Are you struggling to make all the changes you know you should make for your health?
Looking for health answers but don’t know where to start?
Just need some encouragement in your health journey?
Welcome to the Wellness Challenge! I’m so excited for the great information and prizes I get to share in the next 7 weeks!
Yep, you read that right, 7 weeks! Can you do it?
To help make the transition easier and to make sure we address all aspects of health, I’ve broken the challenge into Seven Mini Challenges. Each week, there will be a new challenge with specific goals, support and prizes!
To help keep motivated (you and me both!) there is now a Wellness Mama forum where you can keep a health journal to track your progress and get encouragement. I’ll be moderating many of the topics, and will answer questions and offer help as much as possible. The community there is amazing, and during the last challenge, it was so inspiring to see everyone’s progress.
Start A Wellness Journal!
Maybe your goal is to lose weight, maybe to sleep better or make improvements in your families diet. Whatever the goal, keeping a journal will help you both with accountability and support! Consider starting a Wellness Journal over in the forum. I’ll be trying to start one too and keep up with it, and would love for you to do the same.
If you want to lose weight, post your measurements and *gasp* a picture if you want, if you are trying to clear up your skin, take a picture to document your progress. If you’re trying to improve your family’s health, show us their beautiful faces!
This is my favorite part of the Challenge personally, since I feel like I really get to “meet” you all.
I’m still finalizing the grand prize, but I can say that (1) it will include a lifetime membership to my Meal Planning Service and (2) You’ll have the best chance of winning if you make your presence known in the forum! 
And the Week One Mini Challenge Is…
Getting a solid nutritional foundation in place! Anyone surprised? Many of you may already be solid in this area, but I know that this is a huge struggle for many people! 
If you’re diet is already iron-clad, please offer some advice and encouragement for those who are struggling to make the change. This challenge will actually go a little longer than a week so that everyone has time to make the changes, and so we can get on a Monday-Friday schedule… (Yes, I’m a little CDO- that’s like OCD but in alphabetical order, like it should be )
I’ll be posting more specifics as the week goes on, but here are the basics:
Nutrition Basics
Nutrition can have a tremendous impact on overall health and will be a large part of the focus of the challenge. If you’ve been a Wellness Mama reader for a while, you know that I’m not a fan of grains, sugars and starches and recommend removing them from your diet. Of course, only if you are making sure to get adequate nutrition from proteins, fats and vegetables.
Some foods, like beans, are of questionable nature, so for the duration of the challenge, I’d suggest removing them too! Others, like vegetable oils, margarine, and other frankenfats are toxic and should be avoided completely, challenge or not!
Mini Challenge #1
Cut out the grains, sugars, potatoes, beans and all processed foods from your diet and focus on getting maximum nutrition from meats, vegetables, healthy fats (coconut, olives, coconut oil, olive oil, tallow, lard, butter, unprocessed cream, etc) and fruits.
Everyone is entering the challenge for different reasons, but if one of your goals is to lose weight or improve your physique, consider drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake. This is especially important for those trying to lose a lot of weight or anyone suffering from insulin resistance or diabetes. If weight loss is a goal, aim for around 50 grams of carbs a day, and definitely keep it under 100 grams.
If weight loss is a serious goal, this will mean that that morning bowl of oatmeal or potato salad at lunch is out. To keep it simple, just get your carbs from vegetables (minus potatoes) and you’ll be fine! One exception, if you struggle from low-thyroid, don’t drop your carbs too low for too long, as this can stress the thyroid, just make sure to get your carbs from healthy foods like sweet potatoes, winter squash, fruit, and grain-free baked goods!
[Note: Some people experience a "carb flu" as their body adjusts to not having a constantly available stream of glucose. This is temporary, but can be uncomfortable for the first couple of weeks. Check out these two posts by Dr. Michael Eades to help make the transition easier
Tips for Starting Low Carb Part I and Tips for Starting Low Carb Part II ]
The Rules! (and other fine print)
- This challenge is designed to help you improve your health and stay motivated for 30 days. I’m not going to police the guidelines or do anything to ensure that you are following them… you are on the honor system.
- Check out my Full Disclosure statement for more details, but I receive small affiliate commissions from some of the sponsors of the giveaways and from some of the links on my blog. The small amount that I make from these sites allow me to justify the large amount of time spend publishing Wellness Mama and I truly appreciate any affiliate links you click on. If you don’t want to use my affiliate link, feel free to visit the site directly.
- More resources to help you during the Challenge are available on my Resources and Wellness 101 pages.
- Please check out the forum and ask questions for me and others on there. I’d also encourage you to keep a journal to keep yourself accountable and get encouragement. There also may or may not be a prize exclusively for forum users (ok there will be!)
So… are you up for a challenge? Drop in and introduce yourself in the comments below or in the forum and let us know what your specific goals are. If there is something specific you would like to see addressed, let me know!
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