I am doing this challenge to get me back on track of eating healthy and staying healthy. I have done several of these challenges before and I love them for the accountability…..I need that to keep me going. I am going to cut dairy/milk out of my diet……I have already been cutting back on my sugar, so I feel like that is making a difference, so I want to try the dairy and see how that goes. I love cheese, so this will be difficult for me.
I am going to concentrate on cutting out sugar. A year ago I quit drinking Diet Pop and realized the other day that I was tempted by a Diet Coke….which was a real signal to me that my eating habits were really out of whack! I get overwhelmed with trying to eat healthier….understanding labels, etc… so the other thing I plan to do with this challenge is organize Anna’s information into a file that I can use later…so I have something to refer back to post-challenge. 🙂 The list of natural sweetners listed on the initial page of nutrition guidelines is the exact thing I need….all of those -ose words run together for me. And, I have never been someone who builds a exercise time into my day, so that is the other major goal for me!
I am doing this challenge because I need to establish better exercising and eating habits. Unfortunately, with commuting I tend to have to sit more than I want to. I like these challenges because they keep me accountable. I am eliminating sugar. That tends to be my downfall. I am compensating by eating more fruits and veggies.
I tend to find myself going straight to anything sweet when I am bored or stressed…it is my comfort food. So eliminating sugar we definately be a challenge for me. A few months ago, I switched to diet pop knowing that that was no better for me than regular pop. This challenge will definately help me to drink more water. As far as the exercisng goes, knowing that I need to do them will help keep me accountable.
I am doing this challenge because I love the structure and variety of the workouts. I have a hard time making myself exercise when it is the same old routine everyday. I also have very little self-control when it comes to eating sweets, so this will be a challenge, but already I am feeling more energy (mentally) because I’ve made healthier choices for one day. I also want to be a positive example for my son who was starting to eat dessert like his parents. Yikes!