The Whole Life Challenge (Review)

I’ve been meaning to do this for almost a month.  Time keeps getting wasted, spent on other things or just slips away.  So today I’m making it a priority to put down my thoughts about this tool, this challenge, this inspiration called the Whole Life Challenge.

I am forever grateful that Drew recommended the game to me.  I will be participating again starting in May and we would LOVE to add you to our team if you would like to be a part of a group of encouraging, hard-working, yet honest and flawed people who are striving for wholeness and health. For more information on the challenge visit this site.  If you need help you could also send me a message.  Our team name is Better Than Yesterday.  Drew Jorgensen is our team leader.

The first few days were pretty difficult.  I must admit that the hardest thing to give up was bread.  I can do without milk, cheese and even sugar wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, but bread.  I missed bread.  I missed sandwiches and rolls with butter at dinner.  I think the reason that I didn’t miss sugar was much as I thought I would was because I had already given up junk food and almost all processed food.  The other reason is because I had worked so diligently to prepare meals for dinner that were WLC approved and they were so tasty.  I didn’t feel deprived.  Portion control wasn’t a big issue for me because it’s something I’ve worked on for years.  21-Day Fix (from Beachbody) was very helpful in reminding me of the importance of portion size.  I will probably be trying to combine the two programs for the next WLC.

I loved having an accountability team.  I loved that I could eat legumes (peanut butter), quinoa and lentils.  I loved that it wasn’t as restrictive as Whole30.  I loved that daily I had to focus on other areas of my life NOT just food as with other diets, programs, My Fitness Pal etc.  Mobilization (stretching), food, water, daily reflecting and a specific area (kind acts, meditation etc,) were all part of this daily challenge.  I was encouraged to see my daily totals and where I stood in terms of my team play and even worldwide accomplishments.  Something else that made all the difference is this challenge was NOT about perfection.  I didn’t have to start over again if I “blew it”.  I could make choices.  I could have bad days.  I could lose points and life continued.  It felt so good.

At the end of 56 days I had lost 20 pounds.  At the end of 56 days I had learned that my body could function and THRIVE on less food and not need foods that I thought I had to have.  56 days later I ran a 5K faster.  56 days later I could squat deeper, stretch longer, move easier.  56 days after the challenge started I could breathe more deeply and realized the importance of silence.

Here’s the hard part of this post.  I must admit to you that after the challenge ended I fell and I fell HARD.  I had my 40th birthday.  My son and daughter turned 11.  I went on a mini-vacation.  I thought I could eat pizza and a lot of it.  I didn’t workout daily and I forgot the importance of accountability.  Seriously almost a month has gone by and I feel fat, gross and slow.  I feel guilt, shame that isn’t necessary and I am fighting discouragement.  I’ve put five pounds back on and am feeling frustrated.  Even into this journey almost five years I still need routine, accountability and mindfulness.  I’m grateful to have been reminded of this through the tool of the Whole Life Challenge.