Are you ready to feel really great, get in shape, and lose a few pounds?
//Today is the start of a challenge I mentioned earlier this week in this post in hopes that you could begin to prepare your mind and your kitchen for the workout ahead. If you are just joining me now, today’s post is a bit of an introduction/review, plus includes some helpful recipes and additional reading links. Enjoy!//
I sure have been thinking along those lines! For a few weeks now, a friend and I have been keeping each other accountable for walking or running at least 5 miles each week, limiting our sugar intake, and increasing our fruits & vegetable intake. I’ve been doing well with the exercise, have had a few unfortunate encounters with sugar {read: cheat}, and still need to make a more consistent habit of reaching for the healthy stuff when I feel a hunger pang or craving.
I have also been wanting to do several body cleanses, for overall health and wellness, and especially before {someday} becoming pregnant again. So with all that in mind, when I read an article last week from the owner of one of my favorite online stores, The Bulk Herb Store, I knew I wanted to join the challenge!
Here is part of the article:
________________________________
“Fitness is health’s sweetheart. They go to together like peas and carrots.
I am going to exercise and get strong, lean, and healthy.
Exercise is something that Americans have done less and less of over the years.
We have become an obese nation. We as individuals need to change that truth.
We need to eat right, eat less, and exercise much more.
Big boned has become our excuse. It is not an excuse.
We can change. We must fight for our weight, health, and bodies.
It is not going to be easy, but nothing worth it ever is.
It will be a lot of work, but I promise you: if you stick with it, it will be worth every moment!
Starting March 1st for one month I am going to go wheat
(wheat grains or any kind of wheat flour), casein (anything with milk in it), and sugar free.
I am also going to exercise everyday from 4:30 to 5:30. Join me!
Lets get fit together by increasing our energy,
boosting our immune system and getting our bodies in shape.”
__________________________________
So, I don’t know how this will strike you. Maybe you’ll really think I am mad. 
{Perhaps the title of this post should be “March Madness”.} But I am excited! I’ve been thinking about it and preparing myself mentally, as well as stocking my kitchen with some extra honey, lentils, almonds, fish, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables in preparation for this day. My sister-in-law has agreed to be my walking/running partner for an hour at least 5 times per week. And, ooooh-wee, are we getting up early to do it!
Here are three favorite breakfast recipes you may want to try in the month of March. In the next days and weeks, I will share a few more of my own favorite wholesome recipes, as well as a couple of new ones I have discovered online or in my new favorite cookbook that I am really excited to try out!
Almond Flour Pancakes
{without the yogurt for this month}
Muesli
{will have to eat this with non-dairy milk, I guess.
hmmm, never tried muesli like that before}
And here are a few links that I have been enjoying recently. Maybe you will find them helpful too.
Free Ebook 149 Healthy Recipes from Dr. Mercola
Weight Management Article from Beeyoutiful
Healthy Living~Start Somewhere by Beeyoutiful
{And, oh! This CD is so beautiful and relaxing
and contains the beautiful words of Scripture.
Right now you can get a great deal on one or both volumes!
Something that will contribute to the emotional
and spiritual health of your home, I’m sure!}
Hidden In My Heart Volume II
Eating well is anything but gross or boring, but it often requires a bit more effort to seek it out or prepare it. Because as you well know, the standard American diet, so readily available at every turn is anything but fresh, wholesome, and life-giving. Eating well is often counter-cultural and takes real determination to stick to it!
So I’m in. And if you have any desire whatsoever of joining me, I’d love to hear about your plan of action!
Here’s to health & wellness in the month of March! This is day number one!
This is great! I plan to join in as well so I’ve subscribed to your blog. I’ve actually had to take the niche on my blog down. I was doing desserts and my husband doesn’t have a sweet tooth really, so I’d be left with a whole dessert to eat or throw away. Finally I’ve been doing portion control cooking; desserts for one or two people! It is a start but I’m ready to lose this weight!
