[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.

[Naomi]

Hi there- coconut oil or any other oil would add fat to your macros, so any non-stick cooking spray such as PAM would be best to use as it won’t add calories or fat to your meal.

I hope this helps! Good luck 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Chrissy-

There are 4 meals and a post-workout ‘meal,’ so 5 meals total on training days and on non-training days you will omit the post workout meal. The meal plan is as you see it 😉 Good luck!

[Naomi]

Hi there-

In Phase 2 you will do the cardio as outlined which includes:

2 days – 40 minutes of Interval or Steady State cardio
2 days – 30 minutes of HIIT + 10 minutes Steady State to finish off the session (you do not want to perform more than 30 minutes of HIIT cardio)

On Day 6, your workout is a cardio acceleration workout, which you can read more about here.

I hope this helps, good luck!

[Naomi]

Hi Amanda-

1) Everyone’s body responds differently, so I am not sure how your body will respond. I would stick to the meal plan that is for your correct height/weight in this program.
2) Yes, eat a meal before your run.

Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Kristin- yes, PAM or any other non-stick cooking spray will work great. Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Amanda- it would just be one serving/bar per meal

[Naomi]

Hi there-

Please email the specific links to the videos that you aren’t able to access to: [email protected]

Thanks!

[Naomi]

Hi Bonnie-

If you are on the cusp, go with the meal plan that correlates with your HEIGHT, not weight 🙂

Meal plan 2 is to 5’6 and meal plan 3 is over 5″6. If you are 5’6 then you would go with Meal Plan 2 since you are not taller than 5’6 😉

I hope this helps. Good luck!

[Naomi]

Hey there-

You will do:
– 3 sets of regular leg presses for 10 reps
– then 10 reps of leg presses, then 4 reps, then 2 reps (incorporating the rest-pause), then repeat the 10/4/2 reps for a second set
– then move on to the leg extensions using the rest-pause: 10 reps/4 reps/2 reps, then repeat for a second set.

I hope this helps clarify. Good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

I recommend taking your rest days to fully rest and recover and not doing any HIIT or cardio or any workouts on rest days. Recovery is critical. You can workout on day 4 and use day 5 as a rest day if you need to but the closer you stick to the program as outlined, the better results you are likely to have. Nicole designed the workouts and rest days strategically for a reason. But if you need to rearrange because of your schedule that should be ok! 🙂

Good luck!

[Naomi]

Hi there-

We cannot recommend or endorse any particular brands of fat-burners, but you can do a search for fat burners and look up some reviews. I would also recommend going to your local vitamin, supplement or health food store and discussing different options with someone who works there. They are usually knowledgable and helpful when it comes to the benefits of and differences between products they carry.

Good luck and enjoy the challenge! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hey there-

We are so happy to have you as part of this challenge! You should be drinking about 1 gallon of water per day. Coffee is fine, black or stevia and/or one of the acceptable milks, such as unsweetened cashew or almond milk but everything counts towards your meal intake.

I hope this helps! Good luck!

[Naomi]

Hey guys-

I don’t know what else to tell you except that you need to try to find a way to get food into your system before you do your weight-lifting workout. There is no way around the fact that you really shouldn’t do your strength-training workout without at least trying to have a few bites of meal 1 before your workout.

Nicole was answering your question regarding if you should be eating your next meal 3 hours later. Yes, you should be eating about 3 hours apart. W

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