Introducing . . . Healthy Holidays!

Healthy Holidays!

A simple plan to balance physical, emotional and spiritual health during the wonderful and hectic, but should-be-a-peaceful-and-spiritual time of year. 

Oh, and to keep from gaining those pesky holiday pounds.

Info, Intro & Rules

Want to stay fit and healthy this Holiday Season? Then join me for  a Healthy Holiday! Healthy Holidays will run a little differently than the last few rounds. There will be 3 different “sessions” running close to 30 days each. There are 5 days “off” between each round. Entry fee for each session is $20.

Session 1 – Wednesday October 3^rd – Friday November 2^nd

Session 2 – Wednesday November 7^th – Friday December 7^th

Session 3 – Wednesday December 12^th – Friday January 11^th

µ Each session begins on a Wednesday morning, so be sure to weigh-in and record your weight. All sessions end on a Friday morning; weigh-in in the a.m. then text or email me your points and total weight lost & you’re done.  You are welcome to participate in one, two or all three rounds. These sessions are purposely planned to last during holidays. Actual Holidays will still be FREE days, so don’t worry about missing out on the yummy holiday fare. But if you’re like me and sometimes extend holidays a day or five, this can really help! Total points need to be emailed or texted to Erica every Wednesday by 2 pm. Calendar tasks will be posted on the blog: funandfitinfive.blogspot.com by Tuesday evening. Results will be posted by Wednesday evening.

µ We’ll stick with teams of two {unless we have an odd number of participants}, with each team selecting a team name {in the name of fairness, we’ll mix up the teams each round}. Each participant will be provided tracking sheets to record good food points, bad food minus points, exercise points, daily calendar challenge points, after 9 P.M. minus points, water points, 5+ fruit & veggie points, personal prayer points and personal scripture study points.  Weigh-ins?  We’re going to use the same format as last time.

µ Weigh-in’s for Round 1: Weigh yourself on Wednesday morning {10/3} and record your weight. Then we’ll weigh in again on Wednesday morning, October 17^th. Text or email me your total number of pounds lost so far. Now weigh in for the final time on November 2^nd.  Email or text me the total number of pounds you’ve lost. “Bonus Points” will be assigned at the end of the competition. Nobody will know how the competition is faring, weight wise. My reason for doing it this way is the hope that everyone will stay motivated. Remember this will be a team effort. Please use your best judgment & remember that we use the Honor System. Round 2 & 3 dates will be posted just before the start of each of those rounds.

µ FASTING ALLOWANCE  On Days you fast, you’re welcome to make adjustments as necessary. It can be hard to eat and drink that much in 1/3 of the time! If you don’t consume any negative foods or eat after 9 and you’ve done your best to get all your healthy foods & fruits and veggies in, give youself full food points for the day.   

µ Exercise Points  This program is constantly being refined and adjusted in order to provide the optimum results. We’re going to track exercise points a little differently this round. For each minute you exercise, you’ll get one point. The maximum amount of points possible is 200. You must exercise at least 3 times each week! Realize that to lose weight, you’ll need to exercise 5-6 days each week. 3 days a week will only help you maintain your current weight. I’m hoping this will provide additional flexibility to those of us with busy lives. Oh, wait, that’s all of us!

µ FREE MEAL  You get 5 free meals each round. Use them whenever you’d like! If you’re headed out of town you can save them up. Or strategically allot them for parties, special occasions, date night, etc. Or space them evenly over the 30 days. I don’t care when, or if, you use them. Just remember you only get 5.

µ FREE DAY  Halloween is a FREE DAY; go to town if you want. You also get another “floater” free day. To clarify, a free day exempts you from negative food points. You must still earn your good food points, F&V, water, exercise, scripture points, etc.

 µ Winnings:            1^st place – 65%                     2^nd place – 35%

If your total score, before the “bonus” weight loss points, is within 10 points of the total amount possible, you will be eligible to get your $20 participation money returned to you!

More Details . . .

µ Track points daily on point tracking sheets.  We will go from Wednesday morning to Tuesday evening each week.  Total your points and email or text them to me. I’ll post the point totals for the teams on the blog, so everyone can see how we’re all doing.

µ Good Food Points – See list below.  Add one point for each good food eaten, up to 10 points a day. Limit of 3 good food points for whole wheat food items per day.

µ Bad Food Points – See list below.  Subtract 2 points for each bad food eaten.  NO MAX! L

µ Exercise Points – One point per minute, up to 200 points per week. Must exercise at least 3 times a week! But break it down however it works best for you. Remember to exercise in chunks of 15 minutes minimum.

µ Daily Calendar – Earn 5 points by following the daily calendar; these can be done at any point during the week. You can do all of them in one day, one a day or any combo you can think of.  Check the Blog for these.

µAfter 9 PM Points – Earn 5 points if you eat NOTHING after 9 p.m. You can still drink water after 9 without any point loss.

µWater Points – Earn 10 points for drinking a minimum of 60 ounces of water every day. Your goal should be to drink ½ you weight in ounces. Example: if you weigh 120 lbs, your goal will be 60 oz of water. 150 lbs = 75 oz.  180 = 90 oz. and so on. I know it’s a lot, but it really does help your body perform at it’s best!

