Are You Coming With Us?!

If you’ve been following along over the last few weeks, you’ll know there is only one week to go before I officially launch the Kick The Sugar Challenge. I am so excited for it and I am so proud of everyone who has already signed up!

It certainly won’t be easy, but together, we can do it. There is strength in numbers, and I have no doubt about the power of the collective energy of the group.

If you are on the fence about joining us, I understand. But I hope you keep an open mind as you keep reading.

It takes a strong commitment and a decision to remove an addictive substance from your life.

It may even require that you remove several addictive substances from your diet, as we cut out sugar, eliminate (or at least cut way back on) caffeine, and remove alcohol entirely for 28 days.

28 days.

When people join the Challenge, they receive a series of emails with instructions. Each one builds on the last, as my intention is to keep people from feeling overwhelmed and to allow new habits to begin forming.

For example, early on, we start drinking warm water with lemon. We will continue this habit throughout the Challenge and, hopefully, this becomes a new habit that some of the Challengers continue for life.

It has been a part of my morning routine for many years, and I love waking up and hydrating my body, detoxifying my liver, and assisting my digestive tract to prepare for proper elimination. It feels amazing.

If Nothing Changes...

Ever since people started registering for the Challenge, I have been receiving emails; some are from people just thanking me for what I am doing. That’s so nice. 🙂

Others have questions about certain foods being cut out. I get it. Eliminating the foods we love is really tough.

Others are concerned about their routines. Yup. Change is hard. And prioritizing food prep, packing lunches, making dinners…all of this takes time and planning.

And some are heading away on holidays and so they have backed out of the Challenge, knowing they won’t be able to resist temptation or stick to the plan while they are away. I understand, and hope that if we do another Challenge, theirs will be the first hands raised.

The ones that catch me the most, though, the ones where I feel the biggest tug in my heart, are the ones who have told me they won’t be able to do the Challenge because they won’t be able to cut out the alcohol.

These ones hurt the most. Because I feel their pain.

When I was drinking, there wouldn’t be a hope in hell I would do a Challenge like this. Cut out booze for 28 days??! Almost a whole month?

Insane.

No way.

So, I get it.

But I wish they could know the freedom of removing alcohol from their lives the way I do; even if not forever, but for enough time to know they don’t need it. Enough time to break the habit and create new behaviours.

I am still optimistic that perhaps withdrawing from this Challenge, this health Challenge that they were excited to start until they learned they would have to give up alcohol, has brought some awareness to their drinking behaviour.

It hurts my heart because, until I got sober, my deeply rooted relationship with alcohol was the one I coveted the most. It was the one I nurtured the most. The one I supported and cared for the most.

Not the relationships I had with friends. Not the relationships I had with family. And certainly not the relationship I had with myself or my body. No. It was the alcohol.

There were no healthy daily rituals. I didn’t wake up and hydrate my body. I slugged back coffee with my morning cigarette and raced to work.

There was no exercise to strengthen my muscles and awaken my spirit. The most exercise I got came from raising a glass to my lips.

There was no proper sleep etiquette. My rest came from passing out whenever I was drunk enough. Lights on, TV still going.

Alcohol robbed me of any desire to put my health first.

And so even if people aren’t drinking to extreme, the way I was, I understand the habitual nature of it. And why they can’t commit to 28 days of sobriety.

But, I would love for them to think about why the thought of going 28 days without alcohol scares them so much.

Same goes for sugar. If we would rather continue doing what we are doing, in light of the evidence showing us the damage we are doing to our health by continuing to eat too much of it, then we need to analyze our behaviour and course-correct.

So, although I do appreciate people emailing me to withdraw from the Challenge by being honest instead of going into it knowing they won’t commit 100%, I hope this whole experience has ignited something inside of them.

Personally, I am doing this Challenge to improve my health, change my behaviours and offer my body a re-set, in order to create a new normal.

Because I know that if I don’t change, nothing will change.

We CAN do This!

I understand why people can’t commit to 28 days of no sugar once they realize how serious I am about it (and once they realize sugar is found in almost everything!)

I understand addiction and what it does to our brains.

Because at first, they may say “28 days no sugar? No problem!”

