Eight Week Transition Diet CHALLENGE! Join me Jan 24!

Yeah! Glad we got some people who want to do this.

Here's the run down of Week 1 :-)

No junk. Eliminate junk food from your diet. That's it, just junk. Other than this, you can eat whatever and whenever you like. Now, how hard can that be? Guess this depends on what I mean by "junk." But all I'm concerned with this week is the obvious stuff like potato chips, candy, ice cream, cake, etc. You may be stricter if you'd like, but for Week 1, don't be too hard on yourself. For many of you, this step alone will reap huge benefits.

Cheat Days: 2
Since no one's perfect, you get 2 days to cheat. That's right, 2 days where you can eat anything you want! A trick on these days (and, yes, this means there will be more) is to listen to your body. At first, it'll probably tell you it wants whatever you've been denying it. However, over time, it'll start to crave nutrients you're deficient in. Learn to read your body's subtleties. If you're craving ice cream, you may be short on essential fatty acids. If you crave a hamburger, your diet may lack protein. This way, you can make better food substitutions. It's a way of getting in tune with yourself that will benefit you for your entire lifetime.

Weekly focus: Water. Not swimming in it, though that's good too, but staying hydrated with it. You should drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water per day. Diet sodas and such are no substitute, because they contain a passel of ingredients that live right at the bottom of the junk heap. Drinking a glass of water when you feel hunger pangs coming on will not only keep you hydrated, but will help stave off your hunger to some degree.

As for other drinks, juices and sugary sodas also (obviously) fall into the junk category. And alcohol should be kept to a minimum. We tend to forget (purposely or not) that alcohol has calories. A lot of them: 7 calories per gram. Mixers can be even worse—not only can they add calories, but sugary calories influence the way alcohol reacts with your body. When you do drink, red wine is the alcohol of choice, with natural beer running second.

I started a FB group for this too if anyone wants to chat there:
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=182552908445343&ref=ts

Bump - I know there are more people out there who want to join us!!

Ok i'm in So how are we going to be accountable? Are we each going to try to post each day to say how we're getting on?

I have sent some friend requests and my food diary is open for anyone to view.

I'm not much of a creative cook but it would be nice for anyone here who is to post any recipes for healthy meals that fit in with the transition.

Looking forward to a great challenge with all of you :happy:

Yes, I think we should post every day if you met the goals for the week or not. And remember, week 1 you get TWO cheat days. So really, you can go five days next week without junk food, right?? Just don't put it in your mouth. :-)