Fit for Fall Challenge - 6/20 - 9/05

I'm so excited for tomorrow's weigh in!!!!!

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~WEEK 2 CHALLENGE~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This challenge starts Monday, June 27
Exercise: This week's exercise challenge has 2 parts.
Part 1. Find a new exercise, or exercise motivation to kick things up and add a new fire to your workout/burn. Examples: finding/starting a new workout DVD, turning your walk into a walk/jog (or C25K), joining an additional challenge with a specific exercise goal (Loveme445 posts a weekly challenge with specific exercise goals, like 210 jumping jacks in a week, I'll post the link for this week's when she puts it up tonite or tomorrow), jogging up and down the stairs in your house for 5 minutes, etc. It can really be anything, it's up to you, just find something new and fun to keep you going!
Part 2. Log 245 minutes of calorie burn (including your new exercise) this week. That's an average of 35 minutes per day for the week.

Food:
Be sure you are eating a lean protein with every meal, including snacks. A common weight loss mistake is to avoid proteins b/c they are high calorie and eat more carbs instead as they tend to be lower cal. This ultimately makes you hungrier b/c you burn them faster. it's worth spending a good portion of your daily cals on proteins as they stay with you longer and help you build muscle, which in turn burns fat. When you are in a calorie deficit (which is how you lose weight) your body will burn up muscle while burning fat (it's typically 10- 20% of your loss is muscle, even if you are working out). One way to ensure that you add back the muscle to help you burn calories is to eat enough protein, which is an essential component to muscles. Ideas for lean proteins: yogurt (watch the sugar, though - greek is a good choice), cheese (Jess is cheering, I can hear it!), almonds, cashews, salmon (any fish), chicken, lean beef (sparingly!), beans, edamame, cottage cheese, (soybeans), low fat milk (even chocolate milk), and there's lots more.
Share your favorite proteins with us so we can all get ideas!

Happy week 2 challenging!
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just went to cookinglight.com or meal ideas for this week and found that they had this great piece/recipe ideas on protein-rich foods: http://www.cookinglight.com/healthy-living/fitness/protein-rich-foods-00412000071660/

Lean Beef
In addition to being full of protein, beef is also a good source of B vitamins and iron. However, many consider red meat unhealthy because of high saturated fat content and added hormones. Therefore, when shopping for beef, look for leaner cuts like top round, top sirloin, and flank steak. A general guideline is to look for a minimum 2 g protein to 1 g fat ratio. For ground beef, buy 90 percent lean or leaner. Also, whenever possible buy grass fed beef because this meat contains additional omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), both healthy types of fat.
Fish
Salmon, tuna and shrimp are just a few sources of seafood lean protein sources.
Egg whites
An egg consists of a white and a yolk. The white is a fast digesting protein while the yolk contains fat and cholesterol in addition to protein. By removing the yolk, you can eliminate a vast majority of the calories present in the egg without sacrificing all the protein content
Beans
Also high in fiber, beans are one of the rare plant sources of complete protein (containing all essential amino acids). There are a variety of bean types that provide similar nutritional benefits, including navy, pinto and black beans.
Protein Powder
For individuals who have a difficult time getting the appropriate amount of protein from whole food, protein powder is a convenient alternative. Protein powder can come from a variety of sources, including whey, casein, egg, soy and hemp. To select the type that is right for you, recognize that whey and casein are dairy sources and may cause gastrointestinal discomfort.