We’re almost halfway there! The good news is, I have a bunch more in store for you in the way of little changes you can make now to help you not feel like a slug for the holidays. Plus you still have 16 days to sign up for these blog posts and be entered to win a really fun cookbook (as a gift or for yourself – I won’t judge you for not giving EVERYTHING away that you buy this Christmas). So once again, here’s the scoop before we get down to the nitty gritty of Day 14!

***

Starting Saturday, November 1^st I’m going to be either blogging or Facebook’ing (is that officially a verb yet?) once a day to highlight ONE thing you can do each day in the name of your health. What for? My goal is to keep you – you who are interested and open to it – as healthy and sane as possible before December hits. Maybe it’s a fitness tip, a workout, or a way to be more mindful of what you’re consuming. Maybe it’s just a reminder to take 5 minutes to appreciate your body for what it does for you. I’ve got lots of stuff in this noggin’ and it’ll be good. I think it’s appropriate to start on November 1^st for these reasons:

1. It’s the day after Halloween. I don’t know about you but my kids have already acquired bags of candy and Halloween isn’t for two more days. I’d love to tell you I have super-human willpower and am not interested in sweets but if they’re in my house someone’s going to eat them and it won’t just be my kids. I’ll be getting rid of most of it on November 1^st. And before you might “mean mom” me, please know I do allow my children plenty of sweets. It’s not my fault my 3-year-old loves dark chocolate. Okay, maybe it is a little bit.
2. November has 30 days in it, what a crazy coincidence!
3. November brings with it my absolute most-favorite holiday of the year. People eat on that day – a lot. We’re going to do some damage control all month.
4. I’ve found it nearly pointless to do any kind of fitness challenge in the month of December. People are way too busy. My goal with doing this in November is to hopefully instill some basic good habits in all of us that will stick throughout the holidays, chaos and all.

Here’s how it’s going down:

1. Look for either a blog post or Facebook post the night before. So this Saturday’s post will be up on Friday night. This way you won’t be waiting on me all day for something you could have done already. If you don’t already ‘Like’ my Facebook page, you can do so here so you get each day’s updates or find the Like button in the left-hand sidebar.
2. Share with others, please! This keeps you accountable and reminds others who might be interested in their health to do the same. Sharing is caring and around here we care a LOT about not feeling like crap.
3. Be open. This isn’t some crazy workout challenge. I do those too, but 30 Days of Fitness is meant to encourage you and keep you mindful. So some days it may be little things, other days I may ask more of you. Do what you can and always keep your health in the forefront of your brain every day, because no one else will.
4. Comment whenever you have questions, concerns, disagree with my approach or love something. If you want more info on a topic, I am happy to dive in for you. I’m kind of a nerd like that.
5. Subscribe and win. <— See that little sign-up box to the left? That’s a neat tool that, if you enter your email address, will automatically deliver my new blog posts to your inbox for you. All those who subscribe for email updates between OCTOBER 30th  and NOVEMBER 30^th will be entered in a drawing to win this REALLY terrific cookbook from Lisa Leake over at the 100 Days of Real Food blog: “100 Days of Real Food: How We Did It, What We Learned, and 100 Easy, Wholesome Recipes Your Family Will Love.” Um, what’s not to love about winning that book at the most appropriate time of year? Check it out here!

***

Day 14 – Challenge Yourself!

Alright alright, I know that “challenge yourself” is soooo vague. So let’s get specific, shall we? I want you to challenge yourself in a way that fits what you’re struggling with in your world right now. Maybe this is fitting into your pants or maybe it’s something much, much bigger (no pun intended).

– Having a hard time not reaching for the afternoon sweets every day? Challenge yourself to stop by either doing something else or choosing a wiser snack (Trainer Tip: Plan ahead!).

– Stressed out? Challenge yourself to schedule some time for yourself or your family, even if it’s just an hour. We all need perspective now and then.

– Not losing weight? Challenge yourself by looking, I mean REALLY LOOKING, at where you might be slacking or over-thinking it or even under-thinking it. Reach out to someone who might be able to help you.

– Not moving enough? Challenge yourself to get up and walk around every hour.

– Not happy with your current situation? Challenge yourself to make a plan to start changing it! It doesn’t have to be an overnight plan. It might even take 5 years. Just start RIGHT now.

– Bored with your workouts or losing motivation? Challenge yourself to seek out some new methods and try some fun things. Working out does NOT have to suck all the time.

– Always comparing yourself to others? Challenge yourself to STOP. We don’t know what others are going through and we all have our own journey.

Those are just some examples off the top of my head based on what I talk with others about on a typical day at the studio. But find your weakness and give it a good shake!

And remember, if you’re looking for days 8-13 of the challenge, you’ll find them on my Facebook page!

See you tomorrow!