Week 2 of the Whole Living 28-Day Challenge was all about laying down a wholesome foundation, this week (week 3) is about gaining momentum!! We’ll be taking things up a notch, by ramping up both our exercise and our diet.
Meals
Now that we’ve completed the detox part of the challenge, we’re now turning our focus to adding flavor and making healthier food substitutions to our diets. And mentally we should be thinking not about “what is restricted from our diets” but rather what are we bringing to our body. How are we nourishing it? Can we make simple changes by adding spices or herbs to each meal? Did you know that not only do spices add flavor but many of them help our bodies? Thyme for instance stimulates the immune system and parsley can help with asthma according to Kathie Swift, R.D., founder of MyFoundationDiet.com. Now keep in mind just because the detox portion is over that doesn’t mean we’re able to eat whatever we want – it just provides us a little more freedom in making healthy choices.
Here are some food healthy alternatives:
| Instead of: | Try: |
| White Rice | Brown or Black Rice |
| Pita Bread | Flax roll-up |
| Semolina Pasta | Whole Grain Pasta |
| Salty Snacks | Roasted Chickpeas |
| Artificial Sweetners | Honey, Maple Syrup, Molasses, or Stevia |
| Baked Goods | Baked Fruit |
Exercise
This week it’s time to intensify the workouts! The goal is to boost cardio endurance, burn fat and sculpt & tone the body. We’ll be moving from jogging intervals (week 2) to running intervals. We’ll walk 5 minutes then sprint for 5 minutes repeating that cycle 3 times. We’ll also be adding in upper and lower body exercises. Whole Living has some example for both upper and lower body exercises on their site for reference. The fitness plan is below:
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday | |
| Upper | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
| Lower | X | X | X | X | X | X | |
| Cardio | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| Walk/Run *2 (mins) | 5/5 | 3/7 | 5/10 | 5/10 | 5/10 | 3/12 | 3/12 |
As for me well I’m up to 4 miles (still quite a few more to make my ½ marathon training goal) so my plan for this week is to add yet another mile and focus on increasing my speed.
Self
This week we’re going to reorder our to-do list to ensure that we are spending energy and our attention on what matters the most. Schedule a night out with a friend who you enjoy being around and who makes you feel great. Begin a habit of giving every day whether it’s a hug to someone who needs it, a cup of coffee to a friend whose been up all night with a sick child, or a smile to a perfect stranger.
By the end of the week you should be able to look back and feel proud of all that you’ve accomplished and not “what you should have done”. If you’re still hanging in there with us or just now starting week one – good luck and let us know how your challenge is going.
