30-Day Health Challenge - July

IIt's officially July and that means it's time for a new 30-day health challenge. As I previously mentioned I'm going to continue with my green smoothie habit from June and build on it with this new health challenge. 

Now due to the fact that July has 31 days and the first of the month is a holiday in my country: Canada Day, I've decided to start this challenge today on the second day of July. So what is this new challenge I speak of; well it's a nutrition and diet related one again and this time it's going to be actually quiet challenging. 

For the month of July I'm going to stick to a clean eating program. What does this clean eating program look like you may ask. Well here is it all lined up for you and for me in black and white below. 

July 30-Day Clean Eating Challenge: 

- Alcohol Free

- Sugar Free

- Gluten Free

- Dairy Free

- Processed-Food Free

So yeah that's a lot of 'frees', so what can I eat:

- Meat: lean & minimal red meat*

- All fruits & vegetables*

- Grains: quinoa, brown & wild rice, buckwheat, other non-gluten grains. 

- Beans & lentils

- Nuts & Seeds

*hormone & antobotic free, etc meat and organic and local fruits and veggies as much as possible 

This means I'm going to start making most of meals for myself as well as many of the convenience health foods that I know and love. This includes making homemade almond milk, hummus, salad dressings and sauces to name a few. I look forward to expanding my kitchen repertoire. 

So yeah this is going to be a tough one and I'm totally prepared to go through a withdrawal/detox in the first few days at least. I've tried various diets like gluten-free, dairy-free or sugar free on their own before with varied success. This is the first time I will take on such a drastic diet change with all these changes all at once. 

I know I'm going to be ok though because I'm much better prepared this time especially after completing the June challenge. Another tough choice is that I'm going to start drinking tea again more so than coffee and I won't be able to have my daily piece of dark chocolate. I love coffee and chocolate so I think those will be the hardest parts for me. 

I can already feel the headaches and moodiness starting to hit as I start my first day of eating clean with a green smoothie with black tea for breakfast and a legume & sprout salad with green tea for lunch. However I can also start to feel the benefits of this healthy way of eating. 

I just have to remind myself that this is my health that I'm working towards, which is super important to me and I'm in this for the long haul. The short term pain will soon pass and I'm putting into place the framework for my overall health and wellbeing. 

In doing this challenge I'll also be continuing with my same exercise routine of lifting weights 3 times per week. I'm also going to ramp up my exercise with running and swimming 3-4 times per week on top of the weights. 

The reason I'm doing such drastic changes for July is because I'm working towards a physical exam that will really test my mental and physical fitness. More on that later...

What are some tricks that have helped you get through some truly gruelling life changes? It may be hard now but I know it'll only get easier and I'll be overall better off for doing it. Check back in a week to see if I'm still feeling the same enthusiasm towards this challenge. Until then here's to your uncommonly wealthy life! :)

Green Smoothie Challenge - Week 3 Complete

Wow I can't believe I've already made it through 3 full weeks of this health challenge. I'm in the home stretch and things feel like they'll run smoothly from here on out, yippee!

It's that time of week again where it's time to share with you what I've learned so far at this point in the challenge, so here it is.

The third week has been by far the easiest one:

The first week was easy; and of course it was easy, I always find that the beginning of a new habit is the easiest because I have all this excitement and enthusiasm. Then as it gets hard and life and I get in the way, usually around the week 2 point, it then gets hard. I think the true test of whether I can really make the change and stick with it is if I can get through that second week hump. Once I complete that second week and I prove to myself that I am able to overcome any of the issues that came up then the third week feels like such a breeze. And that is exactly what has happened!

I feel like I've finally ironed out all the kinks in this health challenge:

Any issues I've had with planning, shopping and recipes I believe I've finally figured out at this point. I didn't have anymore gross smoothies this week and I think I've cracked the code on the best combinations for delicious green smoothies. When it comes to planning and shopping I've realized that it's easiest to buy frozen fruit and greens in bulk but only what I plan on using for the week. I had enough wasted and spoiled fresh fruit and veg that I didn't want that happened anymore so I decided to buy frozen fruit mixes and freeze bananas once they were ripe.

I realized I don't have to make all my green smoothies myself:

Another realization that was very helpful for me this week was that I don't always have to make the smoothies myself. When times are busy and it's impossible to make myself then there are a lot of great options for delicious and nutritious green smoothies. This is a great way to do it when traveling, for an example. I still haven't haven't figured out how to prepare the smoothies ahead of time without having them separate and get gross. It would be preferable for the early mornings to have them all ready-made; maybe something I'll have to try out during week 4?

I feel so much better each day that I have a green smoothie (or juice):

I know I've talked about this before but it must be reiterated how much better I feel while doing the green smoothie thing vs. not. I can now definitely understand what all the fuss is about when it comes to the green smoothie/juice craze. I'm thinking this may have to become a normal part of my healthy routine even as the 30-day challenge comes to an end. I guess we'll see how I feel at the end of week 4.

For now here is another delicious Green Smoothie recipe that has quickly become my favourite:

1 cup baby spinach or kale
1 tsp each of flaxseeds and ground chia seeds
1 tbsp of veggie-based protein powder (I use a brown rice one)
1/2 cup orange juice (not from concentrate) cut with 1/2 cup water
1/2 banana (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup frozen tropical fruit mix (I prefer a pineapple, mango, peach & strawberry mix)

Blend the greens with the seeds, powders and liquids until well smooth. Add banana and fruit, blend again until desired consistency is achieved. Now it's time to...you guessed it: drink and be healthy!

Enjoy and here's to your uncommonly wealthy life always! :)