The 5-A-Day for 5 Days Challenge

How often do we hear it?

Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables EVERY day.

How many of us really do it? I mean consistently, every day?

How many of us think we do it, but don't. I'd venture to guess a lot.

Fruits and vegetables are key to weight loss and general good health.

Everyone wants a miracle pill, a diet "secret" or some other new weight loss "trick."

There are no tricks! (I want to yell that from a rooftop somewhere) There are, however, fruits and vegetables that have been here for us from the beginning of time. You can look high and low and bounce around from one fad diet to the next, but the reality will never change. Healthy, natural foods are what get you healthy and keep you healthy.

It's that simple.

There are properties in these foods that scientists simply can't uncover and can't recreate.

So here's the challenge. It's a short challenge because I want as many people as possible to do it ALL the way and notice the difference they feel.

For the next 5 days eat at least 2 servings* of fruit and 3 servings* of vegetables.

Breakfast: fruit

Morning snack: fruit

Lunch: vegetable

Afternoon snack: vegetable

Dinner: vegetable

Eat your fruit or vegetable first, before you eat anything else. Then eat the rest of your meal ONLY until you no longer feel hungry. Then stop.

It's only 5 days.

Can you do it?

Click HERE for a personalized food guide pyramid.

*Click HERE for a serving size reference guide.

Do What You Want

So it occurred to me a little bit ago that life is too short to do the things I don't want to do. From now on I will only do the things I want to do.

That can be a misleading statement. It doesn't mean I am going to sit on my couch and eat ice cream all day. While we all might joke about things like that being what we want, it's not really what any of us want. What we really want is the outcome of our actions.

Sometimes the things we want to do can get confused with things we don't want to do simply because they are hard. Let me explain a little better.

When I am pushing myself through a workout and it's hard and that thought comes into my head, " I don't want to do this. It's hard." I have to stop and ask myself this question: "Then WHY are you doing it?"

I usually have some pretty good answers for why:

• I want to be healthy.
• I want to be able to play/hike/run/bike with my kids and husband.
• I want to be and stay fully functional as I age.
• I want to look good.
• I want to feel good.
• I want to enjoy my body, not hate it.
• I want to appreciate what I've got and do my best to improve on it.
• Etc., etc., etc.

When I start thinking about all the reasons why I actually do want to do it I approach my workout with a completely different feeling and mentality.

Likewise, it has been good for me to ask this question in a lot of areas because there really are things I don't want to do and I have eliminated them.

As you go through your workouts and your life if you find yourself dreading something, or just simply not wanting to do it, ask yourself: "Why am I doing this?" If you have good reasons then focus on those and do it. If you don't have any good reasons, drop it out of your life.

As we do the things we want, and recognize that's what we're doing, our life will be happier and better all around.

Know what you want, then...

Do what you want.

Emotional Energy: You're In Control

Let's break things down really simply here. Basically we have two kinds of energy: physical energy and emotional energy. Everything we do requires some of both. However, it is the emotional energy, not the physical, that dictates our success or failure in everything. And the great news is, we can completely control our emotional energy-if we want to.

Think about something you don't want to do. Something you have been putting off for awhile now. (You know what I'm talking about). Every day that goes by without addressing it, your emotional energy is being taxed by it. A lot. Even if it is something small. How many things are you putting off like that? Every single one of them dips their greedy little hand into your emotional energy pot and grabs a handful. This can leave you feeling tired, depressed, frustrated or angry before you've even lifted a finger! So how can you have energy to exercise when you feel like that?

Now think, how much physical and emotional energy would it really take to address the thing/or things you've been putting off? In our heads we always think it's a lot, but I'd venture to guess it's not near as much as it's taking from you now.

Your emotional energy is a precious commodity that needs to be saved for family, friends and yourself. What you'll realize is that addressing the things you've been putting off won't take energy away from you...but rather it will infuse you with more.

Don't believe me?

Try it.

Be Aware Of....

I suppose I should warn you about something. Something I wish I had been warned about before I started racing. I think there is actually a technical name for it out in the racing world, something like "The Post-Race Blues" and it is a very real thing.

It's so weird. You train for months and months to achieve this incredible goal. Sometimes you dread it. Sometimes you love it. Sometimes you just do it to get to that end goal. Race day comes and it's incredible. The energy in the air and the excitement and anticipation all combine to make you feel like you want to pop. You've been waiting for this day! You race. You cross the finish line. You feel awesome....and then, wait, what's that you're feeling? Kinda crappy. Is it depressed? Is it lost? Whatever it is, it's not a good feeling.

So what happened? Well, what happened is totally normal and expected. You've worked really hard for something. It's been built up for a long time and you've accomplished it so naturally you feel a little lost without this goal you've had your sites set on for so long. That's okay. It's normal, even among the top athletes of this world. Even among non-athletes--anyone who has accomplished any great feat feels this drop. All you need to know is that it's very likely coming and you'll need to face it.

So how do you face it? With a plan of course. Just knowing that it might come is very helpful. That way you won't feel bad or worried that something is wrong with you. But going one step further and having a post race plan is even better. Humans do better with purpose. What do you want to accomplish next? Have a list of things you want to do, they don't even have to be race related, and when your race is over set about accomplishing the next thing on your list.

Then remember, the joy really is in the journey so enjoy every step.

Attack It!

I have had several people tell me that they often put off their workouts and try to get other things done because they sort of dread it. They are always glad once they have done the workout, but they allow it to loom over them for some time before getting to it.

