12 wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 12

Zero Alcohol

Let's Set Some Goals!

Welcome to week 12, and the very last challenge to complete of our 12wk Health Blitz! Well done for keeping up with the challenges. Let’s finish strong by again having a zero alcohol week like we did in week 3 (re-read week 3 article - Zero Alcohol. Drink More Water).

Once the 12wk challenge is over what next? With spring just around the corner and summer on the way, this week is the perfect time to set some specific goals.

It can be very difficult to set and stick to goals when life is so busy. Many of us have a desire to want to achieve however there is a conflict inside between choosing comfort and pursuing our goals.

Here are 9 ways that can help you set and stick to goals:

1.     One Goal at a Time – Chose only one thing to focus on at a time and make it something specific and achievable.

2.     Do the most important things first – Focus on the goals that will make the most positive difference in your life and do them first before the other stuff that wears you out.

3.     Extend the timeline – When life starts getting in the way instead of giving up simply extend the timeline to something more realistic. It may not be possible to achieve what you originally planned by the target date. It may take longer but at least you are still making progress toward your goal.

4.     No excuses – When life gets busy it is easy to become the victim. Don’t let yourself start saying, ‘I would have lost the weight but….’ Remember, we make the choice to give up or continue towards a goal. You either make your goals a priority or you don’t. If you put the goal off for a bit that is ok, but accept the responsibility for making the decision.

5.     Enjoy the Feeling – When you achieve mini goals, enjoy the feeling. Take time to acknowledge yourself and reward your achievement. There is also power in visualising your goal in your mind before it has happened. You can visualise how you will feel when you have accomplished the goal. The brain connects with those pleasure images, which help change, the neural pathways so the habit sticks.

6.     Life Happens – Think of any obstacle that may come up and plan ways to overcome them. Have a plan B in place for the challenging times. Don’t beat yourself up if something unavoidable gets in the way. Once you overcome them, simply refocus and continue sticking to your goal.

7.     Buddy up – Chose a goal-setting buddy.  You can give each other weekly updates to keep you both accountable. A buddy can also inspire and encourage you to keep going especially through the tough times.

8.     Create a success journal – It helps to write down every little goal you accomplish along the way. This keeps your mind focused on your successes so they can build. Starting your journal with a positive thought or 3 things you are grateful for will help to fuel your day.

9.     Practice makes perfect – It take the brain about 8wks to adopt new patterns of behaviour. Patterns that we repeat each day lead to forming habits. Whatever our goal whether it be learning an instrument or achieving weight loss, create the habits and repeat them each day. Once those neurons are wired together you will absolutely stick to and achieve your goals.

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 11

Starch Out

In this second last week of our challenge we are going to cut down on the starchy foods for the week.

So why are we doing this? Well Starchy foods generally have a high glycemic index (GI) and high glycemic index (GI) foods are known to cause a rapid increase in blood sugar levels, which in turn causes an increase in the amount of insulin. High amounts of insulin in the bloodstream increase fat storage.

For this reason it is best to reduce starchy foods including; potatoes,

pumpkin, peas, corn, pasta, bread, biscuits and rice. Sorry!! But most fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, nuts and seeds are fine. It is very hard to live life entirely starch free, so try to stick to one meal with starch per day. However, for this week see if you can have a starch free week.

Week 10 Topic: The motivational cycle – Will I / Won’t I

ü Fact 1: Research has found that people who document their goals significantly achieve more than those who did not. Dominican University 2008

ü Fact 2: Over 90% of people exercising with their partner or friends stick to the exercise regimen

ü Fact 3: 95% of people who lose weight by dieting regain the weight plus 5% within 3 years

ü Healthy Eating Tip: When organising a meal try and have a range of colours on your plate – Reds/ Oranges/ Yellow/ Greens/ Brown

ü Motivational Tip: Be an optimist! Celebrate that you are losing weight and confirm for yourself how much you have lost.

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 10

Cut the Fizz

This week of the challenge is cutting out the Fizz. So no soft drinks including the diet variety! Instead lets use this week as a great way to ensure we are drinking enough water.

So why are we saying no to the Soft Drink??

Here are a few reasons why you should stay clear of those soft drinks..