Thanks!
Yay! So glad to have you join! I hope it goes well for you, and I look forward to posting helpful updates and recipes throughout March.
I’m working hard to cut the garbage out my whole family’s diet. You’ve made me decide I need an exercise buddy too!
I hope you find an exercise buddy! It really is key to getting started and being consistent!
What a great challenge! I wish you the very best. Kudos to you for challenging your readers to come along.
Peace and good to you on your journey.
Thanks for sharing this information. I have bookmarked your post so that I can come back and take a look at the links you’ve provided.
I really need to change my entire family’s diet ASAP. So I will be visiting again soon.
Stopping by from the 100 Comments event.
http://www.AsToldByLisa.com
As the mother and primary grocery shopper and cook around our place, I often think about the huge responsibility that I have to cultivate a taste for truly good food in my children, and build their little bodies strong for their lives ahead. It sure isn’t an easy task, esp. with McD’s and all the prepackaged snacks available to us these days, and they are oh-so-convenient too! Blessings to you as you continue to make choices and little changes that will impact your family! I’d love to be a help to you with my own cooking tips and recipes, as well as linking you up with blogs and resources that are a huge help to me. Nice to “meet” you here!
Wow, you have a very great goal there. I’m currently taking some steps to better my diet, and incorporating more fruits and vegetables into it. I’ve started by making fruit smoothies, since I’m constantly on the go, it is a great way to get my fruit servings and I know exactly what ingredients are going in. I’m still working up the nerve to try “green smoothies”
Each step towards a healthy diet and lifestyle is a step in the right direction of feeling great, right? I love smoothies too. They can be packed with nutrition and are so easy to get down! One of my friends commented and left a green smoothie recipe that I’d like to try. Maybe you’d like that one?? Good luck!
[...] knew from experience that the day I started this 31 day cleanse and challenge to a healthier life, all the fabulous recipes I had been reading about and looking forward to making & eating would [...]
Very inspiring, Shelly! Keep us informed as to how it goes. When Liz and my Mom were here we tried a new green smoothie that was pretty good and quite easy to get down.
1 frozen sliced banana
1 Tbls. peanut butter
1/2 cup yogurt
1 cup milk
4 cups baby spinach
Let me know what you think!
Thanks for the recipe, Mary. Can’t wait to try it, but because of the milk and yogurt, I will have to wait til April 1st.
I love the large amount of greens it asks for! Mmm, and I love bananas and PB! I guess you guys have been safe from all the crazy weather swirling around again??
This is a great goal. I cant wait to do it after giving birth or maybe after the breastfeeding stage.
Thanks for sharing!
I’m in. I keep saying I need to exercise but something always comes up or I run out of time in the day. I have decided no more excuses I am going to take at least a half an hour a day and do some sort of exercise. I know I will feel much better.
yay! glad you decided to join. exercise is a hard one to fit in, but certainly worth it! my SIL and I are walking/running every morning from 5:30-6:30 AM. by the end of 31 days, we will have covered a distance of about 124 miles.
I believe that well-rounded diets include some wheat and sugar (unless, of course, you have obvious health problems that preclude eating them). But I definitely limit my intake of them.
This is only a one-month cleanse/abstaining from wheat and sugar. I could/would never give up wheat all-together since I love to bake breads and other baked goods! If we’re talking about highly processed white sugar, I think we could all live without that permanently, but if it’s honey, raw sugar, agave, etc. healthy doses are fine and make life a little *sweeter*.
I have started a similar challenge but have yet to implement the exercise part. Maybe my daughter will agree to be my exercise partner and as the days grow longer we can get our whole crew up to exercise first thing in the morning. For many years we did this as a family from April/May through Sept./Oct. and we all enjoyed it.
Beautiful Blog. Makes me want to drink tea, and read more. Very relaxing with lots of wonderful information.
Onward!
