Goldleaf Challenges & Whole Foods

Basic

Eat “whole foods” 90% of your day (See below for more information on eating “whole”) – 20 points

Run/walk 3 miles 4 times this week – 10 points

Do 10 squats and walk 15 minutes on your lunch break – 5 points

Extra Mile

Choose an exercise class you love (CrossFit, yoga, boot camp just to name a few) and go 3 times this week – 10 points

Drink 1 glass of water before each meal  – 5 points

No eating out for the week  – 15 points

Believe it or not, “whole foods” is not just the name of a certain delicious but pricey grocery store. The concept of eating whole foods is based on the idea that we should eat more fresh produce, less meat, and overall less processed food with additives and preservatives. Some people only shop the perimeter of the grocery store, since that’s where you’ll find unadulterated products like fruits, vegetables, meat, eggs, and dairy. The center of the grocery store tends to have your sugary cereals (Honeycomb is my personal favorite), bleached and refined staples like white bread and rice, and your plain old bad for you foods – Fruit snacks (Hello sugar and dye), potato chips, candy, etc. While any “center” food can be enjoyed in moderation, we tend to enjoy them pretty regularly, even daily.

One big excuse that keeps me from eating “whole” is “I don’t have enough time.” Chopping those vegetables takes too long, the chicken isn’t defrosted, I don’t have a grill, eating oatmeal is easier, etc. With a little planning, this doesn’t have to be the case. Chopping vegetables on a Sunday or making food ahead for the week is a great way to eat both “whole” and quickly.

Another excuse is that after a long day at work/school/etc. I “deserve” something naughty that I think tastes good. E.g. McDonald’s ice cream (a.k.a. “chemical cream”). I recently saw a something on Pinterest that makes me rethink rewarding my long day with high fructose corn syrup:

You’re not a dog. Stop rewarding yourself with food.

While you can still reward your body for a really hard work out, you should reward it with lean protein and whole grains, not a milk shake.

So what are some eating “whole” tips and tricks? Well I’m glad you asked.

1. Try subbing a piece of fruit or veggies with hummus for your granola bar/chips/packaged snack.

2. Plan your meals ahead for the week so you don’t resort to a deli sandwich in a fit of noon-time hunger.

3. Check out blogs like Clean Eating Chelsey or Oh She Glows! for some additional recipes that use lots of vegetables and fresh, unrefined ingredients.

I’m getting my wholeness on today by bringing some freshly cut strawberries and Brussell sprouts to nosh on at work.

A thank you to Marie for helping me come up with the challenges this week 🙂

Weekly Challenges

It’s Tuesday, and that means a new batch of Goldleaf Challenges for my participants and anyone else who’s following along and just not telling me (totally cool, I’m a lurker on a bunch of blogs).

Basic

– Run/Walk interval set (see below for more details) 3 times this week  -10 points

– Eat at least 4 servings of vegetables per day – 10 points

– Consume at least 50 grams of protein per day (I personally aim for around 100) – 5 points

The Extra Mile

– Perform at least 3 cardio work outs, with one from each of the categories listed below – 15 points

– Eat least least 4 servings of vegetables per day, and 2 servings of fruit – 15 points

– Complete 3 make-your-own strength training sessions (see below) – 15 points

As you can see, today is a big pick your own adventure. I think it’s important to have options that can easily be incorporated into one’s schedule. These work outs give some guidance, but you’re the one who has to take control of scheduling them out, the same way that you’ll have to after the challenge has ended.

Note: The cardio challenges cannot be completed for double points, you must choose one or the other. The vegetable/fruit and vegetable challenge is the same, you can only count points for one or the other.

Basic Walk/Run Interval Sets

Yes, now I’m bringing intervals to even the Basic challenges if you want the points (you do). Intervals are proven to be the most effective way to burn fat – plus you’ll increase your speed and endurance, which makes working out easier and more fun as you learn to push yourself. Do this simple interval work out 3 times this week:

Minutes 1-5: Warm up, your perceived rate of exertion (RPE) should be around a 3 here, on a scale of 1-10.

Minutes 5:00-5:30: Sprint at a RPE of 10 – give it your full effort.

Minutes 5:30-7:00: Recover at a fast paced walk, should be around an RPE of 5-6.

Minutes 7:00 – 25:00: Repeat minutes 5:00-7:00 9 more times for a total of 20 minutes of intervals.

Minutes 25:00-30:00: Cool down at an RPE of 3 again.

The Extra Mile Cardio Challenge Work Outs

Category 1: Long Endurance Work Out

On a treadmill, elliptical, or bike (can also run outside), choose a  steady pace that you can maintain for one hour.

Time: 60 minutes

Category 2: Endurance Interval Work Out

Run for 1 minute, walk for 1 minute – 3x

Run for 2 minutes, walk for 1 minute – 3x

Run for 3 minutes, walk for 1 minute – 3x

Run for 4 minutes, walk for 2 minutes – 3x

When you’re running, you should be at an RPE 8-9

When you’re walking, you should be at RPE 5-6

My tip: I run at an 8.0 mph and walk at 4.0 mph.

Time: 45 minutes

Category 3: Speed Interval Work Out

Minutes 1:00-3:00: Warm up, RPE 3

Minutes 3:00-3:45: Sprint at an RPE of 10.

Minutes 3:45-5:00: Recovery jog at an RPE of 6-7

Minutes 5:00-27:00: Repeat minutes 3:00-5:00 11 times for a total of 24 minutes of intervals.

Minutes 27:00-30:00: Cool down, RPE 3.

Time: 30 minutes

Choose Your Own Adventure Strength Training

Choose 3 from Category A

– Chest press (10-15)

– Push up (15)

– Row (10-15)

– Flies (10-15)

– Bicep curls (10-15)

– Tricep Extensions (8-12 each arm)

– Tricep dips (15)

– Shoulder presses (8-12)

Choose 3 from Category B

– Planks and side planks (1 minute; 45 seconds)

– Bicycles (30)

– Flutter kicks (30)

– Crunches (25)

– Bridges (30)

Choose 3 from Category C

– Alternating Lunges (15 on each leg)

– Squats (15)

– Sumo Squats (15)

– Wall Sit (1 minute)

– Leg Press (15)

– Squat Jumps (10)

Once you’ve chosen 3 from each category, perform each excercise for the category three times as a set. So, for example, if I a chose alternating lunges, sumo squats, and leg press, I would perform the reps of each exercise once – lunges, then sumo squats, then leg press, and then repeat two more times, before moving on to the next category.

Here’s the fun part – you can’t do one exercise more than twice this week.

Enjoy!