Week 4
Januart 25 - 31
End of Week 3 Check-In:
What is your current point total?
Did you accomplish your personal goal you set to accomplish last week? If so, give yourself a point!
What days and times are you planning to workout for Week 4? If you are planning to come to the livestream, be sure to register through MINDBODY.
Plan out your meals for the week ahead. Take the time now to set yourself up for success for the week. When you plan ahead you take out the guess work. Feel free to use the blank weekly meal sheet. As you write out your meals, write down what ingredients you need and make your shopping list.
How are you doing with the daily water goal? Is it getting easier?
How did you do with the nutrition goal of limiting added sugar? Was it harder or easier than you though? Did you notice a difference in how you felt?
On a scale 1-10 (1 is horrible, 10 is amazing), rate your sleep for the last week.
On a scale 1-10 rate your nutrition for the last week.
On a scale 1-10 rate your stress/stress management for the last week.
On a scale 1-10 rate your exercise for the last week.
Reflecting back on your sleep, nutrition, stress, and exercise, what can you do differently to set yourself up for success for Week 3?
What is one goal you would like to accomplish this new week? Again, this can be anything!
Is there anything else you would like to share? I’m all ears!
Nutrtion Goal
The nutrition goal for this week is to eat adequate amounts of protein each day. To help make this measurable, try to aim for eating protein at your three main meals.
Why are we focusing on adequate protein intake?
Protein is found in every cell, and plays a part in thousands of essential chemical reactions. It’s needed for everything from hormone regulation and enzyme production to the regulation of muscle mass and body fat levels. Eating a variety of protein-rich foods can help to support your ability to metabolize fat while supporting structural tissue (AKA muscle) production that can help sculpt a lean, fit physique. Protein is also important for healthy and vibrant skin, hair, and nails, as well as a healthy immune system and metabolism that can efficiently burn fat and keep you energized.
Protein 101
Proteins are macromolecules that are made of amino acids, which are building blocks that “code” and build new proteins. There are 20 amino acids, and 9 of them (histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan, and valine) are considered essential because your body can’t make them on its own which means you must get them from the foods you eat (which is why eating a diverse diet is so important).
Protein is needed for just about every process your body undergoes on a regular basis. Here are a few of its most important functions:
Hormones: Believe it or not, these are actually proteins! Hormones such as insulin, glucagon, and HGH play a signaling role in the body, communicating between different organs and cells
Enzyme production: Protein helps to construct enzymes, which are substances that catalyze chemical reactions. Enzymes are required for many body processes including muscle contraction, digestion, and protein synthesis
Tissue structure: Protein provides the structure for cells, muscle, and other connective tissues (such as skin, nails, and hair). Important structural proteins include keratin, collagen, and elastin
Immune health: Immunoglobulins (antibodies) are a type of protein, and they manage your immune health by protecting your body against bacteria, viruses, and other toxins
Nutrient transport and storage: Many proteins are responsible for storing and/or moving other nutrients around the body. For example, lipoproteins transport cholesterol, while ferritin stores iron
Energy: Protein provides energy to allow you to go about your daily activities
How Much Protein Do I Need?
Everybody is different and there is not one size fits all for how much protein you need. There are a lot of different facets such as your age, height, weight, activity level, muscles mass, goals, etc. that will play a role into how much protein your body needs.
The Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) for protein for healthy adults is 0.8 grams per kg body weight – which works out to about 0.36 grams per pound (which is low in my opinion - remember that a RDA is simply a level of nutrient intake that is sufficient for most people, so you can think of it as a minimum threshold to keep you healthy).
The Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) is .36g of protein per pound of body weight. A common range for protein intake is 0.7-1g per pound of body weight. If you are more active, try to stick to the higher side. For example, I am 120 pounds so I should aim to eat 84-120g of protein per day.
When you don’t eat enough protein, your body will break down muscle tissue to get the amino acids it needs for energy production and other bodily processes and we don’t want that!! It is important to eat protein throughout the day because unlike carbs, you body doesn’t have a storage tank for protein. Also, your body can only really only absorb about 25-35g of protein per meal or every few hours so you can’t just eat all your protein at once and think you are in the clear.
Going back to our sugar talk, if you aren’t eating enough protein, your body will look for a quick fix for an energy source and cause you to crave sugar or processed carbs which will lead you to feeling fatigued, stresses, cause poor sleep quality, bloating, more cravings, and even muscle/joint pain.
Protein Sources and Servings
Protein servings can typically be gauged by the size of your palm. 1 palm typically equals about 3oz which is about 1 serving of protein. Here are some examples:
3oz of a cooked chicken breast is about 26g of protein
3oz of cooked streak is about 25g of protein
4oz of cooked salmon is about 27g of protein
4oz of cooked shrimp is about 26g of protein
4oz canned tuna is about 22g of protein
1 large egg is about 6g of protein
1/2 cup cooked black beans is about 8g of protein
2 tbsp of pb is about 7g of protein (but high in fat which means high in calories)
1/2 cup cooked quinoa is about 4g of protein
1 scoop of protein powder is usually 22-30g of protein
Animal Sources (grass-fed, free range, and wild caught whenever possible):
Meat: beef, bison, pork, wild game
Poultry: chicken, turkey
Seafood: fish (cod, haddock, tuna, flounder, perch, halibut) and shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster, scallops, oysters)
Dairy: Greek yogurt, milk, cheeses, fermented dairy products like kefir
Plant Sources:
Seeds: chia, sunflower, pumpkin, flax, sesame
Nuts: almonds, pistachios, walnuts, cashews, brazil nuts, peanuts
Legumes: Lupin, Lentils, Green Peas, Soybeans (tempeh/tofu), Red beans, Black beans, Yellow beans, Fava beans, Chickpeas
Whole grains: quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, wheat, rice, corn, oats (ensure your grains are soaked, sprouted, or fermented to consume, and that you’re looking for non-GMO plants)
Some Vegetables: i.e. avocado, broccoli, spinach, kale, sweet potatoes (these all contain some protein, but are not adequate protein sources on their own.)
DAILY BONUS POINTS
Jan. 25 - Lemon water in the morning
Jan. 26 - Have at least 5 servings of fruits/veggies
Jan. 27 - Floss your teeth
Jan. 28 - No dairy/no gluten
Jan. 29 - Meditate for at least 10 minutes
Jan. 30 - Make your bed
Jan. 31 - Drink 1 gallon of water
FINAL check-in
Take your end of challenge progress photos and measurements. You do not have to share these with me, but I always love and appreciate any sort of progress photos or written testimonial as my business thrives on these!
What is your final point total? (Winner will be announced Monday so please have your points in by Sunday, 1/31, by midnight to be counted)
How did you do with the nutrition goal of eating protein at every main meal?
Did you accomplish your personal goal you set to accomplish last week? If so, give yourself a point!
On a scale 1-10 (1 is horrible, 10 is amazing), rate your sleep for the last week.
On a scale 1-10 rate your nutrition for the last week.
On a scale 1-10 rate your stress/stress management for the last week.
On a scale 1-10 rate your exercise for the last week.
Overall, how did you do with the water goal throughout this challenge? Did you notice a positive improvement?
Overall, how did you do with the nutrition goals throughout this challenge?
Reflecting back, what was your favorite apart of this challenge? What positive changes have you noticed?
What was the hardest part of this challenge, if any?
What do you plan on doing next month to continue to support your health and fitness?
Is there anything else you would like to share? I’m all ears!