I’ve been working hard to incorporate more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains into my family’s diet. We’re doing much better than we were but we’ve still go a long way to go.
Good luck! I have been making it a goal to get healthier this year, and I have been having some ups and downs. I will be checking back to see the recipes!
There truly is strength in numbers and I wish you the very best. Those who join you on the wheat diet should be aware of the possibility of gluten allergy. It can cause diarrhea, headaches, nausea and a host of other things, so watch for such symptoms. As for me, I’ll keep watching those exercise videos. Never have lost a pound doing that. I must be missing something.
Deb
The almond pancakes sound yummy! Hope you get a great response for this challenge. It’s important that we take care of our health.
Sounds like a great plan!! I’ve recently gone Paleo (no grains, sugar, beans, etc.) and I can tell my body really likes it. If I eat any of the things I’ve taken out, I can tell the effect they have on me. My best exercise plan is a great workout partner.
My workout partner and I, also, use myfitnesspal.com. We are able to put in our exercise and our calorie counts. It is a great way to stay accountable to ourselves and each other.
It wasn’t an easy decision but I’ve stayed out of garbages for almost two years now and I’m happy about that. I stopped running over the past years but I definitely want to start again.
Spring seems like a great time to make changes. Good luck in reaching your goals.
Good for you, and I wish you the best. Eating better and exercising is something we all need to work on!
This is such a great way to get ready for Summer! I am always looking for ways to eat healthy and workout. I think it helps to have a group to keep you accountable or to at least go through it with you! Great post!
Very nice article, I enjoyed reading it and your recipes sounds really good! I commend you on deciding to make a change in your diet and health, its wonderful! Thank you for sharing and I look forward to reading your blog more!
Congratulations on setting a great goal! Sounds like you are well on the way to becoming more healthy. It’s a good goal for all of us. I’m incorporating more fruits and vegetables into my diet and limiting wheat and preservatives. Go for it!
WOW! You are super motivated! I have looked a lot at the Paleo diet lately (no grain/dairy) and really like what I see. So is it 4:30am or pm exercise!?
This is a great post! I love the idea and this is great motivation. I hope everything works out for you. I’m sure you will feel much healthier afterwards.
Great post and great idea! We try to always incorporated fruit and vegetables in our kid’s diets throughout the day. Hubby doesn’t like me to make a meal without at least one green veggie on the menu.
Our word of the year for 2011 was health so we did a lot of things that focused on health. We found recipes for making our favorite restaurants foods, we increased our good food intake while decreasing our junk food intake. We had a failed attempt at growing our own food. We started buying foods that came from closer to home than ones that were trucked in to our stores. It was certainly worth the effort!
But I think that article explains why I despise exercise. “They go to together like peas and carrots.” I like carrots but despise peas. LOL
I try to eat whole food as much as possible… with the occasional treat of course. Thanks for sharing this with us! xoxo- Rachel
Love the clean look of your blog. Eating healthy and exercising are so important. Good luck on your journey.
Wheat, casein, and sugar free all at once! That is a big job – good luck with your challenge!
Good luck on this new adventure! I make resolutions to do this stuff and never follow through so good luck. It’s great you have an accountability partner! Great site design too!
I think this is a great plan – the key to eating right is NOT having the junk on hand, stocking up with good alternatives to sugar and other temptations, and making a Menu Plan!! Also having that walking buddy is awesome – i wish I had one but I don’t live near anybody that would want to do that with me, and I’m 19 weeks pregnant and having some hip problem that makes me limp… but when I have this baby I am going to get LOTS more exercise b/c I agree that is sadly lacking in our culture!
Now this is what I call determination! I’ve been more disciplined with healthy eating as well. Tonight’s dinner was grilled chicken, sauteed asparagus and mashed sweet potatoes. I feel better about myself when I eat right and exercise. Best of luck to you!
Awesome…best wishes!
We did a detox earlier this year this year…a pretty strict vegan diet and it was awesome (once I got rid of the caffeine headache)!