µ 5+ Fruits & Vegetables – Earn 10 points if you eat a combined total of 5 fruits and vegetables – count the V’s and F’s from the good food box. These count for both good foods and fruits and veggies – double bonus. Yay! You must eat all 5 to get the points; it’s not 2 points per fruit or veggie. {You’ll lose more weight if one is an apple, regardless of size. But let only one be an apple}

µ Personal Prayer Points – There is a special relationship between your body and your spirit.  Strengthen your spirit as you strengthen your body.  5 points for morning prayers & 5 points for evening prayers.  {Family, dinner prayer or Sacrament prayers not included, it has to be personal!}

µ Daily Scripture Study Points – 10-15 min =  10 points, 16-21 min =15 points , 22+ minutes = 20 points. Bible, Book of Mormon, Sunday School and Relief Society lessons, Ensign, Confrence Talks, etc. all count.

  

Good Food List

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Try to choose the majority of your foods from this list.  You get one point for every

good food choice you eat each day – up to 10 points per day.

It’s my personal opionion that it’s healthier to eat natural, un-processed foods & foods without chemicals versus low-fat/sugar/etc. foods that have artificial ingredients & chemicals in them. Since I’m in charge {heehe}, I’m adjusting the food list to coincide with my belief. So if you’re inclined to have mayo or sour cream, go for it. Just use a smaller portion instead of going crazy. If you can find a lighter, healthier version, by all means, use that. But I say; avoid artificial ingredients, chemicals & items whose names you can’t pronounce in favor of the ingredients your body knows how to process. Also, most food items have a healthier alternative, so get creative in your cooking; i.e. grill your shrimp with some spices as opposed to frying it in butter. It’s still delicious and waaaay more healthy. And that’s what I have to say about that! J

Legumes – black-eyed peas, lentils, marrowfat peas, chickpeas, etc.

Beans -Black, Pinto, Navy, White, Lima, etc.

Oatmeal, Cream of Wheat, Cracked Wheat, Bruce’s Cereal, etc.

Eggs, egg whites, or eggbeaters

100% whole grain breads: 100% Whole Wheat, Multigrain, Pumpernickel, Rye, Oat Bran, Buckwheat, Spelt, Sprouted grains, etc.

Brown Rice, Wild Rice

Whole Wheat Pasta

Quinoa/Buckwheat/Amaranth/Spelt/Millet/Couscous, etc.

Multi-grain crackers that are high in fiber &/or protein {i. e. - Food Should Taste Good Multigrain Tortilla Chips, Etc.}

Low sugar, high fiber cereal {Go Lean Kashi, All-Bran, Special K, Cheerios, Fiber One, Bran Chex, Bran Flakes}

Skim or 1% milk , Rice Milk, Almond Milk or Soy Milk

All fruits

All vegetables except corn

Natural Salsa

Baked potato, red potatoes, yam or sweet potato

Hummus

Tuna (packed in water)

Chicken

Fish/Shrimp/Lobster

Lean Pork

Turkey/Turkey Bacon

Lean Beef

Lean Ham

Lunch meat considered low in fat

Non fat or 1% cottage cheese

String cheese, Part-Skim Mozarella

Greek Yogurt & All Natural Yogurt

Olive oil

Coconut oil

Air popped popcorn or 94% fat free microwave popcorn

Protein bars, Lara bars, Trio bars, etc. {low sugar, high protein, high fiber}

Peanut Butter – all-natural, no hydrogenated oil

Low sodium soups

Daily Vitamin, RDA calcium supplement (From ages 9 through 18 years, the RDA for calcium is 1300 mg. because this period of growth is a critical time to build a greater bone mass that can help prevent osteoporosis. For adults aged 19 - 50, the RDA is 1000 mg. a day. After age 50, the RDA is 1200 mg)

{A note for our Gluten-intolerant friends – feel free to substitute Rice, Corn or other wheat-free products as necessary. Just remember that they need to follow the same rules as other foods – no MSG, hydrogenated oils, artficial sweeteners, etc.}

Bad Food List

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Subtract 2 points for EACH food you eat a day on this list. No Max.

Artificial sweeteners {splenda, sweet ‘n low, aspartame, etc.}

Refined Sugar

High-fructose Corn Syrup, corn syrup & other similar sweeteners

Sugar cereal or low fiber cereal

White bread

White pasta

Fried foods

Bakery items, such as muffins, cake, or pie

Soda or other drinks with sugar

Ice Cream

Potato chips, Cheetos, Fritos, Doritos, Cheezits, crackers, ETC. 

Any cookie with sugar

Chocolate candy

Bagels or donuts

High sugar or high carb bars such as granola bars, Cliff bars, Pop Tarts

Hot dogs

Hydrogenated oils of ANY kind

MSG – monosodiuim glutamate

You know your body … put anything else on this list that isn’t good for you!

  

Neutral Food List

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These foods won’t give or take points away. They should be used in moderation.

Stevia, Agave, Brown Rice Syrup, Evaporated Cane Juice, Brown Sugar & Honey

Corn

Natural tortilla chips/other natural corn products

Ak-Mak crackers or Nut-thins {check the labels still}

Cheese; Parmesan, Cheddar, Colby Jack, etc. {just a small serving}

Natural dark chocolate; verify if a sweetener is used, it’s on the approved list.

Home-made baked goods made with whole wheat {or brown rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, etc.} flours & approved sweeteners. i.e. zucchini muffins, bran muffins, etc. To be consumed in moderation.

Natural Mayo, Sour Cream, Salad Dressings, etc. that are used sparingly!!

Sugar free gum

White Rice – used occasionally in smaller amounts {Brown Rice still has more fiber and nutrients, so try to use that 8 out of 10 times}.