Whole Life Challenge
Lesley and I have recently signed up to participate in the Whole Life Challenge. While it’s Lesley’s first, this will be my fourth WLC. What is the Whole Life Challenge? How is it different than something like a Whole30? Well I’m glad you asked!
The Whole Life Challenge is a game/framework/guide/community that lasts for six weeks and is centered around installing seven habits into one’s life:
- nutrition
- exercise
- mobilize
- sleep
- hydrate
- well-being
- reflect
Every day, I’ll enter a score into a dashboard (there’s a handy mobile app in addition to the website) on how I did in the habits. The founders behind the WLC state “the primary role of your daily score is to show you how your current lifestyle stacks up against one in which you’re doing everything possible to live a healthy, balanced, connected life.” (Essentially, the score isn’t a judgement, it’s a record).
Now about those habits. . .
Nutrition focuses on the food consumed during the challenge. Prior to starting, I will pick one of three nutrition “levels” set by the WLC. The levels consist of different sets of “allowed” foods, each more restrictive of inflammatory elements/ingredients. (This time around, I’m going to select the middle level — Lifestyle — since it allows for rice which is my main source of carbohydrate fuel).
Exercise simply means being active for at least ten minutes a day (however one decides to define being active). I plan on continuing to do CrossFit workouts 5–6 times a week, as well as continue to be active in running around or wrestling with the kiddos on “rest” days.
Mobilize refers to some form of mobility — stretching, self-massage, or range-of-motion exercises — for at least ten minutes a day. Most of the CrossFit workouts at my gym have a mobility component, plus Lesley and I try to get in a daily ROMWOD routine.
Sleep is another flexible habit in that is self-defined — sleep for a duration that you select. . . one that leaves you feeling rested. I rarely get a full seven hours of sleep (getting up at 4 AM does that to you I guess?), so I’m shooting for seven hours this challenge.
Hydrate focuses on water intake. The recommended amount is ounces of water equal to your bodyweight (in pounds) divided by 3. Technically, that only requires 65 ounces of me, so I’m going to up it to 100 ounces since I think my body requires a lot of water (especially after working out).
Well-being is a cool habit in that it changes every week. Each week during the Whole Life Challenge, a new well-being practice will be assigned. In the past, these have included meditating, reading a book, or de-cluttering.
Reflect centers on adding nuance/color/clarity around the score/points of the challenge. At the end of every day, I’ll add a brief reflection on how the day went, something I’m thankful for, a motivational quote. . . anything that adds to the record of how I’m trying to improve my life.
I’m not sure if I’ve written this before, but I know I’ve said it before on the podcast — I live my best life within guardrails. Those guardrails could be macros I’m tracking, CrossFit workouts pre-determined for me, a training plan for a marathon, etc. Relatedly, I operate better when I am receiving feedback and looking at data (my weight over time, personal records for specific lifts or workouts, how fast my race times are). Thus, the Whole Life Challenge is a perfect storm of guidelines and data for me.
I stay true to healthy practices for most of my life, but become lax in an area from time to time (my guess would be nutrition and sleep). My hope and goal for the Whole Life Challenge is to recommit to the habits that will lead me to excellence in all areas of my life. Like Ben Bergeron says in the conclusion of Chasing Excellence: “through deep and meaningful practice, anyone can forge and sharpen the mindset of a champion, and use it to improve everything that is important to me.”
Stats
I thought it might be fun (and a bit terrifying) to share where I am currently in terms of a health assessment. And I’ll commit now to writing a follow-up article at the conclusion of this Whole Life Challenge with updated stats.
- Weight (pounds): 193
- Chest (inches): 38.5
- Belly (inches): 35
- Waist (inches): 37
- Air Squats (completed in two minutes): 102
And a current photo (literally taken the last day of a Spring Break vacation trip to Florida):
Partner Perspective
In the past, I’ve definitely talked about the WLC with Lesley, and she’s been (like always) supportive; however, there was resistance from her in actually participating. She says that in the past (at least, initially) she was focused purely on healing herself through food. And now that she is significantly in better health (due to her diet change), plus the fact that she now recognizes the collective benefits of all of the habits the WLC centers around, Lesley feels more than ready to participate in the challenge.
Despite doing multiple Whole Life Challenges, I’m really looking forward to the accountability that going through the 6 weeks with my partner will provide. And not just accountability — it’ll be great to have someone to meal plan with, stretch with, etc. All in all, I’m excited for our journey through the challenge into kicking off a healthy summer.
(There is a fantastic community/team aspect of the Whole Life Challenge that I haven’t explored much here. But Lesley and I did start a Half Better team. Click here to join us; we’d love to have you).
