Changing up your habits to live a healthier lifestyle can seem like a daunting task. As people who lead busy lives, we develop a daily routine that allows us to be as productive as possible. Often times, these daily routines include things that might not be the healthiest for our bodies, such as fast food, soda, and alcohol.

Donna Jones, an adult with Spina Bifida, is out to prove that practicing healthier habits does not need to be an impossible task. Donna has created a 30-day health challenge, which kicked off on May 29, exactly one month before she is set to compete to break the United States Women’s Paralympic bench press record of 242 lbs.

In addition to being an awesome athlete, she is a fierce advocate for the Spina Bifida community. Donna, a former member of the SBA Board of Directors and Capitol Hill staffer, made her an ideal choice to testify before the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services. In her poignant testimony, Donna spoke about her everyday life with Spina Bifida. She emphasized that taking care of your body is essential to living life to its fullest extent, which is the point that the 30-day challenge aims to drive home.

This challenge, which Donna has named #6BetterHabits, encourages people to give up soda, fast food, and alcohol for a period of 30-days. Donna is creating and sharing achievable exercise and stretch videos for participants. “I named the challenge #6betterhabits because we will be better off for 30 days without alcohol, fast food, and soda and we will be healthier in 30 days by doing three exercises every day,” Donna said.

In addition to sharing exercise regimens, throughout the 30 days, Donna will also provide helpful and practical tips for people to make the most of this challenge. Some examples of things participants can look forward to are; tips on how to drink more water, how to eat and cook healthy meals on a budget, and non-food ways to reward yourself.

Are you up for the #6BetterHabits challenge? Follow Donna’s daily updates on Facebook to take part in the fun. If you participate, be sure to share your progress with #6BetterHabits.  

And we’ll be back with an update!