2025 – 8 Week Challenge (Pregame)

Years ago when I saw a therapist about my eating disorder and anxiety, she told me something that stuck in my head.

You must always write.

I had read her a few of my blog articles before, and what she explained to me, which I’d suspected but never voiced, is that I have a much better way of analysing myself and understanding myself when I write. Verbally, I’m a mess. But when I write, I can get to the crux of the issue. I hold myself accountable, I uncover truths, and I naturally inspire myself to keep pushing.

So….here I am, writing again.

This year, as I mentioned in my 52-in-52 list for 2025, my word of the year is “joy”. I’ve never had a good relationship with food, ever. And right now I’m at the heaviest I’ve ever been in my life, except for when I was pregnant.

So I’ve joined up an 8-week challenge with the goal of finding joy in cooking food. Real, non-processed food. The added bonus being that I will be inspired to work out again regularly, and with some quality sleep and drinking water, I should hopefully start to lose weight.

The “Before” me

I’ve taken my before photos, which I’m sure as heck not sharing here. Mentally, I’m not there yet (and honestly I don’t think anyone needs to see those).

But here’s where I am right now:

• Food – my eating is terrible, full of processed foods and easy-to-grab snacks.
• Energy – I feel lethargic most days, and I’m quick to tire (being overweight likely has a lot to do with that).
• Physically – my strength is almost non-existent. I can’t do a decent push up, and it’s the first time I’ve ever felt like that. I’m mortified. I’m not running, because my knees hurt. Climbing in and out of the caravan over our holidays, and going for hikes, I could feel the build up of pain in my knees.
• Mentally – surprisingly good. I’m motivated, feeling positive, and determined to make the most of this opportunity. I’m not hating on myself. I don’t like where my body is right now, or my health, but I’m also accepting that this is a starting point, and that I’m ready to change things. So why beat myself up over that when I’m already on the right path to move forward?

So why am I doing this challenge?

My body hurts. I want to be able to move freely, be able to do things I enjoy, and experience life with my family. I want to be here for a long time. I want to set a good example for my child. I want to cook every so often for my family instead of my husband having to carry the weight. I don’t want to feel scared when I look into the pantry. I want to let the baggage go. I want to be able to go clothes shopping and not worry about whether I’m going to fit into something or not. I want to be confident enough to get family photos. I want to look in the mirror and feel proud. I want to be mentally strong. I want the endorphin rush of working out every morning. I want my anxiety under control. I want to feel sexy. I want to feel strong. I want to feel healthy.

I want to just love life.

Too much to ask?

The Challenge

I’ve chosen to follow 28 by Sam Wood. Their 50% off sale was definitely a factor (everyone launches sales at the start of the new year, gotta take advantage of the new year’s resolutions right?), but it’s Sam’s mentality that gets me.

JERF – just eat real food.

His meals aren’t super fancy with ingredients that you’ll use once and never again. Most recipes I’ve looked at are maybe under 30mins (with my cooking skills and how slow I’ll be, I’ll probably take double that). I’ve used his site before, and I enjoyed the meals I ate.

Workouts are included, and historically the dance workouts are super, super fun.

He has a lot of educational materials, and his emails are motivational. He keeps it real, and is very good at reducing the overwhelming feeling that’s typical with this sort of stuff.

It’s got everything I need to get started.

The Goals

I’ve set myself the following goals for the challenge:

• Meals – Follow my meal plan for at least 75% of the week. I’m realistic that there are going to be events on where I have to eat out, or something happens, so 100% is just not realistic.
• Workouts – Do at least 5 workouts a week. These don’t have to be from the 28 challenge, I’ve also got access to iFit from my treadmill subscription, and want to take advantage of that. But ideally, I want to go at least 30mins of something every day.
• Mental Health – I’ve been using a mental health app for the last 8 weeks that’s been really instrumental in changing my mindset every day (one day I might write a review on the app). But it has daily challenges which I’d like to complete. One of these is “Get outside”, so I can possibly pair that in with a workout.
• Write – like my therapist said, just keep writing. The goal is to do a weekly wrap up just reflecting on the week that was, with three simple questions: What did I do well, what can I improve on, and what brought me joy this week?

When does it start?

On Monday the 13th of January. I’ve just finished my meal planning and grocery order to pick up tomorrow, so everything is lined up ready to go.

Here’s to kickstarting 2025 on the right foot, and reminding myself that I can do hard things.