28 Day Reset Challenge

During the holiday season, Australians tend to drink more, develop irregular sleep patterns, eat poorly and neglect their exercise routines.

Sound familiar? Although it’s fine to relax and enjoy the holidays, it’s important to make sure some of these less than healthy habits don’t become the norm. Let’s use February as our time to reset and refocus to ensure 2021 is a year of health and fitness.

If there is one thing I have learnt over the past 27 years working in this industry, it’s that everyone is different and there his no “one way” to fitness and health. We are motivated by different goals, have different struggles, and enjoy different things. Not only that, research demonstrates that our physical response to different foods is also highly individual with blood sugar levels differing dramatically amongst groups of people who consume identical meals.

We differ in our ability to control our urges. Some people find moderation really easy and will eat one Tim Tam and put the rest of the packet away. Others find they need to avoid opening the packet altogether as they simply can’t stop at one. Some of us need to exercise every day to stay motivated, while others would find this overwhelming and are better at sticking to 3 training sessions a week.

Therefore, this 28 day challenge is going to look a little different for everybody. You decide which challenge is the best fit for you according to the one thing you need most to get back on track. Remember the importance of focussing on one thing at a time rather than setting too many goals and achieving none.

Once you have worked out which area of your health you need to get back on track, decide your goal for the next 28 days. Do you respond better to the “go hard” approach, or should you take the more moderate route? For example, if you decide you need to reduce the amount you have been drinking, do you need to give up all alcohol for the next 28 days (go hard), or do you need to limit yourself to 2 glasses a week (moderate)? Take whichever approach will be more likely to result in your success.

28 Day Reset Challenge Suggestions:

or create your own 28 day challenge:

NUTRITION

Reduce / remove sugar: Eliminate or reduce high sugar foods such as cakes and lollies, and watch out for added sugar in sauces, dressings etc.
Reduce / remove alcohol: A glass of sparkling water or herbal tea can be helpful to fill the gap.
Remove processed junk foods: Preparation is key. Have lots of fresh fruit and veggies chopped and ready to go to help avoid the “last minute grab of the rice crackers”.
Only eat when sitting down: (i.e. mindful eating) Resist snacking. Sit down to eat, making sure each meal is nutritious and satisfying.

EXERCISE

Exercise for a minimum of 10 minutes every day: This could be a 30 minute online program, a quick 10 minute circuit of push ups and sit ups or a 10 minute run around the streets. Do it every day.
Walk for 15 minutes a day every day: Rain, hail or shine.
Exercise for 45 minutes 3 times a week: Rain, hail or shine.
Complete a plank hold every day: Start with your base time e.g. 60 seconds and work at increasing this by a few seconds every few days.

REST

Turn off all screens at an allocated time each night: Set an alarm on your phone at a certain time e.g. 9:00pm and make sure all screens go off at that time.
Go to bed at the same time each night: Research demonstrates that going to bed and waking up at the same time each day has enormous health benefits.
Take 10 minutes each day to do something you love: This is a chance for you to reset on a daily basis. Read a book, play music, soak in a bath, go for a walk.
Commit to stretching for 10 minutes every day: Jump online and follow one of the Fit My Day stretching sessions. Or set your timer for 10 minutes and work through some stretch and release movements.

What’s the one thing that you need to reset in order to benefit your health and fitness journey? Make sure your challenge is both difficult (it needs to stretch you) but possible. Today is the day to start. What’s your challenge?

By Angie Black