Body in Balance: Learning about Alkalinity

Let’s talk about keeping our bodies in balance. A body that is in balance means a body that is more alkaline. A more alkaline body means better immune function and increased energy. Our bodies have a natural process to keep our pH levels balanced, but research shows that an unhealthy diet can cause our body’s pH to become more acidic. This can make you to feel out of balance and one way our bodies react to excess acidity is to create new fat cells to absorb the acid.

• Caffeine, dairy, red meat, processed grains, alcohol and fried foods require your body to use acidic processes.  Leafy veggies, citrus fruits and spicy peppers work to create an alkaline environment in your body during digestion.  Combine these foods to stay neutral.
• Squeeze a bit of lemon in your water, drink green juices & smoothies for some alkalizing power.
• Try a Kombucha tea or a shot of apple cider vinegar mixed with apple juice in the morning.
• Stress also contributes to an acidic, out of balanced state, so getting your daily workout will help too!

Sticking with our lean, clean and green diet (that we talked about a while back) will encourage the metabolic processes that keep us in balance and prohibit those fat cells from growing.

The Ultimate Summer Salad

With the weekend speeding our way, I wanted to share a delicious, summery salad with you.  Take this to a BBQ or share it with Dad this weekend.  It is bursting with flavor, packed with seasonal veggies, and you can eat it for any meal on your Bode plan (though you might not want it for breakfast). It packs well in mason jars for picnics too!

Head down to your local farmers' market to pick up the ingredients.  I love shopping at farmers markets for the freshest, most in-season veggies.  Beautiful colors, crunchy textures, and sublime taste make eating your veggies super easy in summertime. And veggies are a freebie... eat as many as you want!!

Ultimate Summer Salad

3 ears corn, kernels cut off the cob
1 red pepper
2 cups green beans, cut in pieces
1 cup shelled, frozen edamame beans
1 pint heirloom cherry tomatoes
1 jalapeno, sliced in thin slices
1-1/2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon raw honey
Zest from one lime
10 leaves basil, chiffonaded
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Roast red peppers, cut into thick strips, and corn with a drizzle of olive oil and some sea salt at 400°F for 10 minutes.  When the peppers are done, dice and add to the salad.

Boil green beans and edamame beans for about 3-5 minutes.  Drain the water, then immediately submerge beans in a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process.

Whisk together dressing ingredients: lime juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime zest, and honey.  Pour over the vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with basil.

Healthy Travel Tips

Summer is usually a heavier time for travel, whether it be roadtripping or hopping on a plane for vacation!  Or maybe you travel all the time for work... Being away from the comforts of home - a kitchen, our gym, our favorite grocery stores - can make it harder to stay on track!  But we don't have to let travelling slip us up.  Here are some tips:

• Pack snacks for the road, plane, and your hotel room
  • Nuts or homemade trail mix (almonds, pepitas, dark chocolate, dried fruit)
  • Fruits and veggies
  • Prepackaged nut butters
  • Bode Shake packets]
  • Bars - Kind Bars, Clif Bar MOJO, LARA bars
  • Roasted chickpeas
  • Lean turkey or bison jerky
• Stick to your 5 meal per day schedule as closely as you can.
• Make room for your workout gear in that suitcase!
• Hydrate!!
  • Drink plenty of water - flying can be especially dehydrating.
  • Bring your own refillable water bottle... just make sure it is empty before you go through security!
  • Aim for 8-16 ounces per hour in flight.
  • Skip the soda and juices (and alcohol!) on the plane.  These will leave you feeling bloated and icky.
• Aim to eat a full meal before you head to the airport or out on the road.  If you have a super early flight, at least have a banana or yogurt before going to the airport.
• Have a layover?  Walk the concourse a few times rather than sitting to wait for your next flight.
• Head out for a run when you reach your destination!  Ask your hotel's concierge for a safe route or look up routes on Map My Run before you go.  Running can be an amazing way to see a new city.
• Pick up a piece of tubing at your local hardware store to do some resistance training in your hotel room.  The tube won't take up any room in your suitcase, but you can get a great burn on with it!
• Get creative with your workouts!  Find a park and use it to do a circuit workout.
• Ask your hotel for a refrigerator or to clear out your mini-bar so you can stock it with healthy snacks.
• Split your meals when you go out to restaurants.
• Most of all, have fun!! Enjoy yourself and the local cuisine.  Don't be too hard on yourself if you indulge a little bit!

