The start of a new year brings out motivation in us all to be better. To be the best version of ourselves. It always feels like a fresh start. New year’s resolutions have never really been my thing but I definitely always feel a stirring in me to do something better. Things like this are always more fun and effective if you have a buddy or two to play along. So, I decided I’d get you all involved! Welcome to my Foolproof 21-Day Kick-start Your Health Challenge!

Join the challenge on Facebook! There will be tons of motivation, friendly reminders, and a couple of GIVEAWAYS!

Who doesn’t love a good challenge?!

Even though the idea behind this 21-day kick-start your health challenge was originally just for me I know that to be successful I need some accountability. It’s super motivating for me to compete with another person rather than myself. When you have a friend in it with you there is a certain amount of accountability that prevents us from becoming complacent or lax. Not to mention the support and the camaraderie.

So, here we are.

Whether you are wanting to lose a substantial amount of weight, or just generally want to feel healthier, this challenge is for you!

What do you want to gain from this challenge?

My personal goal is to lose 40lbs by next summer. June-ish. No small feat but right now I really just need a good kick-start and to develop some habits that will make that journey easier! I also just want to feel better and do better at taking care of myself.

Let's face it, that whole saying if momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy has some truth to it. Click To Tweet

Homemaking isn’t just housework and cooking. The physical and mental energy required to do EVERYTHING can be exhausting. If you’re wondering what I do all day as a homemaker, well…THAT’S a post for another time!

Stay tuned.

Back to what I was saying though, I need to be at my best in order to be a successful homemaker. That’s all there is to it.

Why 21-days?

First of all, I like most things short and sweet. Let’s just get this done and be done with it. 21-days isn’t even a full month.

Also, there is this theory that it takes 21-days to form a habit good or bad. Apparently, the idea was put out there by cosmetic surgeon Dr. Maxwell Maltz in his 1960 book “Psyco Cybernetics, A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life.” Dr. Maltz recommended that people practice self-affirmations and positive behaviors for 21-days to make them habitual. He thought that it would take about 21-days of “practice” for an old mental image of ourselves to dissolve and a new one to form.

I personally love this idea but I don’t think it’s always that simple. There is no “magic” number. It seems to me that the harder the habit to break or form, the longer it might take. Every person is different though which really is the deciding factor of how long it will take to form a good habit or break a bad habit.

How is this challenge foolproof?

I can say with confidence that this challenge is foolproof. It won’t be easy. But, we’re not doing anything crazy here. Just trying to develop some good healthy habits. They are realistic habits. Anyone can do this!

Where there's a will, there's a way. Click To Tweet

I firmly believe this statement. Human beings can do ANYTHING once their mind is firmly made up to do it! Just make your mind up that it needs to be done and get rid of any fear of failure. Rosa Parks said it best.

So here’s the deal…My 21-Day Kick-start your health challenge

focuses on four general areas that I personally want to improve in. Nothing too difficult, remember this is just a little kick-start! Just the kick-start we need to be just a bit healthier. ♥

Four focus areas:

1. Water intake
2. Balanced meals
3. Exercise
4. Daily Healthy habits

The Rules:

1. Drink at least 1/2 your weight of water in ounces
2. No alcohol for the full 21-days
3. Eat balanced meals. Vegetables and or fruit at every meal. Only one dessert per week allowed
4. Exercise 30-45 minutes five days a week
5. Read every day for 30 minutes
6. Brush your teeth 2 times per day and floss at night
7. Practice skincare every morning and night
8. Stretch for 10 minutes per day. 10 stretches hold each for 1 minute

Water Intake

There is so much to be said about water! Jeff jokes that Dr. Leigh Ann (me) says that water is the cure-all. Hubby is a smart man.

Seriously though, it seems to cure every ailment I’ve ever had! But how much water is enough? You’ve heard the eight 8 oz glasses bit I’m sure. That might not be enough for some people. Everyone is different. You have to decide what’s right for you.

By listening to your body you can figure out how much water you should be drinking every day. Click To Tweet

Here is a fantastic article on water intake from the Mayo Clinic!

I developed excellent water habits years ago but lately, I’ve noticed I haven’t been staying as hydrated as I should. I can tell because I pay close attention to my body and I just know what I need. This is key to figuring out what works best for you. Drinking half your body weight in ounces is said to help you lose weight. The validity of this I’m not sure of but I do know that when I get that much water my appetite is suppressed, I have tons of energy, and I generally just feel better. Without visiting the bathroom every 10 minutes! Ain’t nobody got time for that.

Do you know what else no one has time for?

Filling up 8 eight-ounce glasses a day. Get yourself a water bottle!! I cannot recommend this enough! I have a 32 oz bottle that I take EVERYWHERE with me. Amazon has some excellent and affordable choices.

Bottles like these make it so much easier to develop the habit of staying hydrated!

Don’t forget to join the 21-Day Kick-start your health challenge on Facebook! I’ll be giving away my favorite water bottle. ♥ The Challenge starts on January 12th, 2020 and ends February 1st, 2020!

No Alcohol for 21-days

Okay. Don’t take this part of the challenge the wrong way. I enjoy a good cocktail or a glass of wine just as much as the next gal. However, alcohol is calorie-laden, and sort of defeats the purpose of kick-starting your health. It can be counter-productive to hydration, weight loss, and a healthy body.

After the 21-days feel free to indulge but maybe just don’t overdo it. You will have wasted this precious time. There are plenty of low-calorie alcoholic beverages out there. Try this Low-Calorie Limoncello Moscow Mule! It tastes amazing and comes in at a low 172 calories!

