Whole Life Challenge ~ Results & Passing the Torch …
Two weeks ago I pledged to join in on the Whole Life Challenge, created by Maggie at Say Yes to Salad. And, I am happy to say, that while I didn’t do a daily blog of events, it was quite successful. Here were my results:
- Drink More Water – Not only do I have trouble remembering to drink an adequate amount of water, but I also live in a dry climate and exercise regularly, exacerbating the problem. In the winter, I at least drink a lot of herbal tea to fill in the gaps, but with the current hot weather I am constantly dehydrated. I did manage my first baby step – starting each day with a big glass of water. On days when I remembered to add some lemon/lime to the water, I drank more … more appealing I guess … so I need to make that more of a habit. I am also going to work on that trick of filling up a bottle a few times a day and having it on my desk as a next step.
- Get Walking – For the past few months, exercise has not been a problem. My husband and I have been doing an hour+ a day of cardio and/or strength training … but, I seem to be in all or nothing mode. Once I get beind my computer, I forget to even get up for hours on end. I decided to make a conscious effort to get moving more throughout the day on top of our workouts. Most days (all but two actually) we added a walk of sorts into our daily routine, but beyond this I worked very hard to get up at least once an hour and take care of a chore that didn’t involve sitting. This is something I plan to keep working on!
- Adventure New Meals – I often have trouble relaxing and just creating in the kitchen. I am by nature a baker (love measurements) not a cook (throw what together?). So I tried to let go of my preconceived notions about my kitchen skills and just have some fun with it. I was definitely happy with the results, and so was my hungry husband. I came up with some new recipes that I will be posting about soon, including Mexican Meatballs in Romaine Boats, Orange-Sesame Dressing / Salad, Mexican Stuffed Bell Peppers, and Slightly Spicy Puttanesque-a. I also made a fantastic Chicken and Broccoli stir-fry (if I do say so myself!) that just needs a few tweaks to reach perfection (the sauce was a bit runny), and I trialed out three healthy bar recipes from the new Enjoy Life Cookbook. I will post one of my variations soon. So I did surprisingly well in this category!
- Soak Up Some Vitamin D – Referencing the above walking comments, I have trouble remembering to get out and soak up some rays before it is too late. This is the one challenge I definitely failed on. The only days I got Vitamin D were the days we went outdoors for those walks, otherwise, I completely forgot to get outside. I guess accomplishing too many goals at once can be overwhelming, but this one is going at the top of my list for improvement! After all, how hard can it be to get just 30 minutes a day?
- Add Green to My Morning Smoothie – The funny thing is, I have added spinach to my blueberry smoothies for years. You really can’t taste it. But whenever I wasn’t making a blueberry or chocolate smoothie, I omitted it, as the green color is really what turned me off. I know, I know, silly hang-up. So I got over my fear with some vibrant green smoothies and some muddy looking ones too (actually tasted the best!). They didn’t look great, but they were still of course delicious! The one problem is, I still stick with spinach; I need to venture kale and other nutrient rich greens. Oh, I did use Amazing Grass (berry-flavor) for some of my green smoothies (especially when I was out of spinach), which really is amazing!
Thanks Maggie for the Excellent Challenge! I am going to keep it up with the above challenges rather than adding in new ones so soon, as I think I need to continue with these to really make them a part of my life.
I encourage you all to join the Whole Life Challenge too! I would love to hear some things you are hoping to improve on, so please do tell …
10 thoughts on “Whole Life Challenge ~ Results & Passing the Torch …”
Nice job!! I can’t wait to see your new meals 🙂
Thanks for the challenge review! It’s funny. I do all of those things as part of my daily life except for the green smoothies. I should really try them. But I always feel like it’s too much trouble to get out the blender.
Alisa, thanks for your comment on my blog. And thanks for putting my bakery on your restaurant suggestion page!!! Take care, from the Twins!
Thank you so much for the comment on my blog!
It was/is an awesome challenge isn’t it? Thanks so much for the review–sounds like you are doing great!
<3 jess
xoxo
Looks like a great challenge… and you know I have a weakness for green smoothies, Just finishing day 1 of my cleanse!
It’s funny how crappy the green smoothies can look, yet how delicious they can be. 🙂
Cheers,
Kristen
nice!!! i have a few goals that i need to work on myself.. better start those up asap!
GL with the challenge. Dang tho. My goal is to just be happy with how I am. Period. 😉
Such a great idea to have that challenge! We all get in ruts. I’ve been making the green smoothies lately and have been really pleased with how good they are. I am following Ali’s recipe (Whole Life Nutrition). They test very fresh and green, but in a good way! 😉
Shirley
Great post! I try to keep these things in mind as well- but it’s not always easy! I have yet to try a green smoothie, but it’s on my list…
Comments are closed.