I must admit that I was hesitant to throw the first week's challenge at you for the simple fact that it was based on "restriction"......in other words, a variation of "dieting". The cycle of a diet usually goes something like this....
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| The evening before restriction begins.... |
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| The infamous cabbage soup! |
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| Reward for having choked down cabbage soup for the 12th time. |
Per Fit for Life, "Diets are temporary; therefore, the results have to be temporary. PERMANENT measures bring about permanent results." In other words, the development of healthy HABITS is paramount.
Do I expect you to develop the HABIT of limiting yourself to water, tea and almond milk? No. I ultimately went forward with the first challenge in hopes that you'd experience some type of desired benefit from it.....increased energy, better sleep, weight loss, etc (shock factor). The "coach" in me also wanted to test your resolve/will from the start. :)
With the formation of habits in mind, I challenge you to build on last week from the standpoint of moderation:
- If a coffee or Coke drinker, try to limit yourself to one cup/can a day (or less than you normally drink).
- If you consume milk, consider a nut milk alternative, or again, limit. Also, if going to drink milk regardless, do so after a workout such that the protein within is of peak benefit. Also, see note about calcium below since I’m sure that question will arise.*
- If alcohol, how about wine at 5 per the Blue Zones movement.
Following the deprivation, PLEASE do not indulge / fall in to the trap....
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| The "dieter's" morning after.... |
* “Some people
insist that dairy products are necessary for calcium. We’re led to believe that milk is a major source of calcium,
and if we don’t drink milk, our teeth will fall out and our bones will
collapse. The fact is that all
green leafy vegetables contain calcium.
All nuts (raw) contain calcium.
And raw sesame seeds contain more calcium than any other food on
earth. Also, most fruit contains
ample calcium. If you’re eating
fruits and vegetables daily and some raw nuts even occasionally, you can’t have
a calcium deficiency.” – Fit
for Life
It was recently suggested that I watch a short documentary called "forks over knives". It was EYE opening and I only suggest that you watch it, and then watch it again to pick up on what you missed the first time. It is just information..Facts most profoundly. As in anything I strongly believe that each must do what feels right for themselves, BUT be "open" to changing ;).....
ReplyDeleteForks Over Knives is a great documentary. I watched in August with my husband and then chose to show it to my Consumer and Public Health class at the beginning of the fall term. It left a lasting impact not only on myself but my students. My husband's doctor was very glad he had watched it and suggested implementing a few of the changes into our diet to help him with managing his cholesterol. My husband is a marathon runner and triathlete so good nutrition has always been important but he needs to do more to combat the "genetics". It was nice to know his doctor here in town had watched the film and also had read all the research studies they referred to as well. The doctor's support has been wonderful. I am a small town farm girl so the changes have been much more gradual for me than my husband and I really needed to keep an open-mind. I have discovered through the changes I have made that I am allergic to dairy and never realized it until I stopped consuming dairy products and switched to the soy and almond milk products. The changes in my body that I thought were just annoyances of "getting older" or what I thought to be seasonal allergies was actually due to consuming too much dairy. They all went away when I made the switch this fall. Thanks for this challenge and encouragement!
ReplyDeleteI just checked out the "Forks Over Knives" cook book from the CR Public library...haven't seen the documentary, but I'll put it on my list. I'll comment my favorite recipe when I get a chance to test something out!
ReplyDelete