Whole30 and Beyond: Keep the challenges coming

For the next two weeks my hubby will hone his innate talent for running straight toward danger. Why he wants to tango with the craziest of the crazies is beyond me. He tries to convince me that this new endeavor is far safer than his day job, but I'm not easily swayed. "Out of sight, out of mind" is the only way I can make it through the day without the paralyzing fear that he won't come home. So while he's training and getting verbally abused by NCOs with pent up aggression, I've decided to do a TV cleanse. No tube for two weeks. That means a Netflix marathon is in store. I have to plow through the first season of Scandal before Monday!

For the past year we've only had Netflix, but back around the holidays I got wrangled into buying DirectTV (missing an entire season of Walking Dead left a void in my husband's soul). The petite blond behind the table in the middle of the Walmart aisle buttered me up like a steamy cornbread muffin. Compliments oozed from her lips as did laments that she hadn't met her quota for the day. Sucker that I am, I signed the contract.

Now I come home in the evenings and instead of pampering myself by reading a book or slipping into a bubble bath, I plop down on the couch and mindlessly flip through the channels. There's never anything that I particularly care to watch, unless of course it's Tuesday or Wednesday when back to back Castle is on (I blame my mother-in-law for getting me hooked).

Ok, ok. It was Nathan Fillion that got me hooked.

I've been staying up later and later each night vegging when I should be sleeping, or reading, writing, and prepping for my classes so I think a TV detox is in order. I want to see just how much I can accomplish and how much I can enrich my life without the constant murmur of sitcoms in the background. Of course I won't start until after the Superbowl tomorrow night!

So I was thinking....
I thoroughly enjoyed the Whole30. I found the structure of the program easy to follow and extremely helpful for trying to improve old habits and ingrain new ones. The principles aren't limited to just nutrition. We can take the Whole30 premise and apply it to any goal or habit we want to achieve. It may seem a bit ambitious, but I want to hone a new habit every month. The beauty of tailoring the program to other challenges is that they won't be nearly as intense or quite the overhaul as the original Whole30.

For example, after revamping our nutrition, the next most logical goal to achieve would be a daily fitness habit. Start a Fitness30 and commit to 15 minutes of heart pumping movement for 30 days. You could exercise for 30 minutes or an hour if you wanted to, but keep the base goal small and attainable. Trust me, on days you want to be a total slug, 30 minutes will seem like an eternity, whereas 15 is doable. Shoot for engaging in as many different types of exercise as possible. Walk. Run. Dance. Practice yoga or pilates. Do plyometrics. Take a spin class. Lift weights. Swing kettle bells. Kick box. Swim. Stretch. Take advantage of gyms and studios that offer a free first class. Hike. Kayak. Climb a rock wall. Practice agility drills. Pretend you're in boot camp. Dabble in Crossfit. Try a barre class, and aerial acrobatics class, or stand up paddle boarding. Look on YouTube for videos of just about any exercise fad you can think of. Try the quickie workouts pinned on Pinterest. Search Meetup.com for active groups in your city....That's enough suggestions to have you doing something different every single day. You'll never get bored!

We don't have to limit ourselves to improving our bodies and health. Here are some other 30 day challenges you could try:

• Meditation30- 5 minutes of meditation every day
• Reading30- read for 15 minutes every day
• DIY30- work on a DIY project or some other creative venture for 15 minutes a day
• Yoga30- 5 yoga poses a day
• Gratitude30- Keep a gratitude journal and write down 3 things you are grateful for every day.
• Giving30- 30 days of simple acts of giving (not limited just to gifts- think giving of your time, a hug, a listening ear)
• Contact30- write a letter, make a call, send a text, meet a friend every day (with the same person every day or different people every day)
• Savings30- Stash $5 in a jar every day or buy only the absolute necessities for a month. See how much you save.
• Pamper30- love and pamper yourself every day for 30 days. It doesn't have to cost money. Take bubble bath, paint your nails, slather your hair in coconut oil as a moisturizing mask, exfoliate with a coffee grinds/coconut oil mixture (my own concoction- I like to think that the caffeine in the coffee helps with cellulite!), read, go to bed early, eat some decadent dark chocolate....
• Sleep30- get your 8 hours every night. No excuses.

I've become very curious about habits. What causes them? How can we break them? How can we develop and stick to new ones? There's a lot more to it than just invoking a little will power. I haven't done much research yet, but I do want to read The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg. Zenhabits.net also offers a wealth of info on ways to develop and stick to habits, all while staying calm and centered. Check out this post and this post, and I'll keep you updated as I learn more about all the inner workings of habits.

So now that I've committed to a Fitness30 in front of all of you, I better get my booty out there and get moving! Have a wonderful weekend, loves.

Christan