1. They are empty calories with no nutritional value at all, so all you are doing is adding more calories to your diet. Who wants to do that when those extra calories just mean further weight gain.
2. Did you know that the average can of coke has about 12 tablespoons of sugar. 
3. The relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight is so strong that researchers calculate that for each additional soda consumption, the risk of obesity increases 1.6 times.
4. Sugar and acid in soft drink so easily dissolves tooth enamel.
5. Soft drinks have long been suspected of leading to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in the blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of the bones. The phosphate content of soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi is very high, and they contain virtually no calcium.  
6. Diet soft drinks don’t fair much better.. Diet soft drink boast of having no sugar at all, and still having the same sweet taste. That’s because diet sodas contain a chemical ingredient called Aspartame. This is the same chemical make-up of consumer sweeteners such as NutraSweet and Equal. Basically, Aspartame makes your brain think that what you’re eating is sweet. This triggers your body to start craving for sweet things. So, aside from being unable to cut down on your soft drink intake, you might find yourself constantly reaching for that cupcake or frequently craving carbohydrates.

Week 10:

Topic: Beating the plateau

Fact 1: Your body adapts to become more economical therefore to keep improving the results, make small changes to your routine

Fact 2: The Basal metabolic rate is the base rate at which your body consumes calories to maintain basic bodily function

Fact 3: When you use scales to weigh yourself you are weighing fat, bone, muscle and the bodies organs

Healthy Eating Tip: Plan your meals and your training. Place them into your calendar as an appointment. Being organized is a key component of weight loss

Motivational Tip: Keep a food diary to make sure you are eating a variety of food and sticking to moderate portion sizes and talk to your trainer about how to keep the body engaged

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 9

The Breakfast Club

The reasons for eating breakfast far outweigh the time saved walking out the door on an empty stomach. Eat breakfast everyday. Breakfast kick starts your metabolism, helps you to concentrate and perform better at work and aids in weight loss.

Eating breakfast is simply breaking the fast. We haven’t eaten for up to 12hrs and need to refuel. Think of your stomach like the petrol tank of your car. You put petrol in the tank of you car after it has used up a tank of fuel so that it keeps running. Why wouldn’t we do this for our body?

This week’s challenge is to eat breakfast everyday. Here are the top 8 reasons why we should eat breakfast:

Top 8 Reasons to Eat Breakfast

1. Better focus and better productivity at work, school or at home. Studies on those who work at labor type jobs have shown that those who do not eat breakfast are unable to work as hard until lunchtime and studies on children reveal that they are unable to complete schoolwork.

2. Maintaining healthy weight. People who skip breakfast are shown to choose less nutritious and fast foods choices to curb their appetite. Poor eating habits lead to eating throughout the evening. This is the worst to eat because calories are stored in the evening as the metabolism slows down. Calories stored = fat.

3. Setting an example for your children and helping them develop healthy eating habits at an early age that they can carry on throughout their lifetime. If they see you eat breakfast, they are more likely to as well.

4. Essential nutrients. Many of us do not meet the essential nutrients such as vitamins and minerals needed daily. i.e., calcium, iron, fiber and Vitamin B1. Skipping breakfast guarantees we will not meet these essential nutrients.

5. Lowers cholesterol, which reduces the risk of heart disease. Research has shown that people who eat breakfast consume less dietary cholesterol then do people who don’t eat breakfast. If you eat oats it will lower your cholesterol.

6. Increase your metabolic rate. People who skip breakfast have a slower metabolism rate than normal, which may lead to weight gain of 3.6kg per year!

7. Eating breakfast can have long-term effects and prevent Obesity, High Blood Pressure and Diabetes.

8. Breakfast foods are delicious! Avoid the processed, fatty foods. Skip the breakfast burgers and you will prevent yourself from consuming 560 calories and a whopping 32 grams of fat! That’s not even including a coffee and a hash brown. Why not eat something healthy such as a fruit smoothy, oats or add fruit to fruit free muesli? (Carmen’s is my favourite)

Topic: Breakfasts of champions

Fact 1: Eating first thing in the morning stimulats your metabolism through a process called Thermogenesis

Fact 2: A 2005 study found that participants who consumed a high protein breakfast had enhanced feelings of eating satisfaction, fullness and lower food intake compared with those eating a low-protein breakfast.

