April Challenge Nutritional Commitment

Nutritional commitment for this 30 Day Challenge! 

Participant List:

1.  Storme from Farmington, New Mexico. "I have chosen soda to give up"
2. Nicole from Seattle, Washington. "I'm planning to stick with replacing sugar and white carbs for this challenge."
3. Elisabeth from San Carlos, Mexico. "Limit to 1 cup of coffee a day...I plan to eliminate wheat, maintain my goal weight and expand on exercise."
4. Anna, Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. "I'm sticking with eliminating white carbs and sugar again... Also, I want to stay on the no carbs, no coffee again and will also make sure to have no junk food this month."
5.  June, Dewdney BC "Replacing Sugar, alcohol, soft drinks and coffee are my default replacement foods.My habit to improve is portions eaten at meals. I mostly eat nutritious food, but too much. I will be having 3 meals and 2 snacks per day."
6.  Sheila, Cape Town, South Africa,"I'm going to take stricter control over my carbs, sodium and added sugar; absolutely no processed foods - boxed stuff, I mean."
7. Anna Marie from Philadelphia."My goal for the challenge:
   
   1. Exercise 5 days a week; 2 days to include strength training; 2 days to include yoga; all days need to include 30 minutes cardio. 2. Continue to follow the plan with the end result being a 10 lb loss in April. "
   
8.  Betty, from Vancouver Island, B. "I’m going to stick with the white carbs, sugar, dairy and also haven’t been eating bread so will stick with that. Also going to cut back on the caffeine but not eliminate it."
9.  Trish from Brea: "My default replacements: alcohol and soda, both if which I have minimally now. But my main replacement will be sugar. "
10.  Nina from Oregon."I'm ready to eliminate Sugar (including white carbs/grains) and Dairy."
11.  Crystal, Regina. "
    
    Coffee/black tea - since I'm not a big coffee drinker anyway, I'm going to say black caffeinated tea - specifically my Earl Grey with double bergamot.  During the last challenge my intake dramatically went up along with my herbal teas, but I'd like to keep it more herbal and water than black tea, if for no other reason than the staining of my teeth!
    White Carbs - I'm going to stick with getting even better at getting white carbs out of my diet. To form the habit of having breakfast."
12. Wilma from Manitoba. "I will be replacing soda with water and dairy with almond milk." 
13. Melony from Toronto (that's me!) - Replacing grains, replacing white carbs, having minimal sugar, limit coffee to 3 cups a day.
    
    Signed up April 1st:
    Beth, Pittsburgh, PA.  She is replacing white carbs

For those who are replacing wheat and sugar, here is a recipe for sun-butter chocolate chip cookies you may want to look at, CLICK HERE. (Courtesy of Hannah's Healthy Heaven)

If you are replacing pop, or soda, you might want to check out these helpful hints.

Crystal has come a long way in conquering the soda addiction and she says,

"The two things I have found helpful is keeping my favorite product out of the house and when I really want some I allow myself as much sparkling water as I want. I also try to grab something with protein and a little salt. Seems to make me want water more. "

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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist and motivator who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
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3 Piece Snack Tip # 7 by Chivon

30 Day Challenge participants take note:

You are in for a treat! 

This 30 Day Challenge for life and adventures will include some tips put together by TOBT's Anthony. As a Physiologist and through Achieva Fitness & Wellness Inc., Anthony Pereira attempts to continuously bring/share empowering messages of betterment to all. Train or be Trained (TOBT) is just another way. We at TOBT feel that in order to properly train, we must be strong in 3 aspects- that is why we give tips 3-fold, or better yet- a 3-Piece Snack!!
www.whotrains.com

TIP#7
By Chivon John

Nutrition

Try almond milk for a great regular milk alternatives

Strength

Take pushups to an entirely different level by adding weights

Motivation

if you can make time for everything else, please make time for you

Tips by Chivon

for more on these tips, please watch THIS VIDEO

Thank you to TOBT for these 3 Piece Snacks.

Check with your physician or health care provider that you are clear to participate. I am not a doctor and advice on this site is not meant to take the place of your doctor's advice. 

Subscribe to Fitness Training for Life and Adventures

  

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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist and motivator who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
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Tip # 6 Three Piece Snack by Marius

30 Day Challenge (Part III) March, 2013

Tip # 6

  You are in for a treat! 