Stretch it Out

One of the keys to long, lean muscles and recovery from our workouts is proper stretching. Integrate stretching into your daily activities to:

• Improve flexibility and range of motion
• Increase circulation to increase energy
• Alleviate lower back pain
• Reduce stress
• Improve coordination

Before you exercise, think about doing “active” stretches to warm up your muscles. Here are some examples. After your workout, make sure to hold your stretches for 15 seconds before releasing.

Here are a few routines to get you started:

Triathlon Stretch —Tone It Up

Stretching for Flexibility or Relax with Me Stretch— Blogilates

Stretch and release your stress and tension away!

Weekly Challenge 5 and Strength Pyramid Workout

Whew! It's been busy lately, but don't think that I've forgotten you!  Our challenge for this week is to work on our strength and start incorporating more strength into our routines.

Challenge:  There are a few ways to meet this challenge.
- If you currently weight lift, challenge yourself to 1) increase the weight you lift, 2) increase your reps, or 3) try a new move out!!

- If you take group fitness classes, try out a heavier weight next time you go to class.

- If you aren't currently incorporating strength into your workouts, start with the pyramid below.  Do it 2-3x this week!

Let us know on the Facebook page how you are getting stronger this week!! Remember strong muscles burn lots of calories! And muscles take up way less room in the body than fat, so we look leaner when we are stronger :)

Protein Pancakes

 

Protein Pancakes are a fantastic thing.  You feel like you are eating such a treat, but in reality, you are eating something that is relatively good for you!  Full of protein and nutrients, these pancakes will help you start your day off right! This is a variation on a blueberry protein pancake that I posted on my other blog, if you don't have protein powder at home, you can make those instead.  I find that this version is just closer in texture to a regular pancake.

I use Vemma's Chris Powell Bode shake powder in vanilla for my pancakes.

Protein Pancakes

2 egg whites
1/2 mashed, ripe banana
1 scoop (about 30 grams) protein powder (I used vanilla flavor)
Dash of cinnamon
Optional: 1 tablespoon ground flax
Beat the egg whites slightly before whisking in the other ingredients.  Cook over low heat until bubbles form in the batter, flip and cook for another few minutes until both sides are golden brown.

Top these with fruit, yogurt, coconut, nuts, whatever you want!

Meditation Tips

Reducing our stress is important for weight loss.  When we are stressed, our bodies produce cortisol, which contributes to weight gain!  One great activity to reduce stress is meditation!  Take some quiet time to yourself once a day or a few times a week to help relieve stress and center yourself.  Here are a few tips:

1) Breathing - pay attention to your breathing. Focusing on your breath will help you to quiet your mind.  If necessary, count your breaths.

2) Focus your mind - you want to quiet your thoughts and be present in the moment. Come back to your breathing whenever you feel your mind start to wander.

3) Posture - sit up straight, don't slouch over.  It will be easier to breathe and focus.

4) Purpose - meditation is an active process.  Go into it with a clear purpose.  That way you won't feel like you are sitting there wasting your time.

5) Timing - pick a time that works best for you.  Consider meditating first thing in the morning, when there are fewer things to distract you or worry you.  Starting the day off on this quiet, peaceful note sets a great tone for the rest of the day!