Fact 3: Cereal is the number one food bought in supermarkets today. A vegetarian created the first breakfast cereal in 1863 in New York.

Healthy Eating Tip: If you cannot stomach solid food for breakfast try drinking smoothies

Motivational Tip: Change your language! We use negative language to keep us stuck and re-living the same results. Try replacing negative words with positive phrases such as the word “Can’t” with “I choose not to” and “Too Hard” with “its unfamiliar”

12 wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 8

Chocolate Free

This week for the 12wk Health Blitz Challenge we are going Chocolate Free!!! However, before you panic we will make an allowance for a little bit of Dark Chocolate. 

So your probably asking yourself why are we allowing Dark Chocolate but not milk or white chocolate?

Well there is growing research that indicates that Dark chocolate unlike the other varieties are full of antioxidants which helps fight against cardio cardiovascular disease.

If you would like to know more about the health benefits of Dark Chocolate here are some great articles on the topic..

http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20030827/dark-chocolate-is-healthy-chocolate

http://www.rd.com/health/3-health-benefits-of-dark-chocolate/

Topic: Eating out

Fact 1: Research (CDC 2006) has found that the world increase in Body Mass Index matches the increase in frequency of eating at Restaurants

Fact 2: Portion sizes or snacks and meals has increased significantly over the last decade.

Fact 3: In 1972, we spent 3 billion a year on fast food - today we spend more than $110 billion

To overcome these issues when eating out follow the tips in this great article.

http://www.uhs.wisc.edu/docs/uwhealth_eating_out_203.pdf

 

Healthy Eating Tip: When eating a meal put your knife and fork down between bites and have a sip of water before picking them up again.

Motivational Tip: Create a playlist of music that motivates and inspires you to keep focused and on track. Play them every morning and whenever you feel you need extra motivation.

12 Wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 7

All things Green and Wonderful

This is a great week to go and try those fresh fruit and vegetables that you have seen but never tried before. Have fun with this and go to the Adelaide Central Markets and see what you can find and then cook a new recipe.

Your body will thank you for introducing more green vegetables to your diet as they are one of the main dietary sources of fibre and are full of antioxidants, vitamin and minerals.

For more information on the benefits of “All things Green and Wonderful” have a read of this great article by Natural Health Australia –

http://www.natural-health.net.au/articles/nutrition/green-vegetables

Keeping things flowing – the importance of fibre  

Here are some interesting facts on fibre, which is found in abundance in green fruit and vegetables.

Fact 1: Fibre is a plant-based food that your body cannot digest

Fact 2: Fibre helps to transport cholesterol out of your body

Fact 3: Fibre helps you fill fuller for longer

Healthy Eating Tip: Replace processed food with whole and natural foods. Think of the “Human Interference” factor, the more interference the stronger the case to replace it.

Motivational Tip: Find a picture of the body you want and place a copy of your face on the picture. Then place this image of you on the fridge door or somewhere you look at everyday.

Good luck with week 7 J

12 Wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 6

I'm Sweet Enough! Lolly Free Week

Congratulations on reaching the half way point of this challenge. Already we are seeing and hearing great results from those who are sticking to the challenges each week. Well done! Stay strong and devoted across the next 6wks. What have you got lose other than more kgs!

Here is a link to this weeks article - http://weightloss.com.au/articles/healthy-diets/sugar-and-weight-loss.html

Topic: Sugar!

Fact 1: All carbohydrate we eat is converted into blood sugar

Fact 2: In one 600ml bottle of soft drink there can be between 12 to 15 teaspoons of sugar

Fact 3: Research (Journal of Nutrition, 2009) has found that Sugar can affect the brain chemistry leading to addiction.

Healthy Eating Tip: Drink water instead of soft drinks or carbonated drinks. Read the labels and look for hidden sugar in the foods you eat.

Motivational Tip: Nominate a non-food reward for sticking to your plans and set aside a time for you to take it (massage, going to the cinema – GOLD CLASS)

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 5

Ditch the Dessert – No Cakes / Cheeses

Week 5 of the 12wk Health Blitz Challenge is all about  “Ditching the Dessert. No Cake or Cheese.!”  For some this could be one of the hardest challenges to date however achieving it will mean subtracting 100s of calories from your diet each day. Remember you need to burn 3500 calories to lose approximately ½ kg of body fat. The calories from dessert just sit & turn into fat. So unless you’re intending to workout at 10pm at night, avoid that dessert!

