I have 3 challenges for the next 6 weeks in an effort live healthier! If you struggle with eating right and working out like I do, I encourage you to join me in this challenge!
My first challenge is eating salads for lunch (as your meal). Unfortunately for me, lunch is usually when I tend to be the worst at eating healthy. Especially when I am out and about, I have a tendency to grab something fast. This is not only unhealthy most of the time, but also expensive!
So, here are the details of this salad challenge:
Eat salads (almost) every lunch meal. Our personal exceptions are for the girls on their 2 preschool days, and for all of us for Sunday dinners which is usually a lunch/dinner combo after church. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, it is, but there are a few more rules. If possible, the salads should be prepared at home which saves money and is usually healthier too. Also, they should be made with minimal processed ingredients and other unhealthy additions (ie ranch dressing. If you make your own vinaigrettes with Olive Oil, that would be ideal).
My second challenge is "Meatless Mondays" for all meals and snacks. I know I'm jumping on the bandwagon, but despite my love for a juicy steak, I do believe going meatless one day each week has health benefits. (See "Why Meatless?")
The last challenge is to workout! I have found myself in a rut of being busy, but not exercising. I am busy being a mom, and when I work I am busy walking around. However, I'd hardly call that "exercising". So, I am going to start really exercising 3 times per week. I am going to get my heart rate up to my target level for at least 30 minutes each time (jogging, aerobic video, etc) with an additional 15 minutes or more of resistance training (free weights, exercise bands, weight machines, etc). (See Web MD Cardio, CDC Exercise, ACSM, and AHA).
So, to simplify things, here are my 3 challenges for the next 6 weeks:
1) Salad Lunch Challenge
2) Meatless Mondays
3) Exercise at least 3 times per week
***To start things off, here is my lunch menu for this week:
(FYI- If I am in a time crunch, or am missing an ingredient, I make due with substitutions. I am looking forward to trying some new salad recipes!)
Week 1
Sun: After Church Family Dinner
Monday: Garden Tomato Caprese Salad
Tuesday: Cucumber Black Eyed Pea Salad
Wednesday: Snow Pea Orange Jicama Salad
Thursday: Italian Tuna and White Bean Salad
Saturday: Warm Bean and Sausage Salad
Here are some resources for healthy salad recipe ideas:
If you are going to join me on this challenge, or want to leave a salad recipe, please leave a comment (with your link too if applicable). Thanks!
Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, Whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own, (1 Corinthians 6:19 AMP)
YUM! Thanks for posting this motivation! I LOVE salad lunches! I also love lots of broccoli with yummy hummus as a light lunch with a fruit smoothie! If you would like to try Jazzercise with me anytime, let me know! I've done it for about five years now and love it!
ReplyDeleteHummus with Broccoli sounds great! My favorite is garlic hummus :) Thanks for the invite Allison! I did jazzercise for 3 months a while back. I liked it, but ended up adding on to my husband's gym membership instead of sticking with it. I have obviously slacked off from working out for quite a while since then... but am getting back into it! If I ever decide to try Jazzercise again, I'll know who to call :)
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