Lean, Clean and Green

In addition to your carb cycling, I want to introduce the concept of eating “lean, clean, and green.” We are going to cycle our carbs, but I also really want you to focus on these things:

• Lean: focus on lean protein sources like fish, chicken, turkey, bison, tempeh, etc.
• Clean: look for minimally processed ingredients—whole grains, ingredients that look familiar, etc.  It helps to do the perimeter trick when you are at the grocery store… avoid the aisles of processed foods that are found in the middle of the store, and instead shop in the produce, meat, dairy sections as much as possible.
• Green: eat as many vegetables as you can, particularly leafy greens like spinach, broccoli, kale, arugula, Brussels sprouts, zucchini. Pile these on your plate. The benefits are amazing—better skin, hair and nails; improved immune function; improved digestion from the fiber and enzymes; and on and on!

Let’s keep these things in mind as we are eating. I’m not talking about changing everything all at once, and life is too short to not enjoy it and enjoy our meals. BUT when we can, let’s go for the GREEN and ditch the processed junk food. We will feel better and be fueling our bodies with the good stuff!

Weekly Challenges 4

This week, there will be a prize up for grabs for completing the challenge!! My blender bottle is my absolute favorite thing.  I keep it at work along with a bag of Chocolate Bode Shakes so that I can easily make a shake to curb my chocolate cravings for my meal 4 of the day when I haven't brought enough snacks.  Two of you will win a blender bottle for commenting below or checking in with the group.

Challenge for Week 4:

Get active with a friend or family member!! Schedule a workout date together. Go enjoy the outdoors.  Pick a class to try out together.  It's up to you, just make it happen.

Working out with a partner will help to hold you accountable, make your workout more enjoyable, and likely cause you to give a little bit of an extra effort!  We all finally have great weather, so it's a great time to get outside and make some fun memories with a friend, all while sticking to our healthy lifestyle goals!

So, tell us about your workout with your friend or better yet, post a photo on the Facebook page! You have til next Tuesday to share.

The Importance of Protein

Protein is an essential building block for our bodies and we should be aiming to eat some at every meal.

• How much protein do we need?  About 50-60% of our bodyweight in grams of protein every day! (E.g., if you weigh 150 pounds, aim for 75-90 grams daily)
• How much protein is in a serving? About the size and thickness of the palm of your hand.
• Stick to lean options - chicken, turkey, fish, tempeh, tofu, bison, eggs, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, etc.
• What are the benefits??
  • Increasing your protein intake helps boost your metabolic rate, particularly when you include some protein at every meal (all 5!).  This means that protein helps you burn the most calories!
  • It also helps you to rebuild your muscles after you workout! Bigger, stronger muscles take up less room in the body than fat and help us burn more calories every day!
  • Protein helps us to stay fuller for longer, since it takes longer to digest than carbs or fats.

Eating more protein was one of the biggest contributors to my success in losing weight.  It can be hard to fit enough protein in, especially for snacks, but your Bode Burn makes a great option - it has 20 grams of protein in an easy to drink formula.

Carb Swaps

I definitely find that I miss my “carbs” on low-carb days.  There is just something familiar about having my plate sectioned out as protein, carbs, and vegetables. So, today let’s talk about some fake-outs, some alternatives to our familiar pasta, potatoes, and rice. These fake-outs happen to be quite delicious and super easy to make too! And they are all vegetables, and you are allowed to eat as many vegetables as you want!

Cauliflower

Cauliflower is magical. I swear. I hated cauliflower for most of my life and now… I LOVE it! Here’s why:

• Cauliflower rice: put the rice in a food processor, pulse until the size of rice.  Then sauté in a pan on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes with garlic and spices.
• Or try these Cauliflower Mashed “potatoes”
• Or Cauliflower pizza crust

Zucchini

Zucchini is one of my other favorite vegetables. It also happens to make a mean alternative to pasta. What?! Yes, use this in place of pasta.

 

Zucchini noodles: To serve 4, Heat a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Using a mandolin or vegetable peeler, carefully slice the zucchini lengthwise, starting at one end and ending on the other end. Add the zucchini slices to the boiling water and cook very quickly, just 1-2 minutes so zucchini is tender, but does not fall apart.

