Nia Peters

Nia Peters, October 2022

So I want to give myself as much advantage for success as possible. When I was thinking about this challenge, I wanted to keep in mind that I will be traveling for work for one week this month. I know myself. I know that when I travel for work I eat the worse and work out the least. I think I can manage this challenge even while traveling.

Challenge Description: Make 80% of each meal a fruit or vegetable. For example, a sample meal day could be:

Breakfast: Fruit smooth (80%+ fruit)

Snack: Fruit

Lunch: Avocado sandwich and carrots (80%+ vegetables)

Snack: Celery sticks

Dinner: Chicken, mixed vegetables, and salad (80%+ vegetables)

That’s it. During every meal try to optimize the number of fruits and vegetables I consume each day. This challenge is exciting. Last month I tried my hand at several vegetable dishes and morning smoothies. I have a few favorites and I look forward to trying more!

Motivation: After reading the book Fit for Life by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, I was impressed by the simplicity of some of the ideas. I wasn’t looking for a diet, I was looking for a way of life. I admit I tried practicing the principles in the book and could only last about a week or two. I figured I would work through these principles one at a time. One of the principles is making each meal 80% fruits or vegetables. I hope the audience notices that since September each of the challenges I related to one of the Fit for Life principles. I love these principles and I think I need to integrate them into my life slowly.

Expectations: My expectation is that my body may go through a bit of a detox phase. I usually consume a lot of processed foods along with meats and carbs. I think consuming more fruits and vegetables will throw my body into a bit of chaos before it gets used to the idea of me putting better foods into it. I believe that by the end of this month I will have a lot more energy and mobility. Wish me luck!

Grade: C

Outcome: I think I received an F on this challenge last time so this is actually progress. Remember I’m trying to undo years of certain health/eating/fitness habits. I’m giving myself a C because I consistently had a smoothie each morning. Additionally, most of my meals consisted of a vegetable, but they didn’t occupy 80% of the plate. Another thing I started doing during this challenge and HIIT, weight lifting, and cardio workouts. I noticed the lighter I eat (i.e. more vegetables than protein/carbs), but easier the workout.

Next Steps: These results were encouraging so I’m going to continue to drink morning smoothies and have fruit in the morning. Additionally, I will continue to be very intentional about having 80% of my plate as vegetables.