Thanks for the great ideas. You are right eating healthy is not boring and is so much more tastier. Good luck on your journey.
Love it! This is so, so important! Best of luck.
Good luck to you. I am trying to get back into a good workout routine and I need to do a better job with diet as well! I love the name of your site. I have a Thanksgiving prayer at my desk at work and am trying to remember what is most important in being thankful.
I started using almond flour when I had gestational diabetes. I love it (I just don’t love the price!) The link for the almond flour pancakes you posted wasn’t working so I”m not sure what recipe you were planning to use- however, you mentioned leaving out the yogurt so I wanted to share the recipe I use in case this alteration doesn’t work out. The recipe I like is called “Fluffy Pancakes” and is on the site realkidseatspinach. I subbed coconut oil for the butter, but other than that followed the recipe and they are fabulous!!
While I want to join every challenge I come across, it’s unrealistic. However, I have been walking weekly with my Dad as a starter. (See my post written today.)
Wonderful post and good luck with your challenge! Visiting from http://www.SimpleSavingsforATLMoms.com
I’m right with you. I’m just now starting to make healthier foods for my family and always looking for more great recipes. The green smoothie left in the comments seems like a great thing to try.
I’ve been introducing (very slowly) healthier foods in our home. So far, so good there. However, my husband and I both have been struggling with our weight. He ran cross country in college at Notre Dame and since marrying me (besides running the Chicago Marathon in 2008) he has gone up in weight on the scale. Me, well, I’m 5 months postpartum and am the heaviest I’ve ever been, not pregnant. I do not fit in any of my jeans and feel like I’m indefinitely stuck in maternity jeans! Ugh! I need to develop my weight loss goals and plan of action- the healthy food was the first step. Now on to the rest… Good luck to you and your goals!
Kudos to you! Great plan. Thanks for all the valuable information. I try my very best to make balanced meals every day but with the crazy schedules of sports and art classes it becomes difficult. Often times I cook dinner after the girls head to school and place in fridge for heating up later. It definitely helps in eating better.
This motivates me to eat healthier, I do good then I fall off all the time.
How inspiring! You’re doing a great thing! I am getting ready to jump back in the weight loss saddle myself, but my giant sweet tooth is standing in my way. I don’t think I could give up all of the things you listed cold turkey but I would like to start by eliminating one thing at a time.
Thanks so much for the links! I’ll be checking them out and following your blog!
Christy
http://www.alivinghomeschool.com
Great article! I wish you much success. I’m trying to get healthier myself. Going to pass your article along to my sister.
Thanks for passing this along to your sister. It’s a constant battle to do the healthy stuff, right? Success to you too!
Good for you! I have decided to take better care of myself this year. I have been trying to walk/exercise at least 3 times a week. So far, so good.
What a motivational post! I wish you the best of luck with your challenge.
At 63 now, for the first time in my life I have to think about my weight which has been slowly creeping up a bit with recent inactivity and personal stress, I guess… My Gal-friend Gina, (above comment!), suggested we use a new App she discovered last week – My Fitness Pal – FREE – for our iPhones. We’re still learning it, but it seems to have a plethora of info and helps – FYI – ;-}
Lynden
http://aneleganttouch-lynden.blogspot.com
https://www.facebook.com/pages/An-Elegant-Touch-/162889457132788
Good for you! A challenge like this is a great way to get started on a healthy lifestyle – if you can make your changes a true habit throughout the challenge, you will succeed long term. Good luck!!!
I always love new recipes and who couldn’t use great tasting healthy recipes? I hope you do well with your challenge and thanks for the good info!
Love this post! I have started on my lifestyle revamp, starting by getting more active and a change to my diet. It has kept me more busy as I have to squeeze itme t exercise plus cook healthy meals instead of eating out. But it’s all worth it!
