Final Week of the 8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge

    We made it! 8 weeks to a healthier lifestyle. Our cupboards have been overhauled and our refrigerator has been purged. From here on out, it’s about maintenance. Maintaining these habits are going to require several things: commitment, determination, and forgiveness.

To continue on this path means making a commitment to yourself and to those you love, that you will be as healthy as is within your power. It will take determination and willpower to not give in when others are eating, yet another birthday cake, at the office this week. And you will need to be able to forgive yourself when you totally lose control and eat the entire pint of ice cream, because the day was just that bad.

Here is a guideline of what we have learned. Post it where you can refer to it when you feel yourself slipping, or just need a reminder.

1.    Eat breakfast – it is the most important meal of the day.

2.    Eat 3 meals and 2 snacks every day.

3.    Meals and snacks should contain both carbs and protein.

4.    Eat 6-9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Eat a rainbow of colors to help absorb a variety of nutrients that protect against diseases and aging.

5.    Drink 8 glasses of water and/or unsweetened tea daily.

6.    Add some good fats to your diet every day in the form of olive or other plant based oils, ground flaxseed, avocados, nuts, or salmon.

7.    Replace white and refined foods and flours with whole grains.

8.    Keep processed foods, such as crackers, frozen entrees, and boxed dinners to a minimum.

9.    Limit fast food, and choose broiled, baked, grilled and other healthier foods in restaurants.

10. Limit sugary drinks to the weekend only, as a treat.

11. Have a serving of dairy daily.

12. Limit starches after 6:00pm, we use less energy in the evenings and therefore do not require as many carbs at that time.

13. Allow yourself a small treat a couple of times a week to help you stay on track.

14. Perform some type of physical activity daily; minimum guidelines are 30 minutes of moderate activity a day.

15. Involve your children in making healthy choices and being active.

Choosing to make healthier food choices isn’t just about losing weight, it’s about living a healthier lifestyle and improving your quality of life. You’ll sleep better, have more energy, and will feel better than ever!

Week 7 of the 8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge

We are closing in on our 8 week challenge. We have eliminated sugary drinks and most processed foods from our diets. In their place, we are consuming more produce and whole grains. Our bodies are feeling lighter and more energized. This week we are going to focus on the dreaded “F” word – yes, Fats! Good fats, that is.

While we want to watch our fat intake, not consuming more than 30% of our daily calorie allotment, it is an essential nutrient for our bodies. Fats play a vital role in maintaining healthy skin and hair, insulating body organs against shock, maintaining body temperature, and promoting healthy cell function. The vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble, meaning they can only be digested and absorbed by the body while consumed with fat.

Healthy fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats such as:

Avocados, Olives, Nuts, Peanut Butter, Olive Oil, Sunflower Oil, Safflower Oil, Peanut Oil, Flax Oil, Flaxseed, Walnuts, Fatty Fish such as Salmon, and Sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds.

How much fat is too much depends on your lifestyle, your weight, your age and most importantly the state of your health. The USDA recommends that the average individual:

• Keep total fat intake to 20-35% of calories
• Limit saturated fats to less than 10% of your calories (200 calories for a 2000 calorie diet)
• Limit trans fats to 1% of calories (2 grams per day for a 2000 calorie diet)

Good fats to add into your daily diet: Avocado, olives, nuts, flaxseed

Fitness Challenge:

Beginners: Continue your interval-walking program. If you have access to other cardio equipment, begin incorporating them into your routine. Do 3 weight-training sessions per week, for a minimum of 20 minutes each. If you can, increase the amount of weight that you use. Add in core exercises such as crunches and back extensions. Experiment with fitness DVD’s, you can find ones that offer cardio as well as resistance training. Cathe Friedrich has some great options for beginners.

Advanced: Try fitness outside the box. Sign up a martial arts, pilates or yoga class. Challenge yourself with a high intensity DVD such as TurboFire or Insanity. Training with different programs challenge your muscles in a way in which they aren’t used to and shock them into growth.