 

Check out this cool vegetable spiralizer!!

 

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is also quite magical (yes, I think it’s magic that we can sub veggies for carbs!).  I love to roast my spaghetti squash (apparently you can cook it in the microwave too).

To roast, preheat the oven to 400. Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Spray with olive oil cooking spray, then put the squash cut-side down on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Roast for 40-45 minutes. Let cool slightly, then scrape out the inside of the squash with 2 forks.

Positive Self Talk

One of the biggest challenges that we have as women is the constant stream of negativity coming from all directions about women’s bodies and what they should or shouldn’t look like. Too fat. Too skinny. Too muscular. Everyone seems to have an opinion. And of course women aren't the only ones who face negativity.  It can be disheartening and discouraging. We may be thinking, “oh I will never look like that” or “I will never be able to lose enough weight” or “ugh, that muffin top is the bane of my existence.” Or maybe you are like me and no matter how hard you work, you aren't satisfied.  We are often our own biggest critic and can be so hard on ourselves sometimes!

Well, let’s instead focus on the good stuff and focus on how awesome our bodies are and how lucky we are to be in good health. Our bodies keep us functioning, our bodies are strong, our bodies are miraculous. And most of all, our bodies are beautiful.  We all need to be kind and gentle with ourselves.

So, let’s focus on positive self talk. Keep your tone with yourself positive and focused on the things that are going well. Pick a mantra and post it somewhere you can see it.  That way, when you start to doubt yourself or feel bad that you ate something you felt you shouldn't or missed a workout, you can come back to the positive side of things and instead of dwelling, you can pick yourself up and refocus!

Remember, you are beautiful, smart, and kind. Your body is an amazing thing. And most of all, I think you are awesome!

Getting Your Zzzzz's

Getting enough sleep is crucial to good health.  When we sleep our bodies have time to recover, our cells replenish, and new tissue is created and growth hormones are released.  These things can only happen when we sleep, so if we aren't getting enogh, our bodies are missing out!  Plus, not getting enough sleep causes our bodies to release cortisol and cortisol contributes to weight gain. Yikes!! So, sleep is important... but you already knew that!  How can you get more or better sleep then?

• Turn off your electronics at least 30 minutes (ideally up to 1 hour) before you are ready to go to bed. Our electronics emit a short wavelength blue light that interferes with the production of melatonin and melatonin is essential for a good night's sleep.
• Create a bedtime ritual.  Doing the same thing every night before bed can give our body cues that it is time to go to sleep.
• Try journaling.  Write down your worries or everything that you want to remember for the morning, and then tuck your journal away until tomorrow when you can deal with those worries or start working on your to-do list.
• Read positive affirmations or meditate.  This allows the last thing you experience to be positive and helps to shut out negative thoughts that might keep you tossing and turning throughout the night.

Sweet Dreams Everyone!

Weekly Challenge 3

Challenge: Sometimes, especially with a plan like carb cycling, it is easy to get into a rut.  We want to avoid ruts, because they lead to plateaus and we want to continue to see progress so that we can reach the goals that we have set for ourselves!  Your challenge this week is to try 2 new things: a new workout and a new recipe! THEN, I want you to share with the group what you tried.  Tell us your impressions of the workout and share the link to the recipe you made! Easy as pie!

Looking for recipes, some of my favorite places to look:

Cooking Light for quick and easy options, Oh She Glows for vegetarian and vegan, Clean Eating for simple, healthy meals, PaleOMG since paleo has lots of lower-carb options

Summer Bode HIIT

One way to blast fat and get a full body workout even in a short amount of time is to do a HIIT—high intensity interval training — workout, like the one below. You don’t need any equipment or a gym. You can do this workout anytime, anywhere, so there are no excuses! The exercises in our HIIT workout use our big muscle groups too, so they really get you fired up.