And then they get the first set of instructions and they email me to say “Oh, you mean no cream or sugar in my coffee? No, I can’t do that.”

“But what about my fruit smoothie with protein powder in the morning or after my workout? No, I can’t give that up.”

“But what about rice and pasta and popcorn? No, I can’t live without that!”

“But what will I eat for breakfast if I don’t have toast? Or my sandwich at lunch? I can’t live without that!”

And then “Oh, you mean I have to give up my wine? Oh, no I won’t do that.”

Addiction does that. I encourage you to analyze just how resistant to change you are…and consider taking this leap with us.

In my opinion, if you have determined that you have an addiction to sugar, then you need to break the addiction with an intervention.

Use this Challenge as your springboard. With so many people doing it with you, it is your shot to truly make the change you want.

Because if you change nothing, then nothing will change!

We can’t wish for better health; we must create it!

We can’t simply wish for no more late night chocolate binges; we must decide we aren’t going to succumb to them by replacing the behaviour.

And so I applaud every single person who IS committing to this Challenge for being able to raise their hand and say “Yes! I know it will be SO HARD!! But I am ready to cut out caffeine, quit sugar and give up alcohol. For 28 days.”

This is HUGE.

Because, if nothing changes, nothing changes. We are meant to be free from addiction and things that harm our mental and physical health.

I want you to know how deeply I respect you for signing up for this Challenge.

I love you so much for putting yourself first and taking a big, bold leap into the unknown and for trusting me to help you…and for helping me get through it as well.

So, thank you. Thank you for your emails and your comments and your questions. Keep them coming as we get closer to the start of the Challenge.

Invite your friends.

Let’s see how many people we can get on this thing so that we can create a giant supportive bubble where we love ourselves and each other enough to not only succeed, but to

CRUSH it!

Your HOMEWORK, Challengers!

If you have already joined the Challenge, then consider the following video your Homework Assignment (there will be more assignments as we go along!)

If you haven’t joined yet, this might be exactly what you need to get on the same page as us. It is powerful stuff we all need to know.

It is called The Secrets Of Sugar. It highlights the truth about this sweet and seductive substance, it shares some frightening facts that we all need to hear, and I hope it might inspire you to make a change.

DECIDE

Over the last several weeks, I have been laser focused on making this Challenge something we can all ACTUALLY do. I have worked hard to make it easy-to-follow and not overwhelming.

This Challenge WILL NOT be easy, and it will take every bit of our resolve to stick with it. But if nothing changes, nothing changes.

So, if you have decided that you want to join us on this incredible Challenge, then this is the only rule you need to know for now:

RULE #1. If you sign up for this Challenge, and if you commit to doing this with us, then you are making the DECISION to commit to the plan for 28 days.

It’s only 28 days.

You can do ANYTHING for 28 days.

We will ALL be here keeping each other accountable, so please, only sign up if you are going to hold hands with us through the process.

If you’re going to continue drinking your coffee with cream and sugar, eating sandwiches at lunch, enjoying a glass of wine at the end of the day or if you plan on sneaking off and hitting your favourite drive-thru or doughnut shop, then you won’t just be failing yourself; you will be failing all of us who are counting on your support.

We need each other to do this. This is going to take a ton of effort and energy, determination and focus. We are drawing a line in the sand and we will need to be able to rely on one another to succeed.

I have developed meal plans and recipes that will help you. But you will have to make the decision to do this. No one else can make it for you.

The world is full of temptation, and we need the collective energy of this powerful little group to see us through to the end.

So, what do you say? Are you ready for this?

If you aren’t already a Challenger, sign up for FREE by simply entering your name and email to the right of this page or on the home page, and commit, today, to get started on this journey.

You will also become part of our Facebook Group where we will share our stories, our experiences, our challenges and our victories. We hope you join us!

Sending so much love and respect.

Because I want you to love your life one bite at a time.

P.S. If you are ready to make a change and you want to join the Kick The Sugar Challenge (it’s FREE!), simply enter your Name and Email to the right of this post or on the home page. We would LOVE to have you join us!

P.P.S. Let’s be friends! Connect with me on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram. 🙂