Elf 4 Health week 1

 

I signed up for Elle and Lindsays Elf 4 Health challenge that started Monday and runs for 6 weeks over the holiday season and into the new year. It's a great way to stay just a little (or a lot!) accountable for your health, fitness and general well-being. There's certainly plenty of us out there that could do with a little help in that department - after all around 600 signed up! Every weekday there are fun daily challenges to help you along the way. 

Every 2 weeks you get assigned an 'Elf', and in return you're their 'Elf'. The idea is simply to mentor each other through the 2 week period, supporting them with their holiday health goals and the daily challenges. (then after 2 weeks you switch partners - so it's also a great way to meet 3 new cyber-buddies during the challenge).

I've been paired with Kelly over at No Sugar Sweet Life. She's been an awesome buddy giving me lots of great tips and sharing recipes - we're emailing back and forth every couple of days. Funnily enough we've both flunked on the same challenge so far (We're obviously not writers!) There's also a very active facebook group and we're using the hashtag #elf4health to tag photos on our instagram feeds. So far so good!

My goal is simply to stay AWARE this holiday season.

I don't really need to loose weight, but I would like to maintain it (the last 2 years I've had a habit of getting to an 'ideal' weight for me towards the end of the end and then slowly it creeps back on from Xmas through till Easter, at which point I go through the cycle again of slowly shedding blah, blah....  Right now I'm back at pretty much my 'ideal' weight - and would really like to not see a spike up again - I know Christmas is just the start of that slippery slope for me.

I stay in pretty good shape so I'm not too worried in that department.

 

For the actual Christmas period we're heading back to England. This is sure to be a food and drink fest. What with all the regular festivities, different family 'homes' for variations on the Christmas celebration (and all the food to go with it) There's also all that food that I've missed that we don't get here - English Sausages, a GOOD Indian Curry, Real English scrumpy cider, various Chocolate bars, snacks, pork pies, Cornish pasties.....oh the list goes on. (Oh, and even though I'll pack my running shoes I can almost guarantee they won't see the light of day for 2 weeks!! - Exercise and vacations just don't mix in my experience) - that will be my tough 2 weeks. So with all that said, I want to head back to England in the best possible state of mind when it comes to feeling healthy.

So really I want to stay aware of what's going on...mainly in regard to the choices I'm making - choices in food, exercise and general well-being. Chris and I are keen to start changing our diet and make better choices. We don't eat that badly - most everything is home cooked from scratch but with his coursework (currently studying to be a health and nutrition coach at IIN) our eyes are constantly being opened wider and wider to even better choices for our food particularly.

This weeks challenges have been fun;

• Monday - go meatless! We had a Baked Potato and Salad
• Tuesday - Write a handwritten note (OK I flunked this one!)
• Wednesday - Try a new workout (I actually did this one on Thursday, but I checked out the Nike Training Club app on my iPad to find a different and new workout - I did a 45 min strength routine - with a HECK load of squats and pushups - ouch!)
• Thursday - Start the day with a 15 minute meditation - check! This is pretty new to me - having just dabbled in Dr Deepak Chopra's 21 day meditation challenge - I had a few days left over that I had'nt listened to, so I used one of those. It really is a lovely way to spend 15 minutes at any time of the day.
• Friday - How many colors can you eat?! Tonight we'll be having veggie stir-fry - I've had it planned out all week. Got red cabbage, yellow and red pepers, zucchini, fresh parsley, carrots, green onions, broccoli, mushrooms and whatever else is in the fridge come this evening...how many is that?!

I'm linking up to Jill's Fitness Friday today.