It’s January and that means the annual onslaught of “New Year. New You.” New Year’s resolution and 30-Day Challenge personal and gym promotions. Facebook is full of folks ‘publicly declaring their 30-day commitments to working out and ‘eating clean’. Gyms are running specials and hosting time-specific contests (usually lasting 30-days…) to see which members can lose the most weight, body fat and/or inches. People are fired-up and seriously, you can do anything for 30 days, right?
Well, the whole “30-day challenge” thing fires me up a little bit. And one day (not so long ago) after getting another email from a potential client asking me to help him lose as much weight/body fat as possible in, you guessed it – 30 days, so that he could win the monetary prize at his gym just pushed me over the edge. Without giving it much thought (because that’s how I roll – and it’s not a good thing…) I posted this on my Facebook page:
Facts of Life:
Changing your life is not a “30-Day” Challenge and anyone telling you that it is – is selling you something. #dontbuytheBS
And that folks, is why you’re being subjected to this and several upcoming posts about the ins, outs, goods and bads of 30-day challenges. In retrospect, I probably should have offered a few more specifics in my post explaining why I said what I did, the way I did. But, as usual, I get fired up about something and BAM! It’s out there before I think about it. (Note to self: Social media is probably not the best outlet for your ‘passion’.) Anyway, it led to a good bit of debate and some, dare I say controversy? (I dared…) I ended up shooting an email to Robb and after some discussion he threw out this idea about a series of blog posts dissecting the whole “30-Day” dash to health. I was all over that like grease on bacon – it was genius. So, thanks to my chronic “diarrhea of the mouth” (and typing fingers), you are being subjected to a series of posts dissecting 30-Day Challenges as follows:
30-Day Challenge Analysis Part 1: Pros and Cons of 30-Day ‘Sprints’ to Ultimate Health
30-Day Challenge Analysis Part 2: Abusing The System – How We Screw Up The Process & Ourselves
30-Day Challenge Analysis Part 3: Changing Your Life For Real – Let’s Do This Right
Stay tuned! Part 1 is coming soon!
Elizabeth Resnick says
Funny, I did a post on happy, healthy and hot about the same thing. How on January 1 I did pretty much the same thing I do every day…drink my coffee with coconut oil and collagen, have my lemon water, etc. I really believe long term success comes from babysteps…piggybacking one healthy habit onto another. That being said, sometimes a challenge is a good thing, especially if you are doing it with someone else. One of my friends is doing a Whole30 with her husband. She is already very knowledgable, but this is giving her an extra boost and holding her accountable. So I’m not completely against the idea. But it drives me crazy when people go on some crazy detox the first Monday in January. You see so many people carrying strange concoctions in blender bottles, and the Target circular is full of workout wear. Ugh!
Colleen says
I’ve been trying to find out all about changing my diet to Paleo and I can’t even get one person to send me the 7 day plan or the 30 plan. I want to change my lifestyle.
Squatchy says
Colleen, I’ll have the email sent to you. If you don’t see it, be sure to check your Spam folder just in case.
Amuro Wesley says
Hey thank you for your post.
However I do have a different opinion. Losing weight or achieving whatever New Year resolution is not just a 30 day commitment.
But lifetime commitment as well.
It all depends on how badly you want to lose weight and willing to do what it takes to achieve the figure you want.
Amy Kubal says
That’s exactly what I’m saying!! It’s a LIFESTYLE change for the long haul, not a 30-day quick-fix!!
Kareem Chambers says
Very good read! I am actually a heavyset crossfiter who has gotten stronger but the weight kinda stays the same.
Can you share some paleo ideas for good nutrition for 7 or even 30 days?
Thank you!!