Day 4 of 21

Day 4 of 21

THE IMPORTANCE OF FATS!! Many people think that eating fats like nuts, avocados and coconut oil will make them fat. Fats are essential for life. This is why they are called ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS!! There was a time when people were told to go on a low fat diet and moving to fat free food, only produced a fatter America. All the food that was fat free now was loaded with sugar and artificial sweeteners that have only had a negative effect. 

The function and benefit of essential fatty acids:

Required for 60% of brain function

Increases ability to burn fat

Important for maintaining proper temperature

Precursor for hormones

Lowering triglyceride levels

Reducing plaque from arteries

Lowering blood pressure

Reducing inflammation

Repairs old cell membrane and create new

Strengthens cells and capillary structures

Prolongs blood clotting time (great blood thinner)

Manufacturing and balancing of cholesterol

Prevent the growth of bacteria and viruses

Assisting in the functions of glands and hormones

Needed for hair, skin, and nails

Fats are needed for your memory, mood, hormones, skin and hair. The right kind of fats can even help your body to burn fat. Healthy fats help to keep your cells soft and pliable so that nutrients can transfer into the cell and waste can transfer out. Fat also helps you to feel full and satisfied. 

Many times when people decide to get healthy or start working out they will cut fat out of their diet not realizing how important it to their health. In a relatively short period of time, they start to see problems with their hormones (from the lack of cholesterol that is needed to produce their hormones) and soon woman no longer have a cycle and both male and female have no energy because this is needed to help with proper adrenal function. 

Cholesterol is necessary for half of your cells, and vital for endocrine function especially the adrenal glands, which make your hormones like estrogen, progesterone and testosterone to name a few. Foods rich in cholesterol like fish and eggs are some of the best things you can put in your body. I have seen models that have cut all fat out and when they have their cholesterol checked it is high. The liver will produce it, because as you can see, it is vital for all cell function. Fixing it isn't as simple as eating foods with cholesterol. It take time for your liver to realize it doesn't' need to produce it. 

When it comes to fats the trick is to choose healthy fats instead of unhealthy fats like trans fats that are found in chips, fried foods like donuts, margarine and in baked goods you find that are pre packaged. 

If you are looking to lose a little fat, your fat should be anywhere from 25-50 grams depending on what you are trying to accomplish and of course it will be lower for a small female vs a large male. 

I hope this information helps you to realize how important the right fats are in your diet.

Day 3 of 21

Day 3 of 21: Led by Edwin Velez

Days 1 and 2 were off to a great start and Bo and Michelle have provided you guys with some awesome information on nutrition and how eating properly affects our body. I want to take Day 3 and get you motivated to put those things that Bo and Michelle shared in to practice. As many of you have browsed through my site and have gotten to know a few more things about, I just want to take this time to point out some important steps I took at the beginning of my Weight-Loss Journey.

We all know that losing weight is one of the hardest obstacles to overcome. We start a “diet” and are on it for a week or so and then we slip and are back to old ways. This cycle continues and it gets to a point were it then affects us mentally and we then begin to doubt ourselves. The first step I took was preparing myself MENTALLY. I, too, had started many times and all lasted a few days and then it was back to hold habits. I took a week or so this last time and sat down and mentally focused on getting determined, dedicated but must of all disciplined because this time, NOTHING was going to prevent me from reaching my goal.

Once that step is out the way, its time to plan out your new life style and set goal. Lets get S.M.A.R.T. when it comes to goal settings.

S.M.A.R.T. is an acronym that describes the various attributes a goal should have to ensure maximum probability of success.

S – specific,
M – measurable
A – attainable
R – realistic
T – time

Specific
Most of you might begin with a reasonable goal like “I want to lose weight”, but if you really stop to think about it, that goal is not quite specific enough. What amount of weight do you want to lose? When do you want to lose this by? The answers to this and other so-called “W-questions” make our goals more Specific.

Measurable
Measuring your progress at frequent intervals is as important as setting the goal in the first place. This serves a two-fold purpose: firstly you know pretty quickly whether what you are doing is working or not and you can take corrective action to keep yourself on track. However, the bigger advantage is the motivation that initial success will give you: nothing will boost your confidence and morale than seeing your body change for the better in the mirror every day.

Attainable
What if instead of setting a “5 lbs in two months” goal, you decided instead to shed “30 pounds in one month”? Not only is this unrealistic and virtually unattainable, but you are already setting yourself up for failure from the very beginning. Creating reasonable and attainable goals for yourself will propel you to success and keep that motivation factor alive as well. Think small, attainable targets and you’ll be alright because it’s the attaining of small goals that boosts your morale and helps you aim higher.

Realistic
This is a little different from setting attainable goals. For example you might set yourself the attainable goal of a 32-inch waist in 3 months. That is certainly attainable if you are only a few inches away from your target. But when it comes to the methods you plan to use to achieve this goal, you might start to become unrealistic. “I will run everyday for two hours”, “I will not eat any sweets, candies, cakes or pastries for the next 3 months” and “I will avoid all fried foods” are all examples of unrealistic methods that you have a slim chance of sticking to. Be realistic and ask yourself what the chances are that you will stick to any drastic change in behavior.
* Remember, your creating a life-style change and its perfectly fine to reward yourself. I had a cheat meal once a week!!

Time
By limiting the time you have to accomplish a goal you have a fixed timetable to work with and the sense of urgency that will spur you to keep on track. In my opinion this is probably the most important attribute of a well-set goal because none of the others matter if you don’t set a time limit by which to accomplish your goal. Whether it is “by spring beak,” or “the next family vacation” an Event is always a good source to help with choosing a time frame!

These things were very important in my success and where I am now. It has been 1 year and 2 weeks that I began this journey and I am down 145 lbs. and I continue to work hard each day to reach my next Goal!

There not time to wait, set your S.M.A.R.T. goal and work hard day in and day out to reach that goal. I KNOW YOU HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!!! 

Day 2 of 21

Day 2 of 21: Led By Michelle LeSueur

One of the biggest mistakes people make in their nutrition is cutting out certain fruits and veggies. I especially see this in the fitness industry. Although there are people that have to remove grains because of health reasons, it is important to make sure that when you eat that there is lots of color. 

When you look at the typical meal a person eats today there is very little color. Maybe a little green here and there, but for the majority it is very bland. There is a reason that God created foods with many colors. Each one as you can see by this chart has different nutrients that it gives your body. If we were only to eat just red, or yellow we would be missing things in our diet that would help our bodies maintain a healthy balance. e

Many people are creatures of habit and tend to eat the same things over and over. What they don't realize is the more you eat something over and over with out changing it, you can develop a food allergy to it. It is like working out. If you do the same exercised over and over, never switching it up, you will not get the results you are hoping for. You will find the more you switch up your food the more you will feel better and look better.

My beautiful mother in law will be 89 this year. She does not look her age and has an amazing quality of life. She gets around better than her sons and her mind is sharp. When we eat at her house the plate is always colorful. Purples, reds, oranges, and yellows. Mom has always been interested in her health and has eaten this way her whole life. I know that it has contributed to the way she looks and her quality of life.

So here is your challenge this week. When you sit down to eat a meal, look at the plate and see how much color is there and how you can improve it.