Feeling Discouraged?

Making a lifestyle change of any kind can be difficult.  So don't feel discouraged if you aren't doing as well as you would like to.  Small steps bring about great change.  As I look back over my journey all I see are the small steps I took and the little things I changed that got me to where I am today.  I still have to remind myself of those things every once in a while.  Old habits die hard, right?  Now that we're on our third week, I hope you are seeing changes in yourself and that by becoming more active, you actually have more energy.  If you would like to share some of your successes or discouragements, please do so in the comment section.  We can all cheer or help each other along.

Fasting and Sleeping

For those of you who fast once a month for religious or medical reasons, you can automatically take 6 good food points and your breakfast points on the day you fast.  You can still brush your teeth when you fast, so you will have to earn those on your own.  Also when you fast it will be almost impossible to get 5 fruits and veggies so if you eat 2 veggies and 1 fruit on the days you fast, you can still earn your 5+ fruit and veggie points.  So for example if I fasted 2 meals last Sunday, I could earn 6 good food points and my breakfast points.  If I ate 2 veggies for dinner along with another healthy food and a fruit (maybe dessert) then I would get my other 4 good food points.  Because I had veggies for dinner and fruit for dessert I would earn my 5+ fruit and veggie points. You can still earn the extra 2 points for a raw veggie and more veggie than fruit on these days.

Sleeping is really important and I know it is hard to make time for it.  The sleep points are for one chunk of sleep.  If you sleep 5 hours at night and take a 2 hour nap in the day, you can't combine the time and take the points.  This is because you are not reaping the benefits as if you had slept 7 hours at one time.  Part of this challenge is learning to take control of your life again, and that means taking time for you.  Set up boundaries for you and your family and share your goals so that everyone is on board and can help you reach them.

Keep up the good work!  :)

Fruit Smoothie Recipe

1 cup Greek yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk
8 medium strawberries
1 medium peach
1 packet Truvia (optional)

Mix in a blender and serve.  Makes 2 servings.  Per serving: 153 calories, 15g protein, 18g carbs, 1g fat, 2g fiber.

Variation 1: instead of peach use 1/2 cup of mixed berries, 152 calories, 14g protein, 17g carbs, 1g fat, 2g fiber
Variation 2: instead of peach use 1 small banana (6-7") 160 calories, 15g protein, 25g carbs, 1g fat, 3g fiber

Point simplification and New level 3

In an effort to simplify the point system, I am changing the rules for good food points. Instead of eating a full serving of grain or dairy that I have listed on the serving chart, just eat a serving of the food that is listed on the package, then you would get a point.  For instance, some cereals have a ¾ cup serving while others have a 1 cup serving.  Lunch meats are 2 ounces but chicken breasts are 4 ounces.  So if I ate 2 ounces of lunch meat plus 4 ounces of chicken I would get 2 points because I ate a full serving based on the food label of each of them.  If it has a nutrition chart, than follow the serving size for that food and count it.  Without going into a deep food explanation, this will make it easier for people to keep track of their points.  You may end up eating more calories or less depending on how you were doing it before.  So if I ate an apple with string cheese, I would get 2 points.  Fruits and veggies usually don’t have a food label when they are fresh, if they do, follow it, otherwise shoot for 1 cup.  Bread labels usually have 1 slice as a serving so you would get a point for 1 slice (instead of 2 which is technically a full serving of grain).  If you kept a food journal and want to fix your points you can, otherwise just remember we are taking the best 8 of 10 weeks.  I’m sorry to have confused everyone.  I was trying to help you eat a healthy diet, but ended up confusing a lot of you.  Please still try to eat a good diet.  Do not give yourself points for 10 slices of bread.  Try to only count a food once so that you are still getting a variety. This is our trial week so forgive me for so many corrections.  I want it to be user friendly and easy to follow.  Thank you to all who have given such good suggestions.

Also I am adding a new level 3 option.  If you want to be serious about knowing if you are getting enough protein, carb, fat, and fiber then you can add this to your level 3.  First you need to know how many calories you can eat each day by using the formula in the packet.  Based on that number you would want to eat 45% from fruits, veggies, and whole grains; 30% from protein; and 25% from fat. Take your daily calorie budget and ÷ by 4.  So if I could eat 1800 calories I would take 1800 ÷ 4= 450, then take 450 ÷ 2= 225.  You would be able to eat 450 calories for breakfast, lunch and dinner and 225 calories for snacks.  To know how many grams of protein you should eat take 1800 X 0.30= 540, 540÷4=135 grams of protein. You can divide 135 by 4 to know how many grams you should eat per meal.  Fat grams per day are figured by doing 1800 x 0.25= 450, 450÷9= 50, so you would consume no more than 50 grams of fat per day.  Fiber should be between 25 and 30 grams per day. (The 4 and 9 used in the above formula come from the fact that there are 4 calories per gram of protein and carbs, and 9 calories per gram of fat.)  If you want to do this option and need help with the math, then let me know. 

If you have questions, please let me know.  Hopefully this method will clear up any confusion, and simplify the process.

More Clarifications

As far as veggies are concerned, the list includes the most nutritious.  The sky is the limit on veggies.  If you want to eat corn, potatoes, and peas, then do so, just include other veggies in your diet. You would still get points for eating any serving of a veggie. Eat a serving of the good foods to count them, there is a serving size chart at the end of the food list.  Also, shrimp some how did not make it on the list.  So that is a protein and 4 oz uncooked is a serving with 100 calories.  To the proteins you can add sole, shrimp, scallops, and orange roughy.  Also 1/2 cup of fresh salsa is considered a vegetable serving, but it made it on the condiment list, so if you love salsa, dip some veggies in it.  You can count that as one of your veggies for the day on the good list. 

Don't beat yourself up if you don't earn your points for one day.  Just try again tomorrow.  Remember, you can't change your life over night.  Just a reminder, please be honest in your point tracking.  Keep those questions coming. I have read the packet so many times that I look over things.  Thanks everyone for making this a success.

Clarifications on contest rules and food

I want to clarify some things to make sure everyone understands.  You earn exercise points on a daily basis.  You can earn up to 20 points a day.  I highly recommend you get in 5 days a week.  If you miss a day, you just wouldn't get points for that day.  Good food points are for protein, carbohydrates, fruits and veggies.  I used the word whole grains and carbs interchangeably on the point explanation, my mistake.  You do get good food points for eating your fruits and veggies and additional points for getting in your 5+ fruits and veggies, so fruit and veggies do count twice.  This is to encourage you to eat your fruits and veggies.  You will also get additional points for the one raw veggie and more veggies than fruit.  Easy way to get your points.  Beans are considered a protein and a carb, but are on the carb list.  Sugar Cereal would be classified as anything that is not whole grain, has sugar as the first ingredient, and/or high fructose corn syrup in the first 3 ingredients, but best to avoid that one all together.  I understand that the cereal list does not list every possible cereal.  So for you to count your cereal as a good carb for points it needs to contain as it's first ingredient whole oat flour, whole wheat flour or whole grain corn and not be a sugar cereal. I hope this makes sense.  Don't be afraid to ask more questions if you need to.

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