How To Start The 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge
Long standing 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge member Nikola Green shares her tips and tricks for getting started, making the mostย of out the challenge and obtaining the weight loss results you have always dreamt of.
Nikola Green is a 33 year old single mum to 3 year old twin boys.
She hasย been following the 28 Day Weight Loss Challengeย meal plans for just over 1 year and has lost 2.7st and over 80cm from herย body! Not only has she lost weight, but she hasย improved her overall health and fitness. Nikola is now the most confident and happy she has ever been.ย
Here is Nikolaโsย story
After coming across an advertisementย for theย 28 Day Weight Loss Challengeย on Facebook, I decided to sign up to the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.
Raising young children is both rewarding and exhausting, andย as aย mum you naturally put your needs after everyone else.ย One dayย I decided it was finally time to put myself first.
I wanted to change my life for the better and I was excited to think I could possibly have the amazing results that the other Healthy Mummy challenge members I had been reading about, were having. I knew theirย dramatic weight loss results were real. Not photoshopped, not models advertising a loss, but real women of all ages and sizes โ which I loved!
Starting my very first 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge was both exciting and daunting! I was looking forward to having my ownย amazing weight loss results which would hopefully inspire others one day.
Leading up to my first challenge I had many questions and thoughts running through my head.
- How will I have time to meal prep and cook?
- Will I like the food?
- Will I lose weight or will I just fail like every other weight loss product Iโd tried.
- Will it be too hard?
- Can I afford it?
I just had to block those thoughtsย out and only focus on one thing:
What if I just give it my all and I succeed? Thatโs what I did and I havenโt looked back since!
I am so happy to have lostย 2.7st and over 80cm from my body and regained my confidence again.
As someone whoโs been doing the challenges for over a year I thought it might be useful to pass on some tips and tricks that Iโve learnt along the way.
Meal Plan Tips and Tricks
- Download the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge app and watch the tutorial video.
- Plan your meals to suit your needs, taste and budget. The menu plan is fully customisable with thousands of recipes so take advantage of that amazing function. You donโt need to buy 7 different types of protein for the week. You can swap them around. eg.ย prawns can be expensive so instead Iโll change to chicken breast. It may alter the calories a little bitย but aย small difference in calories isnโt going to affect your overall weight loss.
- Use what you have already. Donโt go buying things you canโt afford just because it suggests aย certain meal on a particular day.
- Repeat meals to save on time and money. Donโt feel like you have to eat what is written on the plan. There are 6 meals a day with 7 days in that week thatโs 42 meals for the week. Pick and choose the ones that suit your taste and budget and repeat if you wish.
- Cook in bulkย and freeze meals so youโve got back ups for alternative days when you canโt be bothered to cook.
- Plan, prep and prepare! Fail to prepare then prepare to fail. If you plan ahead and prepare things ready to go thereโs no reason why you will fail by grabbingย that takeaway meal or those 4 Tim Tams from the packet. Cook things like muffins, cakes, slices and bliss balls as snacks and have these in the freezer ready to go. Have veggies cut up ready to use for dinners or as a snack with dips.
- Allocate time.ย Try set some time aside where you do a bit of a cook up. ย I allocate a couple of hours on a Sunday to get things ready for the new week ahead. As difficult as it is to find time, if you can allocate some time to prep, it actually saves you time during the week.
- Use the shopping list provided. Once you haveย customised yourย meal plan for the week, print out the shopping list from the hub. ย Thisย makes things so much quicker and easier when you are out shopping.
- Keep it simple. If time or money is an issue, keep your meal plan simple. You donโt have to be baking all the time. Have basic snacks such as fruit, nuts, boiled eggs and dips on hand. Donโt overwhelm yourself thinking you have to bake for every snack.
- Your first shop will be the most expensive but donโt let this put you off. Itโs expensive because you may be buying things you do not already own like chia seeds, almonds, coconut oil and quinoa as well as sauces and spices. But after the initialย shop, these items become staples and are not something you have to replaceย each week. ย Try buying ingredients in bulk or stock up from places like Aldi. Markets are also a great place to get cheaperย fruit and vegetables.
Exercise tips and tricks
- Exercise at a time of day that suits you. Donโt feel like you have to exerciseย first thing in the morning. Do it when it suits you. Your app will require you to do 3 rounds of each exercise. If you donโt have time to complete them all at once break them up to fit in with your day. ย Even if youโve never exercised before, they are simpleย enough to follow.
- Donโt be overwhelmed by certain exercises that may have weights. Only use weights when you are ready. You donโt have to go out and buy weights. Improvise with things you have around the house. I first started out using cans of tin goods. I later increased the weight byย using 2L milk containers filled with water.
- Theย 28 day weight loss challenge app makes exercising easy. The challenge website and app has videos to demonstrate each exercise so you know you are doing it correctly. It also has a timer so you can record your workout results. ย I recommend putting on some music and you wonโt even notice your working out! I often get my boys to join in. It makes it fun and keepsย them active.
Tips regarding calories
- Calculate how many calories you should be consuming.ย When you first start out you will need to work out your calories using the BMR calculator. This will tell you how many calories you should be consuming a day. It will be different for everyone. It can be a shock to the system to see how many calories you can consumeย but I assure you that number will be correct.
- Lower calories only starve your body. More calories boost your metabolism and fuel your body.ย Iโve lost 2.7st by eating 1800 calories a day.ย The difference is you will now be eating better foods that fuel your body. Just think of your body as the car and your food as the petrol!
- Calorie counting can be time consuming.ย If you select recipes from the challenge the app automatically adds up the calories for you. ย Iย donโt count my calories everyday.ย I might count them for a week to get a rough idea of how much I should be having but you donโt have to strict calorie count. As long as you have a good idea about what you should be having then thatโs fine.
- If you are breastfeeding you need to add an extra 500 calories to your total.
I hope Iโve been able to reassure and calm those anxious feelings about starting the 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.
It can seem overwhelming in the beginning but I promise you itโs not. It just takes practice and a bit of patience. It will become second nature to you soon enough. The Facebook support group has amazing support so if you are ever unsure of anything. Never feel that your question is too silly to ask.ย ย Chances are there will be others who are wondering the exact same thing as you. There is always someone thereย to help.
Good luck, have fun and enjoy all the yummy meals on offer!
Join our community of thousands of other mums losing weight the healthy way by signing up to our 28 Day Weight Loss Challenge.