JANUARY
Nourish: Perfect Plate Challenge
MONTHLY
CHALLENGE SERIES
Monthly challenges are all
about helping you learn new
tips, tricks and techniques for
better nutrition and fitness.
THRIVE challenges are optional
but we hope you will join us
every month to lean a little
further into your best you! Try
one. Try both!
The majority of the challenges
are not intended to be
sustainable, rather take you a
bit out of your comfort zone for
a period of time so that you can
determine if you can
incorporate this or a similar
concept into your life on a more
regular basis. For those who
jump in and stay the course for
the month, the sense of
accomplishment and pride in
achieving these often difficult
challenges will hopefully keep
you coming back for more!
This month’s challenge is to work on finetuning your nutrition. Getting and
staying healthy is less about counting calories or removing specific things from
your
diet than it is about
focusing on adding as
many
nutrients to your plate
and
aiming for the right
balance of
macronutrients.
In
build
time
January, your goal is to
a “perfect plate” each
you eat. The perfect plate
challenge is all about
eating
the three macronutrients
your
body needs at each meal:
Protein, Carb & Fat. Examples of protein-dense foods include fish, poultry,
beef, eggs, tofu, Greek yogurt. Examples of healthy fats include avocado, nuts,
olive oils, nut butters. See below for examples of “smart” carbs.
A FEW WORDS ABOUT CARBS:
Not all carbs are created equal, not by a longshot. When you think about
building your perfect plate, think “smart” carbs. The body prefers
carbohydrates as its primary source of energy, and smart carbohydrates are
ideal as they release energy slowly. This supplies steady energy, unlike the
quick bursts and crashes that come with highly processed carbohydrates.
Examples of smart carbs include fruits, whole grain breads, whole grain pasta,
brown rice, oats, beans, sweet potatoes. Steer clear of highly processed carbs
such as white bread, cookies, crackers, baked goods, snack foods, ice cream,
candy.
PORTIONS MATTER!
Tips and recipes will be on our
private Facebook group.
Be sure to track your daily
progress on the challenge
banner in the office to help
keep yourself accountable.
When building your Perfect Plate, make sure your portions are appropriate for
your size. Use your hand as a guide – it’s your body’s customized portion
measuring tool.
MEALS AND SNACKS SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY
Snacks should be treated the same as meals when it comes to nutrients – think
protein carb and fat. Instead of a bag of pretzels, think a handful of carrots
dipped in hummus or some yogurt topped with fruit and crushed nuts.
JANUARY
MONTHLY
CHALLENGE SERIES
Monthly challenges are all about
helping you learn new tips,
tricks and techniques for better
nutrition and fitness. THRIVE
challenges are optional but we
hope you will join us every
month to lean a little further
into your best you! Try one. Try
both!
The majority of the challenges
are not intended to be
sustainable, rather take you a
bit out of your comfort zone for
a period of time so that you can
determine if you can
incorporate this or a similar
concept into your life on a more
regular basis. For those who
jump in and stay the course for
the month, the sense of
accomplishment and pride in
achieving these often difficult
challenges will hopefully keep
you coming back for more!
Tips and recipes will be on our
private Facebook group.
Be sure to track your daily
progress on the challenge banner
in the office to help keep
yourself accountable.
Fitness: Stretch It!
Moving your body is the cornerstone of its long term health. If there is
inactivity and immobility, injury is likely to follow. In January, we are
challenging you to STRETCH – to move your body in ways that may initially
be out of your comfort zone, but that will ultimately become easier with
repetition.
Our focus this month is to help you move your body in the patterns that
not only support everyday function, but also support the underlying
foundation and structure that your body was built upon – your joints.
First, we’d like you to assess if there are any areas that might not feel great
and or you have had injury. For those areas, we would like you to give a
little extra TLC – try either doing more reps or working more often.
Everything else, a quick pass over every couple of days will be enough.
These stretching or movement exercises can be done anytime, anyplace. So
get ready. Get set. Stretch it!
Neck: Neck circles will ensure this mobile joint is released from all of the pressure received from texting,
computer work and the ever-present device use.
Shoulders: An injury-prone joint, shoulders need big range of motion exercises to ensure that the
mobility required for reaching, pulling, pushing and catching can be done safely and without strain.
Mid back: A-Frame rotations will ensure that this mobile joint continues to be mobile. As we age, our
upper and lower back (both stable joints) tend to take on the work the mid back should be doing,
resulting in pain and even injury.
Hips: CARS (Controlled Articular Rotations) are a great way to keep full mobility in this joint (feel free to
hold onto something). Maintaining hip mobility is the key to low back health and healthy knees.
Knee: Single leg knee bends will encourage this stable joint to work independently from the hip and
ankle and gain the strength and stability its needs to stay healthy.
Ankle: ABCs will bring the necessary mobility to this joint that weans with age, improper shoes and lack
of diversified movement.
Your goal should be 6-8 repetition of each stretch 3-5 times per week. Seem overwhelming? Break them up – do
your upper body one day, and lower another. Bringing this type of movement into your daily routine will take
approximately 5-10 minutes but the payback will be 1,000 fold!