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!

How Most of my Adult Life has Revolved Around Denim (and the August Skinny Jeans Challenge!)

August, dreaded by kids (and sometimes teachers) typically means the end of summer. Saying goodbye to days at the pool and trading them in for hoodies and sweaters. For years August meant something more to me than having to kick cheerleading practice into high  gear (and wearing yoga pants every day,) it meant BTS was upon us. I worked retail for a large part of my "past life" and Back to School was second to only one thing, Holiday. And BTS revolved around one thing - jeans. Wearing, selling, folding and knowing every last detail about every type of denim in the store, down to the stitching and why it is special. So when I saw pictures of the BTS meeting at my old stomping grounds, I was full of conflicted emotion ranging from the "Awww...I remember doing that!" *tear* to "Oh thank the Good Lord I came to my senses and am done with that!" *sigh*

The idea of buying new jeans (or trying on old jeans) can be super scary and I know I have a love hate relationship with most of the denim in my closet (for more than one reason- I am still haunted by thoughts of folding a never ending denim wall to perfection.) I actually have stacks of jeans organized by size in my closet, threatening to topple onto an unsuspecting victim if they were ever to enter my closet unwarned. (They also act as a booby trap to snooping babysitters who will never be able to get the pile back in order the way my crazy brain had it organized.)

Since a good part of my life has revolved around jeans -- either folding, selling, restocking, wanting or not wanting to wear them, I figured this was a great time of year to do a skinny jean challenge. (Or a drop a jean size challenge because John would love for me to actually use the jeans that are taking up valuable real estate in our tiny circa 1950's closet instead of just saving them "because they will fit one day I swear and then when I'm skinny I won't have to rush out and buy new jeans. So really I am saving you money!")

I also have a lovely pair of jeans I call the Mecca Jeans. Jeans I bought when I was skinny (but thought I was fat) and were my very favorite in the whole store but they were a size down. I have never once worn these jeans (and I bought them in 2002 - pathetic.) But every woman has something hanging in her closet she refuses to get rid because one day it will happen. Yeah. I have jeans for that. (And lots of other occasions too. I have a problem. If I took a pic of my t-shirt drawer it would be even more embarrassing.) So the question remains. What am I going to do about the 25 or so pairs of jeans I have that do not fit? Run a rocking drop a jean size and skinny jean challenge group that's what (and maybe get a step closer to the Mecca Jeans and get rid of some in the process.) Plus jeggings didn't exist when I worked retail so if I can pick up a size down pair of those during all the BTS sales that would rock. Yay shopping!

So here is how it would work: 

For 60 days I would put you in a closed Facebook group with others trying to achieve the same goal (including me! yay!) We will break our goals down into 30 day and 60 day goals. We will talk about clean eating, meal preparation, meal planning and everything you need to get set up for success. We will measure progress by not just using the scale but by measurements and photos (I know. Super scary but when you think you aren't making any progress it is amazing to see what you actually done in the photos. Believe me. I've been there!) We will do this on Day 1, Day 30 and Day 60.

We will post daily in the group and rate our day on a scale of 1-5, 5 being the best and 1 being the worst. We will rate our diet and our exercise (basically how hard you brought it!) and whether or not we had our Shakeology.

We will commit to trying out Shakeology for 60 days. I know once I did it, I fell in love with the energy I had and how great I felt from getting all the nutrients I need. (*Side note* my nails look awesome. Better than when I was on prenatal vitamins. It is my current obsession since I have struggled with weak and peeling nails forever! One of the perks I didn't know I was going to get.) So Shakeology is going to fuel your body (key word fuel) with the vitamins and nutrients you need throughout the day. And there is a 30 day guarantee on Shakeology so if it isn't working for you, we'll talk (and you get your money back.) --For more on my experience Shakeology read this.

We will eat clean. (For more info on what that means read this.) But basically just strive to eat real, whole food. No chemicals and no processed food. I will provide you with recipe ideas, meal planning and all the tools that have worked so far for me on this journey.

