Mayo Clinic Article

I came across a good article on the benefits of drinking water and how much we should drink. Also, at the bottom of the article it has links to other helpful articles (ones on diet soda, vitamin water, etc). http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/water/NU00283

The Healthy Living Blog

Here is the Healthy Living Challenge blog. Feel free to add recipes, tips, ideas etc. Tomorrow I'll invite participants to be authors on the blog so you can create posts like this one. I'm planning on posting my favorite healthy salad dressing recipe soon - it helps getting those 3 servings of veggies a little easier! -Sarah

Official Rules/Guidelines

1. 64 oz of water

2. 30 minutes of exercise (this does not necessarily need to be consecutive)

3. 7 hours of sleep minimum (not necessarily consecutive)

4. 3 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit.
Here's what I got from the myPyramid.gov website. You can go to this website to get the specifics:""What counts as a serving of fruit? In general, 1 cup of fruit or 100% fruit juice, or ½ cup of dried fruit can be considered as 1 Serving from the fruit group. The following specific amounts count as 1 cup of fruit (in some cases equivalents for ½ cup are also shown) towards your daily recommended intake Here's the url: http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/fruits_counts.html What counts as a Serving of vegetables?In general, 1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice, or 2 cups of raw leafy greens can be considered as 1 serving from the vegetable group. The chart lists specific amounts count as 1 cup of vegetables (in some cases equivalents for ½ cup are also shown) towards your recommended intake: Here's the url: http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/vegetables_counts.html

5. No Sweets - the obvious ones are no candy, cakes, donuts, stuff like that. But, I think sugar free jello, pudding . . .is o.k. It's up to you

6. No Unhealthy Snacks AND No Soda. The same concept as with sweets.

7. Healthy Food Choices at meals for both at home and dining out (eating hamburgers and french fries at home or at McDonald's is not healthy)

8. No eating after dinner/8:30 pm. Some of you eat late. Just make sure you start dinner by 8:30 and then no eating after you're finished. For the rest of you who eat dinner earlier, no eating after 8:30.

Weekly Point Total:56 points for the habits (8 points/day)

If you e-mail me your points by Monday, I will give you an extra point. (Just to clarify, you don't add the extra point, I do.) It just has to hit my inbox by Monday.

Our "week" begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. So, total points possible each week - 57.

Other important stuff to keep track of:

• 3 Free points each week - These can be used for any missed points. Example: didn't drink 64 ounces of water - use 1 free point; use 2nd free point because ate after 8:30 pm /dinner on Friday night; use 3rd freepoint because ate sweets on Saturday.However, you may never havemore than the 56 number of points each week. These are "Use 'em or Lose em" points.
• 3 "Sick" Days during the 12 weeks - On this day, all points are "free,"ie, you can do none of the habits and get the 8 points for the day.These days are to be used if you get sick (or if you fast once a month for all you Mormons who observe Fast Sunday). These are also"Use 'em or Lose 'em" points.
• Sunday Free Excercise Point - The excercise point is free on Sunday.The free excercise point is for Sunday only (ie you cannot choose your free point to be on another day.) Also, you cannot use this freepoint for something else (like not drinking enough water).

A few more things:

1. Don't forget you automatically get a free point for 30 minutes of exercise on Sunday...ie whether or not you exercised you give yourself a point for that habit on Sunday only.

2. We need to make sure we have a level playing field on points 5-7 (no sweets/unhealthy snacks/soda and good food choices).

Clarification Examples:

• If you have M&M's you only lose your point for sweets.
• If you have Cheetos you only lose your point for No Unhealthy Snacks.
• If you have Pizza you only lose your point for Healthy Dining Choices.

The intent of these points is NOT to be a triple or double whammy. The intent of sweets is to get rid of the candy, desserts and sugary foods we consume. The intent of unhealthy snacks/soda is to eliminate junk food snacks and soda and make healthier snack choices. The intent of unhealthy food choices is to get rid of eating McDonald's/Dominoes Pizza/fried chicken at home or in the restaurant and to make healthy mealtime choices. This doesn't mean that you only have salad for lunch and dinner (although it may feel like it since to get in the 3 cups of veggies I have to eat a ton of veggies at these meals). Just make sensible mealtime choices. This will be different for everyone.

We start on Jan 7 and you will e-mail me by Monday, Jan 14 with your first weekly point total. Don't forget to keep track of any Free points you use for the week, or any of the 3 Sick Days you use. Our last day will be Sunday, March 30 and last report by Monday, March 31.

If you have questions as to what is or is not "legal" for food and drink, first ask yourself if it leads to a healthier lifestyle and if it's within the principle of the habit. If you still don't know, Emily will try to talk you through it, but she probably won't make the decision for you.

Remember, this is to help you establish healthier living habits and it's all "on your honor." Also, make sure you have your own goal, and write it down. It may be, "Lose Weight" or "More Energy" or "Better Heart Health" or "More Muscle Tone" This will help to keep you going and remind you why you're doing this (besides winning any money.)