Everyone’s experience on the Whole Life Challenge is unique. What YOU do for exercise or for meals might be totally different than what your teammate does. And that’s ok. There’s no magic formula to doing the challenge. During the first whole life challenge, my teammates and I all did different things and all saw awesome results. You’ll figure out what stuff works for you and if you stick with it, you’ll be rewarded.
During my first challenge, together with my teammates, we ‘discovered’ recipes and tricks that now I can’t live without. You’ll discover your own set of must-haves during the 8-weeks that I’m sure will be different from mine. Learning new tricks and tips along the way is part of the fun. But here are 6 survival tips for the Whole Life Challenge that are just too good not to share:
1. Join a Team
You will hear this a lot from Andy and Michael as you get closer and closer to the first day. For good reason. I can’t stress how valuable and important this is. Find at least one person that you can call a teammate during this 8-week journey. And yes, two people do make a team! Think up a silly team name and join up. Trust me, you will want someone to text or FB message with during this. Surrounding yourself with people who are positive and “in the boat” with you will be your secret weapon.
2. Make an Awesome Playlist
Invest 10 minutes to make a playlist that’s going to get you and your ass off the couch when you don’t feel like moving. One of my awesome teammates during the first challenge made us a killer playlist. This was my go-to when I didn’t think I had a walk in me. Favorite song: Work B*tch by Britney Spears. Listen to it. You’ll love it. I promise.
Tip: Want a quick cheat? Subscribe to some already awesome playlists over on Spotify. Here are some of my favorites:
- Running at High Tempo
- HIIT (which stands for High Intensity Interval Training)
- PopSugar Best Workout Songs 2013
But seriously, listen to whatever does it for you. Just have it ready to go. One day, I ran to heavy metal.
Don’t judge.
3. Invest In Your Water Bottle
Your new favorite accessory during the whole life challenge will be your water bottle. So get something you like and then get two of them. If one gets grungy or left in the car, the other one will be close at hand.
Tip: Get a water bottle that has watermarks on them so you know how much you’ve drank throughout the day. Here’s what mine look like:
Camelbak Eddy Waterbottle* – $16
I fill them both up and carry them around with me all day. And then I run to the bathroom.
4. Download these Apps:
They are essentially the same app where you can log your runs or walks. Bonus: you can also log ANY kind of workout that you do, like videos or going for a bike ride. It will track it all. You can connect with friends and earn points for improving your times along courses. If you want to upgrade, the App will also coach you to improve your times. It’s super cool. If you are a data junkie like me, you will love this App!
Waterlogged – FREE
This is kinda cheating because Andy tells you about this App during the challenge. Knowing about it ahead of time and not sharing it seems wrong though. It’s a really neat way to track how much water you’ve had during the day and will even remind you to drink up. Love this App!
5. Love Your Scale
OK – again this is what worked for me. I like data. Correction, I LOVE data. I’m of the opinion that you should weigh yourself every day. Furthermore, I think you should track it. And graph it. Not everyone agrees. But for me, having daily data and looking at it was so satisfying! I have a problem, I know.
I have a first generation Withings Wireless Scale
The best part? After it measures your weight, fat mass % and your BMI, it sends it to an app on your phone and in the cloud. You can slice and dice your data using their App over different periods of time and look at the different metrics.
Another bonus, you can have 4 different users for the scale. Somehow, this thing knows when it’s me standing on the scale or my one of my kids.
WiThings Wireless Scale* $89
6. On your marks, get set, start pinning!
There are some really great resources already out there on the internets that can support you during the Whole Life Challenge. One of the best places to start looking is Pinterest. Need boards for meal ideas? Workouts? Try searching some of these keywords:
- Whole Life challenge or #wlc
- Paleo
- Whole30
- gluten free, dairy free
- fitness motivation
You get the idea.
Another really great source for inspiration has been instagram. Folks are pinning all kinds of crazy stuff with the hashtag #wholelifechallenge. I mostly post pics of my paleo-ish meals and other random stuff over there. You can find me on Twitter and Instagram at @sara_mooradian.
So that’s it! Hope you found these tips helpful. Got a question or a tip for someone else? Leave it in the comments below! Have a great 8-weeks people! Let’s do this!!!
* These product links are affiliate links. If you click on them and decide to buy something, I would get a couple of pennies from Amazon. Nothing huge but something that the FTC makes me tell you up front. 
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