Week 6 of the 8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge

By now your refrigerator and pantry should be purged of processed foods and sugary snacks. Reaching for fruits and vegetables for snacks are becoming not only a habit but even enjoyable!

You should now be eating breakfast every morning, and having mid and afternoon snacks. Sugary drinks should be long gone, replaced by healthier choices of unsweetened tea, water with citrus slices, or 100% fruit juice and you should be eating fruits and vegetables with every meal.

This week’s challenge is: Choosing quality grains

Natural grains are a great source of fiber, which may help prevent heart disease, lower cholesterol, reduce risk of various forms of cancer and help with weight control. The recommended daily requirement for fiber is 25 grams.

Food with 3 grams or more of fiber are good sources; high sources are foods that contain 5 grams or more per serving. For 3 grams a serving, eat ½ cup vegetables, one slice of whole wheat bread, ½ cup of whole wheat pasta, ½ cup or whole piece of fruit.

Choose cereals and breads that contain at least 3 grams of fiber, and less than 5 grams of sugar. In addition, try to eat foods in their whole, unprocessed forms as often as possible. Processing can break down fiber.

Grains to try: Brown Rice, Oatmeal, Quinoa, Barley, Whole Wheat Pasta, Whole Wheat Bread, Couscous, Rye, Bulgur, Wild Rice

Food Group Color: White and Brown

Foods that are White and Brown in color contain: allicin, phytosterols, phenethyl isothiocyanate, genistein. They help promote heart health and help maintain healthy cholesterol levels, lower the risk of some cancers.

Foods to try: Bananas, light pears, dates, white peaches, nectarines, cauliflower, onions, mushrooms, jicama, turnips, potatoes and ginger.

Fitness Challenge:

Beginners: Continue your interval-walking program. If you have access to other cardio equipment, begin incorporating them into your routine. Continue doing 2-3 weight-training sessions per week, for a minimum of 20 minutes each. If you can, increase the amount of weight that you use. Add in core exercises such as crunches and back extensions.

Advanced: Try adding a day of functional training to your routine. Functional exercises teach the muscles to work together. They focus on building a body capable of doing real-life activities in real-life positions, not just lifting a certain amount of weight in an idealized posture created by a gym machine. An example would be doing a squat with an overhead press. As you squat down, raise a barbell or dumbbells into an overhead press. This teaches the upper and lower body to move together. Sure, you can press 400lbs on a leg press, but will that help you carry your neighbor’s couch up 3 flights of stairs? By incorporating functional fitness into your routine – you will.

Week 5 of our 8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge

Wow, we are halfway through our challenge, hope you are making progress – I am sure your are! By now, you should be eating breakfast every day, drinking non-sugar drinks, and limiting processed foods.

This week we are going to start putting a healthy eating plan together. Review your food record from Week 1 and count the average number of fruits and vegetable servings you ate each day. How did you do?

Vegetables and fruit are high in fiber and nutrients and low in calories. Fill up on these foods so you won’t be hungry for higher-fat foods. Strive for 3-5 servings of vegetables and 2-4 servings of fruit each day. To get the needed 5-9 servings combined, try these helpful hints:

·       Choose darker salad greens such as red leaf or spinach, which have more nutrients than iceberg.

·       Cut up vegetables and serve with hummus as a wholesome snack.

·       Add stir-fry dishes to your menu.

·       Make a vegetarian pizza with lots of tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and mushrooms – or any vegetable that you like!

·       Have a vegetable omelet or frittata for breakfast.

This week’s challenge – Serve more fruits and vegetables.

Eat 1 serving of fruit with breakfast, have a piece of fruit after a workout, or between lunch and dinner as a snack. Fill up on vegetables at lunch with a large salad.

Food Group Color:  Green

Foods that are green in color contain lutein, indoles, sulforaphane, zeaxanthin, phenethyl isothiocyanate, monoterpenes. They help to lower the risk breast, prostate, lung and other cancers; promote eye health; help build strong bones; boost immunity.

