HEAT Walk Challenge | Week 11

Walking Routine

Frequency: 3xWeek
Duration: 2.5 mile
Warm-Up: 5 minutes
Walking Pace: 50 – 60% Target Heart Rate or RPE 13-14
Cool Down: 5 minutes

Weekly Tip

Nutrient-Dense Foods vs. Empty-Calorie Foods

Nutrient Dense foods provide a lot of nutrients for the number of calories they contain. Empty-calories foods contain few nutrients and a large number of calories in the form of carbohydrates or fat. Most empty-calorie foods have been processed in some way.

If you’re trying to lose weight, it’s important that you focus on nutrient-dense foods rather than empty-calorie foods. That way, your body will get the nutrients it needs while you cut down on the number of calories you consume. The most commonly consumed empty-calorie foods are:

• Refined grains: White flour, white pasta, and white rice
• Condiments: Salad dressing, mayonnaise, and butter
• Candy: Chocolate, gummy, and hard candy
• Baked goods: Cakes, pies, pastries, and muffins
• Drinks: Soda and many fruit juices
• Sugar products: Maple syrup, honey, molasses, or any products with the words “high-fructose corn syrup,” “fructose”, “sucrose,” “dextrose,” or “corn sweetener” high up on the ingredient list
• Alcohol: Beer, liquor, wine

If that list contains all your favorite foods, don’t panic. A healthy nutrition plan doesn’t mean you have to eliminate them from your diet entirely. It just means you have to return these foods to their rightful place which is little treats rater than the centerpiece of your diet.

Weekly Recipe

Chocolate Bananas Foster

1 scoop Chocolate Shakeology
1 banana
3/4 cup nonfat milk; or water; or soy, rice, or almond milk
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. rum extract
Ice to taste