Ericka: Challenges Picked & Accepted (7.7.13)

Today is the day. We picked the challenges and on Monday we start. I was so nervous when we picked. I was just hoping the "no alcohol" challenge was not picked. No alcohol on vacation would be a major buzz kill. Chris was hoping that the "no carbs" challenge did not get picked. Well one of us lucked out.

Before picking the challenges we weighed in, calculated our body fat percentages, BMI and took our measurements. We will do the same thing 30 days later.

The Rules:

1. Create 1-3 challenge categories and then put at least 5 challenges in each category. Pick a challenge out of each category. We chose 3 categories, and we placed 12 challenges in each category. You can come up with your own or use ours
1. Diet
2. Exercise
3. Random: Love, Relationships, Charity, Finance & Misc
2. For 30 days you have to do that challenge without cheating
1. Q. My cousin Blake asked why 30 days? Why not 44 since it goes with your 4 yrs, 4 love pounds etc. preamble? 
2. A. Because it takes 30 days to make a habit. Our goal is to not only do the challenge for 30 days, but to also, hopefully, make the challenge a habit
3. Whatever the challenge is do it in a healthy way. For instance, one of our challenges is to be a pescatarian for 30 days. That does not mean we can eat all of the fried seafood that we want.
3. After 30 days you get 3 cheat days.
1. Warning: Do not go overboard, because you will pay for it. Especially if you drastically alter your diet from one extreme to another. The end result will probably be an upset stomach. 
4. CAVEAT: We are not doctors. These challenges are based on our health and lifestyle goals. Please consult a physician before doing the diet and exercise challenges. Most importantly listen to your body!

Are you ready?!? We allowed Deuce to pick the challenges. We need to work on the concept of only picking 1 from each bowl. Chris also needs to work on speaking a little louder and articulating, but I must say it was a bit early for both of them.

If you couldn't hear what Chris said the challenges are:

1. No Carbs
2. 300 minutes of exercise a week
3. Eat a meal together at the table

So the no carbs thing is going to suck, especially since we just came off a 2 week no whites detox a couple of days ago and Chicago is known for it's deep dish pizza, but at least I can eat one of Chi town's finest steaks. Almost everything contains a little bit of carbs so it would be impossible to eliminate all of them, but cut out the starchy kinds like bread, potatoes, rice etc.

The 300 minutes of exercise is going to be tough, but it's doable. On the days where it is hard to get a good stretch of uninterrupted exercising in, I will just have to spread my workout over the course of the day.

As for the eat a meal together at the table challenge, we came up with that one because we found ourselves taking turns eating. One of us would be cleaning or doing something with Deuce while the other one eats in front of the TV. So for 30 days we have to eat a meal at the table together with no distractions. That will be our time to discuss our day and connect as a family. Deuce is really doing well with feeding himself so that helps. If you're single, perhaps your challenge could be sit down and eat a meal at the table without any distractions. It will give you time to actually see what you are putting in your mouth instead of mindlessly shoveling in your mouth. You will probably also enjoy your food more. So treat yourself to a date with yourself and fix a nice healthy and delicious meal.

The challenge starts Monday July 8th and ends Tuesday August 6th. So enjoy your Sunday of freedom. I know I will! Good luck and don't forget to let us know how you are doing with your challenges by leaving a comment.

E