The truth is you can lose weight, be healthy, and have a drink once in a while. It’s all about calories in and calories out. Which brings me to the next part of the challenge.

Eating Balanced meals

I hate a restrictive diet, I think it is stupid and does nothing more than set you up for failure. Click To Tweet

Not to mention when you restrict a certain food or food group you potentially cut out vital nutrients. My thoughts are why not just keep everything in balance.

All things in moderation. Click To Tweet

A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Just keep everything in balance. The only thing missing from this beautiful plate is a baked sweet potato or a crusty piece of french bread!

Balance.

For the challenge, I am going to say let’s make sure we include vegetables and/or fruit at every meal. That should be pretty easy. Pinterest is full of veggie side dishes and fruit smoothies! I’ll be sharing everything I eat on the Facebook group page! ♥ Also, I’d like to keep the sugar intake at a minimum. Let’s say no added sugar with the exception of ONE dessert per week. 🙂 Oh and just a touch in some morning coffee. How does that sound?

Exercise

Once again nothing too crazy. Let’s just get our butts moving! What do you say?! I am committing to 30-45 minutes 5 days a week, of exercise. It can be any exercise you choose. Just so long as you are moving and your heart rate gets up!

Incidentally, I got myself a new Fitbit just before Christmas. My old one didn’t have a heart rate monitor on it and I really wanted that! The old one was the Alta and the new one is the Versa lite. I LOVE IT! It’s basically a smartwatch but “lite”. It has a few apps but it’s not app heavy. It does just what I need it to do.

If you’re interested in a Fitbit here is a great article that explains how they work.

Also, Amazon’s current price on the Fitbit Versa Lite is better than what I paid a month ago at Walmart.

Daily Healthy Habits

Obviously all of these things I’ve already talked about are healthy habits but these next things are to be done on a daily basis. They are things I do already but want to be more consistent as I have already seen the benefits of them.

Teeth

First is brushing twice daily and flossing once at night. I had a cavity filled last month and it cost me money that it shouldn’t have. Even with excellent insurance I still had to pay some out of pocket. Had I been more diligent with my flossing it would have prevented the cavity from getting big enough require a filling.

 

Plus, not flossing is just plain gross. After brushing my teeth well I can still get garbage out from between my teeth with floss. Imagine leaving that there to just…rot. Gag! If that doesn’t motivate you to start flossing regularly, I don’t know what will.

Did you know that there is a connection between oral health and your overall health? When you take care of your mouth it’s like a two for one! By the way, The American Dental Association has tons of great information on how and why you should keep your mouth in tip-top shape.

Skincare

Your skin is an organ and it’s the largest one you have. It is insanely important to take care of your skin. So many people neglect their skin and then wonder why it looks and feels so bad.

Skincare has been a habit of mine for a while now. Especially since joining Avon! But I want to be more consistent with it. I have seen some pretty drastic changes which are extremely motivating!

The two most common areas of skincare neglect are moisturizing and exfoliating. I know what you’re thinking. Ugh, I don’t have time for that. You do! I promise. If you want your skin to look and feel great you have to make the time. My routine doesn’t add but another minute at the most to my daily get ready. Exfoliating in the shower, adding some facial serums and eye cream has changed my life!

I have always washed in the shower, always washed my face and put lotion on afterward. The only thing I have done differently is switched to higher quality products.

Skincare I use

Of course, I love Avon but Bath and Bodyworks is also a favorite! Both companies’ products are incredibly moisturizing. And they are both cruelty-free!! You can read the Avon Animal Welfare Policy directly from every page of their website.

Don’t forget to join the 21-Day Kick-start your health challenge Facebook event page for a chance to win an Ultimate Avon Sample Bundle!! Chock full of my absolute favorites!

By the way, you can shop my online Avon store 24-7! You get FREE shipping on all orders $40+ and for your first online order, you get 10% off your entire order if you enter the code: WELCOME10 at checkout!! Click any of the Avon links or my store link in the sidebar → → →

I would love to send you a brochure! Leave a comment or message me on any of my social media.

Healthy Mind

Here I’d like to focus on reading. So, let’s commit to reading at least 30 minutes a day.

Reading is a great way to relax and unwind. Also, it’s a great way to keep your mind young and working well into your golden years. Debbie Hampton wrote a great post at The Best Brain Possible: 7 Ways Reading Benefits Your Brain.

Personally, I plan on reading good things to keep my mindset on the things of God. I’ll be working on some Sunday Snippets for the blog but also some personal bible studies for my own spiritual growth. As well as some classics that my 7th-grade homeschooler is reading this school year.

Last and Most Definitely Not Least, Stretching!

A while back I was watching an episode of Dr. Oz and On the show, he said that the ONE thing we should NEVER, ever neglect in our morning routines is stretching! He said, even if we stretch just before getting out of bed, just like they do on cartoons. 🙂 Most of us do that anyway.

I am committing to 10 minutes of stretching EVERY day! Basically, I’ll do 10 stretches holding each for one minute.

Stretching not only keeps you limber and flexible it makes you strong! Don’t believe it? Find a Yoga Instagram and try a pose or two. You will see just how much strength is required to get into the pose let alone hold it!

Here are a few reasons to start and keep stretching:

I hope you’re as excited as I am to get this 21-Day Kick-start your health challenge started!

Once again join the group on Facebook to stay motivated and for a chance to win two great prizes! 🙂

Leigh Ann ♥