Healthy Habits: Why 4 fruits/veggies a day?

Monday, January 30, 2012

Why 4 fruits/veggies a day?

The CDC has a cool little tool that can help you know how many fruits and vegetables you should be eating, based on a few factors. It told me I should eat 2 cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of veggies, which is pretty darn close to our goal of 4 combined servings per day. Try it here:

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov/form.html

Why eat MORE fruits and veggies? Top 10 Reasons to Eat MORE Fruits & Vegetables: Fruits & Veggies More Matters.org

Color & Texture. Fruits and veggies add color, texture … and appeal … to your plate.

Convenience. Fruits and veggies are nutritious in any form – fresh, frozen, canned, dried and 100% juice, so they’re ready when you are!

Fiber. Fruits and veggies provide fiber that helps fill you up and keeps your digestive
system happy.

Low in Calories. Fruits and veggies are naturally low in calories.

May Reduce Disease Risk. Eating plenty of fruits and veggies may help reduce the risk of many diseases, including heart disease, high blood pressure, and some cancers.

Vitamins & Minerals. Fruits and veggies are rich in vitamins and minerals that help you feel
healthy and energized.

Variety. Fruits and veggies are available in an almost infinite variety…there’s always
something new to try!

Reason 3: Top 10 Reasons to Eat MORE Fruits and Veggies Quick, Natural Snack. Fruits and veggies are nature’s treat and easy to grab for a snack.

Fun to Eat! Some crunch, some squirt, some you peel … some you don’t, and some grow
right in your own backyard!

Fruits & Veggies are Nutritious AND Delicious!

from http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=1477

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The rules:

8 points possible each day
50 points = a complete week
(6 freebies each week)
$10 to enter

1. 30min of exercise daily
Whatever counts as exercise to you. Walking, running, yoga, weights, pushups, etc. You may combine these points: if you get an hour of cardio in, you can count that for two days. Sundays are an automatic free day for exercise, but you get the point anyway. So as long as you get 3 hours of workout in each week, you are good!

2. 4 servings of fruits/veggies daily
At least one fruit or one veggie must be in this combo, meaning you can't eat all fruit. You may count one of your servings from a liquid form daily.

3. 50 oz of water daily
Water is water. Milk, sports drinks, and juice are all great drinks, but are not water, therefore they do not count for the 50 oz. Something that helps is to try and drink 10 oz. of water when you brush your teeth in the morning and at night. Then shoot for drinking a 32oz water bottle during the day. Find something that will work for you!

4. No sweets/soda
This includes cookies, cakes, candies, etc. But ultimately, this is AT YOUR DESCRETION! Your main goal in participating in this challenge should first and foremost be for your own health! You decide about grey areas like fruit salads with cool whip and things like that. Don't stress about what has sugar in it if it is healthy for you. If it has no nutritional purpose, don't eat it.

5. No eating after 8 PM nightly
You need to stop eating at 8:00 PM. You MAY have something to drink, but avoid heavy drinks such as smoothies since it is basically food blended down.

6. Brush and floss teeth
Brush your teeth twice a day and floss once. Did you know that after quitting smoking and exercising, the next best thing to increase your life span is to floss your teeth?

7. 7 hours of sleep
Now, this is based on your "intent to sleep." If you go to lay down at 10 pm and a baby/neighbor/dog wakes you up, you can still count it. You just need to make sure that you were really going to bed - no tv, computer, iPod, etc. You may add in a nap if you need to make up 30 min or an hour that you may have missed or you think you will miss.

8. Personal point
What do you wish you were doing better at? Is it reading your scriptures? Getting up early? Writing in your journal? Reading a good book? Practicing a hobby?

HOW IT ALL WORKS

Now you will notice that 56 points are possible, but you can have a complete week with just 50 points. You have 6 freebies to use however you wish. THE GOAL IS TO GET 50 POINTS EVERY WEEK. The freebies help you to not go crazy by feeling deprived, or if you forget to do something. The first few weeks, I suggest you leave a few freebies for the end of the week in case you forget something one day. You can spread the freebies around or use them all in one day, it's up to you. Points cannot carry over week to week.

It costs $10 to enter and runs 8 weeks. $5 is for the pot at the end, and $5 for weekly prizes. Whoever has full points at the end will split the money in the pot. So if you make it all eight weeks with 50 points, you are guaranteed to get at least your $5 back, if not more. But if you mess up a week, don't despair! Every week, I will hold a drawing for people who had full points that week and give out $5 to one person. Extra money goes in the pot for the end. The person with the most points also will get a prize. If you don't use your freebies, you count those points (you could get 52 points in one week, for example).

Report your points on the spreadsheet link (upper left) by Monday night. Find your name and put your points in the box next to your name under the correct week. Tuesday morning I will put names in a hat to draw for the weekly prize. (If your points are not in by Tues morning, you will not be in for a drawing.) You should know by Sunday night what your points are, so that gives you Sunday through Monday night to report. I'll try to send out an email reminder. The spreadsheet is a work in progress - so be patient as things change to work best. If you don't see your name, or if something else looks wrong let me know.

Find a happy balance. Be happy with who you are and what you've got and enjoy feeling good along the way with these goals....then keep setting them and keep working toward achieving them!