Foods to try: Green apples, avocados, green grapes, green pears, honeydew, limes, kiwi, spinach, broccoli, broccoli rabe, kale, swiss chard, asparagus, artichokes, bok choy cabbage, green bell peppers, cucumbers, string beans, peas.

Fitness Challenge

Beginners: Continue your interval-walking program. Walk at a fast pace for 30 sec, or 1-2 blocks, then recover at a slower pace for a min. Repeat this cycle during your walk. Walk 5 days a week, 2 sessions with interval walking for 30 minutes, 2 fast past walking sessions at 40 minutes and 1 session at 60 minutes. Begin to incorporate light weights (dumbbells) or resistance bands into your training. Weight train 2x a week. Pick 1 exercise for each body part, do 1 set of each, for 10 reps.

Example: Back: Dumbbell rows, Chest: Chest press (or pushup), Legs: Squats holding dumbbells, Shoulder: Overhead shoulder presses, Biceps: Dumbbell Curls, Triceps: Triceps Extensions

Advanced:  Try adding a heavy weight session to your workout each week. Pick a weight that will only allow you to perform 6 reps.

Week 4 of the 8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge

For the past 3 weeks, we have been working on identifying and changing our worst habit, eliminating added sugars from our diets, and removing the processed foods from our pantries and refrigerators.

Since you have purged your home of most of the ugly foods, I bet you are wondering what you CAN eat!

That is this week’s challenge – finding healthy snacks.

Speaking from experience, I know how hard it is to change eating patterns. It’s easy to reach into a box and pull out a couple of crackers; it takes a little more planning to reach for a healthier snack. However, once you have found some healthier snacks that you enjoy, you won’t even miss those crackers!

Choose fruits and vegetables as easy grab-n-go snacks. Apples, bananas, sliced veggies, nuts, grapes, cheese cubes – are all easy to grab and are transportable. Hummus, home made guacamole, cottage cheese and Greek yogurt make great dips for sliced vegetables such as peppers and carrots. Keep snack size, low-sugar yogurts, real-cheese string cheese, and grapes in the refrigerator for the kids.

Food Group Color: Orange

Foods that are orange in color bioflavanoids, carotenoids, limonoids, which promote heart health, eye health, lower the risk of certain cancers and boost immunity.

Foods to try: oranges, apricots, cantaloupe, mangoes, cantaloupe, peaches, sweet potatoes, carrots, orange peppers, butternut squash, pumpkins and pumpkin seeds.

Serve cantaloupe with cottage cheese as a snack, or sprinkle some pumpkin seeds (pepitas) on your salad.

Fitness Challenge:

Beginners: Begin adding intervals into your walking program. Walk at a fast pace for 30 sec, or 1-2 blocks, then recover at a slower pace for a min. Repeat this cycle during your walk. Increase 2 walking sessions to 40 min. and continue doing bodyweight resistance training twice a week.

Advanced:  Add an extra round to your strength training routine, and add 2 sessions of HIIT sessions to your cardio program. Set a goal and join the 1200 Ab Challenge, (see Ab Challenge blog post).

Here is this week’s challenge recap:

Eat breakfast every day this week. Eliminate all sugary drinks. Cook dinner at least 4 times this week incorporating some of the new foods you have read about in this challenge. Pack your lunch and snacks for work at least 3 days this week. Find healthy snacks for you and your family.

Incorporate fitness 5 days a week.

Welcome to Week 3 of the 8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge

This week’s challenge is to eliminate as many processed foods from your pantry and refrigerator as possible.

Processed foods are frequently made primarily of refined grains, sweeteners, refined salt, low quality and artificial fat, and food additives. The labels are often lengthy, containing words that we cannot pronounce, or know what they are. Processed foods can contribute to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other illnesses. The list includes, but is not limited to, white and refined flours as in crackers and white pasta, cake and cookie mix, pizza mixes, frozen dinners, ravioli, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, fish sticks, cheese slices, most lunchmeat and kid’s cereals.