Free at Home Workouts

There are so many amazing, free resources out there for at-home workouts, which means that there are no excuses for not getting in at least a little bit of exercise.  Many of these workouts are short and to the point too, so they can be great for squeezing in activity when you are busy.  Finally, these workouts often require minimal or no equipment, so if you are traveling and have an internet connection, you can still do your workout in your hotel room!

Here are a few great sites:

Tone It Up - one of my favorites!! Karena and Katrina have great workouts that target all those trouble areas - booty, arms, abs - and have total body, HIIT and cardio workouts as well.

Blogilates - lots of quick workouts set to fun music!

BeFit - new workouts added every single day from celebrity trainers!

FitnessBlender - choose your training type, target area, and difficulty level for full length at home workouts!

Tara Stiles - for yoga at home

PopSugar Fitness - lots of quick workouts!

Jessica Smith TV - tons of 10-minute workouts, workouts for every level, all in the comfort of your own home.

Low-Carb Day Snacks and Mini Frittata

On the Bode plan, we are trying to eat 5 meals per day, as you all know by now. We eat every few hours in order to keep our metabolism firing all day long and to ensure that we never reach that point where we feel like we are starving. I know my family is probably a lot happier when I am eating more frequently, because its less likely that I get “hangry” haha!

I find that figuring out what to eat during our mid-morning and mid-afternoon meals can be a bit challenging though, especially for our low-carb days! So, I’m here today with a few ideas… and sharing an old recipe:

• Pre-cut up vegetables to have ready to eat at anytime, I like carrots and red peppers. Cherry tomatoes are great too, just pre-wash them.
• Add some turkey breast for a protein boost. Look for the ones labeled organic, low-sodium, and nitrate free if you are buying deli meat. I also like to roast my own turkey breast, then slice it thinly.
• Plain Greek yogurt and cottage cheese
• Remember your healthy fats: avocado, nuts and almond butter are great options
• Eggs!!! See your recipe below.

Roasted Tomato and Pepper Mini-Frittatas

1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
1 teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
5 eggs
1/3 cup skim milk
1/3 cup crumbled garlic and herb feta*

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Dice the pepper into chunks and mix with the halved grape tomatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then season with salt and pepper and stir to coat everything.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread the tomatoes and peppers in a single layer.  Roast for 15 minutes at 425.  Turn the oven temperature down to 350 when the vegetables have finished roasting.

Whisk together eggs and skim milk.  Season with freshly ground black pepper.  Stir in the feta cheese and then the roasted vegetables.

Grease a muffin tin.  Fill the cups about 1/2 way with the egg and vegetable mixture.  Bake for 20 minutes at 350F.  Allow to cool slightly before removing the mini frittatas from the pan.  Option to serve with basil and balsamic reduction (though I didn't, I think it would be a great idea).

*Or you could use regular feta, but add 1 clove minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon each of dried basil and oregano.

Positive Mind, Positive Life

The journey to a healthier life is as much about what you eat and how much you workout as it is about how you feel about yourself and how you approach life.  It can also be a challenging journey at times and staying positive can be the key to achieving the results you want and to maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

I'm a firm believer that attitude is everything.  The way that we approach each day can have such a big effect on how that day turns out for us.  When we are negative, we see every situation in a negative light, looking for excuses instead of solutions.  When we are positive, we see every situation as an opportunity to grow, learn, and love.

It took me a long time to figure this out and a long time of living with a fairly negative attitude.  I made excuses, I was unhappy, and instead of changing my situation, I just let myself drift along.  So what changed?  I believe there are 3 main things that helped me change my outlook from glass half empty to glass half full.

1) Gratitude:  When you are grateful, you automatically focus on the positive things in your life and when you live each day with a grateful heart, you find even more positive things come your way. Try this: Spend a few minutes each morning or before you go to bed writing down 3-5 things that you are grateful for.  Do this at least once a week for a month.

