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3 week weight loss challenge
Are you ready? Give yourself 3 weeks to form some healthier habits!
Looking to make a change and don’t know where to start? DIET and EXERCISE, UGH. It sounds so overwhelming to figure out what to do. I get it, it’s hard to change everything at once and completely uproot everything you do day-to-day. Take advantage of my 3 week weight loss challenge that will ease you in, it’s goals you can set to achieve and not something that will scare you away. I promise.
Life is the ultimate highway…
Keep in mind this is for someone who wants to start making changes that they plan to implement into their daily living. Like an on-ramp so to speak. Think about slowly speeding up on the ramp for the highway, you need to build up momentum to stay with the flow of traffic. You are on this highway to get to your final destination: A HEALTHIER YOU! What’s better than that? 3 week weight loss challenge, here we come!
Weight loss and creating healthy habits are things that take time. So be patient with yourself and go easy on yourself. If you have a bad day, we try better the next day.
My motto: small changes over time!
I honestly feel that initial small change and setting “easy” goals for the week will give you a sense of accomplishment. This will make you WANT to continue and do better. I think people get scared that they won’t stick with something, so that kind of deters them from starting up in the first place.
This is why you see people who “yo-yo diet.” They are completely gung-ho about making all these changes and they do it for a few weeks or so, but then they slowly fall back into their old routine. This 3 week weight loss challenge will help you create good habits, add more along the way and create a healthier version of you!
I honestly don’t think avoiding all the foods you love is the right way to do it. Because you’re going to miss each other and it’s JUST NOT FAIR. Eat the piece of cake (a tiny piece) or have the darn cheeseburger (but maybe with a salad instead of the fries).
Walking-shockingly works!
Let’s talk about walking, physical activity doesn’t need to be complicated. You just need to be consistent. For example, my husband has a job that requires him to be at his desk all day. For a few years, like most of us- he was working from home. His steps in a day were only done within the house and that was to the kitchen and for bathroom breaks.
When he was talking about trying to lose weight, my response was that you don’t walk or move enough. He plays racquetball every day, but that 30 minutes of playing racquetball was NOT enough cardio or exercise for the day.
He initially started with walking 3 miles every morning and changed his diet by watching his calorie intake and increasing his protein. That morning walk eventually turning into running! He LOST 50 POUNDS! 50 POUNDS! I had never seen him happier.
Just move your body
Ok, so we know walking is important. Walking is going to help control our weight because we burn calories this way. Have you ever tracked your steps in a day or heard about people trying to get their 10,000 steps in? If you walked 30 min a day and then tracked your remaining steps for the day and reached 10,000 steps, you could burn 400-500 calories! Which means you could lose a pound a week! If you want to start tracking your steps, here is a very reasonably priced smart watch: https://amzn.to/3DUVvAx
If walking isn’t your jam, then do the bicycle or elliptical or whatever is going to get you to commit for 30 min a day. Take your phone or iPad and watch something- YouTube, TikTok, Netflix, anything. You’ll be surprised how fast times goes by. Remember this is to START you on a journey. This is gently easing you in to make some changes. Something is better than nothing. You can do this!
3-week weight loss challenge: on ramp schedule
Week 1
- Walk for 30 min 2 or 3 days this week
- Add high protein AM or PM snack every day this week
- 1 healthy breakfast , 1 healthy lunch, 1 healthy dinner this week
Week 2
- Walk 4 or 5 days, add stretching before or after your walk
- protein AM/PM snack
- ADD Healthy meal for breakfast or lunch 4 or 5 days
Week 3
- Walk 4 or 5 days with stretching
- ADD 2 days of lifting 5 lb weights for 10 minutes
- protein snack AM/PM (or both)
- Healthy meal for breakfast or lunch 4 or 5 days
- ADD healthier option dinner 2 or 3 days
Disclosure: this post may contain affiliate links and I may receive a commission if you purchase through them. Thank you.
Download a printable calendar for your 3 week weight loss challenge below
Eating better
What we eat is obviously VERY important too. During your on-ramp weeks, you are going to try your HARDEST to cut back on your sugar intake and increase your water intake. Pinky swear!
LESS sugar in your coffee, less sugary drinks, less sweets. OK, you are sweet enough!
MORE water! For example, if you weigh 240 lbs- you should be drinking at least half of your body weight in ounces. That’s at least 120 ounces of water per day.
Snack time is going to be more protein based! You will be surprised how full you feel after eating higher protein snacks. I promise! Here’s a few things you can eat, and these are things you really don’t have to prepare. So easy to grab them and go, no excuses!
What works for you?
Switching out your breakfast and lunch meals may feel challenging. But you have to find something that works for you. Back to my husband- he eats eggs for his breakfast, and grilled chicken or ground turkey wrap for lunch. That works for him, and he sticks to that routine.
It took well over a year for me to lose the 50 lbs of baby weight, that’s a story for another blog. But, for breakfast, I have oatmeal and I add (stay with me)- ground flax seed, chia seeds, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds and a tiny bit of coconut milk. I have a plastic container that I mix all those seeds and nuts and scoop right into my oatmeal every morning, It’s SO GOOD and FILLING!! My lunch is either a salad or turkey sandwich or leftovers from the night before. That works for me.
So, what works for you? That’s your decision and varies depending on the individual. Eating healthier meals is a matter of trial and error to see what works for you. First, what can you eat that you will stick to eating. Second, your time. How much time do you have to prep healthy meals in the kitchen. Not that they are more time consuming because they are healthy, but some people may not have time to spend in the kitchen. Whatever you decide, try to include lean meats, more protein, fruits and veggies.
Last Call
Remember we are:
I hope you’re ready to make some changes. Start this amazing journey to a healthier you, lose the weight, feel better and be the best version of you!
Sending so much support, thank you for stopping by! Let me know how you do.😊
I would also suggest reading my post about prebiotics and probiotics especially if you are one who craves sugar. These are so important for your gut health and overall health on so many levels. https://onehealthychic.com/prebiotics-vs-probiotics/
Check out my favorite products page for some protein snacks, shake and the oatmeal I love! https://onehealthychic.com/favorite-products/
