Natural Chula's 30 day Fitness and health challenge Meal Plan guide

Many of us are on different paths with our healthy journey, so I have created several options to help you reach your goals. Check to see your proper calorie intake and use the meal plan as your guide. Every meal can be substituted for a healthy smoothie.


Click here for the Calorie intake guide

Meal 1

Option 1: 1/2 cup oatmeal + 1/2 banana + 1/2 cup egg whites + 1 cup of berries (on the side)

Option 2: 3 egg whites + 1 whole egg + 1 cup spinach + 1/2 cup veggies of your choice (tomatoes, peppers, mushrooms) + 1 slice of Ezekiel bread or other sprouted grain bread

Meal 2

4 oz. protein + 1 cup veggies

Option 1: Grilled chicken breast with asparagus

Option 2: Baked tilapia with broccoli topped with seasoned extra virgin olive oil

Option 3: Sardines served with mixed greens salad

Meal 3

4 oz. protein + 1 healthy carbohydrate (+ 1 cup veggies: optional)

Option 1: 1 can tuna (in water) with 1/2 yam,  and 2 tbsp. salsa

Option 2: Grilled tofu with 1/2 cup brown rice and 10-12 walnuts

Option 3: kidney beans with 1/2 cup quinoa & 1/2 sliced avocado

Meal 4

Option 1: 1 scoop protein powder + water or almond milk

Option 2: 1 cup carrots or celery + 2 tbsp. hummus 

Option 3: 1 apple + 1 tbsp. natural nut butter

Meal 5

4 oz. protein + 1-2 cup veggies

Option1: 2 cups mixed greens + grilled chicken or turkey

Option 2: lean beef burger + sautéed veggies (carrots, onions, peppers)

Option 3: chickpeas salad (with peppers, mushrooms, parsley, lemon juice, etc.)

TIPS

Caloric intake: This meal plan contains approximately 1500-1600 calories. In order to customize it, calculate your daily caloric requirements with the calorie calculator and make the necessary adjustments (ex. if you need more calories, you can increase your portion size or if you require a smaller amount of calories, you can stick with 4-5 meals instead of 6). Just make sure that you are eating a minimum of 1200 calories per day for optimal results!

Protein sources: Chicken, turkey, extra lean beef, white or fatty fishes , eggs & egg whites, tofu, beans and lentils.

Healthy fats: Extra virgin olive oil, nuts & seeds (hazelnuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts, natural nut butter, chia, sunflower & flax seeds, etc.) avocado, wild salmon & other fatty fish (tuna, mackerel, herring, trout sardines).

Healthy carbs: Vegetable, fruits, beans & lentils and whole grains which we will use as our healthy carb source since we’ve already listed our fruits, veggies and beans in the food options above (brown rice, yams, quinoa, oats, whole wheat pasta, barley, bulgur, etc.)

What to drink: Water & tea. If you cannot go without coffee, limit it to one cup a day using stevia and only a little bit of low-fat milk or almond milk. Drink a glass of water first thing in the morning and before each meal to stay well hydrated and keep you from overeating.

Eating intervals: Since we will be eating 5-6 meals a day, it is important to space them 2-3 hours apart. This will rev-up our metabolism and provides your body with a steady flow of energy throughout the day.

Appetite Suppression and metabolism boost: add 2 tablespoons coconut oil to your diet per day in your smoothie, oatmeal or tea.

How to prepare your lean protein: Your protein should be boiled, grilled, baked or steamed.
Meal 6: Is optional, if you do not feel hungry, feel free to skip it but it’s always good to have some nutrients available for proper recovery while you are at rest.

What to expect: Fat loss & more muscle definition! You can expect to lose 1-3 pounds per week of pure fat, anything more than that can be water or simply the body cleaning up.

Condiments and seasoning suggestions: Lemon juice, garlic, hot sauce, olive oil, balsamic vinaigrette, low-sodium soya sauce, & spices (limit your sodium intake).

Preparing your meals: It’s always practical to have something ready in the fridge, especially when you are following a strict diet like this one. Do your groceries at the beginning of the week and plan out the week’s menu ahead. You can even start preparing your food and placing it in Tupperware to make things easier (cooked rice, grilled chicken, turkey patties, sautéed veggies, cut up veggies and mixed greens ready to make salads, etc.). I also find it practical to separate my meals into portion sizes so I don’t have to worry about overeating when I get back home from a busy day.

