[Naomi]

Hi Ladies-

The video demo is a demo of walking lunges in general, Nicole just happens to be using weights in the video demo to demonstrate the proper walking lunges movement/exercise.

As far as adding weight, it’s your call, but this exercise is a warm-up of sorts to get the blood flowing to the legs. I just did this workout this morning and by the 3rd set (no extra weight), my legs were on fire! Make sure you are really engaging your muscles, you have your mind-muscle connection 100% on, and you are keeping the movement slow and controlled, allowing your muscles to do the work, not momentum or gravity.

Also make sure your weight is in heel of your front foot as you conduct the eccentric portion of the lunge (bending the back knee down) and that your front knee isn’t bending past your front toe, or not bending too far past your front toe.

I would recommend following the workouts as outlined and make that you are really focusing on your form. If you do these right, you should feel your legs talking to you! 😉

I hope this helps. Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Roy-

Honey is definitely a no-no on this challenge. Honey – even in small amounts and although it has a lot of very nutritious properties – packs a huge carbs/sugar punch and will affect your transformation goals with this challenge.

Good luck!

[Naomi]

Hey there- yes, all of the above that you mentioned. Plus making sure you take the full recommended rest days. Nicole also gets regular ART (active release therapy) massages.

I hope this helps, good luck!

[Naomi]

Hi Wendy- it depends on how much water you use, but I just made some to see and 30g of dried equalled 170g of cooked for me. If you use more water, it will be more, if you use less water, it will be less.

I would recommend cooking 30g and seeing what it comes out for you based on how much water you add.

[Naomi]

Just make it up when any day that you can. Neither leg day or rest day are ideal, but it’s better to make it up than to skip it all together.

[Naomi]

Hey there- if you look at the nutritional value of pickles, you will see that they add a negligible amount of calories and macros. Pickles are just cucumbers that have been pickled. You can eat pickles, just make sure you count them toward your daily totals and DON’T get the sweet pickles. Make sure you get the dill pickles only, the sweet pickles are sweetened with sugars or sugar alternatives.

[Naomi]

Hi Kelsey- you can cook them any way you like that doesn’t add calories or macros. You can steam them, boil them, roast them in the oven, grill them or pan-fry/sautee them using non-stick cooking spray such as PAM.

I hope this helps, good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Yes, in the nutrition info section, Nicole explains that all meals (except the post-workout meal) are the same calories and macros.

[Naomi]

Hi Donna- here is a great band warm-up for shoulders and back that you can do: https://youtu.be/235RWW0Ih9Y

I hope this helps, good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Courtney- you can see all of the ingredients listed here. BCAAs are branched chain amino acids, which are the building blocks of protein. There is no caffeine in the nPower Nutrition BCAAs.

BCAAs are not a pre-workout in the sense of a stimulant to get you pumped up for a workout. You can take them before your workout (pre-workout), but they are not a ‘pre-workout’ drink.

I hope this helps! Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

That is so great to hear! We love the feedback on how things are going and how everyone is doing, so thank YOU!!! We are so glad you are loving it so far!!! Keep pushing, girl, and keep those positive vibes going 🙂 ~xo

[Naomi]

Hey there- I am doing the challenge and fall under Meal Plan 2. Following the meal plan, my macros came out as laid out in the program. Are you weighing in grams? Have you watched Nicole’s video on weighing your food? Make sure you read through and watch everything in the nutrition section of the program (here) so you aren’t missing anything.

Another reason may be due to different brands and discrepancies with brands of foods.

Looking at your screen shots, you are perfect with your fats and protein ratios but you are nearly 100g over on carbs so your carbs is where you went wrong somewhere in the measurements in some way. Double check your carb portions compared to the meal plan & see if there is a discrepancy there.

[Naomi]

Hey there- please read through all of the nutrition information here so that you have all the info with regard to the nutrition portion of this program. The meals are explained, as well as the calories and macros of each meal and meal swapping.

Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Courtney- that is correct, it is whole grain, not instant, oatmeal 😉

[Naomi]

Hey there- I would stick to what is listed in the meal plan for beverages for the best results. You could look forward to a SF Red Bull as part of your cheat meal 😉 … at the very least, use your own judgement and drink very sparingly but it is best to stick to what is listed.

I hope this helps. Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi there- yes, but not in excess. If you look at the macros, most sugar free chewing gum add calories and carbs per 2 pieces of gum. If you aren’t aware of how much you chew, this could really add up throughout the day.

If you want to be super diligent, add the chewing gum into your macros in MFP and you will be surprised! I did this before and have been very cautious about chewing gum ever since lol!

Chewing sugar free gum may help with hunger and cravings, though, just be careful of the amount you’re chewing 😉

[Naomi]

Hey- you are not deviating. Running is not necessary, there are a number of cardio options. Please read the cardio section of this program in full here, plus all the cardio workout options so that you have all the information for this program.

Good luck!

[Naomi]

Hey there- what meal plan are you following?

[Naomi]

Hi Rachel – yes you can drink BCAAs, but I’m bot sure what you mean drink BCAAs for 3 hours. Do you mean sip on 1 to 2 scoops of BCAAs throughout a 3 hour period? If so, yes that is fine, then have your first meal a little later in the morning. You can also try spreading your meals apart by about 3.5 hours (at the very longest, but no longer than 3.5 hours) to spread them out just a little more.

I hope this helps! Good luck 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi ladies- with all of these challenges we always recommend sticking to the workouts and nutrition as closely as possible but if you need to rearrange your days due to scheduling conflicts to get all your workouts in, then that is unavoidable. Just do the best you can with what you have to work with 😉

Good luck!

[Naomi]

Hey there- 3 days of 30 min of HIIT in the first phase is correct. Doing more cardio may interfere with the muscle-building process, correct.

I recommend following the plan as outlined and not doing more of or less of anything with regard to cardio, weight-training or nutrition for optimal results 😉

Good luck!

[Naomi]

Hey there- you could replace it with plan, non-fat Greek yogurt, or you can just omit the cottage cheese and make up the macros of the cottage cheese in some other meal.

For example, look to see how many calories, fat, protein and carbs a serving of the cottage cheese you have is (macros may vary from brand to brand).

If your cottage cheese is (just as a random example of low-fat cottage cheese, this isn’t necessarily what your is or what it should be):
calories: 90
carbs: 3g
fat: 2.5g
protein: 14g

You can look to see how you can make up those macros wit an equivalent food (a food with a similar calorie/macro profile) or you can add an extra ounce of protein somewhere to make up 10-14g of protein, etc.

I hope this isn’t confusing and I hope it helps! Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Stefani- you could do upright rows with either a barbell or dumbbells (dumbbells might be a little more forgiving with fluid range of motion, so that might be better than a barbell) but be careful not bring your elbows up quite so high as you would with a full-range of motion, depending on how your shoulders feel.

I hope this helps!

[Naomi]

Hi Natalie-

There is an outline of how/when to take a fat-burner during this challenge here.

Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Take the post workout after the strength-training workout if you are separating strength-training and cardio.

If you have to do both workouts back-to-back, do your strength-training workout followed by cardio followed by post-workout meal.

[Author]

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