Stephanie Howell

Whole Life Challenge | Week 0- Thoughts Before I Begin

So I am now three days away from starting the Whole Life Challenge.

I plan to blog about my experience and I thought this week was a good place to start. I want to talk about my fears, my expectations, and my thoughts in general.

 

What is the WLC? The Whole Life Challenge is an eight week challenge that works by identifying the areas that almost everyone wants to change, and then making a daily game out of creating new habits in each of those areas. The game is designed around the five key areas that every person can identify with. Relying on their more than forty years of combined personal coaching experience, the founders created a system of play focused on implementing new habits in each of the five key areas.

 

What are the different components?
1. Diet (similar to Whole 30)  2. Exercise(10 min a day) 3. Water Intake (take 1/3 of your body weight and drink 1 ounce per pound)4. Stretching (10 minutes) 5. Supplements (I'm taking fish oil) 6. Lifestyle (this changes weekly- sleep,meditation,etc) 7.Daily Reflection

Each component is worth a certain amount of points. You lose points for breaking the rules.

So. Yeah. I'm pretty nervous but also really, truly excited to experience these eight weeks.

Saturday is the first day.

 

What am I scared about? No bread, pasta, sugar, dairy, cheese, milk. ESPECIALLY the cheese. I love cheese. Drinking my coffee black. I will miss gelato soooo much.

 

What am I most excited about? Changing my life. Does that sound dramatic? Maybe. But it's true. I'm tired of being tired. I'm tired of my back hurting and my stomach aching and I'm tired of being out of breath. I'm tired of not feeling strong. I'm tired of making bad choices because they are the easy choices. I'm tired of making excuses and I'm tired of not feeling good about myself.

 

What's my plan? Exercise every day. CrossFit, Body Pump, Yoga, Swimming, Walking, Running, Elliptical, Hiking. Backup Plan at home= 30 Day Shred, TurboFire.

Source

I'm on week four of almost daily exercise and y'all- I feel GOOD. And strong. And I'm happier. I can't wait to add in the nutrition piece.

My plan is to make good choices and to make changes. I know that I will mess up and slip up and I'm okay with that. I'm not aiming for perfection.

My plan is to do prep every Sunday. Eggs boiled, Chicken baked. Vegetables and fruit chopped and sliced. I am going to buy a small freezer so that I can make and prep meals as well.

 

What level am I doing? Lifestyle/intermediate. One glass of wine a day? SOLD.

What am I stocking up on? Recipes and ideas. I have a Pinterest board HERE. I am going to make my own sriracha sauce and some other seasonings. I intend to try to make my own Lara bars. We'll see...

I'm stocking up on almond and cashew butters, Lara bars, and quinoa. Coconut oil, almond and coconut flours, almond and coconut milks. Raw cacao powder, a big water bottle, coconut flakes, and dates are all in my cupboard.

Each week I will visit a farmer's market or local shop and load up on fresh fruit and veggies. I have to teach myself to like sweet potatoes. VOM. Hahaha!

 

What about my family? Jimmy supports me 100 percent and is joining me in the challenge. I'm so excited to see the impact this makes on my family. For the record, I will not remove dairy, etc. from the house. My girls will still have these things, but dinners are for everyone. I make it, you eat it. No other choices. :)

 

This Friday I take the workout assessment. I will compare my times/scores before and after the challenge. I had my photos taken (in my sports bra-EEEK) and measurements taken on Monday. It was a scary experience for me but I really believe the end results will make it worthwhile.

It's eight weeks. I can do anything for eight weeks. After the challenge is over I want to decide what components to keep.

Let's be honest. Life is too short to not have pasta, or pizza, or gelato. Life's too short to not taste the wine. But I need to cut down on these things. I'm not taking care of myself and it's time for that to change.

source

I am determined to become stronger than my strongest excuse.

Let's do this!

xoxo

S

she did it.

the other day i was playing with the babies. the bigs were outside with j.

harper came running in SCREAMING "MOMMMYYYYYY! COME SEEEE! YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT!!!!".

and when i came outside i didn't believe it. she finally learned how to ride her bike without training wheels.

i thought this day might never every come. she is very cautious and unwilling to try new things.

very scared to fall. jimmy isn't here often and it's a bit hard for me to take all four on bike rides. HA!

but she did it!!

with lots of encouragement from her daddy:

 

a few wobbles:

and lots of smiles:

and i stood there with teary eyes snapping photos.

not only because she finally hit this milestone...

but because j was here for it.

it might sound silly, but he is not here for most firsts. so to see him accomplish this with harper. gosh, i have tears in my eyes just typing this.

 

and speaking of bikes and tears in my eyes for other reasons...i took my first spin class last night. i can barely walk or SIT today, but i loved it. i kept up and i am really proud of myself. i have a feeling this is really going to change my body and maybe my life.

so here's to new beginnings and accomplishments. :)
happy thursday sweet friends.

xoxo

s

fitness update

**elmer's giveaway open below...go check it out!!**

 

try not to be jealous of the post-workout hair. so purdy. :)

okay. here i am. 3 months into working out 1-2x daily.

well,except for the 2 weeks i was in tx. i did the 30 day shred three times in those 2 weeks, but other than that my workouts consisted of mexican food and wine. nice. :)

i am feeling great. GREAT. it's funny...the number on the scale has only changed by about 5 pounds. but my body is completely different. and even better than that, my i FEEL completely different. i no longer am winded at the top of the stairs.

i can carry the babies around without feeling exhausted.

i feel better about myself. happier.

now if you ask harper she says when i "essercise" i'm sweaty and grumpy.

