OwnPace 30 day Clean Eating Challenge

Hey OwnPace Family,

Before you read any further, let me just get this out the way. To truly accomplish anything in life you will have to sacrifice one thing or the other. This challenge below is called a challenge for a reason. It's not easy and it is going to really challenge you. Think of it this way, the worse your current diet is, the harder it will be. 

Lastly, if you realize you can't do this at this time there is nothing wrong with that. Now you have it to use as a tool for whenever you want to hit the rest button on nutrition.

Before you begin:

• Please weigh yourself and take a before photo to keep track of your progress

Okay, so now youʼve decided to make fitness a priority. Congratulations and welcome!

In order for that to happen we need to completely reprogram your body. Right now, your taste buds have been desensitized and you eat based on habit. But in order to create a new body, weʼre going to have to force some new habits. Thatʼs why weʼre doing this challenge. Behave for 30 days and see what happens to your body. The reason why people have issues transforming their bodies is that they mini cheat every day with “foods” they can easily live without.

Here are a few: cookies • chips • cakes • sodas • crackers

Moreover there are some “foods” that you really donʼt need; this 30 day challenge will challenge you to eliminate these items from your diet: Namely dairy, added sugar, soda, white (bleached) foods, and alcohol.

So here is the basic goal of the 30-day challenge

• No dairy
• No added sugar
• No alcohol
• No soda
• No bleached food
• No pasta
• No chips unless they are home made
• 3 workouts per week
• At least 4 cups of PLAIN water daily
• 1 cup of unsweetened green tea daily

Allowable carbs include: All raw fruits (no dried fruits), ALL vegetables, sweet potatoes, quinoa, brown rice, steel cut oatmeal.

**Fair warning, if youʼre going to do it, do it 100%. Donʼt ask for shortcuts or breaks. Itʼs going to require planning and mental toughness. Donʼt quit. Donʼt blame your family members, your friends, your job, your schedule, or your childhood. Find a way. People that take this seriously see great results. Be one of those people!

**This challenge is not intended to replace the advice of your primary care physician. Before starting any new nutrition program, always seek the advice of your primary care health professional.

Dairy

The biggest argument I see in favor of dairy is that fact that it gives you Vitamin D and Calcium.

Pt 1. - Calcium

Adults need 1000mg of calcium/day. Here are some foods that have more calcium than a glass of milk (305mg)

• 2 Cups of Broccoli (360mg)

• 1.5 Cups of Cooked Spinach (360mg)

  Now here are some foods with trace amounts of calcium

• 1 Orange (50g)

• 1 cup Beets (164g)

• 1 cup cooked collard greens (266g)

  What about yogurt?

  For those of you that want your yogurt, almond dream makes a non- dairy yogurt. And yes, it will supply you with 200mg of calcium. These can be found in your local Whole Foods Market.

Cheese

When it comes to my clients, I really donʼt think anyone cares about calcium. When I say no dairy, you all fear the loss of cheese. There are a number of things you can use to replace cheese.

On your sandwich

• Hummus
• Mustard

On your salad

• Nutritional Yeast

• Crumbled or seasoned tofu

  Or hereʼs a thought, skip the cheese altogether. You wonʼt die, I promise.

  Part 2 - Vitamin D
  Iʼm sure a fair amount of your have stopped reading after that line

  about skipping the cheese. But for those of you who are serious about your goals, letʼs read on. The second reason people think they canʼt give up dairy is because they need their vitamin D. Again the goal for vitamin D is IU/day.

• 1 Tsp Cod Liver Oil (500 IU)

• 5oz Salmon (803 IU)

• Portabello Mushrooms (375 IU)

  Here are some foods with a trace amount of Vitamin D

• 1 Egg (44 IU)

• Sunlight! Itʼs calorie Free

  People are very reluctant to give up dairy so if you want some food for thought, here are some articles on why you might want to give it up. Google 

1) Health Benefits Of Giving Up Dairy
2) Top 10 Reasons why people go Dairy Free

3) No Body Needs Milk

Added Sugar

Iʼm going to give you 10 reasons to stay away from added sugar. For the fleshed details go to: http://authoritynutrition.com/10-disturbing- reasons-why-sugar-is-bad/

1. Added Sugar Contains No Essential Nutrients and is Bad For Your T eeth

2. Added Sugar is High in Fructose, Which Can Overload Your Liver

3. Overloading The Liver With Fructose Can Cause Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

4. Sugar Can Cause Insulin Resistance, a Stepping Stone Towards Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

5. The Insulin Resistance Can Progress to Type II Diabetes 6. Sugar Can Give You Cancer

7. Due to its Effects on Hormones and the Brain, Sugar has Unique Fat-Promoting Effects

8. Because it Causes Massive Dopamine Release in The Brain, Sugar is Highly Addictive

9. Sugar is a Leading Contributor to Obesity in Both Children and Adults

10. It Ainʼt The Fat... Itʼs SUGAR That Raises Your Cholesterol and Gives You Heart Disease

Allowable Sugars

Consume natureʼs sugars. You can eat ANY raw fruit and instead of sugar you can put honey in your tea or if necessary, coffee.

