April Challenges Bring May Results

A note from Erin: Hey everyone! I hope you’re having a great week! Today’s guest post is brought to you by the fabulous Alec from PopFitLife. Alec is actually my first blogger-turned-real-life-friend. She was at my wedding, introduced me to Soul Cycle (she works there- so jealous!!), shares my love of Disney, and is just an all around sweetheart. Take it away Alec!

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I’ve said that while I can work out fa dayyz, eating healthy has always been my kryptonite. As much as I wish the saying, “Abs are made in the kitchen.” was a lie, that’s not looking to be the case. Unfortunately Thankfully, my lovely co-workers and I used the month of April to kick start some healthy eating and exercise before it’s time for swimsuits and short shorts! Along with working out at least three times per week, I also signed on to the following weekly food challenge:

Week 1: Gluten Free
Week 2: Dairy Free
Week 3: Alcohol Free
Week 4: Sugar Free
Week 5: Meat Free

After five interesting weeks, I highly recommend this type of monthly challenge. First, (for the most part) it was fun! I’m always attempting fitness challenges for myself, but this was a new kind of challenge – with both physical and mental aspects to it. The dairy-free and sugar-free weeks were the most difficult (Who schedules a sugar-free week for the week directly after Easter?!). While I wasn’t 100% successful during these two weeks (we allowed ourselves a cheat meal each week), I am proud of myself for making a conscious effort to better my eating habits.

In addition, the foods mentioned above have the potential to cause negative side effects to our bodies including bloating, acne, and fatigue. This challenge has the ability to tell you a lot about your body and how the foods you eat affect it. One way to figure out if your body responds negatively to these foods is to reverse the challenge. If you cut out each of these foods all at once in the beginning and then gradually add them back into your diet one at a time, you will be able to see how they affect your skin, mood, digestive system, and more!

Lastly, this is a good alternative to juicing. Many of my friends kick start their journey to summer by juicing for a week. (Personally, I don’t know how they can survive on liquids alone especially while exercising vigorously.) While I know it isn’t exactly the same thing as juicing, this kind of experiment forces one to eat more fruits and veggies. It’s also a little bit more fun than drinking a numbered juice every few hours, let’s be honest…

Before I leave you, I have some suggestions for those interested in starting their own monthly food challenge:

• Make a fun chart to track your progress.
• Allow for cheat meals. (And don’t be too hard on yourself)
• Take the time to observe the changes to your body.
• Recruit your friends to join you. (Misery loves company… I kid!)
• Plan your meals in advance. (Fail to prepare, prepare to fail…)
• Connect with people that already refrain from eating these foods on a regular basis.

Stay fit and fabulous,

A

A huge THANK YOU to Erin for letting me hijack her blog today while she’s living it up in Hawaii! Please check out PopFitLife, follow me on Twitter, and “like” my blog on Facebook if you enjoy what you read. Thanks!

Questions of the Day: Have you ever done a food challenge before? If not, I hope my tips have set you up for success during your first month. If so, what foods did you give up? What other tips do you have for newbies?