McKinley Grapevine

 

Biggest Loser Challenge:

This challenge is simple.  The team that loses the most weight…WINS! 

Now, put your team together, assign a team captain and then email me your team’s name and the names of the people on your team.  Next, schedule your weekly or bi-weekly weigh in.  Remember to weigh yourself on the same scale and at the same time of day if possible.  Report your weight to your team captain who will be in charge of keeping track of everyone’s weight loss.

Where to start?  If you don’t already have a plan of action, start by reading some of the short articles on the Grapevine (www.grapevine.mckinley.com) under Weight Loss 101, such as:

~ How many calories do you NEED?

~ Do you really understand how to lose 1lb?

~ Physical Hunger vs. Emotional Hunger

The challenge will start on Monday, January 6^th 2014 and will end on Monday, May 5^th 2014.  This is a four month challenge for two reasons:

1.       The first month will be an educational month for most.  You’ll be figuring out what kind of adjustments you need to make to your diet and your schedule.  Make the time for strength training and cardio!!  If you’re just starting out I recommend finding a fun class to join or a fun friend to workout with J.  The remaining three months will be spent mastering your new routine!

2.       There will be two, two month challenges for everyone to participate in during the Biggest Loser Challenge.  These two month challenges will serve two purposes: 1. To help those trying to lose weight in the Biggest Loser Challenge.  2. To help those not trying to lose weight get stronger and push their cardiovascular limits!

The team that loses the most weight by May, 5^th 2014 will win a $100 gift card to their choice of grocery store or restaurant.  You can also create a competition within your team.  If you choose to, have each one of your participants submit $20-$50 into a pot at the beginning or end of the challenge.  The person who loses the most weight will win the pot of money!!

Cardio Challenge:

The cardio challenge will be measured by time.  The team with the most amount of cardio minutes/hours will win a $100 gift card to their choice of restaurant or grocery store.  Put your team together, assign a team captain and then email me your team’s name and the names of the people on your team.  Keep track of your cardio minutes and email them to your team captain weekly.

I have received questions about what will count for cardio minutes when it comes to classes or sports.  Before I go into some examples of what counts and what does not, let me be clear about what the point of this challenge is.  I want you to carve out a specific time in your schedule to do cardio.  I also want you to challenge yourself with the type of cardio you choose.  If you are a runner, choosing to take a walk would not be challenging.  If you are new to any kind of cardio activity and you choose to walk on the treadmill at an incline and a brisk pace, that would be a great challenge!  Email me if you would like some help coming up with the appropriate cardio activity for you. 

Here are some examples of what counts, what does not and the amount of time:

1.       There are both strength and cardio components in my classes.  If you are attending one of my circuit training classes, you can count that as 20min of cardio.  If you are attending one of my H.I.I.T. classes, you can count that as 15min of cardio.

2.       Sports: Hockey, basketball, soccer, volleyball, racquet ball…approximate how much time you actually played throughout the game and count that as your minutes…not the duration of the whole game (unless of course you played the whole game J ).  I would not count rock climbing as cardio.  While it is a great activity, it definitely involves more strength than cardio.

3.       Cardio classes: Zumba, spinning, step aerobics, boot camp, kick boxing…count the duration of the whole class.

4.       Shopping:  Window shopping does NOT count but if you are going with the specific intent of walking the halls of the mall aka “Mall Walking”, that does count.  

The challenge will start on Monday, January 6^th 2014 and end on Monday, March 3^rd 2014.

FYI, I will NOT be dividing the total number of lbs lost or total number of cardio minutes by the number of people on your team.  Why?  I feel it will encourage more people to create a team instead of doing the challenge on their own.  I want you to take advantage of the encouragement and accountability that come from being a part of a team J

Email me if you have questions or need some help getting started.  Also, email me your team’s name and the names of the people on your team by the end of the work day on Monday, January 6^th 2014.  Thanks!

Have a great weekend!!!

Hey McKinley!

Are you ready?!  The next Healthy Habits Challenge is the “Bring Your Lunch to Work” challenge!

We all go out to eat, some of us more than others.  Reasons why we choose to go out to eat will vary but in most situations, it all comes down to a choice.  By participating in the challenge you can expect to save money and (if you choose the right food) calories!  The purpose of this challenge is to make you aware of how often you eat out, how much money is spent by eating out and give you solutions to help you prepare for your week.  I realize going out to eat is a social event and is healthy to do.  However, eating out 6-7 times/weekly may be a bit extreme.  I want to show you it is possible to plan ahead so you can “Bring Your Lunch to Work”, even with a hectic schedule :).

How to be successful with this challenge:

1. Plan out your meals for the week on Saturday or Sunday.  Go to “Cooking Smart” on the Grapevine to get some recipe ideas.
http://grapevine.mckinley.com/?cat=20
I would recommend choosing at least one recipe for dinner that will give you left overs for lunch the next day.