Replace these products with whole foods and whole-wheat grains such as whole-wheat pasta and bread, brown rice, fresh and frozen vegetables and fruit, whole grain cereals, fresh fish or low sodium canned tuna or salmon, eggs, chicken, and lean steak. A good rule of thumb is if it can be plucked, picked, shucked, fished or hunted - you can eat it. If it comes from a box – leave it alone.

Now, I am not saying you can never have a treat or sweet or a cracker; that would lead to a boring life and a binge somewhere down the road. The goal is not to have these items on a daily basis. If you can eliminate these foods from your regular diet, after a couple of weeks, you will feel a difference in your body. It will no longer feel sluggish or bloated.

Food Group Color: Blues and Purples

Foods that are blue-purple contain anthcyanins and phenolics, which fight against free radicals that cause aging. Purple skinned vegetables also contain nasunin, which can help fight against cancer.

Foods to try: Blueberries, blackberries, black currant, elderberries, plums and prunes, purple grapes, purple cabbage, purple eggplants, purple bell peppers, purple asparagus

Add a salad to your dinner at least two days this week, using a dressing that contains some good fat, such as olive oil, to make the nutrients more readily available for your body to absorb.

Fitness Challenge:

Beginners, add 2 days of resistance training to your workouts this week. This is in addition to walking 5 days per week. Begin with bodyweight only exercises, such as push-ups, squats, triceps’ dips, lunges and crunches. Do 10 reps of each exercise.

Advanced: Perform circuit training this week. Choose 1 exercise per body part, totaling 8-10 exercises. Perform 1 set of 8-12 reps of each exercise with no rest between exercises. Completing 1 set of all exercises equals 1 round. Rest 1-2 minutes between rounds.

Here is this week’s challenge recap:

Eat breakfast at least 4 times this week, no, or very limited, sugary drinks, continue adding fresh fruit and vegetables to your meals, eat salads at least twice this week and begin eliminating processed foods from your kitchen.

Beginners Fitness: Add resistance training to your walking schedule, twice this week

Advanced Fitness: Perform circuit training 3 days this week, leaving 48 hours between sessions.

8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge - Week Two

Welcome to Week Two of the 8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge.

Last week’s challenge you were to keep a journal of everything you ate and drank for three days. This was to help you assess your worst health habit. This week, you are to continue eliminating that habit, as well as incorporate the next challenge. You will also continue to include yellow and orange foods in your meal plans.

This week’s challenge is to begin eliminating sugar from your and your family’s, diet. Sugar can lead to hypersensitivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating and crankiness in children. It also contributes to diabetes, arthritis, and suppression of the immune system. In addition, sugar raises the level of neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine which can cause you to crave more sugar.

Challenge:

Begin replacing sugary drinks with unsweetened tea (flavored teabags work great), nonfat milk, water (try adding lemon for flavor), or diluted vegetable or fruit juices. Reduce foods with added refined sugars to three or fewer servings this week. Read the labels on your yogurts, cereals, crackers, and other processed goods; eliminate the ones that contain more than 5 grams of sugar per serving.

For healthier snacks, use sliced fruit, Greek yogurt, natural peanut butter, nuts, hummus, unbuttered popcorn, or yogurt berry popsicles. You can find a recipe for the popsicles under "recipes".

Tip: Measure your portion sizes to make sure you are not underestimating a serving.

Food Color: Reds and Purples

Foods that are red-purple or red-pink contain anthocyanins; the pigments that help protect you from oxidative stress. Red onions help reduce inflammation, and tomatoes (and tomato sauces) are an excellent source of vitamins A, C, K, B6 and potassium.

Try using rhubarb, cherries, radicchio, watermelon, pink grapefruit, red bell peppers, red cabbage or radishes in your menu plan this week.

Fitness Challenge:

Beginners: Begin adding power walking to your regimen. For 30-40 minutes, alternate between fast-paced speed walking, and a slower recovery pace. Walk 5 days.

Advanced: Try this routine. Upper and Lower body workouts, alternating days.

Pick one exercise for each body part:

Lower – Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes and Calves. Squat, Deadlift, Lunge, DB Calf Raise.

