DAY 14

“Those who think they have no time for healthy eating, will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” ― Edward Stanley

 

Going through sugar withdrawal after yesterday’s challenge? We have some food ideas today that might help. Grab your lemon/lime water and let’s get started!

 

Day 14 Wellness Action: Bring In The Bad Guys

There are those foods that we all intuitively think we should avoid when adopting healthy eating habits. Foods like:

• Eggs because of their high fat and cholesterol content;
• Oil because of its calorie density and its high fat content;
• Chocolate because it’s, well, chocolate;
• Fruit because of its sugar content and sugar is bad for you, right?

These are the food villains that we’ll focus on today and we are going to give you reasons to consider bringing them back into your diet in moderation:

Eggs do have a high fat and cholesterol content, but they also have a lot of other nutrients that make removing them from your diet highly reductive. Eggs are a great source of vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids (protein) that are tough to get in such a small package elsewhere. Plus when boiled, they make a portable snack. If you have a high risk of high cholesterol, then consider having egg whites.

Oil can be a real dietary bad guy when eaten in large quantities, but your body does need oil in moderation. Oils like olive and canola oil are rich in the unsaturated fat that is needed for your body to absorb vitamins A, D, E, and K.

Chocolate is delicious and that is enough reason to bring it back into your diet. If you’re a chocolate lover, allowing yourself a piece here and there will allow you to focus on the bigger picture of eating healthier rather than obsessing over the fact that you “can’t have chocolate.” There is also research that points to the benefits of antioxidant rich dark chocolate when it’s included in your diet in moderation.

Fruit is another delicious little bit that we tend to throw out because of its sugar content. While there is sugar in fruit, the fiber in whole fruits help slow down the absorption of this sugar into your bloodstream. This means that you don’t feel the sugar crash effects when you eat whole fruits compared to when you drink fruit juice or eat sweet pastries.

The Radiant Reads below give you more reasons why some of these food villains are worth adding back into your diet plus some delicious recipe ideas. Pick one or two to add back into your diet for the benefits, a little variety, and of course for your enjoyment.

 

Today’s Radiant Read:

• Eggs – 5 Reasons to Include Eggs in Your Diet
• Chocolate – The Health Benefits of Chocolate
• Oil – The Truth about Palm Oil
• Recipes
  • Chocolate – Grilled Pineapple with Honey and Dark Chocolate Drizzle
  • Chocolate – Apples Dipped in Dark Chocolate

 

Day 14 Workout: Rest and Recuperation

Exercise is important but so too is rest and recuperation (R & R). R & R puts energy back into your body while exercise takes it out. However, it’s not a good idea to do nothing either as that can leave you feeling more tired and make getting back into exercise tomorrow harder than it needs to be.

For your R & R, do 10 to 15 minutes of light physical activity that isn’t really exercise; walk your dog (or your kids!), go for a swim, do some gardening or just have a stretch. If you prefer something more structured, do 10 to 15 minutes of yoga sun salutations to help stretch your main muscles and mobilize your joints. You may click here for the yoga video from Day 8.

 

Click here for full written exercise instructions of Yoga Sun Salutations.

Note that today’s video is just a quick hello from Nikki. If you want to do yoga, please click here for the yoga video from Day 8.

 

To your health,

Team Radiant