Hey Ladies, Our June Challenge is very straight forward!
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BWLW is challenging you to cook and prepare more of your own meals and cut out as much sugar as you can from your daily meals. Cooking meals may seem like a simple thing, but many people are just grabbing food on the go and eating out a lot, which makes weight loss more challenging. If not, we are eating a lot of prepackaged or frozen foods that are full of preservatives and additives to keep them fresh.
Why cut out processed and refined sugar? Sugar raises your blood sugar, but it also affects insulin, which is key to body fat storage. It’s important that you really understand how sugar can negatively affect your health. I’m suggesting that you READ and take time do to some real research this month. Invest in your health! I’m sure that you will come to understand that added sugars are not something you need in abundance in your life.
How can you join? Check out all the details below then leave a comment and tell us what parts of the challenge you are committing to.
Disclaimer: Do not try this challenge without speaking with a doctor if you have chronic health issues, especially if you are dealing with diabetes or pre-diabtes. Reducing sugar will affect your insulin levels and it’s important that you know how that will affect you.
Part #1 – Cook More Meals
When you cook more, you have more CONTROL over what is going into your body and you can better control your weight. There is no one size fits all eating plan that works for everyone, so we want you to cook the meals that work for you (Vegan, Low carb, Paleo, Eating in Moderation, ect). We also want to see what you are cooking so check out the Photo Accountability part of this challenge below.
- You are committing to cook at least 2 of your meals a day (breakfast, lunch or dinner) for a minimum of 4 days during the week. That’s just 8 home cooked meals a week minimum. You can go the extra mile and cook even more meals, but this is the minimum we are challenging you to do.
- Simple recipes, like smoothies and non-microwaved oatmeal with fresh fruit, count as well.
- You need to have an understanding of how many calories and nutrients you should be eating each day to avoid overeating and lose weight. If you don’t have a ballpark number in mind, use myfitnesspal.com‘s calculator as a general guide.
- Use free sites like myfitnesspal.com and swole.me to determine how many calories and how much nutrition is in the ingredients and recipes you use.
Part 2: Avoid sugar all month.
Cutting out processed, refined sugar can help you avoid extra, empty calories as well as regulate blood sugar and insulin levels. It is also very addictive and many people feel like drug addicts when they try to cut out processed sugar. This will not be easy, so focus on Progress not Perfection. If you eat some sugar this month, it’s not the end of the world…just cut it out in your next meal/snack and more on. The goal is to see if cutting out sugars makes you feel better and helps you to lose weight.
Want Sweet? – Eat sweet fruits and carrots when you want something sweet. Have all the fruit you want, because it’s full of fiber and nutrients…not just empty calories. You can also have honey, natural maple syrup, stevia and agave nectar (agave has a low glycemic index) in moderation as sweeteners.
Check all Food Labels – Processed sugar is not always listed as sugar or corn syrup. Here are some common names for sugar that you should avoid.
Check out our suggested foods list at the end of this post.
| Agave nectar Barley malt Beet sugar Blackstrap molasses Brown sugar Cane crystals Cane juice Cane sugar Caramel Corn syrup Corn sweetener |
Date sugar Dextrin Dextrose Evaporated cane juice Ethyl Maltol Fructose Fruit juice concentrate Galactose Glucose Granulated sugar Grape sugar |
Grape juice concentrate High-fructose corn Syrup Honey Icing sugar Lactose Malt syrup Maltodextrin Maltose Mannitol Maple syrup Molasses |
Organic raw sugar Powdered sugar Raw sugar Rice Syrup Sorbitol Sorghum syrup Sucrose Sugar Alcohol Syrup Syrup Table sugar Turbinado sugar |
Tips
- No soda, diet drinks or store bought juice/smoothie drinks (no pasteurized fruit juice).
- Focus on eating a lean protein paired with vegetables, whole grains and/or beans for your main daily meals. Have fruit and nuts for snacks, as well as homemade smoothies and protein shakes.
- Eat at least 3-4 meals a day to avoid being hungry and giving in to cravings.
- Don’t let more than 4 hours go by without a meal between 7 am and 8pm.
- Eat 1-2 healthy snacks between meals, like baby carrots, unsweetened greek yogurt with fruit/honey, nuts, green smoothies, or fresh fruit.
- Along with straight up sugars, reduce the amount of “white” carbs that you eat or avoid them all together – white bread and white rice
- Don’t drink your calories. What you drink counts too! Drink water, tea and unsweetened drinks.
Bonus: Instagram Photo Accountability – Use our hashtag #BWLWJune
Let’s follow each other and connect. We do this to keep ourselves accountable for the ACTIONS required to reach our goals. Do the Work and Show us the Proof. What kinds of photos should you post?
- Photos of what you’re eating – meals and snacks
- Recipe photos and links
- Smoothie Photos
- Photos of recipes you want to try
- Photos of your meal prepping
- Photos from the grocery store
- Photos from when you are eating out with friends and family
When you post your comment below to let us know you are joining the challenge, include your Instagram name so that we can follow you. You can find us at @blackwomenlosingweight
Suggested Foods List: A lot of people say, “Sugar is in everything! What am I going to eat if I take that out of my diet?” Eating lots of healthy protein and fiber will help control sugar cravings. These are just suggestions and not an exhaustive list of what you may eat…everyone has different tastes, food allergies and needs.
| Protein lean ground beef sirloin tenderloin top loin top round pork tenderloin ham turkey chicken breast all fish eggs/egg whites protein powder all seafood soy tofu seitan veggie protein sources |
Beans Grains and Nuts black beans black eyed peas canneloni beans chickpeas kidney beans lentils soy beans split peas white beans navy beans lima beans Italian beans Hummus Edamame All Nuts are ok Brown or wild rice Quinoa Barley Buckwheat Oats Popcorn Rice cakes Soba noodles Chia seeds |
Vegetables artichokes asparagus green beans broccoli bok choy cabbage cauliflower celery collard greens cucumbers eggplant lettuce tomatoes V-8 juice mushrooms okra onion pickles peppers radishes rhubarbs snow peas spinach sprouts squash zucchini |
Low Glycemic Index Fruits Berries Cherries Apples Pears Peaches Apricots Grapefruit Figs Prunes Plums Raisins Kiwi Oranges Grapes WatermelonDairy & Nut Milk Eat unsweetened dairy and nut milk products. |
In moderation: Whole grain bread, low sugar granola, pasta and cereal – in moderation. Look for unbleached grain products. Flours – Spelt, Whole Wheat, Oat, Rice or Quinoa flour.
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