Check the files at  www.facebook.com/groups/naturalchula
for recipes

Natural Chula's 30 Day Fitness and health Challeng Sept 2016, The Rules

It’s finally time for our 30 day challenge. This challenge is to promote life changing habits. We are not on a diet but a life change that includes making healthy choices. 

 Lets talk about the rules:

-Start the challenge with a before picture and weight loss goal.
-Join a group and choose a partner, make sure that they are posting at least once a day, and if not encourage one another to get back up and keep going!
-Accept one weekly Challenge.
-Follow our Workout Calendar: We will have weekly “at home workouts” ideas so subscribe to www.youtube.com/user/naturalchula1 for weekly routines.
-Calorie count daily, try Apps like S Health, Lifesum, or Myfitnesspal
-Use the “naturachula30day” #hashtag on social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, etc.) to share your progress with the rest of the community.
-Rest at least once a week from your workout.
-Incorporate 1 active fun day a week i.e. belly dancing, skating, hiking, paddle boarding, swimming. Post pictures and calories burn (Incorporating Lifestyle changes will help with long term weight loss)
-In order to actually lose the weight, remember working out can only take you so far. Eating properly will be the key. Do not alter the meal plan, unless it is medically necessary.
-Post pics daily! The key to accountability is posting pics, post your meals daily and get in the habit of taking pics of what you are eating and the calorie intake, this process is time consuming, however it will get you in to a lifestyle change of watching what you eat and making great decision. Posting a pic of your work is mandatory as well. (The ladies that have been the most successful have been the one’s that post 3 times a day with workouts and meals, this makes you accountable, but also encourages someone else who doesn’t feel like working out that day)
-Drink 8-10 6 oz cups of water per day
-1 cheat meal per week, try not to go over 500 calories with this meal, but it’s your choose!
If you haven’t joined the group, the address is www.facebook.com/groups/naturalchula
Let’s do this!

Here is a video explaining the rules
Natural Chula Youtube

Leave in goodness

I always have days where I want nothing to do with my hair. On those days, I want to look cute, but tuck my hair away neatly, and allow conditioners and oils to protect it for the day. My life hack, is a fun a cute bun that doubles as a deep conditioning protective style. After a co-wash, I saturate my wet hair with conditioner and oils. My issue, I have yet to find a good leave-in conditioner heavy enough to keep my curls, so I have had to use a rinse out conditioner. So imagine my excitement when I saw the Shea Moisture Jamaican Black castor oil strengthen,  grow & restore leave-in conditioner. The conditioner is full of all kinds of good stuff, like pepper mint, Shea Butter and of course castor oil.
Tonight I will try the conditioner and let you guys no how it works.
Good night Chula's

All natural products hair journey!

Today, I have finally found my happy place. My quest for healthy hair has been misconstrued with images of silky long curly hair,  that hardly mimics my texture.  The media has perpetuated a predetermined standard of silky thick curls that most natural girls dream of, but what if the realty of you hair is not so defined curls, dull tones, and short hair. Does that mean that your hair is unhealthy,  or even worst not pretty! As I decided to embark on the "only natural products" journey,  I began to analyze what I was trying to achieve,  and have realistic expectations of my hair. For years I have only been able to grow my hair down to my arm pit, and the ends were always thin. After finally realizing that my hair was breaking just as fast as it was growing,  I got the courage to cut the split end and now I have healthy shoulder length hair. My next step was to use the right products. Keeping my hair moisturized,  was my goal, but most of the products I used, worked well, but at the end of the week, I had major build up. I was also still Confused about all of the different chemicals, even in the good brand. So that brings me back to my journey.  I have incorporated only natural products in my hair regimen such as, goat milk prepoo and wash, coconut milk and aloe vera leave in, and my favorite aloe vera juice with rose water, jojoba oil, and rosemary oils spray. For 3 weeks these products are all I have been using. And to be honest my results are not shiny, and silky looking curls, my hair is full of not shiney, undefined curls but my hair is thick and moist and healthy.  I would slather half of the container of my store bought products to get shiny, crinkly curls, and while I had great wash outs and braid outs, I still saw lots of breakage in the sink. I can say that my hair is softer, and I am experiencing less breakage with my homemades. Next we we will talk about each homemade,  and look at results.