We have heard this said before: ‘I am so full, but I will make room for dessert’ or ‘I’m so full Mummy, can I have dessert now?’ Having a dessert after a meal is not one of those ‘must have’ things and has little nutritional value. Desserts are one of those foods that we tend to eat for taste rather than hunger, as we are already full or had enough to eat from our main meal. They are actually classified in the ‘not real food’ basket because they have little or no nutritional value.

Here are some tips to help you to avoid desserts and to conquer this week’s challenge:

• After having the main meal clear the table and go for a walk.  This way you are not tempted to have dessert and you get extra exercise in too.

• This week, don’t buy and keep any desserts in your cupboard or fridge/freezer. That way if they are not in the house you wont eat them.

• Wait 30 mins after your meal and if you find you are still hungry have a piece of fruit. This will help fill you up and it is a healthier alternative.

• Drink plenty of water during the day and before a meal. Have a hot cup of low fat milk after your meal. 

When we say no cheese for this weeks challenge we mean the dessert cheeses such as the soft white cheese, blue cheese and fruit cheeses. As these are the cheeses that are full of calories and don’t have the same nutrition value as the hard cheeses.  We also tend to eat these cheeses in larger quantities. Low fat hard cheese is ok in small quantities during the week as we still want to include protein in our diet. However, still remember those portion sizes so a small matchbox size of hard cheese is one serving.

Week 5 - Extra Topic

What do the Food labels mean?

Fact 1: A US study found that those who take up the label-reading habit are more likely to lose weight than those who don’t.

Fact 2: the word “Light” or “Lite” on the label can mean light in flavour and not light in calories

Fact 3: The ingredient list must be listed from the most to the least amount within the product

Healthy Eating Tip: When reading the label aim for less than 30% fat, less than 300mg per serve Sodium, and 5 grams of sugar per serving

