Week 3: I'm so hungry I could eat a....camel.

http://greshamoregon.gov/city/city-departments/

environmental-services/water/template.aspx?id=5874

Welcome to week 3 in our journey toward a more fit & fantastic 2013! This week's challenge is a little bit different...and easy...yet challenging. Our focus this week is fluid intake. (Hence the camel comment in the title...get it? I'm hilarious, I know).

Did you know that your body is composed of 60% water? That's amazing, right? We desperately need water to survive and our bodies will try to give us cues to drink the amount that is needed--even if that means convincing you that you are starving. That's right. Thirst is often mistaken for hunger, so we need to listen to our body's cues and give our bodies the much needed fluid during the day.

How much water is needed? Well, that one is up for the debate. Many of us have heard, "Drink 8, 8-oz glasses of fluid per day," but truly, water intake should vary based on the person and on his or her level of activity. For example, if I go to a hot yoga class today you better believe I need more than 8 c. fluid--but--if I spend my entire day sitting at a desk, 8 c. fluid may be sufficient. That being said, we need to be more attuned to the needs of our bodies to truly care for our bodies.

The Mayo clinic (here) actually recommends that most men need approximately 3L (That's closer to 100 oz) per day and most women need approximately 2.2 L per day (which is close to 70 oz). Now, I have to add a small note for people who hate water. First, I will say, I don't really understand you. I love water. It's easy for me to drink. However, in my profession--working daily with people who have bladder problems--I have learned that there is a large group of people out there who literally find water to be disgusting. I could go on and on about the need to hydrate for your bladder, however, that is not the purpose of this blog.  So, if you are a "water-hater," here are my recommendations:

• Iced & hot herbal teas (not caffeinated--that will irritate your bladder and you'll have to take in a lot of caffeine to get your 2.2 L) 
• Infused water: Slice of fruit, cucumbers, etc. and soak in a pitcher of water overnight to help give your water some taste. 
• Diluted Juice: I'm talking really diluted--like a splash of cranberry in your water. Most juices are too sugary to be taken in at 2L per day. 
• Crystal Light or some other flavor giver: This is not my preference because it is artificially sweetened which is not the best for your bladder or health, but if I have to choose between dehydration and crystal light, I'll take the crystal light. :) 

Ok, that being out of the way--here is this week's challenge. Knowing that 1) our bodies need to be hydrated and 2) we often mistake thirst for hunger, your challenge is the following: 

 1. Drink a minimum of 2.2 L per day (women) or 3 L per day (men). This should be adjusted based on your activity level for that day.

2. When you are hungry, drink at least 8 oz of water. Then wait 15 minutes prior to eating a snack or meal. This will help your body cue in to "hunger" or "thirst" and prevent you from overeating.

So, what are your favorite water substitutes? What have you found to be helpful in encouraging you to drink more fluid?

Good luck on this week's challenge!

Week 2: Track what you eat!

I know this may not seem like the best challenge to get us started, but bear with me. I first tried "tracking" when I joined weight watchers approximately 2 years ago. Now, all programs have their positives and negatives, but for me, weight watchers was great at the time. I lost 10 lbs and felt better than I had in a long time. It also helped me to look good in my sister's wedding (which, if I'm being honest, was one of my main objectives!) The problem I had with weight watchers was that whenever I stopped tracking, I gained weight. And tracking was hard. Really hard. Especially for me, because, well, I'm lazy. Also, I found that I could be successful at weight watchers without necessarily being healthy. For example, exercise would give you "activity points" that would allow you to eat more food, but you could also not exercise and get by just fine. Also, I could literally eat a cinnamon bun every single day as long as I could somehow fit that into my points. And personally, that just doesn't seem like a great idea. Not that cinnamon buns are bad. They're awesome. But probably not every single day. (Note: One of my weight watchers members literally did this, and still met her goal weight!) Now, I'm not bashing weight watchers. You can do weight watchers well, and be healthy and successful. But it's not for everyone.

Ok, enough about that, and back to tracking food for a week. When I was doing weight watchers, I initially found it to be very helpful to track what I ate. Often, we eat mindlessly and don't even realize what we are feeding our bodies. Now, in my opinion, there are no "bad" foods, however, we have to make sure that we eat certain fattier, higher calorie foods in moderation, and feed our bodies with foods high in nutrients to help our bodies be strong and healthy. So, your challenge for this week is to track every single food and drink you consume. Every. Single. One. Measured Out.  Easier said than done, right? Well try it. Then, at the end of these 7 days, I will post about how to evaluate your current eating habits and make goals for the future.

There are several tools you can use to track your eating:

1. Pen & Paper: Pro: easy to use, readily available. Con: it won't give you caloric or nutritional information about your foods.
2. Weightwatchers.com: Pro: easy to use, calculates everything for you. Con: None for the tracking log. It's wonderful :). I believe they are still doing free 7-day trials, but if not, there is a cost. Go to http://weightwatchers.com for more information. 
3. MyFitnessPal: This is a free online tool that will track your food & exercise in a diary for you. It also comes in an app version for those iphone users out there. Pro: easy to use, calculates everything for you. Con: Again, none for the tracking log. Plus it's free. Go to http://www.myfitnesspal.com/ for more information. 

Good luck with your tracking! Try to be VERY consistent with it over the next 7 days and we will check-in and evaluate it on Sunday! 

Week 1: Developing a Plan & Setting Goals

As I mentioned previously, my goal with 52 weeks is to slowly work through different fitness ideas and concepts to figure out what works best for me in creating a healthy body. Our first week's goal is to develop a plan for what exactly this will look like. The key things we should each focus on in setting goals are:

1. How do I want to measure my success? 
2. How often should I take these measurements? 
3. What is my ultimate goal? 
4. When do I want to accomplish this goal? 

I would encourage each of you to look above and beyond the traditional "weight loss" goal. Our society focuses so much on a specific number that we need to be "ideal," when instead we should aim for being strong, healthy human beings--in both our bodies and our souls. That being said, it is okay to make a goal to lose a certain amount of weight, but try to set some goals that are different and more personal to you. For example: 

1. Run 1 mile in under 7 minutes
2. Exercise 5 days each week on average 
3. Decrease number of medications I take daily 
4. Meditate x 10 min each day
5. Perform 50 push-ups in a row. 
6. Fit into 1 size smaller jeans

Next, we want to develop a plan to get there. Luckily, I have this one set for you already (don't say I never gave you anything!), and my hope is that we will all slowly reach our health and fitness goals through each week's challenges. 

What are your goals for fitness for this upcoming year? How do you plan on measuring your success? 

I look forward to beginning this journey with you!