The Challenge began on Sunday, May 20 and ends on Thursday, May 24. When I say intense, in terms of the exercises, I mean INTENSE! She takes you through High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) in order to maximize on calorie burn. The workouts are quick, the longest one so far has taken about 25-30 minutes. That being said, they are also brutal. I'm in pretty good shape, I run 3-5 miles on most days of the week, but these workouts killed me. I had to verbally encourage myself to keep going. You know how they say to "find your mantra" and repeat it? Well that is what I had to do to get me through it!
As for the meal plan, it's pretty good, one of the best I've seen. It utilizes normal things (outside of the chia seeds and protein powder, but you don't have to use those). I ate omelets with a ton of veggies in them or yogurt and fruit, tuna or chicken lettuce wraps or giant salads with chicken or tuna on it for lunch, stir fry for supper, and even got to have snacks (bell peppers or carrots with hummus, which I love). The downside to the meal plan is that if you don't want to opt for the smoothie option using the protein powder or the protein powder pancakes, the menu gets old fast. I don't mind leftovers, but how many days can one eat stir fry? Since I'm cooking for my entire family, we all ate the stir fry and everyone liked it--on day 1 and 2, but by day 3 we were out of options. (the other supper choice is a dinner scramble, which is basically the stir fry only with eggs added in -- not going to fly with my family or me for that matter). But again, it's only 5 days. I've said many times this week, "I can do anything for 5 days." We'll see. One day left. Check my post Friday for my final update about how I did on the Challenge.
Aw I totally wanted to do the challenge but missed it.... Could you maybe share more info on the meal plan??
ReplyDeleteSure thing! This is just off my memory as I can't find the link to the meal plan on the website anymore. (I did find the link that has the "rules" to the meal plan, including portion information: http://amanda-russell.com/lifestyle/healthy-living/arfit-5-days-to-a-beach-body-challenge-faq/)
DeleteBreakfast ideas:
Energy Pancakes
1/2 banana
2-3 egg whites
1 scoop of protein powder (vanilla).
1/2 tbsp ground Chia Seeds
1 dash of cinnamon or maple syrup
Mix it all together with a fork. Pour into a preheated skillet (spray with canola oil), once the bottom has set, flip and finish cooking. Presto – Enjoy!
3 egg white scramble
add eggs and all the veggies that you want into this breakfast scramble
Sun Warrior (or other brand) Protein Smoothie
Lunch Ideas:
The Simple TUNA LETTUCE Wrap! Ingredients:
Servings: 2
1 teaspoon capers (optional)
5-10 chopped cashews or almonds
¾ cup chopped celery
6 ounces chunk light tuna packed in water
8 kalamata olives (optional)
½ cup chopped onion
1-2 tablespoon mild salsa
4 large lettuce leaves
1 teaspoon pepper
Directions:
Prep Time: 5-10 mins
Total Time: 5-10 mins
Mix tuna, salsa, cashews, capers, onion, and celery in a small bowl. Sprinkle with pepper if desired. Wash and pat dry lettuce and leave whole. Place tuna mixture in the lettuce down the center of the stalk.
Wrap and enjoy!
Protein Salad:
Any type of greens (especially dark leafy greens, i.e. spinach, kale, collards, etc)
Any veggies (the more the merrier)
tuna or chicken breast
vinegar and oil salad dressing
Sun Warrior (or other brand) Protein Smoothie
Dinner Ideas:
dinner scramble:
any combo of veggies plus egg whites
dinner stir fry:
any combo of veggies plus protein (shrimp or chicken, tofu or egg whites)
Snacks include:
Chia health bar
Protein Smoothie
Green peppers with 2 Tbs. of Hummus
Baby carrots with Hummus
Coconut water
coconut water mixed with cranberry juice
No sugar, no sugary drinks, no bread. It is a clean diet, made up mostly of fresh fruits and vegetables, plus lean proteins. Sorry that I don't have it exactly, but it's pretty complete.
thanks!
Meg