2) Goals: Having goals to work toward allows me to stay on track, because I have a bigger purpose.  When I am working toward a goal, I know that I have to be in the right mindset on a daily basis in order to stay motivated and keep pushing myself.  Giving myself check-points and tracking my progress helps me keep a positive attitude even in the face of setbacks.  I can always look at how far I have come instead of dwelling on something negative.  Try this: Write down your short and long-term goals (related to family, fitness, career, or anything your heart desires).  Save your goals where you can see them daily.

3) Giving: Focusing on helping others instead of myself also keeps me positive.  When we help other people and do nice things for those we love, we receive feelings of happiness and satisfaction.  Try this: Do something nice for a friend, family member, or even a stranger. Buy them a coffee, write a sweet note just because, or invite them to lunch.

Overall, it takes a lot of self-awareness to live a positive and happy life.  You have to constantly check-in with yourself and evaluate how you are feeling in reaction to particular events, people, or places.  It may sound harsh, but keep the stuff that makes you happy and eliminate the stuff that stresses you out and makes you unhappy.

Guilt Free Day 101

Guilt Free days can be a bit of a challenge.  Often you feel like you've worked so hard, and maybe you don't think you should "splurge" or maybe you are afraid you won't be able to get back on track.  But the Guilt Free day is built into the carb cycle for a reason… and that reason is to keep your body guessing and to fulfill those cravings that you may have, because let’s be honest, our lives are meant to be enjoyed and denying ourselves certain foods is not enjoyable! A few things to keep in mind:

• Eat your guilt free meal away from the house. Go to your favorite restaurant instead of bringing treats into the house.
• Remember to drink plenty of water!!
• Don't skip your workout. Even if you do something light - take a walk, do some gentle yoga, etc.
• Weigh yourself before the day begins. Your weight will fluctuate throughout the carb cycle, this is normal as you retain water on high carb days and flush it out on low carb days.
• Remember that this guilt free day is only revving your metabolism up even more! This gets you ready for your next cycle!
• You should be consuming about 1000 calories more than usual on your guilt free day.

Hopefully that is helpful! Remember, our goal is build these habits in a sustainable way, so that we reach our goals without completely depriving ourselves!

Weekly Challenge 2

Challenge #1: 

Think about one small “bad” habit that you want to break and one small “good” habit to start practicing. This should not be something big, just something small and manageable.  Your new habits should be something that will improve your happiness and bring you closer to your goals!  Our lives are made up of lots of tiny actions, but they can add up to something big!  Remember, it takes 21 days to create a new habit, so stick with it!
Some ideas of good habits:

• Setting your alarm for 15 minutes earlier in the morning so you can get up for a quick meditation session or half of your daily exercise.
• Putting your electronics away 30 minutes before bed to encourage a better sleep.
• Packing your gym bag in the evening before bed, so it's ready for the next day.

I will let you decide what bad habits you might want to break.  I will write a post on breaking bad habits later this week!

Challenge #2:

Along the lines of challenge one, I want you to get into the habit of planning for success!  This week, your challenge is to plan out 3 of your workouts right now.  Tell us on the Facebook group or in the comments what you plan to do, then later, tell us that you've completed those workouts!  Making time for your workouts is key.  We all lead busy lives and it can be so easy to skip a workout if we are feeling pressure from other areas of life, but I guarantee you won't regret that workout.  So put it into your calendar and make time for yourself!
Here are mine:

• Sunday morning: 45 minute bike ride outside!
• Tuesday night: Track Practice
• Thursday night: Swim!

Bode Shake Remixes

I love the original Vanilla and Chocolate Bode options, but for my personal carb cycling plan, I like to pump up my morning smoothie with the addition of greens and extra fruit for some added carbs.  Try these as options for your high-carb days or your first meal of the day.

