Well... People looking for a health and fitness challenge just want to feel better.
Deep down, that is the driving force behind most of our actions…
Weirdly though, people looking to feel better might be tempted to do something punishing like a Tough Mudder or a marathon… Or live off Special K for a week in order to drop a jeans size, or something equally horrid…
I have a different challenge for you…
We all know blueberries are rich in antioxidants and organic oranges are high in vitamin C...
Did you know that avocados contain folate, B6, potassium, and vitamin C?
Did you know spinach increases glucose metabolism, protein synthesis and muscular performance, as well as being high in calcium, magnesium and potassium?
Did you know that when to compared to their raw counterparts, cooked tomatoes have 35% more of the antioxidant Lycopene and cooked carrots have increased levels of the antioxidant Beta-carotene?
Here’s the thing: most people vastly overestimate the variety of their meals… Unless you’re travelling, you’ve likely repeated 1-3 meals, especially breakfast…
I mean, just look at this fairly typical meal prep…
Different types of foods bring different things to the party. The nutritional content of chard is different to red onions, and red onions are different to mangos, mangos are different to pumpkin, and f*** it, even raw carrots are different to cooked carrots...
Here’s the challenge:
Over the next 3 days, aim to consume as many different varieties of fruits and vegetables as practical, preferably with a source of fat.
Cooked counts as a different variety to raw. [So cooked tomatoes count as a different variety to raw tomatoes… So 2 points... You get my drift...]
The variety will serve to plug some nutritional holes and the fat [containing fat soluble vitamins] provides the catalysts to utilize the vitamins and minerals we ingest… Good fats include animal fats [so eat a steak], butter [not margarine], cream, olive oil, coconut oil, peanut butter. [There’s more, but that list is sufficient for now…]
Scoring:
0-9 Varieties: Terrible. 10-19 Varieties: You have work to do… 20-29 Varieties: That’s pretty good! 30+ Varieties: Fantastic, but perhaps a little excessive…
Toffee apples, pina coladas, Fruity Pebbles, and all that other s*** doesn’t count, obviously… And since I'm stating the obvious, if you choose to indulge in this challenge, any consequences - good or bad - are entirely on you...