[Naomi]

Hi Rebecca-

That all looks great! Way to plan ahead, great job! 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Leanne-

1. A small box of raisins would be 40g
2. You can use low fat or reduced fat feta or ricotta cheese
3. Great! 🙂

Good luck, I hope you’re enjoying the challenge!

[Naomi]

When all else fails, I wikipedia it 😉 (you can see the nutritional value and macros on the right hand side of the pages):

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butternut_squash

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghetti_squash

[Naomi]

LOL!! Now I know 😉

As far as butternut squash goes, it is MUCH higher in carbs and sugars than spaghetti squash or ‘courgette’ 😉 … it is also higher on the glycemic index level. I consider butternut quash a dessert, it is so sweet! I believe it is even higher glycemic than sweet potatoes but I would have to double check on that.

At any rate, it is in a completely different macro class than zucchini or spaghetti squash so definitely not an equivalent 😉

[Naomi]

Hi Ladies- It is so great to hear that you’re thinking ahead and want to continue working towards your goals post-challenge! 😀

Typically, towards the end of each challenge, Nicole will send an email or post or Vlog that explains different options for what to do after the challenge is over. If any of you are members of Nicole’s website, you can read one of the best articles I’ve ever read that Nicole wrote a few years ago regarding reverse dieting.

Many of our past challenge participants will continue with the structure of the workouts and nutrition (maybe incorporating a weekend cheat meal) of the challenge they just completed, or revert to a past challenge that they have saved the documents for (which I would encourage you to do if you haven’t done so already).

I hope this helps! Keep up the amazing work, ladies!!

[Naomi]

Hi there-

For the band-assisted pull-ups, you’ll need bands such as these: https://www.amazon.com/WODFitters-Stretch-Resistance-Assist-eGuide/dp/B00IQM3VYQ/ref=sr_1_10?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1516803368&sr=1-10&keywords=exercise+bands

And for the rowes and lateral raises you’ll need bands such as these:

I hope this helps! Good luck 🙂

[Naomi]

Hi Stephanie-

Yes, you can – and should – go over your calories and macros for the day. You should not worry about logging your cheat meal or tracking how many calories your cheat meal is. Don’t worry about how many calories, fat, protein and carbs you’re eating for your cheat meal, but just be somewhat reasonable (example: don’t eat a whole pack of Oreos, eat 4-5 Oreos)

You can eat the food at the Super Bowl party, just don’t ‘binge’ as you put it 😉 The cheat/re-feed meal is suppose to be a way to re-feed your body with extra calories and macros, but also let your mind relax a little with the food restriction. It is meant to be enjoyed, just not an all-day cheat or an all-out binge fest.

I hope this helps! 🙂

[Naomi]

That is great to hear!! Fantastic job, congratulations! Keep it up 😀

[Naomi]

Hi Rebecca- it’s up to you what size you choose, it is a cheat/refeed meal and the only ‘rules’ are what is stated in the nutrition portion as examples of reseed meals. The rest is up to you. I highly suggest having your reseed meal in place of the last meal f the day instead of lunch though. All other meals should be on-point with your nutrition plan.

In my personal experience, it can make or break your cheat meal from turning into a whole cheat day if you save it for the last meal of the day instead of eating it earlier on 😉

[Naomi]

Oh my gosh, I have no idea what courgette is, I’ll have to look it up! LOL! You could double the amount so that it is the calorie and macro equivalent, yes! DO you have green zucchini there? It is still a little lower in carbs than spaghetti squash but you could also double that up.

I hope this helps! 🙂

[Naomi]

That’s great, thank you so much for sharing!! I think I might give these a try 🙂

[Naomi]

Hey there- here is a list of great travel foods:

– rice cakes
– nut butter packes (little to no added sugars)
– apples (fresh/raw)
– dried fruit (no added sugars, read the ingredients carefully)
– to-go ready rice (tons of them in the grocery store rice section)
– to-go tuna packets (again, tons to choose from, don’t forget a fork!)
– beef jerky (all-natural, read ingredients for added sugars
– 100 calorie almond snack packs
– to-go oatmeal (dried, just add water)
– protein powder (just add water)

That is all I can think of for now, Im sure other forum participants may add other great ideas. I hope this helps, good luck! 🙂

[Naomi]

With the bun 😉 Enjoy!!