This 30 Day Challenge for life and adventures includes some tips put together by TOBT's Anthony. As a Physiologist and through Achieva Fitness & Wellness Inc., Anthony Pereira attempts to continuously bring/share empowering messages of betterment to all. Train or be Trained (TOBT) is just another way. We at TOBT feel that in order to properly train, we must be strong in 3 aspects- that is why we give tips 3-fold, or better yet- a 3-Piece Snack!!
www.whotrains.com

Marius G

Nutrition

- get some bananas- a great all-around power-packed snack

Strength

- a great compound exercise for balance and shoulders

Motivation

- like the activity you do

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

by Marius 

For more on these tips, please watch this short clip.

Check with your physician or health care provider that you are clear to participate. I am not a doctor and advice on this site is not meant to take the place of your doctor's advice. 

Subscribe to Fitness Training for Life and Adventures

  

www.melonyteague.com 
To subscribe to my consolidated newsletter, Click here 
Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist and motivator who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
Join me on facebook. 

3-Piece snack Tip # 3 Ania Anyavar

30 Day Challenge (Part III) March, 2013

Tip # 3

Extra, extra! You are in for a treat! 

This 30 Day Challenge for life and adventures includes some tips put together by TOBT's Anthony. As a Physiologist and through Achieva Fitness & Wellness Inc., Anthony Pereira attempts to continuously bring/share empowering messages of betterment to all. Train or be Trained (TOBT) is just another way. We at TOBT feel that in order to properly train, we must be strong in 3 aspects- that is why we give tips 3-fold, or better yet- a 3-Piece Snack!!
www.whotrains.com

Ania Anyavar

Nutrition

- drink hot water & lemon to aid in digestion

Strength

- strengthen those legs with some lunges

Motivation

-want to get the best of your workout- get a workout partner

by Ania Anyavar

for more on these tips, please watch this short video

 It's worth watching this video for her beautiful accent too!

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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist and motivator who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
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Subscribe to Fitness Training for Life and Adventures

3-Piece Snack tip # 2 from Matt Nelson

30 Day Challenge (Part III) March, 2013

Tip # 2

Extra, extra! You are in for a treat! 

This 30 Day Challenge for life and adventures includes some tips put together by TOBT's Anthony. As a Physiologist and through Achieva Fitness & Wellness Inc., Anthony Pereira attempts to continuously bring/share empowering messages of betterment to all. Train or be Trained (TOBT) is just another way. We at TOBT feel that in order to properly train, we must be strong in 3 aspects- that is why we give tips 3-fold, or better yet- a 3-Piece Snack!!
www.whotrains.com

TIP #2

Matt Nelson

Nutrition

- adding banana peppers for some wonderful kick & vitamins

Strength

- easy exercise to help improve that balance (got a couch cushion?)

Motivation

-being more realistic in your goals

by Matt Nelson

for more on these tips, please watch this short video

I love Matthew's last tip about keeping your goals realistic. I was somebody who over trained for years out of a feeling of obligation and sometimes guilt, not I train because I love it and because I am far more tuned to what my body needs. Having said that, I also learned that there is way more potential in my body that I give it credit for, when I was training by myself, the highest weight was a 10 pound dumbbell, when I trained with Igor Klibanov, that was the minimum weight we used....and you know what, I soon learned that I was underestimating myself. This might seem contradictory to Matt's tip, but really it's not. Heavier weights were more realistic for me, but I was not fulfilling my potential. In the same way, you may be trying to maintain a crazy work out schedule that is something that is not conducive to keeping up as a lifestyle and those goals may need readjusting in order to make them realistic!

TO SUBSCRIBE TO FITNESS TRAINING FOR LIFE AND ADVENTURES BLOG:

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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist and motivator who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
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Subscribe to Fitness Training for Life and Adventures

GEARING UP FOR SUCCESS

WELCOME

30 Day Challenge Part III

I am excited to announce that so far we have an international contingent for PART III of our 30 Day Challenge. Welcome aboard!

If you have not signed up yet, it is not too late, you can do so my emailing me and giving me your name and city. That's all, easy as that.

START March 1, 2013

 

Are you ready to get started?

As you prepare yourself to get started on the 30 Day Challenge Part III I would like to give you some tips to maximize your experience.

TIP # 1
Reduce your coffee intake to only 2 cups a day. Start now.

TIP #2
Make sure you have alternatives on hand such as Green Tea, Flavored Green Tea, Peppermint Tea, herbal Tea and black tea. Pick a flavour that you like. My favorite tea is Green tea with blackcurrant and Vanilla.