Those of you who do, or have done, this, let me give you a word of advice:

Whenever you have this feeling come over you...a dread of the upcoming workout, a tendency to put it off, DON'T. (profound, huh?) Any time you can feel yourself doing this ATTACK YOUR WORKOUT. Get angry at those feelings. Don't let them have power over you.

Hit your workout so hard that those feelings know they have no place in you. Let it be a motivating factor for you. As soon as feelings of nervousness or dread come into you when thinking about your workout, do not put off your workout--face it head on as soon as you can. Drive those feelings out by pushing through your workout.

Pretty soon you will have retrained your brain and body that there is nothing to fear but fear itself. (thank you JFK :) ).

Attack your workout---you're sure to win.

Who Needs Self-Control?

I've been thinking about this post for a while. It's a pretty important one so I want to make sure I say it right. I want to make sure you understand what I'm saying. Unfortunately I know only some of you will get this because you do need to be at a certain place in the process to grasp this concept. To those of you who are not quite ready to understand...hopefully this will plant a seed for you and later you can come back and read this again. But to those of you out there who are ready for this, here it goes.

Eating right, living a healthy life, exercising daily, all of these things are not about will power or self-control. Let me say it again: these things do not require will power or self-control.

Did I just blow your mind?

Let me explain.

We always look at people who are thin or who eat healthy and exercise and think, "Wow, now there is someone with a lot of will power." If you see someone turn down cake at a birthday party you probably think, "Look at that self control, I wish I had that much self control." We think that to be healthy we have to be constantly "battling" with ourselves. In fact, I think that is a word many of you use to refer to you relationship with eating and exercise-"it's a battle." Well it's time to lay down your weapons. It doesn't have to be a battle.

Don't get me wrong, it CAN be a battle and when you are trying to do it all with will power and self-control it will be. But the sooner you realize that's not what it's about, the more likely you will be to have a lifetime of success.

So if it's not about will power or self-control what is it about? The answer is simple. It's about wanting something else more.

That's it? you're thinking. Don't toss the answer aside too quickly. Think about it.

If someone hands you a plate of brownies and you smell them and think, "Oh man, I want to eat this whole plate of brownies sooooo bad." And in your mind eating those brownies is what you want most but you're going to white knuckle it, try to exercise some "self-control" and say no. What just happened to you inside? Most likely you feel jerked around. You feel cheated. You feel like you don't get to have what you want and it's not fair. You can only last so long before you break when that is how you are living. It's a rough way to live.

If, however, you have a goal...even better, a specific goal...when you are faced with choices your experience will be completely different.

Let's say someone brings you that same plate of brownies and while they may smell good, if you want something more than satisfying your immediate appetite you will actually be more satisfied in the end. If you can think past the moment to your higher goals then you will remember that it's actually not brownies you want...it's something else-something more. And you can choose accordingly. So then what just happened inside you? You feel calm. You feel in control. You feel like you got to choose exactly what you wanted, because you did. It was a choice. It always is.

Does this mean you won't ever feel tempted? Of course not. Temptations will most certainly arise, but when you know what you want, what you really want, you are armed with the right frame of mind to ward them off.

Do you see what it's about? Living a healthy life is a state of mind. It's about how you face the choices, how you view the choices. Because how you feel when you choose makes all the difference in the world.

It's not about self-control; it's about knowing what you really want.

So what do you really want?

No Sugar Baby--Review

Those of you that did the No Sugar Baby Challenge, and did it completely, congrats!!! It wasn't easy.

What I hope you used this time for is as an evaluation period. To truly be able to evaluate something objectively you need to remove yourself from it, or remove it from you, as the case may be. To be able to evaluate just how much sugar is readily available and offered to you and your family on a daily basis you have to be in a state of mind where you are aware of it and are turning it away. Turning it away makes you acutely more aware--am I right? :)

I hope you have or will ask yourself questions like: How much sugar do I feel is okay in my life and the life of my kids? Why do I feel like I need sweets/treats? When do I feel like having sweets adds to my life and when does it take away? Etc.

There are definitely times and places where sweets and treats are okay and can enrich your life or your experience, but if food is the main source of enrichment in your life then something is off. You need to attack the underlying problem. It's not that you're addicted to sweets, it's something else you are trying to substitute sweets for. I know they taste good and you think that's why you're going back for more, but it's not. There is something else going on and if you'll stop for 2 seconds to try to evaluate why you're doing that and what you're feeling just below the surface, you may find some answers. And when you find the answer you can solve it with what it needs to be solved--and it's not donuts. :)

Another thing to note in this crazy society of ours is that you are almost looked down on or ridiculed if you do turn down sweets. "Oh, are you on a diet?" "Look at you, why aren't you eating?!" And on and on. People try to make you feel bad if you aren't shoving your face full of the junk they are. Just because sweets are there DOES NOT mean you have to eat them. It should be a choice, an active choice, every time. Not an obligation. Not a reflex. Not a reaction. A choice--yes or no. And then feel confident with your choice and nobody will question you, including yourself.

Having been removed from sweets for 30 days write down different thoughts and feelings you had. Set terms and guidelines for how you want to handle sweets and sugar in your life. Do you feel like making cookies once a week is something that will add to your life or take away? Do you just want to have sweets at celebrations or only at certain celebrations? Once you set some guidelines for yourself you won't have to re-decide every time you go somewhere.

Decide how to take care of your body and good health will follow.