21 days to....

When I worked for a very popular retailer as a manager for what felt like a million years, there was a mantra we had: 21 days to make a habit. Work with your new hires. Train them for 21 days and then you will build consistent behaviors and habits on your team. You won't have to remind your opening staff to check the light bulbs and swiffer the fitting rooms. They will come in and do it because that is what you do when you open. Does it work? Maybe. The odds of someone being scheduled 21 days in a row to build this habit was not really reality. So can you build a habit in 21 days? Can you accomplish anything major in 21 days? Maybe not but you can take a lot of little steps that will add up to big steps later.

Enter the 21 day challenge group.

When I was approached to participate in a 21 day group by my coach Katy, I kind of thought she was crazy. I know the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas is short but seriously, between the holiday parties, get togethers and all the craziness what kind of results could I have? I figured I didn't have anything to lose and hoped it might just work to keep me in check (and so I didn't go crazy with a big old plate of christmas cookies and a bottle of wine in front of the tv one night when I just couldn't take the Christmas crazy anymore.)

So I joined.

I kicked off my 21 days with a 3 day shakeology cleanse.

I worked out consistently (even when I didn't feel like it. Because I knew everyone else was--- that my friends, is the beauty of a challenge group. Want to learn more about challenge groups? Check this out.)

I didn't eat super great.

I didn't meal plan. My husband is traveling for work so we ate a lot of eggs (I mean a lot of eggs
because some days it was the only thing I felt like cooking. Especially coming home after cheer practice at almost seven o'clock at night.)

I also had a wedding (which I was in so it was the whole weekend of nonstop food and drinks) 4 Christmas parties, homemade treats all over my house (gifts from my kids and gifts I was making to give away) and a two year old whose eating habits might make her part elf.

And today was day 21. Measurement day. It totally took me by surprise this morning when she asked for our results. (oops! Guess I should have passed on the bowl of white chocolate popcorn I splurged on last night....)

Despite the holiday splurges I was super stoked with my results.

Weight lost -- 4.2 lbs
Inches lost -- 1.5 inch of my hips and .5 off of each of my arms and my thighs

Everything else stayed the same.

But for 21 days of less than perfect, I'll take it!

Here are my day 1 and day 21 pics.... (nowhere near the best but I only have one full length mirror in my house and haven't taught my 2 year old how to take pics with my phone yet. And it really is hard to get the same exact angle. I tried. This is the best I could come up with. ) I am definitely less inflamed in my stomach. I totally credit the cleanse for that. But the place I have really noticed a difference is in the "love handle" area. And all I have to say about that is it's about damn time!