#10in10 - 10 Day Health Challenge!

#10in10

10 miles of cardio in 10 days!!

EVERY DAY YOU MUST ENGAGE IN:

3 strength exercises, at least one focused on your core area.

Cardio training: no more than 20% of quota on the bicycle.

Reduced fat intake and increased raw food consumption.

CARDIO TRAINING:

5 mi each of the first 5 days

10 mi each of the last 5 days

****Break up your cardio by working out at various times of the day.  Begin and end your day with a quick run, and hit a bike ride and the elliptical briefly in the middle of the day.

Results ONLY come from hard work!

DIETARY RULES:

*Do NOT eat after 8pm

*Drink 64-128 oz of water daily.  The more, the better: try to drink a gallon (128oz).  This is especially beneficial when combined with freshly squeezed lemon juice.

*Eat as many RAW foods as possible (THINK: If you were a caveman, what would you eat?)

*Limit your use of CAFFEINE (yes, I said it!)… this causes your body to retain water (dehydrating you) and makes it more difficult to detox.  If you must consume it, try to keep it to AM hours so as not to disturb your sleep, or substitute it with green tea, which helps lower your cholesterol.

TIP: Start your day with drinking a tall glass of water (preferably with freshly squeezed lemon juice) and a morning run (1-2 miles) before breakfast.  This will immediately jump-start your metabolism and you will burn off 20% more calories.  Your first meal of the day should be your biggest, so eat in balance before setting your digestive track right with a little yoga.  Adding 1oz of Bragg's Apple Cider Vinegar to your water everyday will help with regular detoxification and overall body composition.

TIP: Increase blood flow, metabolism and flexibility by doing yoga!  Download a yoga app and focus on relaxing your way through 15 to 25 min of this deep stretching every day.

TIP: Plan your meals carefully.  Breakfast should be your largest of the day, followed by a smaller lunch and even smaller dinner.  Portion your servings and don’t be afraid to stop eating before your plate is clean.  Our eyes are often bigger than our stomach and the common result is overstuffing (remember that excess calories are units of unused energy and turn to fat cells for long-term storage).  Eat some complex carbs in the AM so you will have enough energy for your workout, but stay away from starches (breads and pastas, also) for the rest of the day.  Fruits and vegetables keeps the digestive track flowing regularly and help detox the body of processed substances.

TIP: Want a quicker detox?  Buy ONE container of 100% Cranberry Juice (NOT the juice cocktail version!) and drink ALL of this throughout the period of a day, along with your normal amount of water.  This will flush your digestive track and rid your body of any slow-moving meats and starches.  Doing this at the start of the challenge will help you feel lighter and enable a more-efficient workout.

TIP: Download MY FITNESS PAL.  As you track your meals and exercise throughout the day, pay more attention to your nutritional values and needs than to your calories consumed.  Look at the pie chart and compare your ratio of nutrient consumption (fats, carbs & proteins) to the suggested ratio.  What are you eating too much of and what do you need to consume more of?

THE GOAL?

Let’s get right for the season!  We all know how important it is to FEEL as good as you LOOK!!  It’s time to get healthy after a winter of hibernation!  In 10 carefully managed days and consistent activity, you will snap back into shape and begin to form the habits of maintaining it.

****NO SIZE NO DIET: If you get in touch with YOUR health and body, treat it how YOU should individually, you will look INCREDIBLE how you should, naturally!  Let's be as beautiful as God designed us to be!

LOWER CHOLESTEROL BY RAISING AWARENESS!!

Cholesterol is word that we don’t typically give a second thought.  There are so many indicators we pay attention to when it comes to health, yet because we cannot physically see the fat content movintg within our veins, its regulation is not high on our priority list.  Yes, we all have the insight that high cholesterol leads to heart disease and other complications, yet we continue to consume foods that boost it to the sky.  However, if “you are what you eat,” and you want to be more than a sloppy pile of blob compounds, you must monitor and maintain your cholesterol.

HDL, or high-density lipoprotein, is considered the “good” cholesterol, while you are recommended to reduce your intake of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), or the “bad” cholesterol.  HDL is basically made up of unsaturated fats.  Examples of these are olive oil and omega-3 fatty acids found in fish.  To keep your LDL low and your HDL high, eat heart-healthy foods that include as little trans- and saturated fats as possible.  Work out at least 30 minutes a day for as many days a week as possible.

To bring your cholesterol back down to healthy levels, it is crucial to make lifestyle changes as well as changes to your diet.  Some recommendations include that you: lose weight, quit smoking, drink alcohol in moderation (1 drink a day), exercise on most days of the week, change what you eat.  Some foods that you should target besides olive oil and omega-3 rich products include foods with added sterols and stanols (orange juice, yogurts, etc.), oatmeal and high-fiber foods, nuts such as almonds and walnuts, and green tea.  Also it is very important that you stock up on fruits and vegetables, select whole grains, eliminate trans fats and saturated fats, and limit the amount of straight cholesterol you consume.

Your body naturally makes cholesterol, but you also get it from eating eggs, meat, and dairy products.  When your body has a surplus of cholesterol, plaque begins to build up and causes blocked arteries, thus restricting blood and oxygen flow.  High cholesterol can lead to kidney stones, stroke, heart attacks, and cause other health complications that can be debilitating.  Yet something this serious is less likely to worry you because it doesn’t cause pain and you need a test to determine your current HDL and LDL levels.  This makes it less likely to seek treatment and care for this aspect of your health.  If you are feeling particularly groggy or slow-moving, you might want to get your cholesterol checked.

SOMETHING IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:  When you have an excess of sugars, calories or alcohol, your body converts these things into triglycerides, which add to your “bad” cholesterol levels.  This is a type of fat carried in your blood and stored in fat cells all over your body.  People with high levels of triglycerides tend to be overweight, inactive, smokers, or heavy drinkers.  High levels of this (150 and up) are causal of metabolic syndrome, which correlates to heart disease and diabetes. 

OVERALL, it is important to regulate your cholesterol and get tested if you are over 20.  If your total cholesterol falls under 200, you are considered to be in the “healthy” range.  Levels of cholesterol over 200 have an increased risk of developing complications.  Because cholesterol comes from two sources, the body and food, it is vital that you get to know where your individual HDL and LDL come from so that you may adapt your diet and lifestyle to remain in good health.  The best plan of attack is a customized one ;)