Wellness Wednesday: Good Life Holiday Challenge

Happy Wellness Wednesday! I'm going to try posting about a new challenge I joined and how that's going, so look for future posts about this challenge every Wednesday and maybe on the weekends too.

I started the "Good Life" Holiday Challenge on Monday and it's been great so far. It's totally free, thanks to it's creator, Health Coach Jamie Mendell. I love the idea of a holiday timed challenge and have always been meaning to sign up for one through the YMCA, but then this came along and I joined right after I read about it.

I was paired up with a buddy and we can keep each other in check throughout the challenge. It's fun to get to know someone I wouldn't have connected with otherwise. 

I've also found the Facebook page for the group to be a great way to connect with other challenge participants and find some new blogs to read!

Every week focuses on a different theme. This week's theme is food. On Monday, Jamie asked us to eat a meal when we truly felt hungry, not just obligated to eat because it was a certain time of day. My challenge usually lies with snacking at work. I tend to want to munch on something when I drink my second cup of black coffee, which is usually at around 9 or 9:30 a.m. Instead of following my same old habit, I waited until I felt hungry at about 10:30. My stomach was definitely growling, so I reached into my snack drawer at work and ate a few handfuls of organic pumpkin seeds. It was the perfect amount of food to tide me over until a late lunch.

On Tuesday, we were asked to stop eating one meal when we were full. I chose lunch, since that seems to be the time of day when I eat past the point I am full. I succeeded by not finishing a tupperware container of greek yogurt with chia seeds, pom arils and lemon stevia. On the Facebook group page, I shared that it's sometimes best for me to get up mid-lunch and walk around a bit to see if I am still feeling hungry yet or if I am just bored and eating more because the food I brought happens to be there.

My weight doesn't tend to fluctuate that much around the holidays, but I do find myself being attracted to comfort foods and especially desserts in the winter months. 

I really love Jamie's approach and that this challenge is not about calorie counting, but about being accountable for your actions when it comes to the health decisions you make. 

Have you ever participated in a holiday challenge or another type of challenge that had a new theme each day or week?