[Naomi]

Hi Jessica- it really isn’t a man or woman thing, it’s an individual person thing. This is true for any fitness, nutrition and supplement program. Some things work great on some people (man or woman) and some things don’t work great on some people (man or woman).

It all depends on how YOUR individual body responds to what you introduce to it 😉

[Naomi]

Hey there- I am sure we all have to deal with this at times, and the best way to work around a busy gym is to de exactly what you’re doing. It’s better to keep the workout moving – even if you have to switch the order – than to wait around for equipment to open up. Great job, keep it up!

[Naomi]

Hi Michael- yes, since all the macros are the same you can do that 🙂

[Naomi]

Hey there- ideally you should stay below 45g of sugar per day. The lower the better 😉

[Naomi]

Hey there- what I do with any recipe I am creating or modifying or cooking in bulk, this is what I always do to ensure consistent portions among each serving size:

– make your entire waffle batter in one bowl
– weigh the whole batch of batter on a food scale
– divide that total number by the indicated serving size, which is 12 in this case
– the number you get by dividing by 12 is the grams of 1 waffle per serving

For example, if the whole batch of batter weighs 400g you’ll divide 400 by 12 and get 33g, which means 33g = 1 waffle. Since your serving size is 1.5, you’ll have to add 1/2 a waffle portion to the 33g, which is about 16g. So 1.5 waffles would be 50g of batter in this case. As long as you measure out 50g of batter (or whatever number you come up with by weighing your entire batch and following the above steps), you’ll be eating 1.5 waffles 🙂

I hope this helps!

[Naomi]

No problem Sandra! With my clients I do focus on balance and stability, which is very important, but if I want them to really feel it in the muscle I will modify an exercise so they can just focus on the muscle. I think sometimes when you’re focused on maintaining your balance/stability, it can take away from the mind-muscle connection and working the muscle as hard as you can. Don’t ever feel like you aren’t working hard or doing the exercise properly if you have to hold on to something for balance 😉 Maybe sometimes you can work on your balance using a lighter weight, then use a heavier weight and hold on to something and just really focus on working the muscle.

Keep up the great work!!

[Naomi]

Hi Emily- with strength-training/lifting it is not a calorie burning focused activity, per se. Target calorie burning is really something that should be reserved for cardio workouts and will be a big focus in Phase 2 of this challenge, the leaning out phase.

With lifting and building muscle, it is so incredibly individual and the range is so across the board that there really isn’t a specific number I can give you. I can only speak from my personal experience and some of my workouts so far this challenge haven’t even cleared a 200 calorie burn (which I like for building muscle, the less calories I burn during a lifting session the better for strength and muscle gains), and for some of the leg workouts I’ve burned around 375 calories.

I wouldn’t worry about aiming for a specific calorie burn during your lifting sessions for Phase 1 at all 😉

[Naomi]

Hi Sandra- I have the same issue because of an injury from 2010 that has altered my stability in my right foot forever (plantar fasciitis affected the tissue on the inside of the bottom my foot).

So you can either do bilateral or you can do what I do when I do single leg and that is just hold on to the top of an incline bench, or go over to the Smith machine and hold on to one of the bars for stability.

There is quite a difference in doing this exercise unilaterally vs bilaterally in how you activate and engage your hamstring(s) so I would encourage you to try it by holding on to something solid/anchored for stability first. You don’t have to go crazy heavy (at least not at first while you’re getting the hang of it) as long as you are feeling that the hamstring you’re working is 1. activating 2. engaging 3. contracting 4. elongating.

If you still don’t feel comfortable then I would recommend going to bilateral 😉

I hope this helps! Good luck 😀

[Naomi]

No problem girl!! Great job, keep pushing! You’re doing great! 😀

[Naomi]

Hey Rebecca- it’s alternating lunges each round 😉

[Naomi]

Ok, gotcha – about 5-10 grams is recommended about 2-3xs per day. You can read more about the supplement portion of this challenge here.

[Naomi]

Hahaha, LOVE THIS!!! Donut socks to measure progress, that is FANTASTIC!!! 😀

[Author]

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