Alcohol

You want my real opinion on alcohol? Stop being a weak and just give it up, youʼre not going to die. Take up meditation or walking if youʼre stressed. Turn the TV off two hours earlier if you canʼt sleep.

Because most of my clients are parents I can point to the fact that most of you have gone dry for 9 months so the same way you said, “no Iʼm pregnant” say “no Iʼm doing a challenge. “

For those of you who will spend your time trying to find articles about why alcohol is good for you so you can drink during the challenge, please donʼt bother to show me, just disqualify yourself and continue to do your own thing.

For those of you who will ask me why we have to have a no alcohol rule, Iʼll give you a short answer. One of the livers main functions is fat burning but it canʼt do that if it has to metabolize the alcohol youʼre drinking.

Carbohydrates

Okay, here we go. Carbs arenʼt bad for you. Overconsumption of ANYTHING is bad for you. Low-quality carbs, even in moderation are bad for you. So I will make this very simple.

• No bread

• No cereal ( hereʼs why )

• No flour

• No white rice

• No wraps

• No white potatoes

• No pasta

• No juices

  You do however, have a lot of great options for good carbs and here they are

• Sweet Potatoes

• Quinoa

• Brown Rice

• Steel Cut Oatmeal

The biggest resistance I get is with breakfast cereals. I wish I had the link to the article but I can only find the content. Here are 12 reasons why cold breakfast cereals are bad for you.

Why Are Breakfast Cereals Bad For You?

1. Extrusion Process
Breakfast cereals go through an extrusion process. This manufacturing procedure that makes all the oʼs, flakes, biscuits, and other shapes of cold cereals, destroys the fatty acids and vitamins in grains and alters the structure of amino acids, making them toxic.

2. BHT (Butylated Hydroxytoluene)
This common additive is used to prevent oxidation in a wide variety of foods and cosmetics and is listed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) in 2005 as “reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen” on the basis of experimental findings in animals. It is also used in jet fuels, rubber petroleum products, transformer oil and embalming fluid. Moreover, Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) warns that BHT should not be allowed to enter the environment, can cause liver damage, and is harmful to aquatic organisms.

3. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
HFCS is loaded with unbound fructose and glucose molecules. Studies have shown that the reactive carbonyl molecules can cause tissue damage that may lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. HFCS is made from genetically modified corn and processed with genetically modified enzymes. To make matters worse, studies have recently revealed that nearly half of tested samples of HFCS contained mercury.

4. Refined Carbohydrates
Carbohydrate intake should vary according to oneʼs activity level, genetics and time of day. But if you think about it, most of us are sedentary, and should not be eating carbohydrates first thing in the morning, like that cereal. Of course, the argument is that one is fasting throughout the night and need nutrients going to oneʼs cells for energy. Yes, your cells will be ready to receive nutrients and you will be hungry. However, both healthy muscle cells and fat cells are ready to receive nutrients in the morning.
That means that only very lean people (with fewer fat cells), or those who are very active (muscle cells will uptake more of the carbohydrates) should be eating carbohydrates in the morning. The best time for carbohydrates for the rest of the average folks is after a strength training workout because muscle cells are ready to absorb carbohydrates and you wonʼt store them as fat easily.

5. Phytic Acid
Breakfast cereal grains are improperly prepared and contain phytic acid. Ancient cultures have fermented, soaked and sprouted grains before consumption because these natural methods for processing food make the grains easier to digest. These processes eliminate phytic acid, a substance in grains that binds up nutrients, preventing your body from absorbing them and making grains difficult to digest.

6. Colorants
Almost all colorants approved for use in food are derived from coal tar and may contain up tp 10ppm of lead and arsenic. Also, most coal tar colors could potentially cause cancer. Many cereals contain artificial colors that may pose health risks. In 2007, a study published in “The Lancet” indicated that some artificial food colors increase the likelihood of hyperactivity in children. In 2010, the Center for Science in the Public Interest focused on Red 40 in its publication “Food Dyes: A Rainbow of Risks,” suggesting that this dye, which is made with petroleum, contains carcinogens that speed up the development of cancerous tumors in mice. It also found that 15 percent of people experience allergic skin reactions to Red 40.