2. Make your shopping list with the ingredients you will need for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Don’t go to the grocery store without one. If you do, you can almost always count on forgetting something which will result in a second trip tot he grocery store. Do you have time for a second trip?  Not likely 🙂

3. Choose one meal/snack to be a food you don’t have to prepare:
~ almonds, pistachios, walnuts
~ cheese stick
~ lunch meat
~ apple, frozen blueberries or grapes, pear
~ protein bar (I recommend Power Crunch)
~ greek yogurt
~ Veggies and hummus.  This requires some light prep, but you will save money buy cutting your own veggies instead of buying the pre cut ones.  Buying the pre cut veggies is still acceptable.  If you choose to cut your own, keep them in an air tight container with a soaking wet paper towel.  It will keep your veggies fresh.
~ Cucumber, celery, peppers, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower

4. Choose two “scoop and go” or “grab and go” lunch/snack (here are a few examples, there are many more on the Grapevine):
~ Quinoa Salad – http://www.eatingwell.com/print/5911 (check out cooking with Quinoa on the Grapevine)
~ Tuscan Style Tuna Style – http://www.eatingwell.com/print/4596
~ Hard boiled eggs
~ Gluten free HIGH protein muffins ~ http://www.glutenfreefitness.com/ridiculously-high-protein-high-fiber-gluten-free-muffin-recipe/ .  I have prepared these the last two weeks with 3 alterations. 1. I used 1/2 cup of pumpkin puree instead of 1/4 cup.  2. I used 3/4 cup of protein powder instead of 1/2 cup. 3. I didn’t use any sweetener because I used dark chocolate chips.  They’re DELICIOUS!!

This is how the challenge will work.  You will earn 1 point for every day you choose not to eat out…at all!  You will form a team and choose one person from your team to keep track of your points.  At the end of the challenge the team with the most points/person will win $100 GC to their choice of grocery store (I can split the GC up evenly between your teammates if needed). The challenge will start on Monday October, 14 2013 and will end on Monday November, 11 2013.  Email me with any questions and enjoy the rest of your afternoon!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith

Hey McKinley!!

For this next Healthy Habits Challenge we are going to focus on our SODIUM intake!  First I think it’s important for everyone to understand what sodium is, why and when we need it and in what quantity.

Sodium is an electrolyte that your body needs to help maintain the right balance of fluids in your body, transmit nerve impulses and influences the contraction and relaxation of muscles.  Depending on your age and activity level you only NEED between 1500 – 2300mg of sodium daily.  According to the American Heart Association the average American consumes 3400mg of sodium daily.  Unfortunately our busy lifestyles tend to be the culprit…unless you have a personal chef at home who is preparing all of your meals from scratch :).   Otherwise, we usually choose convenience over quality and reach for processed/packaged meals or fast food which in most cases are loaded with sodium.

When we think of the problems that can come from eating a high sodium diet the most common things that come to mind are high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.  Some other risks are cirrhosis (chronic liver disease), kidney disease, osteoporosis and edema.  The best way to understand how a diet high in sodium contributes to these diseases, is to understand the process our bodies go through to balance out our sodium levels.

According to www.mayoclinic.com, ” Your kidneys naturally balance the amount of sodium stored in your body for optimal health. When your body sodium is low, your kidneys essentially hold on to the sodium. When body sodium is high, your kidneys excrete the excess in urine.  But if for some reason your kidneys can’t eliminate enough sodium, the sodium starts to build up in your blood. Because sodium attracts and holds water, your blood volume increases, which makes your heart work harder and increases pressure in your arteries. Such diseases as congestive heart failure, cirrhosis and chronic kidney disease can make it hard for your kidneys to keep sodium levels balanced.  Some people’s bodies are more sensitive to the effects of sodium than are others. If you’re sodium sensitive, you retain sodium more easily, leading to fluid retention and increased blood pressure. If this becomes chronic, it can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and congestive heart failure”.

How you determine what your daily sodium intake should be will depend on:
1. What your Doctor suggests.  If you already have high blood pressure, your daily dose may be less than 1500mg so be sure to ask your Doc!
2. What your activity level is and how much you sweat.  According to Kris Osterberg, R.D., of the Gatorade Sports Science Institute in Barrington, Illinois, one of the few places in the world that measures salt loss, “The answer depends on a variety of factors, including the weather and your physiology. A heavy sweater who has a high salt concentration could lose 1,300 mg of sodium during a 5-K, whereas a light sweater might only lose 155 mg. Elite athletes take a salt test to know how much sodium to replace. All the rest of us need to do is look at our skin. If you can play tic-tac-toe in the white residue, consume a salty snack or a sports drink with about 200 mg of sodium per serving after a workout”.
3. Your age.  The prevalence of high blood pressure increases with age.  According to the Mayo Clinic and several other sources 51 seems to be the magic number so for those of you who are 51 or older it is recommended that you keep your sodium intake below 1500mg daily.

Now for the challenge.  You will earn 1 point for every day your sodium intake is below 2500mg and 2 points for every day your sodium intake in below 2000mg.  The challenge will start on Monday July, 22 2013, so you will have plenty of time to get your team together and prepare.  Choose one person on your team to keep track of your points and the team with the most points per person will win a gift card to their favorite lunch spot!!  Next week I will send emails out with:
~ foods that naturally contain 0 sodium
~ foods that naturally contain sodium
~ processed/packaged and fast foods to AVOID
~ simple low sodium recipes to cook at home

Email me with any questions.  Have a wonderful day!!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith

Hey McKinley!!

