WOD Blog

7/31 Myth Busting Monday

7/30/2023

Jill and Aliesha do ring rows in the 9am class.

800g Challenge Starts TODAY!
The Myth of: Food=Happiness and Exercise=Sexiness

I recently had a realization that we've been fed a lie. This lie is pervasive, persistent, and perturbing. We've been lied to our entire lives by the media, our families, our friends, doctors, food companies, exercise "experts," and all manner of well-meaning acquaintances. The lie is this: eat certain foods to feel a certain way and do physical exercise to look better. The realization I had is this is the complete opposite of the affect of food and exercise.
The food we eat has the most significant affect on our physical appearance. Six pack abs are not made through a thousand sit-ups, they're made through counting your macros. The food we eat can bloat our bellies, alter our hormones, give us GI distress, make our skin break-out, and make us look puffy, tired and sick. But, all of the messages about food is that we eat it to feel good. It's a treat. It's comfort. Have you had a rough day? Drink wine and eat chocolate to feel better. Want to celebrate a special occasion? Eat some cake and drink some champagne. Just had an epic bike ride or a big ski day? Go out for nachos and beer. Eat this to feel that.
We are told that eating and drinking will make us feel better. But, that's a lie. Physical activity makes us feel better. How many times have you dragged yourself to the gym in a dark and foul mood only to skip out the door after your workout feeling happy and unconquerable?
We are told that we can get a beach body, six pack-abs, big guns, tight buns, and "toned" (whatever toned means) by exercising. But, that's a lie. We get a beach body and all the rest of the things by eating meat, vegetables, nuts & seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar in amounts that support exercise but not body fat.
You can't out exercise your diet and you can't eat your way to happiness. Oh sure, you can try; but, the results will not be what you want. If you want to be happy and feel good, then you need to exercise (even when you don't feel like it.) If you want to look good naked, then you need change what you eat.
What should you eat? Well, a damn good place to start is to eat meat, vegetables, nuts & seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat.
That's why we're doing the 800g Challenge starting TODAY! We ALL need to eat more fruits and vegetables. There is a growing body of research showing that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables gives us the micro and macronutrients we need for optimal health.
IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO JOIN THE 800G CHALLENGE!
The Challenge can be done from ANYWHERE! You just need to have access to Habit Share App and a food scale like this.
Once you've download the Habit Share App you will build 5 habits:
800g of Fruits & Vegetables
Intentional Movement or Exercise
6 or More Types of Fruits & Veggies
One thing from with 100miles of home
Weekly Bonus Challenge
You will also add me as a friend: [email protected]
Download and print this info sheet on the 800g Challenge to learn more.
Our 800g Challenge runs through Friday, Sep 1. Let's Do this!

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7/30 Sunday is a Rest Day

7/29/2023

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What is Your Goal?

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7/28 Foodie Friday

7/27/2023

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Faith and Bethanie are looking strong with weight overhead

What is the 800g Challenge?

This is a nutrition challenge of ABUNDANCE not restriction. You earn daily points for eating 800g, working out, and you can earn bonus points for food diversity, locally sourced food and a weekly challenge.
Fruits and vegetables are loaded with magical properties. Ok, not really but they are loaded with micronutrients like vitamins and minerals, phytonutrients, antioxidants, fiber, and a very important good for you macronutrient - carbohydrates.
Why 800g? There's been some important research that shows 800g is the optimal amount of fruits and vegetables we should eat for health.
You don't have to be a member or live in our area to join our 800g Challenge. You can participate from where you are! All you need is the Habit Share App to track your pogress and a kitchen scale.
I hope you join us! For more information check out the info sheet below and a video from the creator of the challenge and CEO of Optimize me Nutrition, E. C. Synkowski.

Our 800g challenge starts on Monday! Be sure to connect with Coach Leslie and let her know you're in the challenge.
Our first weekly challenge is to eat an orange colored fruit or veggie every day. Here's a delicious recipe for an amazing grilled fruit salad that is perfect for summer. This will totally get you in the mood for our 800g Challenge. Click on the image for the recipe from realsimplegood.com. https://realsimplegood.com/grilled-fruit-salad/

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7/26 Wellness Wednesday

7/25/2023

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It's always fun and games in Coach Dover's class.

Be a Locavore and Eat Your Greens!

In 2007 my life changed when I read Michael Pollan's Omnivore's Dilemma. I realized, after reading the book, that most of our environmental issues were caused by our huge, bloated and totally inefficient industrial food system. Did you know it takes an average of 10 fossil-fuel calories to produce one calorie of food energy on an industrial farm? About a quarter of America's greenhouse gas emissions are attributed to how we grow, process and transport food. On average, our food travels 1,500 miles before it reaches our plate.
After learning these things, and realizing I could have an immediate and direct impact on my personal health and the health of the planet, I made a personal commitment to eat locally. At the time I was living in Reno, Nevada, elevation 4500 ft, where we get an average of 8 inches of rain a year. No easy task.
Not long after I made this decision one of my favorite American Public Media radio programs, The Splendid Table, put out a call for volunteers for their Locavore Nation program. They wanted to follow people from all over the US as they tried to eat 80% of their food from within 500 miles of their home city. I applied.
The Splendid Table received 15,000 applications! They were totally overwhelmed. From those 15,000 they invited 150 people to write an essay as to why they should be selected for the Locavore Nation challenge. From those 150 applicants, 15 were selected and I was among them.
The Locavore Nation started January 1! Seriously, in the middle of winter, we started a local eating challenge. The best I could do was to make my own bread (ironically using Wheat Montana flour), yogurt from a friend who had a 4H dairy cow, goat cheese from the same friend with 4H goats, beer that James brewed and pickles I have made the previous summer. It was a pretty dismal start.
By the time the challenge ended, 365 days later, I was sourcing about 80% of my food from with 100 miles of Reno, much of it homegrown. My passion for growing my own and buying from local producers has not diminished. I am super excited to finally have a venue where I can, once again, encourage and support people who want to make growing, cooking, and eating a deliberate act of independence and self-sufficiency.
In the past, I have offered a Locavore challenge in August. I encouraged everyone to eat food (at least the main ingredients, not necessarily oils, spices, etc) that was grown/raised from within 100 miles of home. While the Locavore challenge was fun, it didn't encourage everyone to eat more locally grown fruits, vegetables and meat and that was my goal. Instead, everyone drank lots of local beer and coffee, which is fabulous, but my original intention for the challenge was to get people to eat more fruits and vegetables.
That's why we are doing the 800g Challenge. This challenge is all about eating more fruits and vegetables. However, I have also added a Locavore element to it. Much like challenges in the past, you will enter your score daily online and earn points. Here's the point breakdown:

Eat 800g of fruits and vegetables - 4 Points
Intentional Movement - 2 Point

ONLY if you eat 800g are you eligible to earn the following extra points:

Were your 800g from 6 or more different types of fruits and vegetables? 2 Points
Did your 800g include the weekly bonus challenge? 1 Point
Did any of your 800g come from within 100 miles of your home? 2 Points

Our 800g Challenge starts Monday, July 31 and goes through Friday, Sep 1. If you're ready to take the 800g Challenge, just email or direct message me, Coach Leslie, and I'll get you all set up.

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