30 Day Challenge

This is terrible that the days keep slipping by me so much that I am not blogging nearly as often as I should. Shame on me! 

Three days ago I started a 30 day challenge. I gave up soda cold turkey, which for anyone who knows me knows how very difficult this is. I live on Pepsi max but the sodium and man made sugars that are in it are just not healthy. As a person trying to promote a healthy lifestyle to others, I felt like a hypocrite. So I'm actually on day 3 and a half of no soda, headaches from the lack of caffeine have finally subsided. It was like a drug addict going through withdrawals, I'm grateful I started this on a weekend or I'd have been miserable at work! 

I also incorporated a 30 day planking challenge and squat challenge into this, to accompany my swimming a minimum of 3 days a week. I found the 30 day squat challenge courtesy of Pinterest (I don't know how I ever lived without that site!) and I had talked to Michelle about the planking thing, as she and one of her co workers was doing it. I already was planking a couple of times a week for my back issues so why not do it every day to work my core even more, and hell why not add squats to it too! Hahaha I will say that my planks have improved a lot. Not that they were that difficult before but I am noticing that by doing it every day I'm that much more stable. As for squats, my knee hurts like hell but I'm bound and determined to build up the muscles around my knee if it kills me yet. 

I have done challenges before, for example my 21 day meditation challenge and I loved it and now I can't really go a day with out some form of meditation, even if it's just a few quiet minutes alone it helps me calm my mind and body. I heard that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, I find it ironic that the meditation challenge was 21 days and has now become an integral part of my life. 

I am really hoping that with the challenge of giving up soda and planking and squatting being 30 days that it should be difficult for me to make this all part of my daily routine. I have forced swimming to be a part of my routine and it's beginning to stick after three weeks.  So here's to hoping that it does only take 21 days to form a new habit and that my habits continue to be healthy and lead me down a bright path full of possibilities! 

Here is the spreadsheet that I'm using to track my plank / squat challenge: 

Feel Free to share this! It's a great solid challenge and I'm glad that I started it and can't wait to see where this path leads! 

Cheers! XOXO