TIP # 3
Start getting rid of foods that you will not be eating on the challenge, throw out those cheap and nasty valentines chocolates that look pretty, but taste like hydrogenated fats. Out of sight, out of mind is best! Set yourself up for success, get rid of those things that are not nutritionally beneficial for you. Start looking at food as fuel and not attached to an emotionally satisfying thing.

Tip # 4
Increase your water and tea intake a few days before we start.

Tip #5
Investigate exercise options that you can do on the challenge, dust off those dumbbells, pump up that exercise ball, dig out your walking or running shoes. You are going to need them. Download a fun playlist, set yourself up for success. Don't wait until day 1 to say, "Okay, now what am I going to do?"

Tip # 6
Get your mind in the right place, get excited about the change you will see, about the journey of self discovery you are about to embark on. Think about how wonderful it is going to be to get to the end of the challenge and feel so good about it all. You can do this, I know you can.

  

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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
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10 Tips from Igor - Summary

Here is a summary of all Igor's advice so far on the Challenge! 

Tip  1:  Don't focus on eliminating. Instead, think about replacing.

When you eliminate something it leaves a "black hole", and sets up a sense of deprivation. Replacing doesn't have this effect. My approach is for people to only replace one thing and only until they don't feel that it's different anymore... they have to wait long enough for that one thing to be second nature and 'just the way it is' before replacing 'one more thing'.

Tip 2:  Igor says, " Do you want motivation in a pill? Take a high quality multi-vitamin and fish oil. Why does your body get cravings? Because the body intuitively knows that it's missing certain nutrients. So by supplementing with a high quality multi-vitamin and fish oil, you give the body what it needs. I want to emphasize "high-quality", because most products on the market are very poor. One of the worst is centrum. Pick from one of these 4 companies: Metagenics, AOR, Genestra or Thorne. Metagenics is the best I know, but it's not readily accessible. If you want to know what determines supplement quality, read this article: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2012/07/16/nutritional-supplement/

Tip 3:  Tell everyone you know about what you're doing. It's one thing to share it online with anonymous strangers, but it's another thing to tell people that you see every day. To learn some other strategies to help you succeed, check out this article: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2012/04/30/how-stay-motivated/

Tip 4: Measure, measure, measure. If you're not assessing, you're guessing. But measure the right things. If your diet is changing for the better and you're doing some form of resistance training, the scale and measuring tapes are just not enough. For instance, if you're measuring circumference, your hip and upper thigh measurements might actually go up, but you're losing body fat. If you can get access to someone qualified in using skinfold calipers, get that assessment every 2-4 weeks. Here's an article on the problems with different methods of assessing body fat: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2012/10/17/body-mass-index-body-fat/

Tip 5: Change your thinking. A naturally fit person looks forward to exercise for its own sake. Not for the end goal. So find some exercise you like. Although I believe that resistance training is essential. If you don't like resistance training, do it with a friend, and just do it 1-2 times per week, but put a lot of effort into it. To learn more about how naturally fit people think, check out this article: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2012/05/22/how-naturally-fit-people-think/

Tip 6: Cardio is good, but don't do too much of it, and don't do it exclusively. A lot of people run into problems when they start doing cardio more than 3 times per week for 30 minutes, or if that's all they do. The problem: they start to put on body fat. Surprise! To understand why doing excessive and exclusive cardio can make you put on body fat, read this article: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2012/02/13/aerobic-exercise-can-make-you-fat/

Tip 7: If you want to lose belly fat, crunches are not the way to go. In fact, crunches may actually increase your risk of back injury. Here are the best abdominal exercises: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2013/01/03/abdominal-exercises/

Tip 8: Sometimes you don't always have access to a gym. There are lots of options for things you can do without any equipment whatsoever. Read up on isometrics and dynamic tension here: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2012/07/09/bodyweight-exercise-no-equipment-little-time/

Tip 9: Do you have a hard job, and no time or energy to exercise? First and foremost, kill the energy zappers. Then start to think about exercise. Energy zappers include poor breathing, poor posture and poor nutrition. Learn how to improve these here: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2013/01/03/no-time-or-energy-to-exercise-plug-the-energy-leaks/

Tip 10: Proper breathing is very underrated. We all know that proper breathing is essential to both relaxation and endurance, but did you know that improper breathing can cause shoulder problems and lower back pain? To correct your breathing, focus on breathing into your belly, and do that for 5 minutes a day. Read more about that here: http://www.torontofitnessonline.com/2012/03/26/breathing-improperly/

www.melonyteague.com 
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Melony Teague a freelance writer and columnist who lives in Canada with her husband and two young children.
Founder of "Secrets of Body Transformation from the Inside Out" 
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