Green Goodness 

1 scoop Vemma Bode in Vanilla

2 handfuls spinach or kale

1/2 banana

1/4 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 tablespoon all natural peanut butter or almond butter

Dash of cinnamon

1 cup skim milk (if you use almond milk or water, use 2 scoops of Bode powder)

 

Peach Ginger

1 scoop Vemma Bode Vanilla powder

1 peach

1/2 banana

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 cup buttermilk

Exercise on the Summer Bode Challenge

Let’s talk about exercise… Getting our bodies moving is one of the keys to achieving our weight loss goals. For the Summer Bode Challenge, we are going to aim for 30 minutes of activity per day.  You don’t need to spend hours at the gym, but you do need to make the most of your 30 minutes.  My preference is that you are incorporating both cardio and strength activities into your workouts (you don't have to do both everyday, as long as you mix it up throughout the week).  For cardio: walk, run, swim, bike, jump rope, hop on the elliptical, rollerblade, etc.  Just get that heart rate up (ideally at or above 130 BPM).  For strength: take a fitness class, do bodyweight exercises (like pushups, situps, squats), or do some traditional weightlifting.  I want you to focus on using lots of different muscle groups!

So, let’s aim to schedule activity into our day. Make a date with your health and make your workouts feel like important meetings that you have set with yourself! Think about how you can incorporate more activity into your day:

• Do you sit at a desk all day? Get up and go for a walk at lunch time.
• Waiting for someone? Do 10 squats.
• Watching TV? Do sit-ups during the commercial break.
• If you are already really active, is there something new you could try to mix things up? Like a new class at the gym or perhaps upping the intensity of your current workout?

Fall Without Failing

I had the privilege over the weekend to see Chris Powell in person and to participate in a workout with him.  It was awesome. Chris is so inspiring and motivating and just adorable in person.  One of the key messages of Chris' talk was to "fall without failing" and this is a big theme that Chris and Heidi use with their Extreme Weightloss challengers.  And it is something that I want all of us to remember as we embark on the next 6 weeks.  It is okay to fall, but what matters most is that we dust ourselves off and get right back on track. So how do we do that?

• Confess: Admit to yourself and others when you've fallen off track or fallen short of your goals. Find someone who you trust to talk to about this.  Connect with your fellow challengers. Be honest with yourself, but don't beat yourself up about it!!
• Reassess:  Think through why you may have fallen off track or short of your goals.  How can you do things differently?  Where can you make adjustments to get back on track?
• Recommit: Get back to it!! Set a new goal and get back to action.  One of my favorite sayings is: "Fall 7 times, get up 8."

This group is here for you.  We want you to be successful.  Just because you fall off track, doesn't mean you have failed!  Falling down is a great opportunity to reset and go harder than before.  Sometimes falling helps us to see what we need to change and those adjustments can be just what we need to achieve our goals.

Hydration is Key for Weight Loss

 

Staying well hydrated is key to the proper functioning of our bodies and to weight loss! Our bodies are 60% water, and water is essential for carrying nutrients (like those found in Vemma) to our cells and flushing toxins out of the body. We often mistake feelings of dehydration for hunger, which can lead to us eating when we really just need a glass of water!

How much do we need?

It is recommended that you drink at least half your body weight in water, so a 150 pound person needs 75 ounces of water (or 2.2 liters or 9-10 cups)

Why else should we drink water?

• Drinking a glass of water first thing in the morning can help kick your metabolism into gear.
• Dehydration can lead to fatigue, crankiness, digestive issues, and dry skin, among other things.
• Hydrating post-workout to replace the fluid lost through sweat also helps repair our muscles.

Tips for getting in your ounces:

• Mark a water bottle with lines to show when you should be finished drinking.
• Get a 1 liter water bottle.  If you fill it up 2-3 times per day, that's your daily required intake! It makes it easy to keep track.
• Infuse your water with fruit (berries, citrus) and herbs (basil, mint, etc.)
• Do you have any other tips to share?? What works for you?

You may be wondering, “what the heck is carb cycling??” It is the foundation of the Chris Powell plan and it will be important to understand what it is to get the maximum benefits from it. With carb cycling, we alternate low and high carb days to allow our bodies to achieve a maximum metabolism boost and calorie burn. We also have a guilt-free day to help us keep from plateauing on our journey. We will stick to the schedule as much as possible.