I too have had a complete lifestyle change. Often times I get tired of cooking, so I just look for something completely easy that takes very little time, so that’s one of my biggest downfalls. But so far, while sticking to my low cal diet and exercise, I have lost 16.2lbs. Not bad for 7 weeks, but I am definitely not done yet!
I have a friend and we rely on each other to motivate ourselves to get to the gym, eat better, etc. she encourages me and I do the same for her, and that way we both stay on track.
I was being very careful how much I ate and getting some exercise everyday and I lost 5 pounds…then I quit and gained 8 pounds. Grrr!! Definitely time to get back at it!
This is a good idea…Attacking healthy eating in a stages (30 day increments). I don’t know if I can eliminate 3 things at once but starting off with one thing for 30 days then add another thing every 30 days.
How are you doing with eating healthy, its day 6?
Thanks for this great post!
Pamela
Still Dating My Spouse
http://www.stilldatingmyspouse.com
Hey, thanks for checking in with me on day six. It is now day 14 and things are going well.
I have had a few tiny little cheats (as in a bite of something forbidden here or there), but really going strong otherwise. The 3-4 miles of walking/running in the mornings are amazing! I’m hoping to keep it up at least several days a week after this month is over. My SIL {walking partner} is agreed, I think.
Wow – this sounds like a great challenging and beneficial plan! I’m definitely going to start following to see how this goes for you. I’ve also been thinking about changing my habits and trying to pick up healthier habits.
For lent, I’ve given up desserts and any excess sugar. I do eat fruit sugars and it’s hard to avoid sugar altogether, but just this small change has been challenging, but still doable.
My husband and I have also recently started a Volumetrics diet, and I’m loving it! You can read about it in my Monday post this week.
Good luck! I’m off to start following your blog!
Good luck to you on your challenge. I’ll be following so I can check put your links.
Well, looks like you’re a week into this, I hope it’s going very well. We Americans, in the land of so much abundance, have abused this bounty and eat so poorly. I hope you have great success in your challenge. I, too, have been working on changing my eating and exercising mindset.
Good for you!
Our family is on the road to more healthy eating. We’re not ready to cut anything out, but we do try to eat more whole foods and fewer processed things. I think it makes a difference.
Oh, I love this! I’m trying to start eating healthier in effort to lose weight and those recipes sound intriguing!
Love the idea! I’m curious why it would be better to go dairy free, I guess I would need to do more research. If you have information why it’s good to go dairy free, I’d love to hear it!
I think diary {esp. the fresh-from-the-farm milk and yogurt that I make} is good for us, so the “no dairy” part of this month’s challenge is the hardest for me to give up. But I’ve done some reading and understand that it can be beneficial to abstain from dairy for a time . . . it is mucus forming and can feed infections present in the body. Also, the fully processed products available at the store really aren’t that great for us as many of the nutrients have been destroyed or altered through pasteurization and homogenization. That’s about all I know! I believe you could find out more about this from hallalujaacres or themakersdiet websites. Hope this helps!
I definitely want to eat healthy and lose some weight! Good thing I’m now a Nutrisystem blogger and am about to receive my first package from them. I hope that can help me get in good shape!
What a challenge!! I will have to check out some of these recipes
I’m pregnant right now so cutting out anything completely is not in the cards for me, I already have small babies 
But maybe later down the road! I definitely believe in healthy eating and have been working on limiting prepackaged food that my kiddos consume. It is hard though like you said when it is oh so convenient!!!
Love the name of your blog by the way! I will be following along!
Thanks for stopping by! I hope you have a healthy pregnancy and baby! One reason I have a lot of determination to see this challenge through to the end is to get fit and healthy before yet another pregnancy. I had three babies, plus a miscarriage within 4 years, so am feeling that I really need to concentrate on keeping my body strong for keeping up with the children I already have, plus preparing for another one sometime in the near future. It is definitely a challenge, but very rewarding to eat well and exercise these lazy bones!!
