The first Fat-Free for Christmas challenge is over. How did you do? Please respond letting me know whether or not you met your goal. If you met your goal, let me know how you felt, what surprised you, and how you can step it up in the future. If you did not meet your goal, don’t dwell on it. Respond letting me know what you did well, what you learned, and how you will improve on the next challenge.

You ready to keep going? How does your body feel today?

(Challenge #2 will be up in a few hours. In the meantime, you should probably eat a salad for lunch.)

1. The green smoothie I told you about is delicious. You can’t even taste the spinach. You must try it.
2. The next weekly challenge starts Monday the 12th.
3. My arms are tired.
4. The salad aspect of the challenge – well, a version of it – will appear on next week’s challenge. For those of you who don’t buy vegetables when you shop, consider this your heads up. This is heads up to everyone. The salad challenge will appear again.
5. Another challenge is coming this Friday. It is not exercise related but it will require work.
6. Starting next week, I will be awarding prizes to those of you who are showing outstanding effort.
7. Even though my arms are tired and every time I hit the floor I wonder if I will make it back up, I love this. I am dominating the salad challenge. 6 salads in and I feel great. I’m sleeping well and my mind is clear. I have so much more energy with all these extra greens going in body. I love me for doing this.

What about you? Seeing any improvement? Feeling stronger, tighter? Talk to me.

In this video, I explain another way to meet the salad requirement and I also explain how those of you who are beginners can succeed on the pushup and/or lunge portion of this challenge.

Salad for Breakast: 2-3 cups spinach cooked, 2 scrambled eggs, top with salsa
Pushup Tips: If the assignment seems daunting, then do small sets. Complete 10 pushups upon waking, at work, before dinner, and before bedtime. Do a little bit here and there. Doing it this way will allow your muscles to rest so you can achieve your goal. You don’t have to do it all at once, if you are a beginner. My advanced people should aim to do as many reps as possible on each attempt.

How’s everyone doing? I’m 4 salads in and 80 pushups down.

photo credit

Do any of you ski? If so, check out the article in the Washingtonian where I name the best strength training exercises for skiers and snowboarders. The single leg squat (seen below) is just one of the 5 exercises that will improve your skiing skills and skiing technique.

Heck, if you just want to improve your back side then this ski workout is for you. If you’ve got the goods but they could use a little lifting/shaping/reordering, then do the exercises I list in the article. All of the exercises target the legs and the booty. What more could you ask for?

For the fitness challenge, I am doing B and C (plus my 716 other fitness commitments). I chose C because I have this super secret goal I am working on. I chose B because it will make me a better person. I like vegetables and salads but I don’t do eat them as much as I’d like to because I’m always rushing. I need to slow down. I’m that person who keeps boiled eggs in her messenger bag. I’m that person eating an apple while driving. I’m also the person who doesn’t know what to do with the apple rind so I just put it on the console. Gross, I know, but that’s me. And I want to be less of that person. I want to sit down at a table and eat my food with a fork, especially lunch and dinner. (Breakfast will forever be on the go.) If anyone wants to come over this week, I’m making salad for dinner.

A lot of you are giving me the “it’s impossible to eat 8 salads in 5 days” vibe. Well, that’s not true. On average, people eat 4 meals a day. Multiply that by 5 days and that’s 20 meals. I’m asking you to eat vegetables and protein for 8 of those. This is both possible and realistic. Trust me.

This morning I met my salad requirement with this smoothie:
2 cups of spinach
1 cup of frozen blueberries/rasberries
1/2 cup of frozen pineapples
1 scoop protein powder
Add ice and water until desired consistency is met.

The smoothie was delicious, quick, and healthy. If you follow the recipe exactly, it may be too large of a portion for you. (I exercise several times a day so I need it. You might not.) Adjust as necessary.

Whether or not B is on your list, know that whatever is on your list is possible. I promise. I’ll explain how to tackle the others later.

You gonna stay with me? Do you realize that sticking with this will make you better?

This is your first ‘Fat-Free for Christmas’ challenge. You have 6 days to complete this challenge. I will also be including daily challenges so come back here every day.

Challenge #1

By Sunday, December 11th, you are to complete two of the following items:
A. Run 10 miles. This can be one 10 mile run. Or it can be broken up, ie. 2 miles every day. Watch video for more info.
B. Eat 8 salads. These salads can only include veggies, fruits, and protein. During the meals, you can NOT eat: bread, cheese, potatoes, croutons, nuts, asian noodles, or breaded anything (i.e. breaded chicken). Beans are allowed. If you do not have salad, you can replace it with another green vegetable. An example of an approved substitution would be a huge bowl of broccoli with a side of baked chicken breast. Note: If you eat any item on the restricted listed during those meals, that meal does not count.
C. Do 200 pushups. These can be either military style or on the knees. You cannot do a combination. See video for explanation.
D. Do 300 forward lunges per leg. See video demo.

You must complete a minimum of two of the items listed. For advanced people, try to do more than two items. Also, don’t pick items that are easy for you. This is a challenge. Do something that will make you better!

Notes: 1)The exercises do not count if they are part of a class. For instance, if you go to a fitness class and they do lunges or pushups, those do not count toward the overall total. However, if you meet with a run group and they do 5 miles that does count. Why? Because within an exercise class you are likely to be rushed by time and the instructor. This is likely to affect your form and your ability to accurately count the repetitions. This is the rule. No exceptions. If you don’t like it, you can go do that other free fitness challenge given by an equally adorable, hilarious, brown-eyed personal trainer.

Please respond with the items you will complete by Sunday night. I am doing this for you so I need to know that you are listening. If people stop responding to the challenges and workouts I post, then I will stop posting workouts. As much I as like working in vain, I don’t.

This video explains the challenge and exercises in detail.

In preparation for the fitness challenge, I will be posting a bunch of information today and this weekend to ensure you don’t give up before this thang starts. Your first assignment is to buy vegetables, like spinach, green beans, carrots, mushrooms, kale, broccoli, cucumbers, etc. Veggie quesadillas, veggie pizza, veggie potato chips, and veggie lollipops do not count. Nor does fried okra, green bean tempura, or french fries. Yes, french fries come from potatoes but french fries are not vegetables so don’t even try me. I won’t stand for it. We clear?

If you don’t have any vegetables, please go shopping this weekend. You will need them for the challenge, and, ahem, you should be eating them anyway.

Can’t afford to buy fresh, organic produce? Don’t have a lot of free time? No problem. Later today, I will post a video for those of you who don’t have the budget for organic produce. I will prove that you can eat healthy without breaking the bank. For those of you who don’t have the time to cook, I will explain how frozen vegetables will help you be “Fat-Free for Christmas”.

I’m about to rock your world.

The challenge will start in a few days. In one word, tell me how you feel.