May 26, 2019

Week 6 Assignment: Replace Processed Foods with Whole Foods!

Wow! It’s hard to believe we’re in the last week of our 6 Week Fat Loss Challenge. Although this week’s assignment comes last in the challenge, it is top in importance. Our advice at Synergy has always been to minimize eating foods that come in a box, a bag or a can. Heavily processed foods almost always contain added sugars, high amounts of sodium and unhealthy fats and other additives and preservatives that are just plain bad for you.

If your diet is high in processed foods, it can be hard to make the switch. So, this week’s assignment is to start by replacing one processed food in your daily diet with a serving of veggies. For example, if you typically have a protein bar as a snack mid-day, replace it with a serving of carrots and hummus. Have steamed or grilled vegetables with your burger or steak instead of fries. Instead of snacking on a bag of chips try roasted chick peas or edamame. The more processed food to whole food swaps you can make, the better! Shoot for 3-4 servings of vegetables every day.

Here’s a fact that may surprise you. 75 percent of Americans are chronically dehydrated. Given that hydration is essential to almost every bodily function, that’s pretty serious! One thing that suffers tremendously from dehydration is your metabolism. Your muscles are more than 70% water, so when you’re not adequately hydrated, your metabolism slows down and that means you’re not burning fat.

This week’s challenge assignment is to increase your water intake. Every day this week add at least 8 ounces of water to what you drink. Your total should be about half your body weight in ounces. So if you’re 150 pounds, shoot for 75 ounces of water. Don’t overdo it and drink more than that. While you might think that more is better, drinking too much can strip your body of electrolytes. Be sure to drink your water throughout the day. And, sip it instead of chugging it so that it gets absorbed properly.