10-Week Glow-Up Challenge
We officially have 10 weeks left of 2025 — that’s 70 days to completely transform your mind, body, and energy so that you end the year better than you started! When I realized this, I wanted to make the next 2.5 months count, so I created a 10-week glow-up challenge.
Designed to curb winter blues, prioritize mental and physical health without burnout, and ultimately make me (and hopefully others that also want to participate) feel good, this challenge is basically my version of a winter arc/75-day soft challenge. If you’ve been looking for a challenge that builds a foundation for healthy habits that make you feel and look good, this is for you!
The daily challenge details are as follows:
Walk Outside: Even if it’s raining, snowing or just cold and gloomy, making a walk part of your daily routine is a great way to get some extra steps in, focus on low-impact movement and boost overall wellbeing. It also forces you to leave the house, a sometimes challenging task in the winter when it’s dark and cold. The walk can be short, 5-10 minutes on days when you are low on energy or weather conditions are less than ideal, or long if you feel good and the sun is shining, but no matter the length, consistency is key to making this routine stick!
Move Your Body: While getting 3-4 workouts in each week is ideal, the focus here is to incorporate movement that feels good and makes you remember taking care of yourself is fun! Do something that feels good and energizes you. Some days may call for a run or HIIT workout while other days you might want to dance around your kitchen for 15 minutes or go to yoga with a friend. Need a rest day or just low on energy? Try stretching instead… I’ve found this to be particularly helpful during my late luteal phase and menstrual phase when energy is lowest. Movement helps with cramps, boosts energy and keeps you in routine without overdoing it or causing your body more stress.
Drink 3L of Water: Staying hydrated is a great way to boost energy, support natural detoxing, and keep your body in optimal condition. It also aids in digestion and weight loss, and drinking more water reduces the chances of sipping on sugary, high-calorie and/or caffeinated beverages. This 32 oz. (1L) glass water bottle is perfect if you are trying to drink more water - it’s set up for drinking 2L a day if you follow the timestamps, but you can also ignore those and aim for drinking 3L instead. While drinking a lot of water is generally beneficial, it’s important to add electrolytes back in throughout the day. My recent go-to electrolyte brands have been Buoy and Instant Hydration!
Meditate or Listen to an Activation: Balancing between meditations and activations is so important because they offer different benefits. Meditations are fantastic for grounding you, relieving stress, and helping you create inner peace. Activations work by motivating you and encouraging you to imagine your dream life and goals. I recently started using Activations, an app designed to help you shift your mindset through motivational audios. They offer a 14-day trial if you want to check it out!
Read 10 Pages or Listen to 10 Minutes of Educational Content: Whether you want to cozy up and read a good fiction book by the fireplace, read a non-fiction book, or habit stack and listen to an educational podcast, webinar, or audio book while completing other tasks, you have options with completing this task daily. It’s supposed to encourage you to pick up a new hobby or have fun learning.
Eat Clean: Cutting out inflammatory and trigger foods like dairy and gluten can be great for a gut reset. I’ve personally been gluten free for 7 years and dairy free for almost 2 years and have noticed such a difference, but eventually, it would be great to re-introduce these foods in moderation. Additionally, limiting (or even fully removing) alcohol, refined sugar and caffeine is key to feeling and looking your best before 2026. Most people don’t realize the negative impacts these ingredients have until they remove or reduce their intake. This one can seem scary to a lot of people, but it’s flexible to meet your needs. For example, my big issue is overconsuming coffee, so cutting back to 1-2 cups a day with mostly natural sugar creamer is a main focus during this challenge. Keep in mind, I rarely drink, but I’ll likely have a glass or two of wine on holidays or a special date night. The point here is that this challenge is set up for you adjust and make choices that feel right for you without going crazy.
Get 8-10 Hours of Sleep: It might seem like a lot, but current research indicates that women need more sleep than men, with 7-9 hours of sleep needed on average. With it being the fall/winter, it’s also normal to need more sleep as your body mimics the natural cycle Mother Nature follows (it really is hibernation time). Adjust the hours as needed, but for me, 8-10 hours is optimal. Don’t forget to focus on getting quality sleep as well… deep and REM phases of the sleep cycle are where the magic happens. Struggling to get comfy? Try sleeping with blackout curtains, a sleeping mask, a quality pillows (COOP pillows have been lifechanging for me), calming essential oils, and a noise machine with your thermostat set around 65-68 for optimal sleep conditions.
Take Your Supplements: Focus on taking key supplements, or the most essential ones. Not sure what that means for you? Prioritize prescriptions and vitamins for things you know you’re lacking. If you are on a protocol, continue that based on your physician’s guidance. If that current protocol seems like too much and isn’t being followed regularly, it may be time to scale back to the supplements you know make you feel best/move the needle the most. Not sure where to start if you aren’t currently taking anything? Add a multivitamin, magnesium since most women do not consume enough, and vitamin c, vitamin d and zinc to fight against cold and flu season. And as I always recommend, get some basic bloodwork done to see if there is anything else you need to incorporate.
Get Out of Your Comfort Zone or Create Something: This might be my favorite part of the challenge. Creative outlets help fight burnout and energize you while also keeping your inner child happy and safe. Plus, doing something outside your comfort zone allows you to grow and learn more. And if you find something that checks both boxes, it’s definitely time to add that to your routine. For me, this is posting to social media every day and actively engaging with my online community, but for others, it could be trying a new hobby, coloring/painting, writing or going to a workout class alone.
Get Ready: Getting ready, esp. if you work from home, can definitely be challenging at time. I know I’ve gone through periods where even showering seems like the most draining task. But, when you look good, you feel good. So, this is your sign to start getting ready daily. Aim to do at least 2 of the following (or be an overachiever and do all 3): hair, makeup and wear a cute outfit. Don’t worry, wearing a matching yoga/sweat set counts so long as it’s intentional.
Want to glow up before 2026?
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