CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK:  Sign Up For a RACE!

Have you ever done a 5k race?  If you haven’t, it’s likely you’ve thought about it. Perhaps you’ve even considered doing a 10k, a cycling ride, or a triathlon?

Before you say you “can’t” or you’re not interested, let’s dive in to some reasons why signing up for a local race could be beneficial to you.

Why Sign Up for a Race?

• It gives you a new and/or additional goal to work toward
• It helps boost motivation and commitment to exercise (“I don’t feel like running today but I’ve got my race coming up in two weeks so I’m going to get out there anyways.”)
• It pushes you to step out of your comfort zone and try something new
• It tests your fitness abilities (Make it a tradition to do the same one each year and try and beat your time!)
• It supports local charities (most races benefit a local cause)
• It gets you involved in the fitness community
• It gives you an unbeatable feeling of accomplishment after crossing the finish line after weeks or months of dedication to training and hard work

Goal setting is huge for bridging the road to success in all areas of life, including fitness and health.

One last thing... Encourage a friend to sign up with you. 

Who knows, you may even inspire them to live a healthier lifestyle like you!

Are you IN for this week’s challenge!? 

Let us all know which race you are going to sign up (or have already signed up for) for by the END of the week! 

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

What’s Your Daily Win?

This week, I have an extra special challenge for you. 

Everything we do, think about, and act on depends on a decision that YOU make.

Whether we make a good decision or a bad decision, we have a CHOICE about whether to act in a way that will move us closer to our goals, or take us farther away from our goals. 

There is NOTHING in between. 

We’re constantly tempted by advertisements, billboards, the smell of food we know we shouldn’t have, our friends, the couch, the Ben & Jerry’s in the freezer section, and the list goes on and on.

One of my FAVORITE quotes, is: “Don’t give up what you want MOST, for what you want now.”

It’s important to recognize when you make a good decision and then act (or not act) on it, and then be PROUD of yourself for making the right choice.

It’s not always easy and it’s certainly not always fun, but it’s CRITICAL if you are going to reach your goals.

I am challenging EACH of you to your OWN Daily Win….

Not only to have one, but to share it with your friends or family or on Facebook, or by responding to this email!

Be proud of yourself for the small successes.

Your Challenge: Every day this week, I want you to have a Daily Win and share it with someone!

That’s it!  I’m looking forward to hearing about your Daily Wins!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

Challenge of the Week: 1000 Burpee Challenge!

This week, your challenge is to complete 1000 Burpees by the end of the week!

Check out just why burpees are so AWESOME for you!

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13415/5-reasons-to-do-burpees-every-day.html

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

Kitchen Makeover Challenge

Eating well does NOT happen by accident.  It takes a little preparation to set yourself up for success.

All of your good intentions can fly out the window when you come home hungry and run to the fridge.  

Since your brain and body want food ASAP, it going to force you to reach for the fastest and most sugar laden food you have in your kitchen.

Kitchen Makeover Action Steps: 

Remove all the temptations out of your house. 

If it is in your home, you may break down and eat it. Your home should be a safe place to achieve your goals.  If you keep good food in your home, you will eat good food 

If you have junk in the house “for your kids,” start by making better snack choices for them.  They will also eat what you keep in the house.  They will follow your lead in their adult life, so set the BEST possible example you can.

Start by GETTING RID OF THESE THINGS in the Refrigerator:

• Sodas & Juices
• Sauces – with high fructose corn syrup
• Cakes & other baked goods
• High Fat Cheeses
• Frozen Dinners
• Creamy Dressings
• Mayonnaise
• Regular Sour Cream
• Ice Cream
• Lunchmeat (it’s filled with sodium & MSG- even Boar’s Head)

Replace them with:

• Green Tea & Filtered Water
• Salsa & Guacamole
• Oil based dressings (No HFCS)
• Fresh Vegetables
• Fresh Fruit
• Greek Yogurt
• Hummus
• Mustard
• Lean cuts of Meat (Turkey, Chicken)
• Fresh Fish
• Low-fat Cottage Cheese
• Eggs (cage free)
• Lemon Juice

Then… GET RID OF THESE THINGS from your Pantry

(and by getting rid of, I mean donate or throw away, NOT EAT THEM!!)

