352 Day Challenge - The Guidelines

So what exactly is the 352 Day Challenge and what are the "guidelines"? As I said earlier, the challenge is not a weight-loss plan; it's a Lifestyle Plan. Weight loss is a result of the lifestyle change, not the goal. I lost 30 pounds eating according to nutrition and not calories. However, it took two years not just to achieve the goal, but to maintain the goal. So, the 352 Day Challenge is focused solely on nutrition, with weight-loss as a byproduct of eating great food. And the reason it's a 352 Day Challenge is because it's really meant to a "years-" long CHANGE that will be permanent to how you eat and prepare foods. 

So, the guidelines work like this...

1. All your food choices must be FRESH! So, from now on you will focus your grocery shopping ONLY on the edges of the grocery store experience where the fresh foods are sold. In fact, you will only rarely buy anything out of the middle of the grocery store (e.g., spices).

2. You MUST include in each meal a healthy balance of foods. Your plate should always include a protein, vegetable, and a carb. Protein balances out the carb and will also help prevent things like Type II Diabetes. Notice I'm not discouraging carbs. Most diets want you to lose the carbs, but a healthy diet includes some carbs. 

3. Lose everything with white sugar in it. We all know that "sugar is evil", and we've become a nation of sugar addicts. This part of the challenge is going to really be difficult for sugar addicts. You might even be thinking, "I quit right there!" LOL... it's okay, I understand, but here's the good news! You can eat FRUIT! I don't put any restrictions on fresh fruit. Again, go back to guideline #1 and pick your dessert items from the fresh fruits. Hey, I'm not even saying you can't have dessert.

4. No more cooking in vegetable or corn oils. You have so many great replacement oils available. Use olive, sweet almond, coconut, avocado oils. These oils usually are in the specialty section of baking (see, another choice you're allowed from the middle of the store). I like to choose my cooking oil based on my dish's flavor. 

5. Guess what! You get butter! REAL butter! Time to throw out your butter replacements. Perhaps you're wondering how do you lose weight eating real butter? Remember, this ISN'T a weight-loss diet. It's about healthy choices you can LIVE with. 

6. Use spices to replace heavy sauces or create lighter versions of your own. It's about flavor not loads of sauce or gravy. I don't eliminate sauce altogether, but if I can spice a food and limit sauces, I do so. That creates lighter, calorie conscience meals. 

7. And here's the big groan ... noooooo! For women limit your daily calorie intake to 1500 a day. Trust me, it's doable and you still get to eat fabulous food. Now you might say, "Michelle, those are diet calories!" And my quick answer is, you're also trying to avoid gaining weight. My nutritionist recommended that guideline, and it made me more aware of my food choices, too. Here's the other piece of the puzzle, when you're eating for nutrition and not weight loss, you will find it VERY easy to stay around 1500 calories a day. Men, I'm not sure what your calorie intake should be, but I think around 2000. You can ask a nutritionist or just Google it (the magic wand to all questions lol).

8. Moderation, moderation, moderation! Just because the food is nutritious doesn't mean you need to overload your plate! Keep your plate balanced with each serving. I'm not asking you to starve. I'm going to emphasize again, this is a LIFESTYLE. Asking people to starve themselves won't help. The old habits will take over again. I find if I'm eating great foods, then I am happy with it. 

9. Never, ever step on the scale -- focus on the food. You may start to fit your clothes better or go down a size or two, but since it's a lifestyle and not a diet, no scale! Keep your attention on the food, not the weight. The weight will magically be lost (if you follow these guidelines). As I said, weight loss is the byproduct. 

10. Don't deprive yourself ... yes, we know sugar is evil and fatty foods bad for our hearts, etc. But every now and again when you just have to have something, eat it, friends. The more you deprive yourself, the more likely you are to quit the challenge. A treat here and there won't be the end of the world. For you sugar addicts, though, you might not want to get started again ... just sayin'.

All right my lovelies, the next blog post will be recipe time! Food and fun, here we go.