• Low-carb days: Breakfast includes one serving of smart carbs
• High-carb days: All 5 meals include one serving of smart carbs

Your smart carbs include: dairy, fruit, sweet potatoes, legumes, grains (quinoa, couscous, oatmeal, etc.), and more!  You want complex carbs (with the exception of fruit, which is a simple carb, but full of nutrients and often fiber). Complex carbs take longer to digest and therefore provide you with energy over a longer time period.
See the plan for a more complete list of protein, veggie, and carb sources.

For this particular program, we follow this schedule:

While we don’t eat carbs often, they are our friend. Carbs are the perfect fuel for our bodies and they are really important. They fire up our metabolism and get our internal engine revving. Chris Powell in his book “Choose to Lose,” shares his four keys to weight loss success and number 2 is “eat carbohydrates!

When we have high-carb days, our bodies are in muscle building mode and carbs contribute to that process. When we switch to low-carb days, our metabolism stays high and we burn fat. So carb cycling allows us to predominately burn fat, while maintaining and building our muscles! Six-packs for everyone!

 

SMART Goal Setting

When you sit down to write down your goals (and I do recommend physically writing them down), keep the S.M.A.R.T. acronym in mind:

Specific:

• What are you going to do? What do you want to ultimately accomplish?
• How are you going to do it? Set out specific steps, break it into manageable pieces.

Measurable:

• Make sure your goal can be measured so that you can keep track of your progress. This is easy in something like weight loss, but you may have other goals, so get creative.

Attainable:

• Is your goal within your own control and influence? Your goal should be a stretch, but it should be achievable within the allotted timeframe.

Realistic:

• This goes hand-in-hand with attainable goals. Your goal should be something you are physically capable of achieving.

Time-sensitive:

• This one is easy. Your goal should be achievable by the end of the 6-weeks!

Week 1 Challenges

Instead of daily challenges, we will have weekly challenges.  Sometimes there will only be one activity to complete, but this week we have 2!

Challenge #1: Take your "Before" Photo and your measurements

 

• A picture speaks a thousand words! The number on the scale can hold some meaning, but I find that a photo helps me to see the changes in my body when the number on the scale may not be moving.  Our bodies will undergo a lot of changes over the next 6 weeks and I don't want you to be discouraged.
• Measurements also help us to see the changes that are happening in our bodies. We can expect that we will become tighter and more toned through this process!  So take the following measurements:
  • Thighs
  • Waist (just below your belly button)
  • Hips

 

Challenge #2: Write down your goals! 

• These goals should be SMART goals. See this post on setting SMART goals
• Pick your top 3 goals, then write down 2-3 steps that you will take to achieve those goals
• Find a cute journal to write these in or print them out and post them somewhere you will see them daily!

Check in with your fellow challengers on the Facebook page or in the comments here when you have completed these 2 challenges!

Welcome to the Summer Bode Challenge

 

Thank you for making a commitment to have the best, healthiest, most confident summer of your life.  As a group, we are going to motivate each other and hold each other accountable as we work toward our health and fitness goals.  It is up to you to stick to the plan, but we will all be here with you every day to cheer you on and encourage you!  The changes we are making are changes for life, changes for a healthier and happier life!
What can  you expect from the next 6 weeks?

• Motivation from your fellow challengers! Join the Facebook group.  We are also working on another way to connect with each other for those who don't have Facebook.
• A new way of eating - Carb Cycling! We will have a post on carb cycling 101 soon.  For now, check out the Bode plan for details.
• Weekly challenges related to your eating, fitness, and overall well-being! These are designed to push you out of your comfort zone a little bit.
• Prizes! We will have a few small prizes throughout, as well as prizes for our "winners." More on what to do to "win" later.
• Lots of knowledge. Come visit the blog daily for posts, videos, and other content that will help explain our program and give you the knowledge you need to live your healthiest, happiest life!

Let's rock this challenge together and make this our best summer yet!