DECEMBER FITNESS CHALLENGE

                                 EATING CLEAN

                          

What is eating clean? You can not complete any fitness goal without first changing your eating habits. This has been proven to be the hardest challenge in getting fit for many people. In todays world where processed food and sugary treats are easily available and less expensive than our healthier alternatives, many people find it hard to break old habits. The great news is that it's not impossible to do and once it becomes habit it becomes easier to live a healthy lifestyle. You must remember that it is a LIFESTYLE, not a DIET! I'm going to share some tips to help you on this journey to a healthier LIFESTYLE.

DO'S and DONT's

DON'T: Eat three large meals per day. Eating large meals 5-6 hours apart will slow your metabolism down leaving you feeling tired and unmotivated. It will also cause you to snack on unhealthy treats to curve your hunger.

DO: Eat 5-6 Meals per day. This includes Breakfast, lunch, dinner and three snacks. Try to eat every 2-3 hours to keep your metabolism up. This will help you have more energy to workout. It will also prevent your body from going into starvation mode, which usually cause you to eat a larger serving during your next meal. The key is to not feel hungry.

DON'T: Be fooled by labels that say WHEAT! wheat does not equal whole wheat or whole grain and does not have the same nutritional value.

DO: Choose whole grains and complex carbohydrates to give you more energy. They will also make you feel fuller longer. Look for breads, pasta, and rice that are not just brown, but also made with 100% whole grain.

DON'T: Purchase processed foods. Processed foods contain starch, preservatives, sodium, sugar, artificial color and artificial flavors amongst other things that are not good for our bodies. Processed foods also contain cheap and unhealthy oils and most of the vitamins and minerals that fresh foods contain are lessened.

DO: Purchase fresh foods. Eating fresh foods (especially organic) will allow you to reap the full benefits of the vitamins and minerals they contain. Fresh foods also taste better. I recommend going to your local farmers market to ensure that you are getting the freshest fruits, veggies and fish.

DON'T: Eat snacks packed with refined sugar, unhealthy oils or fats. Eating these foods will surely pack on the pounds and have you on a sugar high that will come crashing down in about an hour. This will cause you to constantly crave for more sugar!

DO: Eat as many fruits and vegetables as you want. the natural sugar in fruit will eventually help curve your craving for those unhealthy snacks that are packed with refined sugar.

DON'T: drink sugary drinks such as sodas, concentrated juices, or even those vitamin waters that are also packed with a ton of sugar.

DO: Drink plenty of water, green tea and herbal teas. Use honey or raw sugar if you prefer your drink a little sweet.

DON'T: Eat fatty meats. Also do not eat a large amount of meat. Portion control is key. A serving is usually the size of your palm.

DO: Eat lean meat like skinless chicken breast that is full of protein and fresh wild salmon that is also high in protein, omega 3, amino acid minerals, vitamins A,D,B6 and B12

DON'T: Skip any meals, especially breakfast. Breakfast is the most and important meal of the day. Skipping meals, especially breakfast, can actually make controlling your weight more difficult. People who skip breakfast tend to eat more than usual at the next meal or nibble on high calorie snacks to ease their hunger pains.

Now that we've gotten some do's and don'ts out of the way let's get start with December fitness challenge. We all know that we will stuff our face on thanksgiving and the next three days after on grandma's cooking. Afterwards we will go through our guilty feelings and want to get back on track. So lets bring the new year in right with a healthy LIFESTYLE change:

EAT FRESH FOOD

NO PROCESSED FOOD

ELIMINATE REFINED SUGAR

EAT 5-6 SMALL MEALS A DAY

COMBINE PROTEINS WITH HEALTHY CARBS

CONTROL YOUR PORTIONS (A portion is usually the size of your fist)

COOK YOUR OWN MEALS

DRINK PLENTY OF WATER

CHOOSE WHOLE GRAINS

WHOSE UP FOR THE CHALLENGE?!!

For more on clean eating watch the video below :)

     

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