It really is so much fun to see you all and chat during weigh-in. It's the highlight of my week to hear how everyone is doing, and I'm not just talking about weight and fitness. I love hearing how life is going for everyone. It really is true that women need each other.
For Week 5 we have a new challenge: NO EATING after your reasonably timed family dinner. The guideline is 7 PM, which is a good standard for 98% of the population. We all have extenuating circumstances, but 7 PM is the baseline. Here's why:
1) Most snacking after 7 PM consists of high calorie, low nutrient foods. Do you reach for a salad for your nighttime snack? Yeah, I didn't think so.
2) Late eating can throw off your circadian rhythm, which is the balance of sleep and wakefulness that your body naturally attunes to. Loss of sleep is directly related to weight-gain.
3) If you've eaten 3 meals and a couple of snacks throughout the day, any food you consume at night is excess calories.
4) People who closed the kitchen after 7 PM reported that it was easier to skip late snacking, simply by setting a time to be done eating for the day.
Is 7 PM a magic number? Nope. It's just the typical time people across the nation have finished dinner. Your body doesn't metabolize calories differently after a certain hour. Eating after a certain time isn't going to make you fat. Overeating will. And throughout our Summer Slim Down Challenge, our main goal is to create healthy habits, not count and restrict ourselves to death. Eating the right number of calories spread fairly evenly over your waking hours will keep you healthy and going strong.
Your body does benefit from doing some activity, as low-intensity as a 10 minute walk, after each meal. Some of the benefits are:
Boosts metabolism
Increases the rate your food moves through your digestive system
Induces sleep by reducing stress
Improves blood circulation
Maintains blood sugar levels by using up excess glucose
Aids in weight loss by burning calories
Some ideas to make it easier to avoid late snacking are: brush your teeth right after dinner, close the kitchen, chew gum, drink water, & stay busy.
So this week concentrate on eating your 1200-1500 calories during the day, and then closing the kitchen (at least to yourself) after dinner. Remember that you have 7 days to get your 5 challenge points, so if some nights don't work, use Saturday & Sunday to get back those points.
Points Breakdown for Week 5:
- Write everything down - 5 points
- 5 fruits & veggies daily - 5 points
- 8 cups (8 oz) water daily - 5 points
- Workout for 60 minutes daily - 5 pts
- Challenge Daily: no eating after dinner - 5 pts
- Come to weigh-in - 5 points
- Lose weight - 5 points; no change or gain - 0 points
Weigh-in will be Saturday April 25, 8:30 - 9:00 AM.
This week we are having another Work-It Circuit group workout, Wednesday April 22 @ 9 AM, at the Upper Mutton Hollow church building. No bonus points this week for coming, just the satisfaction of getting your workout done and having a blast!
We will be having a drawing this week: text or email me if you did strength training this week. The winner will get a box of high-fiber low-fat popcorn, a perfect low-cal snack when you get the munchies! (but not after dinner 
)
What qualifies as strength training: 30 or more minutes of exercises that use weights or resistance bands, including exercises that use your legs or your upper body. I will post some ideas on the blog, and there are already some videos posted on the YouTube channel. You can get there from the blog. Or go to the drop down menu "workouts".
Saturday's weekly weight winner will receive a "Bedtime Snack Buster" kit!
Have a super weekend, and get outside to enjoy this sunny spring weather!
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