6 Week Nutrition Challenge

So.....why are we doing the 800g gram challenge??

Well, nutrition is tough.  I bet if we asked, you could tell us what you need to do with your diet, at least a general idea?  Doing it, however, is another story, isn't it?

The Lazy Macro Challenge, as it is called, is one of the best ways to keep nutrition simple. The premise is this: eat the recommended amount of good stuff (more on that below), then fill in the rest with whatever you want.  I.E. if you fill your bowel with healthy fruits, there is very little room for Fruity Pebbles. More good, by default, equals less bad.

What are the 800g's about?

Your daily intake of fruits and veggies needs to equal 800g in weight. It can be cooked, canned, frozen, or fresh.  Weigh everything you eat, so no rinds, peels, or cores. A food scale will certainly help you with this project, but a closed fist in size is roughly 100g. You can find a scale for as little as $10 online.

Other rules for the 800g's...like what counts and what does not?

NO:

-Pre-made items from stores or restaurants like soups, smoothies, burritos, etc.

-No dried anything, even fruit!

-No juice or milk

-Nothing fried of course!

-No quinoa or buckwheat (even if these can be considered healthy, they just do not count for this challenge)

-Popcorn! (I know you may want to quit right here and now, but Popcorn you can eat, it just does not count toward your 800!)

YES's:

-All fruits and veggies, including

-Avocado

-Canned items if in water and-or spices only

-Coconut, fresh or frozen

-Corn

-Picked foods

-Legumes, lentils, peas

-Potatoes (remember, not fried!)

-Salsa, duh

-Tomato sauce without added water, oil, or sugar

-Tofu if beans and spices only

What else do you need to know about the Challenge?

PROTEIN!

We will be giving you your protein numbers. Technically, any protein you consume would/will count toward your total. The goal, however, is to consume high protein content foods such as lean meat or protein powders. Good news, if you hit your 800g of Fruits and Veggies, you get to count 10g toward your protein total.

Don't forget to use the food labels for protein information. You can also you a food tracker like MyFitnessPal....but then again this is the "Lazy Challenge", so here is a list of protein sources and amounts:

- bacon, 1 ounce = 9g

- beef (ground, lean), 3 ounces = 21g

- chicken breast (cooked), 3 ounces = 26g

- cod (Atlantic), 3 ounces = 19g

- haddock (smoked), 3 ounces = 21g

- ham (meat only, roasted), 3 ounces, 21g

- hot dog (beef), 1 each = 7g

- pork (ground), 3 ounces = 22g

- salmon (Atlantic), 3 ounces = 22g

- sausage link (pork or beef), 1 link = 9g

- shrimp (fresh), 3 ounces = 12g

- tuna (canned, light), 3 ounces = 17g

- turkey (light meat), 3 ounces = 25g

- turkey (ground), 3 ounces = 23g

Last, other scoring opportunities per day:

- 1 point for 7 hours of sleep or more

- 1 point for completing our workout

- 2 points for the 800g and

- 2 points for hitting your protein total

If your brain is already thinking about how to handle all this, rest easy, there is an app to help you along the way.  You will still need to weigh and keep track, but the app will take care of the rest.

If you have any questions, reach out to Ariel or Matt!

Best of Luck!

P.S. - 6 cups of most fruits and veggies will equal 800g!