We should exercise our minds like we exercise our bodies, so this January I'm doing a 30 day Meditation + Whole 30 Challenge. I'm inviting you to join me on this journey and have included the details for each below!
CHALLENGE YOUR MIND - 30 Day Meditation Challenge
What if I told you you could do something for 10 minutes a day, and you'd be able to increase your focus, decrease anxiety, minimize stress, and actually change your brain? Well, luckily for you, it's possible! It's been proven that meditation has these and many additional benefits. Check out this article for all the scientific research.
Why 10 minutes a day?
It's been shown doing meditation for less time each day has better benefits than doing it for long times less frequently. Therefore, lets commit to 10 minutes every day.
How to do the Challenge
- Find a guided meditation you'll use for the 30 days - Headspace App is my personal recommendation for you and the tool I plan to use. If you don't want to use an app, you can also find a podcast or YouTube video (example YouTube videos here).
- Decide what time you plan to meditate each day - It's best to meditate at the same time every day so you don't forget. Many people choose the morning because it helps start your day on the right foot. Feel free to choose the time that works best for you.
- Start on Tuesday January 3rd!
CHALLENGE YOUR BODY - Whole 30 Challenge
You are what you eat, so don't be fast, cheap, easy or fake!
Certain food groups (like sugar, grains, dairy and legumes) could be having a negative impact on your health and fitness without you even realizing it. The Whole 30 is a very popular program to help people eat real foods to help people reset their gut, cravings, and health so they feel the best they've ever felt! The real goal is to cut out anything processed with any added sugar. Check out the rules below!
The rules (read below or click here)
- Eat real food. Eat meat, seafood, eggs, tons of vegetables, some fruit, and plenty of good fats from fruits, oils, nuts and seeds. Eat foods with very few ingredients, all pronounceable ingredients, or better yet, no ingredients listed at all because they’re totally natural and unprocessed. Don’t worry… these guidelines are outlined in extensive detail in our free shopping list.
- Avoid for 30 days.
- Do not consume added sugar of any kind, real or artificial. No maple syrup, honey, agave nectar, coconut sugar, Splenda, Equal, Nutrasweet, xylitol, stevia, etc. Read your labels, because companies sneak sugar into products in ways you might not recognize.
- Do not consume alcohol in any form, not even for cooking.
- Do not eat grains. This includes (but is not limited to) wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rice, millet, bulgur, sorghum, amaranth, buckwheat, sprouted grains and all of those gluten-free pseudo-grains like quinoa. This also includes all the ways we add wheat, corn and rice into our foods in the form of bran, germ, starch and so on. Again, read your labels.
- Do not eat legumes. This includes beans of all kinds (black, red, pinto, navy, white, kidney, lima, fava, etc.), peas, chickpeas, lentils, and peanuts. No peanut butter, either. This also includes all forms of soy – soy sauce, miso, tofu, tempeh, edamame, and all the ways we sneak soy into foods (like lecithin).
- Do not eat dairy. This includes cow, goat or sheep’s milk products such as cream, cheese (hard or soft), kefir, yogurt (even Greek), and sour cream… with the exception of clarified butter or ghee. (See below for details.)
- Do not consume carrageenan, MSG or sulfites. If these ingredients appear in any form on the label of your processed food or beverage, it’s out for the Whole30.
Helpful Resources for the Whole 30
Lets start 2017 off right! I'll be posting information about my next 30 days on instagram if you'd like inspiration. I'd also love for you to share your journey with me as well. Share your thoughts in the comments, on instagram or on Facebook!
Happy 2017!