7. GMO
Unless a cereal has been certified organic, itʼs likely to contain genetically modified ingredients (GMOs), including wheat, corn and soy, which can wreak havoc on the immune system and lead to various health issues such as autoimmune disease, gluten allergies and more.

8. Synthetic Vitamins
Breakfast cereals contain stripped and refortified grains. Some cereal

products contain highly processed flours that have been stripped of most nutrients. Manufacturers then add back low-quality chemical versions of vitamins and minerals that can cause nutritional deficiencies and imbalances.

Many cereals have vitamins added, but these are synthetic (man- made) vitamins that the body is simply not designed to utilize. Many synthetic vitamins are actually treated as toxins and are eliminated by your body as quickly as possible. Synthetic vitamins can also cause imbalances in the body that may lead to health problems in the long run. On top of this, the body cannot absorb many key nutrients if they are not consumed with foods that contain saturated fat. If youʼre eating boxed cereal with low-fat or skim milk, the vitamins and minerals added in

are providing virtually no nutritional benefit.

9. Sugar
Some breakfast cereals contain more sugar than some donuts. A global Consumer Reports study conducted across 32 nations found that eleven popular cereal brands contain as much sugar as a glazed doughnut. This study also found that the same brand cereals in the US have as much as 15% more sugar than in other countries. Sugar is acidic and robs your body of important minerals t
hat you need to stay healthy and energized.

10. Gluten
Most breakfast cereals contain wheat and gluten. 1 in 133 people suffer from Celiac Disease (also known as gluten sensitivity enteropathy, gluten intolerance, or celiac sprue), a chronic, genetic disorder, affecting both children and adults. People with Celiac Disease are not able to eat foods that contain gluten, which is found primarily in wheat, spelt, kamut, rye and barley, as well as other grains.

More and more people are suffering from some kind of food allergy or “gluten intolerance” because their inner ecosystems are damaged and they are missing “grain-loving good bacteria” that help us digest gluten. These folks may crave gluten-containing foods and not even realize that gluten is the culprit for a wide variety of health issues.

11. Loaded with Pesticides
In a 2001 study, researchers measured pesticide residues in the urine of 110 children. All children had measurable levels of organophosphate (OP) metabolites – with the exception of one child. Turns out the child who didnʼt have OP ate exclusively organic produce. OP exposure in kids have been linked to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

12. Sodium
Although breakfast cereals donʼt seem like it would a lot of sodium, many commercial varieties, including those with bran flakes and oat squares, contain 200 to 300 milligrams of sodium per serving. The Institute of Medicine recommends getting no more than 2.3 grams of sodium per day to keep your blood pressure at a safe level, but the average American exceeds this amount by about 1 gram. Starting your day with more than 10 percent of your upper intake of sodium makes it difficult to stay below that recommended number.

Sample Meal Plan

So here is a meal plan to start with. Itʼs roughly 1300 calories but to be honest Iʼm not overly concerned with how many calories you consume as long as you play by the rules of the challenge.

Breakfast

(1)Extra Large Egg
(3) Egg Whites
Diced peppers or tomatoes
(1/2) Sweet Potato ( replace with apple or orange )

Upon Arrival at Work

(1/3 cup ) Irish oatmeal Dry (1/4 cup) Blueberries
(1/2 tbsp) Chia Seeds
(1) Glass Almond Milk

Lunch

(4oz) Chicken Breast (1/2 cup) Rice (cooked) (1 cup) Spinach

Dinner

(2 Cups) Broccoli (1/2) Sweet Potato (4oz) Chicken Breast

Late Evening

(1) Almond dream plain yogurt (add your own berries)

• Chicken can be replaced with turkey, fish, red meat, or pork

• Broccoli can be replaced with any green vegetable

• Nuts can be added as a snack and I will review itʼs effect on your macros in your journal

• Have 4 cups of regular water and one green tea a day

Sample Shopping List

This is not an exhaustive list. These are suggestions to help you shop with more nutritional responsibility. This is in no way intended to replace the advice of your dietician or primary care provider. Always seek the advice of your primary care physician before starting any new nutrition regimen.)

Protein Sources Eggs, Egg Whites, Chicken, Turkey, Tilapia, Salmon, Your favorite protein shake, Greek yogurt, Tofu

Fruits (Carbs) Apples, Oranges, Grapefruits, Bananas, Blueberries Grains ( Carbs) Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal, Brown Rice, Whole wheat, pasta, Ezekiel Bread

Vegetables (Carbs) Spinach, Broccoli, Sweet Potatoes

Fats Coconut Oil, Avocado, Peanuts, Almonds, Cashews (unsalted )

Fat Burning Spices/Aids Cayenne Pepper, Cinnamon, Turmeric, Green Tea, Apple Cider Vinegar 

Don't hesitate to ask any questions. 

Regards, 

Olan