Weekly Challenge

This week is about being intentional with the amount of sugar we are eating. Most of us know what’s good for us and not. Sometimes we just don’t care and that’s okay! It should never be an all or nothing when it comes to food because that is not sustainable. It’s about moderation and making that ”not so healthy but tastes soooo good” food a treat instead of a daily habit.
Here’s your challenge for the week:

Easy: Reduce or eliminate sugar from one food or drink for 1 meal. For example, only use half the amount of flavored creamer in your coffee or skip the dessert.

Medium: Do the easy but instead of 1 meal do it for an entire day.

Hard: Write down or use an app like MyFitnessPal or Loseit! to track what you eat for this week. Don’t change what you would normally eat and see how much sugar you are consuming on a daily basis. At the end of the week, reflect on what you can do to reduce your sugar intake everyday and implement. Continue to track to hold yourself accountable and see your progress.

This week’s challenge is about getting rid of the excuse that you don’t have time to workout. Everybody has the same 24 hours in a day. It’s how you prioritize those hours to what is important to you. Working out doesn’t have to take hours. It could be a 10 minute walk around your block.
Working out on a consistent basis will put you in a good mood. Let’s state the obvious too that it will improve your health and your mindset.
There are so many different ways to get your body moving. Find one that works for you and be consistent with the time and day. Consistency makes the habit happen.

On to the challenge:
Easy: Go for a walk. Have someone walk with you. Take the dog for a walk. Walking is like the gateway exercise. It’s free and you can do it anywhere.

Medium: Try 3 different types of workouts this week to find one you like or at least don’t hate. Most gyms have a free pass or free class for 1st timers. Go on utube and you can find a ton of different workouts.

Hard: Start your habit. Pick at least 3 days a week and a specific time that you will have open. My recommendation is 1st thing in the morning before the craziness of the day. If you are a night person maybe try immediately after work or before bed.

This week isn’t about sitting cross legged on the floor for a long period of time. It’s about spending a few minutes focused on your breathing. There are so many proven health benefits to doing this that makes it worth it.

Easy: When you get overwhelmed or stressed, try this intentional count breathing exercise. Count 1 on inhale, and 1 on exhale, count for 2 on inhale and 2 on exhale. Continue until you get to 5. Close your eyes to avoid distractions. Focusing on the numbers also helps stop your mind from wandering. Breathe slowly.

Medium: Do a breathing exercise 2-5 minutes everyday this week. Set a timer and start with 2 minutes and work your way up. Do the counting method in the easy challenge or I like to inhale for 4 counts, hold for 4 counts, and then exhale for 4. You can change up the counting on what works best for you.

Hard: Consistency is key so let’s up the game to 60 days to make it a habit in your life. Doing it at the same time everyday will help establish the habit – right before you go to bed to clear your mind or 1st thing in the morning to start your day off. Another way is to repeat a mantra with your breathing. Breathe in – I am, Breathe out – (insert your word). Repeat this over and over for at least 2 minutes.

There are also apps that you can use if you want something guided. Try different methods to see what works for you.

These next 10 challenges will be about your health & wellness.

This first one I struggle with because my mind wanders where I start thinking of stuff I need to do, feeling bored, or thinking this is not burning calories.

Yoga is about connecting your mind and body. It’s taking the time to stretch the muscles that work hard for you everyday. Give yourself that time to just relax and be still. You don’t need to start out crazy with hour long sessions. Start out with just 5 minutes of breathing.
Which gets us to our challenges.

Easy: Set a timer for 5 minutes. Stand or sit in a quiet spot. Relax your body and inhale for 4 counts drawing your belly in. Exhale for 4 counts expanding your belly. Breathe like this until your timer goes off. Clear your head and just concentrate on the counting & breathing.

Medium: Try 5 beginner yoga poses and hold them for 30 seconds to 1 minute each. Here is a website with 30 beginner poses to choose from: https://www.verywellfit.com/essential-yoga-poses-for…

Hard: Do 4 yoga classes this month. Target 1 each week. There are a ton of utube videos free to try or check out your local gym.

Remember progress over perfection. You will fall but remember to pick yourself back up and try it again.

How many times this month have you done something you really didn’t want to do, but felt like you had to or you should do? I’m not talking about doing a workout or showing up to work on time. This is where you do something that goes against your personality because you want to fit in or feel like you should because the world says so.

We put ourselves in these situations because otherwise we feel guilty or even sometimes ashamed that we don’t fit into the mold that someone wants us to be. We tell ourselves it’s good to get out of our comfort zone which is good for you every once in awhile BUT not all the time.

For me, I used to feel ashamed that I didn’t have a ton of friends like other ladies. They would talk about all the things they did that weekend and honestly felt a little jealous. But if I’m truly honest with myself I would absolutely HATE having to do that every weekend. I absolutely love hanging out at my house with Joe and the kids just chilling. I LOVE sitting on the recliner with a blanket and good book. I like to call myself an introverted extrovert. I’ll go out and do the things and have fun doing them, but then just feel completely wiped out.

Let’s get to the challenges:
Easy: Make a list of what you don’t like without trying to convince yourself to like them and without thinking about other people judging you for your list.

Medium: Stop doing the thing you secretly hate. Go through your upcoming calendar. What’s 1 thing that you are really doing to try to fit a mold someone else has for you? Then respectively decline the invitation.

Hard: Accept who you and who you are not without feeling ashamed about it. What someone else loves to do doesn’t mean you have to too!

Living who we are by our values & priorities is where we live a happy life true to ourselves.

This week is about doing something that isn’t on our to do list. We get so focused on all the stuff we need to do that we forget that life is supposed to be fun. This week I am going to challenge you to throw away the list for a couple hours.

