The Great Vegetable Challenge

 

I have three questions for you?

    • Do you want to feel better?

    • Do you want to improve your looks?

    • Do you want to lose weight? Who doesn’t!!!


If you answered yes to one of these

then this simple motivational program

is for you.


Framing the Program

So here it is how it is going to work. Sign up with me (fittec@me.com) to commit to increase your veggie consumption (not including potatoes and other starchy vegetables- See list of starchy veggies. or juices). The goal is to get 5 to 10 servings a day (2 1/2 to 5 cups a day). The start date is to be determined.


The latest dietary guidelines call for five to thirteen servings of fruits and vegetables a day (2½ to 6½ cups per day), depending on one’s caloric intake. (1) For a person who needs 2,000 calories a day to maintain weight and health, this translates into nine servings, or 4½ cups per day.


I will check in with you each week and you will just have to write down the number of servings that you think you had each day; it does not have to be exact. If you want to get into more details then great!! I would love to learn you veggie input. If you want to share please do I will pass along your information.....


If you want more information read on.

To frame the program more lets get some background. We all know that Americans are getting heavier and heavier where there is over 1/3 the population who are obese while 2/3 are overweight. “Yikes”! Diabetes in America, a horrible and an almost non-reversible disease, is approaching 10%. This is a national health care dilemma.


I have a simple solution; eat more veggies.


What I have found over the my many years of health & fitness servicing is that those who eat a lot of vegetables seem to be lower in weight and have less diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure. This has been confirmed through research.


So that is why I making a push to increase your vegetable consumption, because most people do not get enough.....


Take an honest look at your diet; really take a honest look. I’m not joking this is my job!!! Count the amounts of servings of vegetables you have a day. A serving of vegetable is 1/2 a cup except for leafy vegetables where a serving is 1 cup; don’t include potato or ketchup products as well as all types of juices. Are you less than 5 servings a day or like most Americans less than 2; be honest with yourself? If you are then this program is for you.


Program Warning!!!

Before you hit the road with this we have to stress if you are not use to eating vegetables you have to take it slow or you may have gastrointestinal issues. So for you I would say increase consumption by an additional serving (1/2 cup) every fourth or fifth day working up to 5 to 9 servings a day which is 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups by the end of the 8 weeks. Go slow with this because you “DO NOT WANT TO MAKE ENEMIES AND LOSE FRIENDS if you know what I mean”.....


How about fruit?

Here comes the big question. Can fruit be part of this? Absolutely, especially low sugar fruits like berries (which are packed with nutritional power) and melon. Since fruit typically have more calories than non-starchy veggies I would stress not consuming more servings of fruit versus vegetables. Keep it even or better yet 2/3 veggies to 1/3 fruit. Good news: the fruits lowest in sugar are some of the highest in nutritional value, including antioxidants and other phytonutrients.


Go to this page for more information about fruit and vegetable servings.....