Blog – Page 2 – Fat, Broke and Stupid

Weight Loss can be a challenge. Fortunately, challenges can be fun! I love 30-day challenges!!! I once spent four continuous years doing different 30-day challenges with a friend of mine. You read that right! That’s 48 different 30-day challenges in a row. I have compiled a list of 70 different 30-Day Challenge ideas to inspire you to kick-start your weight loss in the month (or months!?!) to come. I have divided the list into three sections: 30 Day Nutrition Challenges30 Day Exercise Challenges30 Day Lifestyle Challenges Here is what you need to do: Read through the entire list.Choose your favorite.Pick your start date.Get started!!!Track your progress and results.Repeat with a new challenge! : ) Here we go… 30-Day NUTRITION Challenges for Weight Loss Count Your Calories Every Day for 30 Days – Weight loss is a result of being in a calorie deficit. Find out how many calories you are actually eating.Track Your Macros Every Day for 30 Days – Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats are the macronutrients our bodies need to function. Find out how much of each you eat.Make a Food Log for 30 Days – Keep a record of what you eat, how much of it you eat, the time you eat, where you eat, who you eat with, and why you are eating. You might find some surprising trends.Intermittent Fasting for 30 Days – Many people swear by intermittent fasting and its weight loss benefits. Choose the fasting window that works best for you and try it out for yourself.No Restaurants for 30 Days – Cooking for yourself is a fantastic way to control what you eat and how much you eat. Let’s not forget the money you can save, too!Cook All of Your Meals for 30 Days – Similar to no restaurants, but this challenge makes sure that it is you who does the actual cooking. Get hands-on with your food, and learn more about what you put into your body.Be a Vegetarian for 30 Days – Balancing your protein intake will take some work, but it’s hard to argue with the weight loss benefits of eating mostly vegetables, fruits, grains and legumes every day.Be a Dietary Vegan for 30 Days – Similar to being a vegetarian, but more restrictions with dairy and eggs. Try it out for a true challenge.Drink 2 Liters of Water for 30 Days – Water keeps you hydrated and satiated. You will be surprised by how much weight you can lose simply by drinking enough water.No Added Sugar for 30 Days – Added sugar is horrible when it comes to trying to lose weight, not to mention your overall health. Cut it out and watch the pounds fly off.No Soda for 30 Days – Drinking your calories is a great way to gain weight. Cutting out soda for a month can drastically reduce your daily caloric intake and help you lose weight.No Condiments for 30 Days – Condiments have calories, too! Eliminating them and enjoying the taste of your healthy meal will shave calories and shed pounds.No White Bread or Pasta for 30 Days – Nothing against carbs (they are important) but highly refined white breads and pastas are just no good, and you might be surprised at how many calories they contain. If you can’t remove them entirely, try swapping them out for whole grain options, instead.No Dessert for 30 Days – Hey, no one said these challenges would be easy!!!No Milk/Sugar in Your Coffee for 30 Days – Milk and sugar might taste nice, but they have calories. Cutting them out can help you lose some weight.No Milk/Sugar in Your Tea for 30 Days – Milk and sugar might taste nice, but they have calories. Cutting them out can help you lose some weight.No Alcohol for 30 Days – Alcohol has calories. It also lowers inhibitions and can lead to over-eating. Let’s not forget that hangovers also make exercise unappealing. Staying alcohol free for a month might be just what you need to jump-start your weight loss.No Fast Food for 30 Days – Fast food is calorie dense. Substituting it for healthier meals can significantly reduce calorie intake and promote weight loss.No Snacking for 30 Days – Snacking between meals is often unconscious, and we tend to eat way more calories during a snacking session than we think we do. If you can remove snacking, you can remove a lot of unwanted calories.Snack on Vegetables for 30 Days – Instead of cookies and sweets, try snacking on some vegetables instead. You might find they are just as delicious, and even more energizing and satisfying.Eat Something Green at Dinner for 30 Days – Leafy greens and vegetables are healthy and nutritious. Most people don’t eat enough of them. Change that this month.Eat 3 Servings of Fruit Every Day for 30 Days – The majority of people do not get the daily recommended servings of fruit. Whether you do this challenge or not… eat more fruit!Eat a New Vegetable Every Day for 30 Days – Are there 30 different vegetables?!? You tell me!Eat a New Fruit Every Day for 30 Days – Surely you can find 30 different fruits, right? Prove it!Make Your Own ____ for 30 Days – Instead of buying all of your food at the store, pick something and make it for yourself at home this month. For example, make your own breads.Eat a Healthy Breakfast for 30 Days – Start the day off right with a healthy meal such as oatmeal and see how energized and productive you are throughout the rest of the day.Take Vitamins Every Day for 30 Days – Vitamins and minerals are important for a healthy functioning body. We can be micro-nutrient deficient with improper diets. (Consult a doctor or registered dietitian beforehand.) https://youtu.be/gJ6vBr647ds WATCH the YouTube Video