Spring Into Summer Challenge - Week 2

Summer is around the corner - are you ready?

Our 4 week challenge will make sure that you are. With just a few short weeks until Memorial Day we realize that the time for sundresses, Daisy Dukes, and that bathing suit is fast approaching. The Spring into Summer Challenge urges you to take on more than you think you are capable of in an effort to get you outside your comfort zone and seeing results.

The challenge urges you to set four goals each week: eating right, moving more, changing behavior and finding support. These are the cornerstones of any successful health and fitness lifestyle.

WEEK 2: DIG IN

Eating Smarter: This week is all about snacks. One of our greatest dangers for any person trying to eat smarter is the threat of unaddressed hunger. Do you often skip meals in an attempt to shed a few pounds only to find yourself the victim of an unrelenting hunger that catches you off guide and making bad food choices? The best way to help in the lifelong fight of healthy eating habits is to snack. Yes, you heard me right....have a snack....it is a proven fact that the thermal effect of food ignites the metabolism engines of the body and aides in burning calories. So no matter how strange it may sound to you, if you are on a quest to lose weight you need to eat at regular intervals throughout the day and that includes snacks! Now not just any snack will do, you need to be prepared. So this weeks challenge is for you to brainstorm and make sure you carry two or three great snacks with you each day. Regardless of how you spend your day, at home, at work or at play, you will need to be prepared. Take a moment to list 10 healthy, low calorie snacks. They should be snacks that are portable in the sense that they can withstand several hours without refrigeration if needed. Struggling to think of great snack ideas and how to implement them into your day?

Our examples: Boxed raisins, low fat granola fruit and nut bars, small bunch of grapes or fruit choices, whole wheat crackers and thinly sliced cheese, baby carrots, celery sticks, pre-packaged apple slices.

Check out: My Pyramid for more ideas about healthy snacking and your calorie intake needs.

We KNOW that you have already planned your smaller servings of a well rounded breakfast, lunch and dinner now you can shave those meals back ever so slightly to add 2-3 nutritious snacks into the course of your day. This practice keeps the metabolism running , the blood sugar level, and the hunger monster at bay.

Move More: This week we ask that you continue to follow last week's additional class prescription while adding resistance training into the mix. Sound difficult? Already feeling good about getting yourself started in the exercise department? Or perhaps your already feeling overloaded. Don't forget, this 4 week challenge isn't about comfort - it's about pushing your limits, getting results and then you can coast. This week add one of our resistance-type exercise classes into your workout week. If you are already attending a class, your challenge is to use a heavier resistance during that class. If you are currently using 3 pound weights, increase to using 5 pounds, 5 pounds to 8 pounds, 8 pounds to 10 pounds. If you can't make a resistance class commit to adding a daily "at home" 10 minute session into your schedule. That could be something as simple as doing push-ups or crunches. You will be amazed at how quickly 2 push-ups turn into 20 or 10 sit-ups turn into 100.

Tip: Take a minute to view some of the videos in the ACE exercise library to get new ideas to try at home or before a class.

Behavior Changes: This week is all about "digging in". Here we request that you dig into your old habits and pull them apart. Take some time to examine your behavior around and toward food. Make an effort to recognize one habit that consistently stands in the way of your success then brainstorm on ways to change it over time.

For example: Do you try to eat small portions only to end up going back for seconds? Or do you eat nothing all day in the effort to save your calories for a nice dinner which turns into a late-night food binge? Like we mentioned earlier you need to eat...grazing is more like it, to keep the metabolism racing. Therefore, if you find yourself hungry now that you have shaved some food off of the breakfast, lunch and dinner plate that is perfect. Add those healthy whole snacks we talked about. However, if you are currently still satisfied with the smaller portions you are going to need to cut that lunchtime sandwich in half and shave a little more off of the dinner plate to incorporate your daily snacks. Remember to never limit your total caloric intake to under 1200 calories (for women) and 1800 (for men) or you are putting your body into starvation mode. As for the late-night eating a great trick to slamming on the munchies breaks is to perform some oral hygiene. Yes, that's right, brush your teeth, floss, use a great mouth rinse and polish those pearly whites. Cleaning out the palate shuts down the mental receptors that are calling for more food. Then if your body hasn't gotten the message yet, go ahead and have a drink...of water that is! Quite often our hunger instincts are no more than a faulty thirst receptor. Who'd of know that this wonderful body had a default?

Find Support: This week we urge you to look for help in all the right places. To succeed, support is critical. Maybe you have a question about your goals, food choices, or exercise plan? Or perhaps you just need direction or someone to communicate with. Examine where you need help and then ask for it. This might sound easy, but it may be the hardest thing we have asked you to do this week.

Tip: Be informed! Get great information at our "Tools 2 Live By" link.

