CLEAN EATING CHALLENGE: PROPER EXPECTATIONS

We have almost made it through our first week of our 6 week challenge! As you may have noticed,  this first week may have come with a few challenges. That's because change is HARD, especially when it comes to nutrition. That being said, Jazmin and I have been very happy to see a strong start with participation, let's keep it up as we take on the weekend. We know several members are starting a week behind due to travel (or maybe this week just got away from you), either way we want to encourage everyone to get into the right headspace for week 2. To help keep motivation up we want to set proper expectations in regards to  the physical and mental changes you may experience over the course  of the challenge. 

Changes to expect from week to week...
​​
• Your blood sugar levels will stay stable leading to increases in energy.
• Your quality of sleep will improve which will help increase recovery.
• Improved digestion and regular bowel movements (very important and a sign of good health).
• Increased confidence and consistency. Each week healthy habits will become routine. This is where we transition away from fad dieting and move towards making long term lifestyle changes.
• Increases in your base of knowledge around nutrition specific to you. (a skill you should  continue to build on as your goals and lifestyle changes.)
• Increases in output in the gym. Your performance in workouts is directly influenced by the quality and quantity of foods you eat, take note to how your workouts change throughout the challenge.
 

Weekly Progress and Metrics

The important things to remember:

• Progress may come much slower than you would like. Sustainable weight loss often happens around one-half pound a week (not 1-2 pounds per week). This is NOT a fad diet. No matter what your goal is (weight loss, weight gain) it will take some time so do not get discouraged if you do not see quick results. Respect the process. 

• Water weight fluctuates day to day by ~2-4 pounds. You do not gain three pounds of fat in two days after you started a new diet; that is water weight. If you feel like you are retaining water weight, take a look at your daily hydration. Get your electrolytes in and drink plenty of water so you are not holding it due to lack of hydration. 

•  To get your true weight, you can weigh yourself daily and take a weekly average.  Use this as a tool but avoid equating progress solely by what you see on the scale. 

​• It may be helpful to pick a metric to track your progress that is measurable like waist circumference or number of max pull-ups rather than “how you feel.” Feelings are  influenced by so many other factors besides nutrition.

• It is not too late to take a progress picture! You look at yourself everyday so it is hard to pick up on the small changes occurring  from week to week. Take a couple of pictures and compare them after each phase. 

​
Daily Reflection

The more data we have the better. We want to push you all to give some feedback (both positive and negative) on how you are responding to the challenge. Remember that we are setting a baseline to build from in phase 1 so we will have to make adjustments throughout the challenge as needed. We know to make those adjustments based on your daily and weekly feedback. Keep a reflection log by noting daily stress, mood, and energy levels in and outside the gym. It will also be helpful to note satiety from day to day to ensure we are fueling adequately. Log your notes and earn that extra bonus point!

*These can be logged in a journal or added to your SugarWod notes, keep it simple and honest*