Version Right Here! 30-Day EXERCISE Challenges for Weight Loss Walk for 30 Minutes Every Day for 30 Days – Walking really is the best exercise. Set a goal of 30 minutes each day (or whatever works best for you) and enjoy some time out of the house, in nature, and away from the screens.Jog Every Day for 30 Days – Walking too easy for you? Pick a distance and jog your heart out this month.Yoga Every Day for 30 Days – Yoga is amazing for so many reasons. There are heaps of 30-day yoga courses available for free on YouTube for you to follow. No excuses about the cost. Find a program and do it at home every day.Master One Yoga Pose in 30 Days – Choose one specific yoga pose you cannot yet do, and work on it every day until you get it. Once you do get it, perfect your form or work on more difficult variations of the pose.Stretch Every Day for 30 Days – I don’t think people talk enough about the health benefits of stretching. It improves posture, reduces physical pain, reduces stress, and so much more. Perhaps it can help you lower your calorie intake, too!!!Balance Training Every Day for 30 Days – Similar to stretching, balance training does not always get the respect that it deserves. With so many health benefits, it might just be the challenge you need this month on your weight loss journey. Jump Rope Every Day for 30 Days – Skipping is a monster exercise for losing weight. Some of the most impressive weight loss transformations have included jumping rope. It might be a tough one, but it will be worth it.Walk to Work for 30 Days – Leave the car keys at home. Use your commute as a way to log some extra miles each day.Walk to School for 30 Days – Physical exercise improves cognitive abilities. So, you can lose a few pounds and be a better student?!? What’s not to like about this challenge?No Elevators for 30 Days – That’s right! Climb those stairs each and every day. Your legs might burn at first, but that’s really the calories burning away.Dance Every Day for 30 Days – Dancing is a great way to have fun and be social while being physical. There are so many different types of dance to choose from, too!10,000 Steps Every Day for 30 Days – Set a specific step goal and track it with your device of choice. Start small and work your way up.Jumping Jacks Every Day for 30 Days – A classic exercise, and one that can really work up a sweat. Set a time goal based on your abilities and hit it every day.Burpees Every Day for 30 Days – Every tried doing burpees for 5 minutes in a row?!? Easier said than done. Try it out for yourself and find out.Ride a Bike Every Day for 30 Days – If you can get outside on an actual bicycle each day, wonderful! If not, stationary bikes can also be a great way to build up your cardiovascular levels and burn some calories.Swimming Every Day for 30 Days – Swimming is a fantastic, total-body exercise that can burn a ton of calories. It’s also refreshing to be in the water. If you have access to a place to swim, challenge yourself to a daily water workout.Calisthenics Every Day for 30 Days – Calisthenics are exercises that use only a person’s body weight. They are a great way to burn lots of calories and build up your body. Find a routine online and follow it every day. Perhaps you can train daily at your local park with this one. Here are some specific examples:Pushups Every Day for 30 Days – Pick a number and pushup variation that suits your ability level. I did this once… then I kept going for an entire year. Whoops! Check it out: I Did 100 Pushups a Day for a YEAR! (The Good, Bad, and UGLY)Pullups Every Day for 30 Days – Pullups are a great upper body pulling exercise. Add this to your monthly workout and nutrition plan to burn some extra calories.Squats Every Day for 30 Days – Let’s not forget about one of the pillars of lower body, compound movements! Not only will they burn more calories, but they will tone up your legs and butt, too!Walking Lunges Every Day for 30 Days – To get legs from Heaven, you need to walk through Hell!Abs Every Day for 30 Days – Everyone wants a flat tummy. Start working on it this month as you start your fitness journey. In fact, I trained my abs every day for 9 months! Read the article I wrote about it. Planks Every Day for 30 Days – Did you know that the plank world record is 8 hours, 15 minutes, and 15 seconds? You don’t need to hold it for that long, but why not add it to your daily movement each day? https://youtu.be/ek-0Y2wx5fg I took this 30-Day Challenge a bit too far... 30-Day LIFESTYLE Challenges for Weight Loss Weigh Yourself Every Day for 30 Days – What’s managed is what’s measured. Try measuring your weight every day and see how you respond.No TV in the Evening for 30 Days – We watch way too much TV. It is an inactive and totally passive activity. Give up the TV this month and replace it with more active activities. I bet you won’t even miss it by the end of the month when you have lost weight!Go to Bed on Time Every Day for 30 Days – Proper sleeping habits should not be neglected when it comes to weight loss. Being fully rested allows you to have more energy for your workouts. It leads to less stress and fatigue so you can better resist temptations.Wake Up Early to Exercise Every Day for 30 Days – The most common excuse for not exercising is that you do not have the time. Well, MAKE the time this month. Go to bed a little earlier, wake up a little earlier, and make your workout your first priority every morning before the duties of life start calling.Walk to the Store for 30 Days – Put your car keys down and use this time to stretch your legs. Not only will you get some extra steps in, but you might be tempted to buy less snacks so that your bags will be lighter on your return-walk home.Walk During Lunch Break for 30 Days – Use your lunch break to re-energize by getting active. Walk around the building. Walk in a park. Walk up and down the stairs. Use this time to accomplish YOUR weight loss goals, not to spend more time focused on the goals of the people you are working for.Walk After Dinner Every Day for 30 Days – It is so easy to sit in front of your computer or TV as soon as your food-coma hits after dinner. Resist this urge and go for a simple walk instead.Use a Health and Fitness App for 30 Days – There are so many wonderful weight loss apps available. They can track your calories, your training, and so much more. If you have never used one before, find one and try it out for a month. You never know what might happen.Meditate Every Day for 30 Days – Meditate on your goals. Meditate on your workouts. Meditate on your nutrition. Meditation has many benefits, and it might just help with weight loss this month, too.Practice Self-Love Every Day for 30 Days – Some people reach a point where they believe that weight loss is not possible for them. After many failures, they give up. Let’s start believing in ourselves and forgiving ourselves so that we can start taking action towards our weight loss goals.De-Stress Every Day for 30 Days – Stress is more powerful than we often give it credit for. Besides causing fluctuations in weight itself, it also makes it harder to train and eat healthy. Try de-stressing in whatever way works best for you, and use that as a basis for weight loss.Eat Your Meals with Family and Friends for 30 Days – Eating meals with your family is a great opportunity to relax, connect with loved ones, and to make the food you eat as a family a priority. Making it a healthy priority and a learning experience is a bonus.Eat Meals Without TV or Phone for 30 Days – We mindlessly eat more food when parked in front of a TV or phone. Focus on your food instead, and practice mindful eating.Pre-Plan Your Meals for 30 Days – It is difficult to make consistently healthy food choices when our meals are last-minute and improvised. Planning out your meals for the month, perhaps on a weekly basis, will help in making sure you are consistently prepared to eat healthy.Food Prep for 30 Days – Try prepping 3-4 days’ worth of food in one big cooking session. Pack it up into appropriately portioned containers and your healthy food will be ready for you when it’s time to eat. You might also find that this allows for more time to exercise on days when you do not need to cook from scratch. Portion Control for 30 Days – Focus on reducing your portion sizes this month. Even healthy food can lead to weight gain if you eat too much of it. Learn more about healthy portion sizes and experiment with it each meal. By the end of the month, you will instinctually know what appropriate portion sizes are for you.Read Food Labels for 30 Days – Food labels tell us so much about the food that we consume, yet they are not always read or understood. Make it a point to study each and every food label of everything you are considering buying this month. You might end up putting some shockingly unhealthy options back on the shelf.Drink Water When You Think You Are Hungry for 30 Days – Water, water, water… it’s truly important for our health. It’s also sometimes forgotten when we think about weight loss. Next time you think you are hungry, you might just be thirsty instead. Try drinking some water. If you are still hungry 30 minutes later, then go ahead and eat. But I bet the hunger will pass more often than not.No Delivery/Take-Away for 30 Days – Delivery is the easy choice when it comes to eating. Step up your game and make it a point to prepare and cook all of your meals at home this month. You might even save some money, too.Wash Dishes by Hand for 30 Days – Increase your NEAT! NEAT is all of the movement you do in a day that is not dedicated physical activity. Try simply washing the dishes by had this month to get some extra activity in. You might be surprised at how many extra calories you might burn over time. Feel free to replace washing the dishes with any other activity. Which 30-Day Weight Loss Challenge Did You Choose? Which challenge touched your heart and tickled your fancy?! Which area of your life have you been wanting to work on for a while, but have yet to take action despite constantly telling yourself that you will? OK… now you have the challenge. Choose your start date, or start right now, and keep track of your progress for the entire month. Have fun, and best of luck! My 30-Day Challenge Experience and Weight Loss Story I have done a few of the challenges on this list myself. They were awesome! I even took things to an extreme when I did 100 pushups every day for an entire year! You can read all about that challenge here: I Did 100 Pushups a Day for a YEAR (The Good, Bad and UGLY!) https://youtu.be/Fgcxa11Q_ZA My weight loss story... I’m also no stranger to weight loss, having lost over 100 lbs. myself and having kept it off for many years. You can read my story here: How I Lost Over 100 Lbs. and Kept It Off for Years! I hope that this list inspired you to take action this month in actively working on your health and fitness. I wish you all the very best as you work hard to become the person you wish to be. Best, Jack