Motivational Tip: Write down what life will be like when you have lost your weight. Write it as if it has already happened and then imagine what it will be like.

~~~~~

***Found this awesome article written by the 'Food and Drug Association' on how to understand food labels. It is very comprehensive and I learnt a lot reading it. You have to read it is.

Click here to access the article - How to Understand and Use Nutritional Fact Labels

Please leave your feedback!

Have a successful week.

Jason

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 4

Grease Lightning! No Deep Fried Foods

Deep Fried foods would have to be the biggest enemy to anyone wanting to eat a healthy balanced diet.

Eating these foods on a regular basis can lead to serious   cardiovascular diseases such as Hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol and clogged arteries which can lead to strokes and heart attacks.   Not only can fried foods cause heart disease but can also lead to Type II diabetes as well.

The reason why fried foods lead to these serious cardiovascular diseases is that they are commonly fried in oils such as vegetables oils that are high in trans fats which increase the LDL Cholesterol in  our blood stream (bad cholesterol) and reduces the HDL (good cholesterol).

The good news is that there are alternatives to eating deep-frying food:

Oven baking.. This can be done by using a small amount of cooking oil. Roll the food in a thin layer of cooking oil and coat it with whatever seasoning you would like. Then, simply stick the food in the oven

Cooking foods using other cooking methods such as poaching, steaming, stir-frying and steaming.

Order grilled fish and seafood when out at restaurants instead of deep fried.

Make careful menu selections – Pay attention to the description on the menu. Dishes labeled deep fried, pan fried, basted, batter-dipped, breaded, creamy, crispy, scalloped, alfredo, au gratin or cream sauce are usually high in calories, unhealthy fats or sodium. Order items with more vegetables and choose leaner meats.

Metabolism is the key

Fact 1: You continue to burn calories for 12 to 48 hours after you've finished working out depending on the intensity

Fact 2: Exercising in the morning raises your metabolism for the whole day

Fact 3: According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition,

Green tea helps you burn 35 to 43% more calories a day

Healthy Eating Tip: Instead of eating three medium to large-sized meals per day, you should be eating five smaller meals

Motivational Tip: Learn to recognise hunger. We eat automatically most of the time, governed by the clock or our environment so if you find yourself looking for food 20 minutes after eating a meal – STOP and ask “Am I hungry”

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 3

Zero Alcohol. Drink More Water

This week the challenge is to drink zero alcohol...that's right zero (zip, none, not a drop) and replace it by drinking more water. 

So why are we saying no to the Alcohol this week?

Well were you aware that a glass of wine, beer or spirits adds more kilojoules and undoes more diets than any other beverage! Sure it’s great to sip at the end of a hectic day but one glass leads to another and, before you know it, there’s three glasses! Not to mention the nibbles with the wine: Cheese and biscuits, olive, dips, corn chips, nuts, pretzels and other salty snacks. 

The other danger with alcohol is that the combination of alcohol with fat is a deadly one, as alcohol seems to suppress the oxidation (“burning off”) of body fat, encouraging fat accumulation. So Alcohol combined with the high fat snacks and hang over foods are not going to help us with weight loss.

Ultimately alcohol stimulates the appetite and undermines your resolve. 
Whereas at the other end of the spectrum we have water, which is without doubt, our most important nutrient. In fact, seventy-five percent of you water. 

Your body can do without a lot of things for a long time but it can’t survive without H2O for long. More often than not, hydration is the most misunderstood and mis-managed component of our overall health-management plan. Despite the fact that keeping our body well hydrated is a relatively easy process, many of us fail to do so, thereby putting our health at significant risk.

So, if you need some convincing, here are 12 reasons why we should drink more water: 

1. Dehydrated people often have stinky breath. Therefore, nobody wants to kiss them!
2. Drinking cold water increases our metabolic rate. Which helps with fat-loss.
3. Being well-hydrated helps curb our appetite and cravings. Which helps us avoid over-eating.
4. Because our blood is mostly water, being dehydrated increases the viscosity (thickness) of our blood. Which means our cardiovascular system has to work much harder. Which means we’re more likely to have a stroke or heart attack.  
5. Because we have less blood volume (when we’re dehydrated), our heart needs to beat faster in order to deliver adequate oxygen around the body and our blood pressure will be elevated.
6. From an exercising point of view, our dehydrated body will fatigue quicker. Our muscles will be weaker (they’re 75% water too).
7. We will also be less coordinated. Which means decreased exercise and sports performance.
8. Dehydration also leads to constipation. Which, ironically, makes us feel like crap (because our body is storing, not eliminating, all those toxins).
9. It also causes headaches, lethargy and muscle cramps. Those middle-of-the-night calf cramps suck.
10. It causes vagueness and an inability to concentrate (because our brain is 90% water). This mental vagueness can affect a myriad of things: communication, driving skills, work productivity, judgment and mood.
11. Dehydration also leads to dry skin and potentially, a range of skin conditions (our skin is our largest organ and requires plenty of H2O). Dehydrated skin looks old before its time. We don't want that! 
12. Because we’re mostly water, a chronically dehydrated body will be more susceptible to serious disease. Dehydrated organs are unhealthy organs.

More water anyone?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fact 1: You need approx 2 litres of water daily

