FITness Into A Lifestyle: Can you really change in 21 Days?

On January 8^th Jake and I decided that after having our first child it was time to tackle one of our largest struggles/challenges in both of our lives. What was the culprit that was holding us back from accomplishing some of our wildest dreams both financially and physically, FOOD! By no means are we ever perfect, but we both had an existing passion for exercise. For Jake it is running, he loves to simply get out and go! For me it is a combination of cardio and strength training. Regardless of the type we do a very good job of implementing this into our daily lives. However, when it comes to food we were out of control and getting pregnant only amplified this.

Now when one starts to talk about how they changed their diet, there is always two main excuses that come up – time and money. For us the major issue was time and to be frank laziness from the both of us! Back in July of 2017 we added Ashley Ward to our FITness Into A Lifestyle team who brought to our team a success story, as well as a passion for nutrition. Yes we picked her brain here and there on what we could be doing better and we even “took part” in her Fall 2017 21 Day Challenge. It was not until January where it finally sunk in for us and we were determined to take it seriously on January 8^th (Winter 2018 21 Day Challenge).

First, here is a snapshot at how our finances changed from July 2017 to January 2018 when looking at food specifically.

You can definitely assume that our choices to eat out were also never the healthiest as we were living the “busy” American life where rolling through Runza or ordering delivery pizza was what we were consuming. Since we made the change. our grocery bill has remained similar to previous months but we have been much more health conscious in what we buy. The big change was focusing on making healthier meals at home, and avoiding the temptation and guilt of eating out for various reasons all throughout the week. Although only seven days in to the month of February, our spending trend is also on par to mimic our month of January. Taking one large trip to Costco at the beginning of the month costing an average of $350.00 and adding $50.00 on a weekly basis to keep fresh vegetables and fruits on hand. Going along with the change, we are also eating out once a week, making a point to make a healthier choice if we do go out(substituting veggies for fries, small instead of a large, or chicken sandwich without the bun). This has resulted in hundred of dollars in savings thus far, but more importantly, a much healthier and sustainable lifestyle!

In addition to this wonderful financial success mentioned above that the 21 Day Challenge provided us, we both also experienced substantial physical success!