Health and Wealth Challenge: Week 1
On November 1st, I started my health and wealth challenge put together by Tonya at Budget and the Beach. Since health and wealth are two of my favorite topics and I love Tonya and her ideas, there was no way not to accept the challenge. The timing is perfect. I try to always be healthy, but I did eat a few too many mini Hershey’s bars from the Halloween cache, and the holidays are always a challenging time for eating well and keeping wealth on track. I’m hoping this challenge will vault me right on through Christmas and New Year’s with so much health and wealth that I just won’t know how to handle it!
I’m sure that my eating and exercise routines are not edge of your seat reading material, but I’m going to try and post weekly or bi-weekly to keep myself accountable. Drum roll for week 1…….
Health: Eating
Starting yesterday, I am on a three day juice cleanse. I did one last spring, and I think it’s a great way to consume lots of vitamins, get rid of cravings, and reset my eating habits.
Unless you’re Gwyneth Paltrow, juicing as your only food source is tough. Last time, I was having to hold my nose to get down the green drinks by the last day. I think there should be a law against how much kale a person can consume, but I guess my liver and maculae will be happy.
It might not be great for wealth, but I did order pre-made juices from Jus by Julie on Amazon. It was much cheaper than some of the other popular cleanses and had free shipping. At about $41 a day, it’s expensive, but this is one of my fruclassity choices. I could make my own for maybe a little less, but as I sit here choking down finishing my last X-treme Greens of day one, I know I would stop if I hadn’t already bought three days worth. Besides, Jim is out of town and eating on the company dime this week, so I don’t have to feed him.
Health: Exercise
I already exercise every day unless I have the flu or get trapped in a snowstorm somewhere. Otherwise LDL’s and triglycerides love to come over and visit. Still, there is always room for improvement. Here are my workouts for the week with my normal stuff in black and new stuff in blue.
Saturday: Ran 2 miles. 20 minutes on elliptical trainer. 40 reps on quad, hamstring, and ab machines plus 7 awful minutes of stretching.
Sunday: 4 miles on treadmill
Monday: Mean Monday Boot Camp
Tuesday: Ran 2 miles. 20 minutes on elliptical. 20 horrible minutes of strength training/ arms and abs.
Wednesday: Spin Class. Walked 1.25 miles while daughter was in dance class.
Thursday: P90X Plyometrics
Friday: 45 minutes on stationary bike. Hike in Moab with kiddo for Field Trip Friday.
I am trying to add more strength and stretching while mixing up my cardio. I really hoped to do more stretching, but 7 minutes is all you get this week.
Wealth
I have a huge wealth building project in the works right now, but I can’t reveal it yet. I will be posting more next week, so you’ll just have to trust me that it’s something good.
Why Not Join?
It’s too late to join the challenge and be eligible for prizes, but it’s never too late to work on your health and wealth. There was a great post this week at Life and My Finances about how freaked out the world is over ebola but not about the obesity epidemic. Our chances of catching ebola are one in 13 million. Obesity, on the other hand, happens to every one in three people these days. Why not start fighting now? I can say for a fact that it DOES NOT get easier as you get older. Don’t be a statistic. Stop wasting time and get moving!
As for wealth, are you completely comfortable with your money situation? If not, start challenging yourself to add one idea every week to save or earn more. I bet by the end of the month, you’ll be glad you did.
What did you do this week to improve your health or wealth? Can you guess what my secret wealth building project is?
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Wow Kim, that’s fantastic – I’m doing the challenge too, but after seeing yours and Tonya’s efforts after week 1, I’m feeling a little less proud of my own efforts :). But as I said to Tonya, what I did this week was better than my average week, so at least it’s progress!
You’ve given me some extra motivation to have a better week this week though! And your wealth building projects sounds exciting, can’t wait to hear more!
I wouldn’t compare yourself to anyone else. Tonya and I are pretty hard core when it comes to working out, but we’ve been like that for years. If you’re just starting, any improvement is wonderful.
Wow, every day you have a mode of exercise to do. That’s really great that you have a plan. Never forget to stretch before and after exercise. So excited to see the results.