Howdy New Leaves! Its FRIDAY so there is just one weekend left before our 30 Day Fitness Challenge begins! PLEASE… don’t go all “squirrely” and start hoarding/scarfing down food over the next 48 hours! I promise you, I am not going to lay out a starvation diet for you. You will not feel (too) deprived on this challenge. We are combining aerobic exercise with sensible, smart eating, so there will be no drastic “diets” here.
I have decided to extend the 30% off sale of my workout DVD, for those joining the challenge later. If you would like to purchase my 45 Minute Workout, please use discount code 30DayChallenge when you check out. The coupon code is now good through 25 October 2009, midnight Eastern Standard Time.
Here are details for the final three goals in the challenge:
- Increase your daily water intake: I inadvertently addressed this one yesterday, so please refer to yesterday’s post for more information. If you are a fan of soda, diet or otherwise, I am going to ask you to STOP drinking it during the challenge. Along with caffeine, most diet sodas and energy drinks are LOADED with levels of sodium: bad for so many reasons. If you have a big diet soda habit, you can’t just cut it out all together, because you will go through caffeine withdrawal and that is no fun, folks. If this is the case, I would like you to wean yourself off of diet soda during the first two weeks of the challenge, by eliminating one can/bottle every two days.
- Cut down on or eliminate caffeine: This one is really up to you. Every morning, my husband and I each enjoy a lovely four ounces of Cuban coffee. I have no intention of giving that up. As with so many other foodstuffs, the “good” and “bad” information we get regarding caffeine changes so drastically from one week to the next, it’s tough to know what to believe. I would just like for you to reduce the presence of caffeine in your diet. There is A LOT of caffeine in energy drinks and most colas and I will be making a “big deal” about these two beverages during the challenge. I’d like for you to say bye-bye to them, hopefully for good. Even though there is caffeine in tea, I am not going to give you grief about it, as I think the antioxidants in (most) teas outweigh any possible negative effects of caffeine.
- Eat more “live” foods (uncooked foods, like lettuces, green leafy vegetables, carrots, sprouts, radishes, etc): Every time you add heat to a “live” food, some of the nutrients are lost. Lightly steamed and raw vegetables are sort of “negative calories” in the sense that they contain so few calories, your body burns up an equivalent number of calories by simply digesting them. They give you a healthy feeling of fullness and supply your body with a wealth of nutrients. There will be A LOT of meal suggestions on the 30 day challenge that include raw or “live” vegetables.
I would also like for you to slow down when you eat. Starting…NOW! It takes the stomach approximately 20 minutes to signal the brain that you are indeed full. I don’t expect you to take 20 minutes to eat each meal, but I would like for you to just slow down a bit when eating. Sometimes, we continue to eat just because there is food on the table, so I’d also like for you to plate your food at the stove/counter instead of bringing platters and bowls to the table and serving yourself and your family. I have not addressed alcohol (wine, beer, martinis.. whatever): I am going to leave that one up to you. You know what’s too much.
Tomorrow, I will post your grocery list and the blueprint for your first week’s menu.
If you will be working out in the morning, please remember to set your alarm clock back by seven minutes before you go to bed.
Kindest regards,
Brendita
I’m with Mindy…it’s not that I can’t cook, I just really don’t enjoy it. But I’m going to try to add a few more natural foods and get away from some of the processed stuff. I can’t give it all up, but I’m willing to make changes. I’m also going to do a new exercise routine starting tomorrow…more interval training. I’ll also be helping my trainer run a boot camp!
BTW, I ran a 5k last week (first one in 2 years!) I shaved 5 min. 8 sec. off my old time. I’m now pumped to “turn over a new leaf”!
Moonshine: Thanks for the kind words. DROP THAT PIZZA! I haven’t looked lately, but I know there are some pretty wonderful, healthy frozen dinners. Might those be an option for either of you? I do enjoy cooking and baking, but I hear y’all. Tomorrow I have to grocery shop, so I’ll get some brand names I can recc for those who will not want to cook. I THINK I even saw some ready made dinners in the canned food aisle. They come in microwavable dishes… I will investigate!
I’m with gymrat! Boxes, cans, jars and frozen. I can do all the stuff you mention, but I really, really don’t enjoy it. I like to eat, but I hate the prep work and the clean up. So, yes, really simple please.
BTW, how did you know I was going to order a pepperoni pizza tonight to get ready for the challenge? I recently discovered home delivery. Believe it or not, for more than 20 years I lived in places where nothing was delivered, so I never got in the habit. I’ve been here for 11 years, and about 2 months ago was the first time I ever had anything delivered. What a concept!
I received my goody package today. The DVD case is soooooo cute! I’m going to watch it tonight. That should burn off some pizza, no? J/K I just got back from an hour and a half walk with my fat lazy dog – he’s going to take the challenge too!
OK, I can do a few of those things
I grill chicken on my little George Foreman grill, make a salad, nuke a potato/veggies/rice…that kind of thing. I’m best with things that come in cans and boxes! I know that’s a bad habit I need to break. I’m sure that’s why I’ve hit a plateau…my workouts are good, but my eating is a mess (doesn’t help that I’m an emotional eater who’s addicted to sugar!) But I’m willing to try and make changes.
Gymster: Absolutely NO complicated recipes on the plan. I will post some recipes and I hope that everyone contributes, but I will post simple food prep. Promise. Do you really not cook anything? I’m not judging at all, just curious. Often when people say they “don’t cook” they mean they don’t cook fancy meals. If you can boil pasta, peel potatoes, make rice, make oatmeal, open a can of tuna, remove the skin from and broil a piece of fish or chicken, dice tofu (vegan or vegetarian alternative) boil an egg, chop veggies, wash salad greens, you will be fine.
Looking forward to getting started, but worried about the fact that I don’t cook. Will the meal plans be complicated? I am a complete dunce in the kitchen and don’t enjoy cooking at all, so I’m afraid if there’s a lot of complicated stuff, I’ll just give up right away.