Fact 2: Softdrinks, Tea & Coffee and fruit drinks can take water out of your body. Both caffeine and high sugar contents create an environment whereby water is leeched from your body.

Fact 3: Studies have shown that a decrease in water intake will cause fat deposits to increase!

Healthy Eating Tip: Use your Step into Life Water bottle as a measure of how much water you drink in a day. Aim to drink 2 1⁄2 bottles of water a day.

Motivational Tip: Monitor your thoughts. Self-talk can change your experience on a daily basis. How many negative thoughts do you have? Try placing a paperclip into your pocket everytime you have a negative thought – how many do you have at the end of the day.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Please post a comment below if you found this article beneficial.

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - Week 2

Volume is Crucial! Reduce your Portion Size

Ask anyone who has achieved long-term weight loss and how they did it and they are sure to mention portion control.

How many times have you heard people say or even thought yourself: “I eat really healthy but I can’t lose this weight”. This is when we need to have a good look at our portion sizes throughout the day to see if we are consuming too many extra calories.

Learn how to size up your servings and avoid overeating with these Top 10 ways to control your portion sizes:

Tip 1 - Use a smaller plate for your meals. By using a small plate your plate will still look full but you will have less on the plate.

Tip 2 – Start your meal with a clear soup or green salad to ease your hunger a bit so that you aren’t as likely to over eat.

Tip 3 - Complete a food diary for a week then you can actually see all that you eat.  It is important to be honest with yourself here, include every little bit of food you eat. It may be surprising just how much you would eat over the course of a day.

Tip 4 - Serving sizes in restaurants are usually twice as much food as you need. Divide your meal in half and share, ask for a doggie bag, or order the entrée size. Share a dessert with a friend if you want a sweet fix.

Tip 5 – Keep pots and dishes away from the table where it is easy to go for seconds. Remember it takes about 20 minutes to feel satiated. By sitting back and giving yourself a breather you may realize you weren’t really hungry enough for another helping after all!

Tip 6 - Spend a week measuring your serving sizes (use the table below). You might find that you’re eating two servings of cereal for breakfast and that your evening bowl of frozen yogurt is really 3 servings.

Tip 7 - Look at and educate yourself on serving sizes on nutrition labels. You might think that a breakfast muffin is a great low- calorie choice, but that’s only if you eat half the muffin.

Tip 8 – Master the art of mini meals. Try eating several smaller healthy meals during the day instead of the traditional 3 meals a day. Mini meals are by far the best way to prevent overeating because you’ll get never too hungry and lose control of your portion intake.

Tip 9 – Make dinner the smallest meal of the day. For dinner, load up on nutrient-dense low calorie vegetables like carrots and green beans. The fiber in vegies will help you feel fuller. Don’t forget to add a palm size portion of protein to every meal.

Tip 10 – Everything in our lives is fast – fast cars, fast trains, fast broadband and, of course, fast food. There’s lunch on the run, dinner in under 30 minutes, two-minute noodles and take-away to grab and run. Life – and eating – is rushed and stressful. Eating slowly is also one of the most successful techniques to help lose weight. Remember it takes 20 minutes for our stomach to tell our brains that we are full. If you eat fast, you will eat way more than you need. When you eat slowly the eating time increases and you will naturally eat less. 

12wk Health Blitz Challenge - WEEK 1

Eat More Protein

Researchers at Denmark's University of Copenhagen have conducted the world's largest diet study and found that eating a diet higher in protein and limited in refined carbohydrates is the best way to lose weight. The study also found eating a diet with a slightly higher protein content and low-glycemic index (GI) foods ensures people who have lost weight maintain their weight loss.

Healthy, protein-rich foods include legumes, nuts, seeds, fish, chicken, lean meat, eggs, low-fat dairy and soy products. They encourage weight loss by stabilizing blood-sugar levels, curbing sugar cravings and creating a feeling of fullness. The GI is a ranking of carbohydrate foods based on the effect they have on blood-glucose levels. Consumption of high-GI foods causes blood-sugar levels to rise quickly, triggering a surge in insulin. This then causes blood-sugar levels to drop, resulting in tiredness, sugar cravings and fat storage.

Low-GI foods, on the other hand, contain carbohydrates that break down slowly and are associated with a gradual release of glucose into the bloodstream. The slower digestion is associated with minimal insulin secretion, which can help limit weight gain and promote a feeling of fullness. Low-GI foods include most fruits and vegetables (except bananas, grapes, melon and corn) and wholegrain foods (breads, whole oats, brown rice, wholegrain pasta). If you're trying to lose weight, avoid high-GI foods such as white bread, rice and pasta and processed cereals.

Here is a quick summary of the Importance of Protein:

ü Fact 1: Protein helps to suppress your appetite, helping you feel fuller for longer.

ü Fact 2: Beans and Legumes have a significant amount of protein but less fat than meat based proteins (black beans, chickpeas, lentils, dried peas, etc)

ü Fact 3: Protein is contained in every part of your body, the skin, muscles, hair, blood, body organs, eyes, even fingernails and bones.

ü Healthy Eating tip: Use the palm of your hand as a guide to the amount of protein to eat. Is the protein on your plate bigger than you palm or smaller (and no stackingJ)

Motivational Tip: Be very clear on how you want to feel after you reach your weight loss goal. Write it down as if it has already happened and read it everyday of the challenge.