This is great! These are wonderful steps and props to you for taking on the challenge. It is sometimes a little easier making these types of changes if only for a little while, knowing someone else out there is doing them with you! My husband and I have been making small but gradual lifestyle changes, like going organic, or eating less meat, eating more fresh fruit to make differences in our health for the long term! Best of luck in your challenge!
My family did The Whole 30 earlier this year and it did feel amazing to be free of so many staple items in my regular diet. Good luck to you! I hope the changes that will occur in your body during your challenge will inspire you to keep them up.
I don’t think I could ever give up the sugar in my morning coffee, but I suppose if I gave up my coffee I could. We have moved to wheat for everything and turned away from over processed foods. It was hard at first but after some time, I found that I craved carrots over chocolate. Now that’s madness!
Craving Carrots vs. Chocolate. Now that IS madness. Even on my month of healthy eating, I manage to get a little chocolate in almost every day. In a shake sweetened with madjool dates & stevia or in fiber ball snacks, etc. Having the healthy choc/sweet treat to fall back on keeps me, I’m sure, from giving up and cheating on something reaeelly bad.
I’ll checkout some of the recipes. Thanks for sharing.
I know some of you are hard core, but I hope the exercising was 4:30-5:30 P.M. not A.M…I would consider A. M. to be March Madness!
Ha ha! Yup we’re hard core @ 5:20 – 6:20 AM. I have avoided these early hours for so long now, but have found it impossible to fit exercise time in anywhere else in my day, so this is working quite well. An exercise partner is key, I think, ’cause I just can’t find as many great excuses to give her as I would give myself.
What an awesome challenge! I did a complete sugar detox in January (the whole month)-inluding all dairy and grains (wheat and otherwise)and ALL forms of sugar. I did have some limited carbs in the form of sweet potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and things of the like, but it was SO good for me! I felt great afterwards and you will too! The first 4-5 days were hard as I went through some withdrawal-like symptoms, but once I got through that hurdle it was clear sailing (with the exception of two days when my baby was in the hospital and I had to eat what they gave me-blech!). I am currently doing a fitness challenge called 100 Mile March-with a goal to walk 100 miles during the month of March, which is essentially a 5K a day. It was probably high school the last time I felt this strong and had this much energy. I wish you well on your journey! I’ll be following along and looking forward to your updates!
I love to hear about others’ strides toward health! Thanks for sharing yours. The exercise is so essential isn’t it? Good for you for doing the 100 Miles in March. I am loving the 3-4 miles that I’m walking/running each morning with my SIL.
I’ve been increasing my exercise, but really struggle with the eating healthier, but not only does healthy take more time, it takes more money. Try as I might, I struggle with this balance with 5 kids. Of course I’d love to feed them fresh veggies and fruit at every meal, but it’s not a financial reality. We grow as much as we can, but still, can’t do it all.
It does take more money to eat as I am this month . . . non dairy milks, almond flour, almond butter, more fish, fresh produce. But I still think we can eat a basic whole foods diet on a regular basis without breaking the bank. It means we’re not buying any or very little processed or packaged food . . . and that in itself is a pretty big savings! Also, at this stage of my children’s lives, I tend to keep more starchy “fillers” on hand for them that I don’t eat {for health & weight reasons}, because it seems they are hungry alllll the time. I can only feed them so many raisins and apples before I’m spending all my grocery money on extra diapers!!
It’s certainly a fine line to walk, eh? 
I wish you well as you figure it out for your family!
I like the fact that you had an accountability partner with your weight loss and exercise regime. I may need to try the 5 miles a week that you held yourself to
Thanks for the encouragement to get healthy! I know I need to. I don’t eat terrible, but I have thought about cutting out gluten and decrease my sugar for awhil and see if that makes me feel even better. Tis week I did exercise more than I have lately. I’ve been so much more lazy this year in that area this year. I need to get back on shape!
Stopping by from the Blogelina event.