The peer educators at Adelphi University host an annual 30 day challenge. With it being my first time hearing about it, I wanted to get involved. I’ve been looking to get more active in my day to day life, so naturally for the fun of it I had to join. Plus who doesn’t love posting about their active life and the healthy food they eat on Instagram?

Each week there was a raffle based on the theme for that specific week. If you comply with the theme you are automatically entered. By already doing my daily ab and glute workouts, going for runs (which I love), along with healthy eating, this challenge was easier than I had anticipated.

I also decided to incorporate beginners yoga techniques/poses into my routine for this challenge. I have been hoping to get into yoga for sometime now and with this challenge it gave me the push of motivation that I needed. This 30 day challenge absolutely benefited me and I would recommend it to all who are interested!

Healthy Eating

The first week’s theme was dedicated to healthy eating. I (along with many college students) am guilty of not having a hearty breakfast each morning. By including this into my diet this month, I have felt much more energized and awake throughout the day. Healthy eating doesn’t mean you have to spend every one of your dollars at the supermarket. I decided to go to some healthy places to eat.

Throughout the week, I stopped into Panera Bread (twice!), Jamba Juice, and a local spot close to our campus called The Witches Brew. Places with healthy choices of different variety can give you something new that you may not have thought to try before and also provide a nice change of scenery.

Along with my healthy eating of the week, I also checked out a few different state parks to go hiking at. Exploring and being adventurous gives me a reason to burn off that extra energy that I’ve had! Plus the nice weather added an additional motivational factor.

Stress Relief

Week two consisted of posting at least one picture related to stress relief. It just so happens that stress relief week has fallen on the same week as spring break, WOOHOO!  Having a week off made me feel at ease and that I could take on the week  in a much more relaxed manner.

There is no better way to start a stress relief week than with some tea from Teavana. I have walked by this store dozens of times, sampling different teas as I walked by and never thought to actually stop in. I am not a big tea person, but I figured why not change it up and try something new. Plus tea has wonderful benefits and tastes great, when you find the right flavor(s) for your liking. “Peach Tranquility” seemed to be the right choice for me.

On the other hand, yoga is a great way to get in touch with your body, mind, and spirit. What could be better to relieve stress? Breathing and stretching influence your mental state, emotionally and physically as well as aiding in the improvement of your strength and balance. By doing my yoga poses right before I go to bed, it helps me become more fatigue and get a better night sleep. Of course better sleep, inevitably helps with less stress.  

Fitness

Let’s get ready for week three with FITNESS, by posting at least one picture involving physical activity and four additional posts of healthy behavior. This week I picked up an unexpected habit, handball! I haven’t played handball in a good ten years, but I played throughout the entire week and really got into it. My hand has never been so swollen, but it was something to get me moving. Try that for fitness!

I took the initiative to go buy myself some weights, nothing crazy. A few of my workouts involve light weights just to give a little extra oomph! Also, I thought it would be fun to up the ante and push myself to do some pull-ups at a local playground. Pull-ups aren’t many people’s strong suit, but surprisingly I was able to do ten!

This challenge was continuing to push me to achieve things I probably wouldn’t on a regular basis. That is what is so great about trying new things, having the ability to provoke yourself.

Keepin' It Up

Looks like we’ve reached week four, we’re at the long haul now! This week was just to finish the challenge off strong by continuing the behavior the challengers have been following throughout the entire month. Did we achieve our personal goals for the month? I did! I ate healthier, worked out a little extra, felt more active and posted some cute pictures to Instagram!

In the middle of my fourth week with the challenge I was surprised with a pretty, blue box at my doorstep, my spoon meal plan! I received an email a couple months ago for a free box to get a sample and how could I ignore that email? 

This challenge encouraged me to engage in some future challenges, whether it is, food, fitness, DIY projects, etc,. At the very end of the month they will announce two winners for a grand prize. Win or lose, I was in it for the fun of it. The challenge itself was enough of a reward to achieve personal growth, try something new, and develop a new habit. I am happy to say that I did the 30 Day Challenge, and stuck to it!  

Check out our Instagram (@spoon_adelphi) for any future challenges or just as a lover of food!