HAHAHAHA!

i can tell you what this refers to. it refers to when i'm leaving the YMCA and it's 100 degrees and humid and i've just sweated my you-know-what-off for an hour and i'm trying to get the babies to the car and she stops RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME and looks around like she's lost and i say HARPER!WHATAREYOUDOING?MOOOOOOOOOOOOVE!!

yes, sweaty and grumpy a bit. i can admit it.

it's not always fun. it's HARD. lots of days i just want to skip exercising. but i've forced myself to go.

and i'm still working on the "eating healthy" thing. i've made some progress. lots of whole foods, no artificial sweeteners or ingredients. i only eat things i can pronounce. i only drink water (and coffee.i will NEVER get rid of my coffee, sorry).

no more white sugar, flour,pasta,or rice. way more veggies and fruit.

but i'm working on eating regularly. i tend to forget this when J is gone. we are committed to eating healthfully TOGETHER when he gets home. :)

today i thought i'd share some of my favorite exercise-related things with you.

disclaimer: i'm NO expert. i'm not a runner. i'm not a pro athlete. i just go to the gym every day and take a class. and i want to share what has really worked for me.

 

tops:

i LOVE these shaping tops by champion. LOVE them. i cannot say enough good things about them. they wick nicely and they make my stomach look way smaller. which is awesome. i've had four children. my stomach will take a LONG time to fix. and i'm okay with that. but i don't neccessarily want to look at it when i'm exercising. :)

 

but nothing compares to these c9by champion empire tops (i get them at target). i bought all three colors. aqua, purple,black. they FLOW over the stomach.i'm wearing it in the 2nd photo above! and they are fitted up top. i cannot explain my love for these tops. i'm so hoping they make more colors soon.

 

 

pants:

i like a good compression capri. for some odd reason i don't like exercising in shorts. nor do i like pants.

my favorites are the ones from champion (these are the shaping type as well)...LOVE

 

 

and the ruched ones from old navy

shoes:

i haven't gotten a pair of nike free shoes yet, but that's next on my list.

right now i alternate between rykas:

 

and my favorite pair of brooks:

deodorant (yes, i'm going there.what? it's an important gym accessory!)

i LOVE the secret. it lasts long, and doesn't come off easily. the mitchum works amazingly well. almost too well,to be honest. even after a shower i could still smell it and it kind of drove me nuts. but it works.

preferred workouts:

at the gym i take:

zumba

turbokick

step(thinking of dropping this one, it's my friday class and is really starting to bore me).

there is a cardio class i take sometimes that is amazingly hard but so effective. it's like an interval training sort of class. she had us run sprints once and i'm pretty sure i almost keeled over.

30 day shred:

 

really wanting to try turbofire next. i love turbokick and i need something similar to do at home.

so there you have it!

i'm really wanting to get a spin class and a yoga class into my schedule somewhere.

also when j gets home he is going to help me incorporate short crossFit type workouts.

i do so much cardio...i really need to bring in a bit of weight training. i want definition.

hoping someone found this post interesting or helpful...i'm now worried i talked waaaaay toooooo much and that it was boring. sorry! hahaha!

oh, i wanted to add this...i get asked a lot how i fit it in. especially when j's gone. my best answer is...i just do it. i have had a LOT less crafty time the last few months and i think that's just the way it's going to have to be. but there's simply not enough time for everything. when h and s start school it will be easier to balance i think.

happy wednesday!

xoxos

p.s. GO GET THAT FLOWY CHAMPION TOP!!!

 

{oh, i could never do that!!!}

**moxiemandie giveaway still open below**

"i could NEVER do that!"

that was me, three weeks ago...saying i couldn't start going to the gym every day.

i came up with every excuse in the book.

i'm too tired.

i JUST had babies. (um, half a year ago???)

i'm scared.

i don't want to leave my kids in the childcare room, twins are too hard to take care of.

i don't want to pay to join a gym.

i'm too clumsy for group fitness.

i have shin splints.

i'm not good enough.

i'm 33 and i've never exercised. it's too late.

i'll make a fool out of myself.

you name it. i said it.

and here i am, three weeks later...taking a class every day.

i joined the YMCA and i LOVE it.

don't get me wrong...it is HARD. hard. i am awkward. i am clumsy. my face is beet red and i look like i've been swimming at the end of every class.

zumba is the funniest. my friend catie described it perfectly.

"i feel all shakira and like i'm killing it, and then i look in the mirror and look like elaine from seinfeld!"

this.totally.

but i'm happier. i feel better about myself. i am slowly feeling more like me. i am learning the "steps" to zumba, turbo kick, step...but also, that hour away from my girls lets me think about ME. for a little bit i can concentrate on getting back to the me i want to be.

not that i was ever a "me" that exercised.

i have never REALLY exercised in my life. i played lacrosse in high school but past that the only thing i've done is a brief foray into crossFit w/ j (which was TORTUROUS, as some of you may remember. hahaha).

i will admit, i might be a bit obsessed. monday i took two classes in a row, and today i did as well.

i'm always like this when i start a hobby. i used to scrap like 2 pages a day,hehe!

it keeps my mind off worrying. and gives the girls time with someone other than ME!

so, even though i though i could never do this...i'm doing it. and even liking it. who would have thought?

i can totally do this! even if i trip over my own limbs doing it.

xoxo

s