Adjust and Maintain

Crossing the Finish Line

finish line1 Day 30: Phase III Adjust and Maintain

Congratulations to everyone who has completed the 30 day challenge here at Fitness Spotlight!! It wasn’t all that bad now was it? Actually I think it got easier once the first week was over (and allowing the caffeine back in might of had something to do with it too).

So lets take today to really reflect back on the lessons we learned, so we know how to go forward (as the challenge may be over, but life still goes on).
What Did You Get From it?

What were the important things that you learned about yourself, health, body, cravings, food choices, and anything else during these past 30 days?

Many have learned that they have more self control than they thought possible (by limiting or avoiding things like coffee or sweets). Others may have learned how much better they felt without all the grains/breads/dairy in their diets. Maybe you have more daily energy, less inflammtion or even lost some weight.

Of course we can also take other lessons seen such as snacking on such things as nuts will not guarantee weight loss even though we cut out the sugars (as calories still count in the whole fat loss equation, and nuts are packed full of them if you don’t keep track). Maybe you just enjoy eating more “meals” and don’t need “snacks” anymore.

Here’s just some personal observations of mine:

* Got rid of the pizza fix that somehow seeped back into my lifestyle over the holidays
* Didn’t really miss drinking beer that much (but will still have some on occasion of course)
* Body has a new found love (and craving) for bison burgers I found at Trader Joes (Mmmmmm)
* Forced me to cook more at home rather than relying on food outside (which meant more quality)
* Good reminder to focus on one step at time and know where I want to go
* I got more out of this challenge than I expected and am thankful for doing it

So tell us in the comments, what did you learn about yourself to use going forward for ongoing health and weight loss?
Phase III – Adjust and Maintain

journey life Day 30: Phase III Adjust and Maintain

So now we are entering into the most important phase, your lifestyle from this point on! Even though our little 30 day challenge is over, that doesn’t mean we stop doing everything we have done and go back to old bad habits. The key is finding the right balance in your lifestyle for eating healthy, keeping active and still being able to enjoy the foods you want to.

It will also be important to make sure the things we did eliminate for the most part, do not start to sneak back into our lives and then take our health/energy in the opposite direction. So if you start to feel like you are going down the wrong path again, step back and take notice of what is going on (with everything you have learned here). Only then can you again take action and stop it in it’s tracks.

Personally I like the idea of my intermittent fasting days (2x/week) as personal “detox” days. On those days, I keep it clean and light with mostly meat, fruit and veggies when I do eat later. This will be my ongoing reminder so I don’t let things get out of control on the other days.

So from here on, live a lifestyle that you enjoy (and don’t feel like you are really restricted from anything, but also make your food choices for the right reasons). Life is all about the journey, so enjoy it and stay healthy on the way!

Additional Note, FULL Challenge Page Coming Soon: For those who did not jump in on the challenge or are new here, we will be designing a special page with all the challenge info for anyone to use at any time real soon! No reason you can’t do it again if you feel you need it in the future. The challenge and the support of the great community here will be here for you!