We will also commit to working out 5-6 days a week. I don't care if you run, walk or lift. Just get that body moving! If you already workout regularly think about stepping up your game. Adding some weight training to your cardio. If you don't have an exercise regimen we can talk about options. If you are interested in trying a Beachbody program, we can talk about that too and get you set up with something that totally works for you. There are so many options outside of P90x and Insanity (which I feel gets all the love) so if hard core intensity isn't for you, we can totally find something that is. I am currently doing TurboFire and am in LOVE with it. It really gives my inner cheerleader some much needed attention. I have found success with the at home programs from BeachBody because they are a killer workout and they all come with a schedule. So I can wake up, get my toddler some breakfast and toss in a movie, look at the schedule, pop in a DVD and press play. I don't have to worry about getting her ready to go to the gym with me or what series of exercises I am going to do that day. I know me and I need that schedule. I get really freaked out if I am going to miss a day and "mess up" the schedule or the order. But whatever works for you, we will make it happen.

Plus I will give you daily motivation, tips and tricks and share all the research I have accrued over the last few months.

So the challenge starts with pre-season August 5th and the official kick off date of August 12th. Dust off all those old jeans because we are getting back in them (even if it is to decide that we hate them and want new ones!)

For more info shoot me a message, send me an email to sctodd@yahoo.com or leave a comment below.

To sign up for a FREE Beachbody account click here. You will find message boards, articles and other motivational tools for you to use. (The goal tracker is my favorite!)

No Looking Back - The Clean Eating Challenge

So Clean Eating. I've been talking about it a lot. I've been doing it (with some ups and downs) for almost 3 months and have had some amazing results. I have found that I have more energy. That the "rules" are easy to follow. I don't feel deprived. I love having a plan. And on those days I falter or feel like taking an entire bag of Ghiradelli chocolates to the face, I have my challenge group to fall back on. (Or report to depending on the day and the role I assigned them for that day.) Some days they are my police and some days they are my cheerleaders. And yes, most of them are strangers.

What?

Seriously.

Who is this person that has invaded my body and is talking about people online like they are real and able to do something as crazy as keep me in check and motivate me to be better? Who would've thought? It actually works. (To read more about my personal challenge group experience click here.)

So what exactly is a challenge group?

For this challenge, I am running a 30 day Clean Eating Challenge group. So you commit to me for 30 days. For these 30 days we are going to drink Shakeology every day and we are going to eat clean.

I am going to give you recipes. I am going to check in with you every day to see how you are doing, what you need and give you the support you need to meet your goals. Whether your goals are to start clean eating or to take your clean eating to the next level, we are going to cover that. Together. I am going to be right there beside you rocking some clean eating meals and snacks.

And it isn't going to be just me. There are going to be people you probably don't know in this group and they are going to be working toward the same goals you are. You can ask each other questions and benefit from what others have learned. All of this right there in a convenient, closed Facebook group. (So no one can see what you are posting in there each day, I swear.)

We are going to drink Shakeology - which is one thing I never really knew I needed until I had it in my life - as a meal replacement every day. (I like mine for lunch.) It will help keep you full, keep your cravings in check and make you feel awesome in all sorts of different ways.  And believe me when I say I didn't believe any of this stuff until I tried it. There are all sorts of buzzwords around Shakeology like super foods and the healthiest meal of the day. The marketing alone was enough to make me a skeptic. But I gave it a shot and this stuff seriously rocks. (Read about my experience with Shakeology here.)

We are going to check every day and post two things. If you had your shake and how your clean eating is going by rating it from 1-5 for the day. There will be ups and downs. There will be super awesome days and some cheat days. There will always be support, encouragement and tips on how to do it better tomorrow.

What is going to happen as a result of all this clean eating? More energy, more sparkle and feeling great on the inside and out. That whole foggy, tired I need a nap in the afternoon feeling will be lifted. (To read more about clean eating and the rules we will follow click here.)

So we are going to talk clean eating, share recipes and keep each other on track. We can do this. Together. Nothing is impossible especially when we are in it together. I will not let you fail.

My next challenge group is starting on July 15th and I can't wait! Message me for more details!