Arbonne 30 Day Fit Challenge in Mommyland

Oh yes. Its happening.

Again.

Last year at this same time I was inspired (more than likely by the swimsuit section appearing so fast) to purchase a 24 day challenge pack and began the 24 days of..well, healthy stuff. I thought. The longer I took each supplement the more I started having caffeine jitters and major blood sugar issues. Hubs on the other hand took it all in stride, and was extremely successful on the program. I was not a fan. The more I learned about what real health looks like I realized that most of the ingredients that were found in well branded shake mixes, supplements, and other products were far from what I would ever want to put into my body for a whole-food approach. I know its different for each person, but my family was not going to continue drinking shakes that  contained ingredients that were used to sweeten and "naturally" flavor their products that are clearly toxic. Oh yes, the side effects included allergic reactions, blurred vision, seizures, migraines and gastrointestinal problems. What!? Dare you to google "dangers of sucralose" in your spare time. Regardless of the brand or company you use (although please research the company you use and what they stand for), I highly recommend looking into your protein shakes and products to make sure they are considered clean and lack artificial sweeteners and ingredients that you can't pronounce on your own.

Whew.

Off my soapbox.

Anyways, I am the world's pickiest person about protein shakes and their flavors and textures. I have to love it, like realllly love it to actually stick with the shake routine. As a mom who barely has time to hear her own thoughts when I get up in the morning, I need some type of breakfast to get my day started that tastes amazing, easy to make, and is good for me. My friend was an Arbonne consultant and had me try out some vanilla protein shakes. Oh hi, where had these been all my life?! Tastes. like. vanilla. cake. Even better, they fit into a clean eating diet and are created with pea protein - so I wasn't putting any gross soy or dairy into my body which my family and I do not do well with at all.

I was hooked! So after another big bag of shake mix, I learned about the 30 day fit challenge. Clearly this is my prime time of year to feel inspired to start these challenges but this time it felt different. I was ready to stop feeling so exhausted by 2pm and relying on another cup of coffee for some mom energy. I could not handle the feeling of one more sugar crash, or my "yoga" pants elastic waist band telling me that it was all good. It was not all good. No mam. Yoga pants lie.

I am so excited to start this challenge and although I'm probably blogging just to avoid the insane craving I have for dessert right now. I am hoping this helps hold me accountable and encourages other mommas out there to find something that works for them, that isn't complicated, and helps them feel their best.

A momma that feels good is a happy momma, and we all know how important happy moms are :) At least my family knows.

Here are a few tips that I've learned from day one and even the days prior to starting the fit challenge:

1) Move the bad stuff out of eyesight. I usually keep my flour, sugar, and other baking goodies in cute little displays on our countertop. Move. Them. I hid them in the pantry so that they are not easily accessible. Because lets be real, I love me some sugar and flour.

2) Rely on your people and pre-warn them about the first few days. Just apologize now. My people clearly include my hubs (who Im forcing into this with me) and my friend/Arbonne queen who is right there with me in mommy land. At lunch Im pretty sure we almost got into a marital fight over um..Im not too sure. I told (ok, ordered) hubs to stop talking about food and this challenge at the dinner table. So he just stopped talking. And we pouted. A lot. Then I told him he probably needed a Dr Pepper to get out of his bad mood. Yes I did. Day 1 for the win.

And last...

3) Remind yourself why you are doing this. For us its not about weight (well..ok, kind of) as much as it is about overall health and lifestyle. Our kids deserve healthy parents and a healthy family. If I am fully dependent on my daily caffeine for a happy day I am setting us all up for disappointment and burnout. I also know what healthy looks like for my body, and y'all...healthy was long gone two kids ago. So although I can probably put a number to my goal, its about what healthy looks like and feels like for me.

So...what does healthy look like and feel like for you?

Are you taking steps to find out what healthy looks like for your family?
If so, I'd love to hear how you are making healthy choices for your family and what those look like!

If not, what's stopping you?

For me it was lack of sleep (oh those sweet babies...) and a crazy ministry life schedule that left me very little brainspace to even think about a healthy lifestyle!


Heres to day 2!

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Week 1 recap:

Oh yall, these first few days were tough! I mean tooough! I was missing my sugar and caffeine like crazy! The best part was after a few days of toughing it out, my energy was coming from healthy food sources and the amazing energy fizz sticks that come along with the kit! It was amazing! I was no longer facing the 2pm coffee crash, or the crazy cravings for something sugary to keep me going. The energy I had after these first five days was real, healthy energy. The kind where you go to bed without being wired from adrenaline, and you wake up ready to take on the next day! The weeks prior to starting this both my hubs and I were waking up completely exhausted! The snooze button was our best friend but was also so frustrating! We knew this wasn't how we were supposed to feel starting the day out! We were eating fast food, filling up on coffee and Dr Pepper (bless it), and were clueless that simple changes could make such a major difference in our moods and energy levels! Loving this program and more proud that we stuck with it through the first 7 days! It was easy to give up, but remembering why we are doing this was a major part in why we battled through the cravings! We are on day 15 and I'll be blogging soon about easy & healthy meal ideas and giving into our "cravings" on week 2.. oh yes we did!