Easy: Do something that makes you laugh and smile a lot. Some activity where you just let go of all the to do list thoughts and enjoy. Some examples could be dancing around the house with some good music, sitting outside with a good beverage, watching your favorite movie, baking cookies, riding a bike,….

Medium: Give yourself permission to not be productive. When it comes to non-productive activities we have this guilty feeling after. A feeling like we should have spent our time more wisely because that list isn’t getting any shorter. Give yourself permission to take that time for you. If you are constantly pouring yourself out, eventually you will run out. Nobody wants to burn out so make sure you are regularly filling yourself back up with activities that have you enjoying life.

Hard: Start or restart a hobby you do purely for enjoyment. Our fun hobbies usually get put last on our schedule which means we never do it. If you don’t have a hobby, think about what you could do if you had all the time in the world. Pick one and try it out.

When was the last time you left home without your phone or didn’t immediately turn on the tv when you got home or sat on the couch? It is incredible how much times have changed in 20 years. Sometimes I long for that simplicity again. This week’s challenge is about getting just a hint of that simplicity back in your life.

Easy Level: Take a break from one type of screen for part of your day. Put your phone out of reach when you are working or away from your bed so you can’t reach it from bed. Don’t immediately turn on the tv or computer after dinner or when you get home.

Medium Level: Unplug for an ENTIRE day! Yep, you read that right. Leave your phone/computer on the charger and hide the remote. Spend the day enjoying someone’s company, going outside, reading a book, working on that project you keep telling yourself you don’t have time for.

Hard Level: Track and reduce your screen time. Use the screen time app on your phone to know what area you are on most. Track how much time you spend watching tv or on computer (non-work related). The average American spends 4-5 hours A DAY on screens. If you don’t think you have time for things you want to do, this will be the place to start.

Good luck and remember to continue to give yourself grace and strive to be 1% better everyday

If you are not learning, you are not growing.

There are several buckets we put ourselves in when it comes to reading. We either hate it, love it, or love it but don’t have enough time. No matter what bucket you put yourself in this challenge is for you. Even if you hate reading you will find that over time you see the benefit of it and grow to like it.

Your 3 levels of challenge this week:
Easy: Carve out 10 minutes each day to pick up a book & read. I recommend setting a number of pages goal especially if you are not a reader. That way instead of glancing at the timer every 30 seconds you focus on the number of pages left to read and what you can learn out of those pages. Find a time that you can be consistent like right before bed to wind down or in the morning before the rest of the house is up.

Medium: Switch out another activity for reading. Think about how much time you spend watching tv, scrolling through social media, or waiting for kids during their practice. Switch that activity for reading. Find a time that you could read for longer duration to grow your mind instead of numb your mind.

Hard: Set a goal for each month to achieve. Maybe it’s reading 1-2 books a month or a daily goal of reading so many pages. The idea is to be consistent to make it a good habit.

Finally, remember to give yourself grace. We will never be perfect and life happens. Show up each day as your best self. You choose your attitude and actions.

You are not doing anyone any favors by crowning yourself a “yes” martyr.
We use our busyness as a badge of honor. It’s something we talk (or complain) about. It is also something we have complete control of if you are honest with yourself. You will have “busy seasons” in life, but they shouldn’t be more than a few months. It’s not a season if there is no end.
My favorite line I used to tell myself, ”Once this happens then things will settle down.” I will tell you now that does NOT work. You have to be intentional about setting limits and doing some form of self care.

On to the challenges this week:

Easy: Write down each moment this week that you said yes or previously committed yes and now feel regretful. Be specific and honest about why you said yes. For example- Did I want them to view me as fun going out for drinks or did I truly want to see them and reconnect. No one is judging you. No one is going to see your answers. This is for you to know what you should say yes to.

Medium: Don’t check your phone for a day. Do you remember when we didn’t have these leashes (I mean phones) on us constantly. We could hang out with friends all day without that constant nagging beep or vibration of someone wanting our attention. We could focus on what we intended for that day without distraction.

Hard: Give yourself me time. I know mom guilt is real! But this is where your spouse, partner, friends come in. Or put the kiddos in bed early one night to give yourself some me time. Take a long bubble bath, go for a hike, get a massage, read a book – anything that makes you feel relaxed and happy.

You can’t pour out to others if you are on empty. Fill yourself up so you can be that wife, mom, daughter, friend, coworker you want to be!!

It is so easy these days with just a couple clicks on your phone to have something delivered to your house (thank you Amazon prime) when things get broken or stop working. This weeks challenge is think back to the mentality of your parents, grandparents, great grandparents. They didn’t just throw things away. They repaired them if they could. Nowadays it is even easier with YouTube videos available to show you how to do practically everything. BUT I repeat BUT if something is beyond repair, you don’t want to/not going to repair it GET IT OUT of your house.

Easy Challenge: Walk around your house and identify 1 item that needs repaired or thrown out/donated that would take less than 5 minutes to do. Then do it. Repair it (for example: replace the batteries), put it in the trash (for example: cracked plastic bowl), or put it in your car to donate the next time you go out (for example: clothes that don’t fit that you have just in case).

Medium Challenge: Make a list of all the things in your house that fall in this category. Then write down what you need to do with that item and when you will do it. Treat it like a bandaid and your goal is to have it all done in a month.

Hard Challenge: This is for the stacks of boxes around their house/garage and keeping it just in case even though it’s broken and will never use it. If you will not use it or repair it in the next 3 month GET RID OF IT! I know this is hard from personal experience helping others, but you will feel so much more in control of your life without being surrounded by clutter.

““Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT