Are you pumped about joining us for a 21-Day Health Challenge? We are excited to kick things off! When it comes to facing any challenge in life, whether it’s work or personal, professional or internal, it’s best to be prepared to increase your likelihood of success. We’re here for you! Below we’re sharing what we found was key to helping us slay our own 21-Day Health Challenges. We’ll talk about what we did specifically and also how you could apply it to your own unique case. If you haven’t already done so, Email Candace to join us on our upcoming 21-Day Health Challenge kicking off October 5!
Our Recommendations to Prepare for Your 21-Day Health Challenge
1. Make space in your life for the good things.
First things first, when you’re trying to add new things to your routine and life, you’ve got to make space for them. There are not going to be more hours in the day so it’s best if you carve out space from the beginning.
This first step refers to not only time but also to physical space. If you’re going to be adding more movement into your life several times a week if not daily, where will that take place? Will you join a gym? Work out in the living room? Walk to work or go for a run in the neighborhood? Help yourself make space by signing up for that gym now, rearranging the living room now, or mapping out a route through your neighborhood ahead of time. Trust us, you’ll be thankful!
We both decided that mornings are the best time for us to work out, so we wake earlier to get our activity out of the way in the early morning. Can tends to workout daily on our 21-Day Health Challenge and Dave takes a more moderate approach, working out in the mornings several times a week. Can finds that working out in the morning time is crucial, as she just doesn’t really have the energy or time later in the day. Dave is more flexible in the time of day he works out.
Both of us have fallen in love with the Beachbody On Demand workouts and in particular, their 21-Day Fix which was the inspiration for this concentrated health push! The Beachbody On Demand program has seemingly endless workout programs that you can do anywhere and stream from your phone or smart TV - your living room, backyard, the park, or even a hotel room if you’re traveling. This workout program is supported by the concentrated nutrition in their Shakeology shake mix which we are both also big fans of. Shakeology is so much more than what you’d think a typical shake would be, and is cram-packed with essential nutrients as well as beneficial herbs and minerals - it replaces a meal for us! In fact our another of our teammates Alicia credits the chocolate vegan Shakeology shake mix with helping her curb her sugar cravings and kickstart her ability to reduce the number of calories she eats - an effort she’s been doing for about a month now and which has helped her lose more than 5 lbs! Alicia has been combining the adjustment to her diet with low-impact walking and swimming.
2. Remove the bad things.
Now that you’ve got space in your schedule and a physical location to work out, let’s talk about omitting the nasties from your routine and surroundings. Temptation is much easier to resist if you don’t make eye contact with it in your fridge when you’re hungry! We’ll let you choose on your own what to remove, but we decided to remove the following from our pantry and diet during our 21-Day Health Challenge:
Sugars & artificial sweeteners
Caffeine
Alcohol
Processed grains (white flour, white rice, etc.)
Junk foods & fast food
Consider finding healthier alternatives to these naughty foods and drink such as:
All-natural monkfruit sweetener
Decaf coffee or herbal iced tea
Flavored sparkling water without sweeteners
Cauliflower rice, whole wheat bread, and ancient grains
Snacky treats that are also healthy such as blueberries, carrots, yogurt and almonds
3. Get the tools you need to help you succeed.
Like any hero setting out on a journey, what you include in your pack to support your travels can be so important! Depending on what exercise regime you decide to adopt, you might choose to equip yourself with new sneakers, finally get a perfectly-fitted sports bra, or a high-quality yoga mat. You also might need some items in your kitchen or bathroom. Here’s some items that we think could help support you:
Water bottle that you love
Fresh athletic socks - so fluffy! And if you don’t need new shoes, these can still make your feet happy
A scale so to track progress
Healthy snacks to satisfy any cravings that pop up
Nutrient-dense smoothie base such as Shakeology mix
A blender
Nutrient-rich smoothie ingredients like frozen berries, almond butter, coconut milk, or bananas
An insulated tumbler to hold your morning smoothie - Alicia is a big fan of her 30 oz one from Target
Measuring spoons / cups or something like the Beachbody Portion-Control 7-Piece Container Kit which helps you quickly and easily manager your portion sizes
Workout video subscription and nutrition reference app such as Beachbody On Demand
Diet & exercise tracking app like LoseIt! or MyFitnessPal
Get in touch with Candace for a link to join our favorite workout and nutrition programs with Beachbody and Shakeology!
4. Accept the support of a like-minded community.
We’re starting a Facebook Group for each new 21-Day Health Challenge because in our experience, people not only enjoy the feeling of camaraderie of tackling a goal at the same time, but together they really help each other succeed by sharing tangible advice, tips, resources, and encouragement. To join our accountability and support community, get in touch with Candace to be added to our private Facebook Group and join in on our 21-Day Health Challenge for the October 5th start date.
Join Our 21-Day Health Challenge
Please email Candace to learn more about how to join us for the 21-Day Health Challenge starting October 5!