• Pretzels
• Chips
• Cookies
• Crackers
• Boxed Cereal (Kashi Go Lean is ok- limit this)
• Bars (Larabars are okay)
• White Flour
• Instant Foods
• Regular or Artificial Sugars

Replace them with:

• Whole grain products (steel-cut, unsweetened, rolled, sprouted)
• Ezekiel Bread (put in the freezer)
• Nuts – Almonds & walnuts
• Goji Berries
• Flax Seed
• Chia Seeds
• Cacao Powder
• Dried Fruit
• Black Beans – limit
• Legumes -limit
• Canned Tuna
• Coconut Oil & Olive Oil
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil or Grape seed Oil
• Quinoa
• Spices
• Raw, organic, local honey, OR  palm/coconut sugar
• Protein Powders – cold pressed and no fillers 

This challenge will not only set you up for success to help you reach your goals, but by having healthier choices in the house, you will FEEL BETTER, HAVE MORE ENERGY, and Sleep like a baby.

If you accept this challenge this Kitchen Makeover Challenge, make sure to leave a comment below!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

Challenge of the Week: Seven Mile Challenge

Your Challenge this week (in ADDITION to your normal workouts or other regular workout schedule…) is to add an EXTRA 7 miles of running/jogging/walking into your schedule this week.

You can run 1 mile each day for the week, run 7 miles in one day, or mix and match until you get 7 extra miles by the end of the week!

Are you up for the extra 7 miles this week?!  Let me know if you ACCEPT!

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

Challenge of the Week:

Make Your Own Lunch this Week

We can all get really busy at work and get into the bad habit of running out to eat and grabbing your lunch.

You might even have a regular place that you go to, but secretly know that it’s not the best food you can be eating.

But, what else can you do?  You don’t have any food and you need to eat!

So…this week’s Challenge of the week is to:

PACK YOUR OWN LUNCH every day this week!

Not only will it save you a LOT of money from not eating out, but you will know EXACTLY what is in the food you are eating.

You’ll even be amazed at how much extra energy you feel because you won’t be weighed down by oils or heavy carbs that are all too often found at restaurants.

Here are a couple of steps to make this Challenge Successful:

1.  PLAN your week out in advance.  (This doesn’t have to take long, but sit down and actually write it out.)

2.  Go grocery shopping as soon as you can to get these items.  Don’t leave it up to the universe to magically put the food in your fridge!  Set yourself up for success and do the prep work.

3.  If you can’t pack your lunch the morning you leave for work, make sure to pack it up the night before, so you can grab it and go!

Here are a few great Brown Bag lunch ideas:

• Salad with sliced turkey (dressing on the side)
• Left-overs from dinner the night before
• Greek Yogurt with a piece of fruit and fresh cut veggies
• Lettuce Wrap with sliced veggies & meat

AND….if you’re looking for something a little more fancy, you can check out Martha Stuart’s article of 50 Brown Bag Lunches to give you a few new ideas 

Check it out here: http://www.marthastewart.com/275227/brown-bag-lunches

That’s it!  Are you up for this Week’s Challenge!?

CHALLENGE OF THE WEEK

Challenge of the Week: Committing to Your Goal

Set a goal & COMMIT to it. 

Being clear about your goal is critically important to be able to achieve something you WANT.

It’s important to take control of the direction of your life and to live your life ON PURPOSE, and not just let life “happen” to you.

If you don’t, you might wake up in 10 years and wonder how you got there!

Your Challenge of the week is:

Define one of your goals and COMMIT to achieving it. 

No matter how big or small your goal is, if it doesn’t CHALLENGE you, it doesn’t CHANGE you.

Here are a few things that are important to define when setting your new goal:

1.  They have to be S.M.A.R.T. Goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely.) and write it down.

2.  Write down WHY this goal is so important to you.  When things become challenging to you, your WHY will push you through these tougher periods.  If you don’t have a good enough WHY, then you need to choose another goal that is IMPORTANT to you.

3.  Create an action plan! List out EXACTLY what you are going to do in order to achieve you goal.  Are you going to work out 3 times a week at 5am?  Great- now block it off in your schedule. Be as clear and as specific as you can.

4.  Imagine how you are going to FEEL once you have accomplished your goal.  Write it down.  (this is a really important step- so don’t skip it!)

5.  Share it with someone.  A friend, family member, co-worker or whoever!  Have this person help you to be accountable for your actions.

Are you ready to get started?