Chat: Stay connected with others. Talk to us about your trials and tribulations or speak with others to help you get ideas on how to stay aware, motivated and on track by becoming a fan on one of our Facebook sites: 241 Fitness or Ally-Wendy

The four challenges set for you this week are important tools to a lifelong commitment of health and fitness. It is up to you to take the time to work these new goals into your life. Last week we recommended that you decide on a treat that you have been wishing for as a reward for completing the challenge. As we move closer, take a moment to imagine yourself at your fitness or weight-loss goal. Constant focus on the destination ahead will help you to get there. Keep pushing ahead and we will see you next week, one step closer.

Spring Into Summer Challenge - Week 1

Summer is just around the corner, are you ready for it?
Follow this four week program and we will make sure you are.

With just a few short weeks until Memorial Day the season of reawakening is upon us. As we spring back to life we realize that the season of short sleeves and bathing suits is fast approaching. This year we challenge you to step outside your comfort zone, clean out the winter sludge from your veins and set some serious goals.
Four weeks may not sound like a long time, but with focus and determination, you can make a dramatic difference in both how you look and feel just in time for summer.
In the following four weeks our aim will be to help you focus your efforts on weight loss and physical rejuvenation. We will urge you to take on more than you think you are capable of in an effort to find out just what you can actually achieve in this precious window of time. We will be asking you to battle the inner voice saying that you can't make a change, thus defying the excuses that cripple your progress. Summertime, social events, outdoor living, sun dresses and an active life are just around the corner. This year we will make sure you are ready to face them head on!
For each of the next four weeks, the challenge will urge you to set four goals, representing the four cornerstones that lead to successful long term health and fitness:

1. eating right
2. moving more
3. changing behavior
4. finding support

We will provide guidance, but are asking that you push yourself. Don't just try, succeed. Set your goals just beyond where you think you might be able to reach. Then set aside time each week dedicated to meeting those goals.

Week 1: NO EXCUSES!

1. Eating smarter: Eating smarter requires some planning. Planning leads to better choices, learning about your hunger signals and controlling cravings. This week commit to making a commitment to stay on a healthy eating plan, NO EXCUSES! Plan your meals for the entire week and don't stray from it. Write down this meal plan and then journal what you are eating to match against it. This is the perfect time of year to consume more whole and filling foods such as fresh fruits and springtime vegetables, then go easy on the salad dressings. Another point to consider is that it's the little changes in your food intake that reap the big results. For example a typical 12 ounce sugared beverage is about 140 calories and water (even favored ones) are zero calories. Replacing just one sugar beverage a day with a water can trim 50,000 calories a year from your diet. That alone is 14 pounds a year!

2. Move more: The prescription for fitness is to complete a minimum of 30 minutes of activity a day. Research proves that 90% of people who have kept weight off over time have a regular schedule of activity in their lives. If you want lasting weight loss, you are going to have to find a way to make fitness a part of your everyday life, NO EXCUSES! So this week we challenge you to join us in a class that you don't normally attend. Go to our class schedule page at http://www.241fitness.vpweb.com/ClassSchedule.html - pick a class and then write that down as an appointment on your calendar. For those of you that have been exercising with us for awhile, it's time to turn it up a notch. The more fit a person becomes through a healthy lifestyle and exercise the more intense that exercise program needs to become to get results. So lace up those shoes and lets leave it all on the dance floor.

3. Changing behavior: Changing your behavior is all about building awareness. Awareness of the foods that keep you fuller longer, awareness of your hunger signals, awareness of how much better you fell when you are moving daily. This week we challenge you to be aware of every bite you take. If you are anything like me you eat most of your food over the kitchen sink and then have food amnesia, so you have to journal everything you put in your mouth or else you totally forget about it. Plan to eat your meals away from the kitchen sink and distractions such as the television or your computer. Yes, we are challenging you to actually step away from the kitchen sink, sit down and enjoy your meals or snacks, turning off all other distractions so that you can focus on your feelings of fullness and hunger. Furthermore, we challenge you to measure out a serving size and place it on a small plate as opposed to eating straight from the package or pot. NO EXCUSES!

4. Finding support: Reach out to a close friend, family member or someone in class who can become your ally in this "spring into summer" challenge. Ask them to join you in this process, have them help you set up your weekly goals or do so as a team and then hold each other accountable throughout this process. If you tell us your taking our challenge or coming to a class, we will hold you to it and call you on it! NO EXCUSES!

The four challenges set for you this week are fundamental basic principles to a lifetime of health and fitness. It is up to you to take the time to work these new goals into your life. Believe us when we say your time will be well spent. As a reward for completing the whole challenge we recommend that you decide upon a fabulous splurge that you have been wanting. Need a new cut and color? Pedicure for the start of summer? Dinner at that new restaurant? Take a minute and write down just how you plan to reward yourself at the end of this challenge on Memorial Day weekend, as we don't plan on being easy on you!
This challenge is all about pushing yourself into the next level and making real progress. Happy Spring!

National Weight Control Registry, Long Term Weight Loss Maintenance and Clinical Nutrition