Use a weight that will give you 15 reps, drop 10lbs and do 20 reps, add 20lbs and do 8 reps.

Upper Body – Chest, Back, Shoulder, Triceps and Biceps. Chest Press, BB Row, Overhead Shoulder Press, Cable Tricep Pressdown and BB Bicep Curl.

Use a weight that will give you 15 reps, drop 10lbs and do 20 reps, add 20lbs and do 8 reps.

8 Week Healthy Habit Challenge - Week One

It can be difficult trying to adjust to a healthier lifestyle. When it comes to changing their habits, most people use an all-or-nothing approach and become overwhelmed, which usually leads to failure. Our eating patterns have been established over years, conforming to schedules, cravings, and traditions. Because it takes time and commitment to develop healthier habits, this challenge will be broken into eight sections, going slowly to ensure success. Each week we will focus on changing one habit, introduce a healthy food for you to incorporate into your diet, and offer one fitness tip to help you become more active.

Each person participating in this challenge is at a different level in his or her journey to becoming healthier. In order for each individual to know what they need to change, their current eating pattern needs to be assessed. Therefore, the first week’s challenge is to find our where you are at, so you will know where you are going.

Challenge One:

Keep a food diary for 3 days. Write down every single item that you put into your mouth. The more accurate it is, the more you will learn about your eating pattern. Include all food, water, drinks, added salt, added sugar, candies, gum, condiments, sports drinks, alcohol, and even the “just a taste or nibble”.

On a sheet of paper, make seven columns with the titles, Meal/Snack, Time, Description, Amount, Location, Hunger Level, and Mood.

§     In the first column, record whether it was a meal or snack (include beverages).

§     In the second column, record the time you ate.

§     In the third column, write a brief description of the food (was it broiled, fried, breaded, did it have condiments, etc.)

§     In the fourth column, record the amount you ate (2 chicken legs, 2 cups potato chips) tip: you may want to invest in an inexpensive food scale to learn portion sizes

§     In the fifth column, record your location (kitchen table, at desk, in car)

§     In sixth column, record your hunger lever on a scale of 1-5 (5 = starving)

§     In the final column, record your mood (were you happy, angry, bored)

After you have recorded your diary, decide what your worst habit is. Do you eat at your desk? Do you skip meals? Maybe you drink to many sodas or snack late at night. Are you an emotional eater? Whatever your worst habit is, that is the one you want to focus on for the rest of the week.

For example, if you normally do not eat breakfast, at least twice within the remainder of the week, make sure you do. Have whole wheat toast w/Natural Peanut Butter, or a Yogurt with berries. At the very least, drink 8oz. of skim milk.

If you drink a soda or other sugary drink every day, begin replacing the soda with an unsweetened beverage, such as unsweetened tea, or water.

If you are eating a lot of fast food, start packing your lunch and snacks.

If you are snacking late at night, choose fruit instead of chips.

If you have to eat at your desk, turn the computer off and focus entirely on your meal.

 If you find that, you are eating because you are bored or sad, find a distraction instead – call a friend or take a walk.

If you are eating off your child’s unfinished plate, mix the food together and make it look unappealing.

Next, pick a yellow-orange food to incorporate it into your menu this week. Try something new to you. Add one yellow food to a meal each day. Foods with a yellow hue contain the antioxidant beta-cryptoxanthin, which appears to reduce the risk for some cancers and rheumatoid arthritis.

Such foods are yellow bell peppers, butternut squash, honeydew melon, apricots, tangerines, oranges, papaya or peaches.

Now, MOVE IT!

Begin walking for 30 minutes, five times this week, at a moderate intensity. If you find this difficult, begin with 15 minutes and work up to 30 minutes.

If you are more advanced, add an interval day into your training: example: on a treadmill, run as fast as you can for 30 seconds, then recover at a slower pace for 90 seconds. Repeat 5 times. You can find some other HIIT challenges in the cardio section of the blog.

That is week one, focus on finding your worst habit, and changing that one pattern. Try one new food, and begin your exercise program with walking. You are on your way to a healthier lifestyle!