SUGAR!!  For this Healthy Habits Challenge we will be focusing on reducing everyone’s sugar intake.  As it stands today the average adult consumes 22tsp of sugar daily and the average child consumes 32tsp of sugar DAILY!  One tsp of sugar equals about 5g which means the average adult consumes 110g.  There are obvious reasons why we need to avoid refined sugar like obesity, but it has also been linked to heart disease, metabolic syndrome, cancer and several other diseases.  Other than the taste (which unfortunately the more you eat it the more you want it and THINK you NEED it) nothing good ever comes from refined sugar.

The American Heart Association recommends consuming NO MORE than 9tsp or 45g of sugar daily for men and 6tsp or 30g of sugar daily for women.  I know these numbers may seem impossible to stay under considering there is sugar in almost everything we eat but it is possible.  For the last 6 months I have consistently stayed under 40g of sugar give or take some.  I do have a cheat day where I will consume more sugar than usual but not too much because I end up paying for it the next day with a kickin’ headache and an overall sluggish feeling.  That feeling tends to be motivation enough for me to avoid sugar.  The types of sugars they are recommending we avoid are refined sugars:
~ doughnuts, cakes, cookies, pastries, ice cream
~ white bread
~ soda, energy drinks, sports drinks, specialty coffees
~ the list goes on but you get the idea

The acceptable sugars are those that come from:
~ fresh and frozen fruit or fruit purees
~ fresh or frozen veggies
~ fruit juice (not from concentrate)
~ honey
~ agave nectar

Some of you may be thinking “No problem, I’ll just stick to “diet” food and drinks”.  Well, you could do that but beware of the artificial sweeteners because some will do more harm than you think.  Over a year ago I posted a video about diet pop and weight gain, watch it again to refresh your memory:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpoAtwVyzZI

Sweeten your food with honey, agave nectar, stevia or truvia.

For this challenge I would like you to keep track of ALL sugar grams you consume, fruit and veggies included.  To earn 1 point you will need to keep your daily sugar intake below 60g.  To earn 2 points you will need to keep your daily sugar intake below 40g.  Later this week I will email a list of foods and drinks with their sugar content so you will have some point of reference.  Start rounding up your team today and designate 1 person to keep track of your points.  The winning team will receive a gift card to their choice of restaurant for a victory lunch (McDonald’s is NOT an option!)  The challenge will start on Monday May, 13th 2013 and end on Monday June, 10th 2013.  Good luck to you all and email me with any questions.  Have an AWESOME afternoon!!

Yours in Health and Wellness,

Meredith Mitchell

The next 30 day Healthy Habits Challenge will be starting in a couple of weeks.  Some of you may be saying to yourselves  “What’s the big deal with these challenges, once the incentive or competition is over I’ll probably just go back to my old routine.”  Maybe you will, the choice is all yours.  However, the point of these challenges is to get you to try a new healthy habit and see if it’s something you could make a part of your daily routine :).

Natalie Walker shared this link with me and I wanted to pass it along to all of you.  Click the link below and take 3 minutes and 27 seconds to hear this guys experience with taking 30 day challenges..it’s pretty cool!!  Email me if you have a certain challenge in mind you would like to participate in, I’m always open to suggestions :).
http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html

Hey McKinley!

The next challenge is….”The Biggest IMPROVER” challenge.  I received some requests to have a Biggest Loser contest, but I wanted the challenge to appeal to as many of you as possible.  So, instead of just focusing on “weight loss”, there will be a “strength” and a “cardio” category as well.  There will be 3 winners, one for each category.  The person who has made the Biggest Improvement based on percentage will win and $40 gift card to their choice of grocery store or restaurant!

This is how it will work:
1. Choose from one or more of the categories below what you want to improve on
2. On day 1 of the challenge you will need to email me your name, what you’re choosing to improve on and your current weight, 10 rep max, 1 mile time or 10 lap time.  Here are three examples:
Sally Smith:
Bench Press, 10 rep max = 135lbs
Sherry Ross:
Weight Loss, 165lbs
John Morris
1 mile time = 9:47min
3. The challenge will last for 6 weeks.  On the last day of the challenge you will need to email me your final weight, 10 rep max, 1 mile or 10 lap time

Categories:

1. Weight Loss

2. Strength:
Bench Press : 10 rep max
Push-ups :  max amount of reps in 60 sec.
Squats : 10 rep max
Click the link below to watch correct form of the above exercises:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A70po0EQnUw

3. Cardio:
Run : 1 mile time
Swim : 10 lap time (1 lap = from shallow end to deep end 1x)

The challenge will begin on Monday February 18th, 2013 and end on April 1st, 2013.  Your entry as describe above must be sent in by the end of the work day on Monday the 18th.  Let me know if you have any questions.  Have a great afternoon!!

 

And the winners are…

Strength: Push-up Challenge

James Vuong

 

Cardio: 1 Mile Challenge

Jessica Robledo

 

Weight Loss Challenge

Denise Armstrong