40 Day Challenge – What is Your Goal

Are you struggling to make all the changes you know you should make for your health?

Looking for health answers but don’t know where to start?

Just need some encouragement in your health journey?

Welcome to the Wellness Challenge! 

 I’m so excited for the great information and prizes I get to share in the next 7 weeks!
Yep, you read that right, 7 weeks! Can you do it?
At the request of several of my readers, and to make your transition easier than mine was, I have put together a 40-day challenge to offer you support, recipes and giveaways! If you’ve been waiting for an excuse to try going grain free or ditching the sugar, now is your chance.
Please join me for Lent, or just for 40 days, to try living grain free. Your health will thank you, and if you don’t like it, you can always go back to the old way of eating.  What have you got to lose?
To help make the transition easier and to make sure we address all aspects of health, I’ve broken the challenge into Seven Mini Challenges. Each week, there will be a new challenge with specific goals, support and prizes!

Start A Wellness Journal!

Maybe your goal is to lose weight, maybe to sleep better or make improvements in your families diet. Whatever the goal, keeping a journal will help you both with accountability and support! Consider starting a Wellness Journal .
If you want to lose weight, post your measurements and *gasp* a picture if you want, if you are trying to clear up your skin, take a picture to document your progress. If you’re trying to improve your family’s health, show us their beautiful faces!
This is my favorite part of the Challenge personally, since I feel like I really get to “meet” you all.

And the Week One Mini Challenge Is…

Getting a solid nutritional foundation in place! Anyone surprised? Many of you may already be solid in this area, but I know that this is a huge struggle for many people! 
If you’re diet is already iron-clad, please offer some advice and encouragement for those who are struggling to make the change. This challenge will actually go a little longer than a week so that everyone has time to make the changes, and so we can get on a Monday-Friday schedule…

Nutrition Basics

Nutrition can have a tremendous impact on overall health and will be a large part of the focus of the challenge. If you’ve been a Wellness Mama reader for a while, you know that I’m not a fan of grains, sugars and starches and recommend removing them from your diet. Of course, only if you are making sure to get adequate nutrition from proteins, fats and vegetables.
Some foods, like beans, are of questionable nature, so for the duration of the challenge, I’d suggest removing them too! Others, like vegetable oils, margarine, and other frankenfats are toxic and should be avoided completely, challenge or not!

Mini Challenge #1
Cut out the grains, sugars, potatoes, beans and all processed foods from your diet and focus on getting maximum nutrition from meats, vegetables, healthy fats (coconut, olives, coconut oil, olive oil, tallow, lard, butter, unprocessed cream, etc) and fruits. 

Everyone is entering the challenge for different reasons, but if one of your goals is to lose weight or improve your physique, consider drastically reducing your carbohydrate intake.
If weight loss is a serious goal, this will mean that that morning bowl of oatmeal or potato salad at lunch is out. To keep it simple, just get your carbs from vegetables (minus potatoes) and you’ll be fine! One exception, if you struggle from low-thyroid, don’t drop your carbs too low for too long, as this can stress the thyroid, just make sure to get your carbs from healthy foods like sweet potatoes, winter squash, fruit, and grain-free baked goods!
[Note: Some people experience a "carb flu" as their body adjusts to not having a constantly available stream of glucose. This is temporary, but can be uncomfortable for the first couple of weeks. Check out these two posts by Dr. Michael Eades to help make the transition easier
Tips for Starting Low Carb Part I and Tips for Starting Low Carb Part II ]

We’ll be addressing some specifics that can help with your individual goals in the next few weeks (supplements, what type of exercise, etc) but nutrition is the single most important factor and all the other factor’s can’t fix a poor diet!

Here are a few free printables for quick reference:

• Here’s a full week of my premium Meal Plans (budget friendly!) and a corresponding shopping list!
• Foods to Avoid
• Foods to Eat in Moderation
• Foods to Consume Freely