BasketballTrainer

Reduce Stress and Weight with the 45-Day Challenge

INTRO

Congratulations, you’ve made it this far! Accepting the challenge of addressing your stress is tough. It forces you to slow down in a world that is always moving and asking you to over-schedule and over-commit. From this, we need to slow way down and take a serious look at what changes we need to make and refocus on what is most important to us.

Stress was designed to be a good thing. You may know it as fight or flight. It is available to us to use as a protective mechanism. When a stimulus (losing our job, an overly-scheduled appointment calendar, driving in traffic, gut inflammation, food intolerances, etc.) takes us off our internal “baseline of operation,” our adrenal glands secrete stress hormones. This develops into a problem when our stress becomes chronic and our adrenal begin to produce cortisol.

Chronic stress begins to produce cortisol throughout the day taking it out of its normal rhythm of secretion (high in the morning, lower in the evening). This initiates the “all-health-issues-breaks loose” syndrome where body fat is stored, hormone imbalances occur, depression sets in, sugar is craved, and the disease process is in full bloom. Since the chronic stress response creates this inflammation, which is the key ingredient to chronic illness, it is essential to address the stress in your life. We are all well aware of the ability of stress to pack on the pounds and here we go!

It is well known that stress causes us to crave unhealthy comfort foods. Fear not, by addressing your stress in a healthy way you can reverse your current course of action. There will come a time when you will lose a desire to consume these foods and drinks once you have eliminated them from your diet. This could take days, weeks or even months, but it will come. When this day arrives, not only will you have conquered your sugar/carb cravings and addictions, but also the slightest sweet tasting food may become too much for you to eat.

Combining stress management techniques and dietary changes will reduce the effects of your daily stress AND curb its ugly inflammatory response. Reduce Stress and Weight with the 45-Day Challenge (RSW-45) aims to do just that!

The Challenge

Welcome to the kick-off to your health revolution, RSW-45 is designed to jump-start the elimination of stress and its harmful effects. Because it is a challenge and only 45 days long, it will be tough and will push you at times. The higher your stress levels, the more difficult and necessary RSW-45 will be. All ages are encouraged to participate in this 45-day health and weight loss challenge, especially family members who can inspire one another throughout the process. Eating healthy meals together is a comfortable ritual that can hold each participating family member accountable to RSW-45. If you end up flying solo, invite a friend or create a group that can travel this journey with you to increase your adherence to this new lifestyle.

Apply the following tips for success.

1.     Join the Facebook chat room to talk about your challenges.

2.     Avoid situations that you know are stressful to you, such as watching the news, spending time with people that you know stress you out, and overscheduling with events/activities that others could do.

3.     Learn to say “no” so that you do not over-commit yourself.

4.     If you are currently involved in a regular exercise routine of more than 4 days/week and/or longer than 30-45 minutes in duration, feel free to continue your program.

5.     If you feel as though creating the time to participate is causing stress and anxiety itself, set it aside and come back to it when you are ready to take the RSW-45 head on.

6.     Log your experience in a journal, diary, or on a printable one month calendar page each day. This will help you stay organized and motivated throughout the RSW-45.

7.     Reward yourself once a week for each successful (100%) week completed (list of ideas below).

8.     If you have any questions regarding the RSW-45 (foods, activities, etc.), see the lists below.

9.     The Suggested Stress Management Techniques and Anti-inflammatory Recommendations sections below are essential to the success of your 45-Day challenge.

THE PROGRAM:

Each day of the RSW-45 will have a daily to-do list. Remember, the goal is to reduce stress, not create it. Many of the “daily actions” are only reminders, not more things to do. This should keep the overwhelmed meter down a bit. The lists of suggested foods and spices, stress management techniques, and reward ideas (below) are to assist in your decision making process. Consult these lists when you begin replacing the inflammation and disease-producing foods you have been eating with healthy, nutrient-dense, delicious real food. These lists are by no means exhaustive, but they serve as helpful tools to help you locate the food you should be eating. It is recommended that you choose grass-fed meats, organic produce, pasture-raised chicken and eggs and wild caught fish, when possible.

Every other day up until Day 21, a group of foods is eliminated. With each food elimination, a replacement option has been provided to make your dietary transformation easier. These are only suggestions, so if you do not like the option that is offered, look back at the Snack Recommendations, Food Substitutions, and Resources: Low-Carb Snacks (all of which are listed below), for additional ideas. If you have other go-to healthy foods that fit the RSW-45’s requirements, feel free to use your foods instead. For the purposed of the RSW-45, white, wheat and whole wheat flour will be included as sugar/carbohydrates. Also, it is important that every day of the RSW-45 you obey your thirst and drink water accordingly.

If a day encourages you to eliminate a food or drink that you do not consume at least once a month, then CONGRATULATIONS, you get a day off from eliminating a food or drink. Each food elimination is cumulative, so you will not be eating that food for the remainder of the RSW-45, and hopefully, for the future.

With the food eliminations, each day also has you add an anti-inflammatory food and spice, a probiotic or fermented food, exercise (30-45 minutes, 4 days/week), 1-2 stress management techniques, a daily centering activity (optional), and a journal (optional) question/thought for the day to help you center your thoughts and feelings. Water and sleep reminders are also provided.

It is important to be prepared for the first day of the RSW-45. Here is a daily checklist:

1.     Purchase supplement(s) – if approved by your healthcare professional, anti-inflammatory food and spice that you will begin with prior to day 1.

2.     Have a stainless steel water bottle (no plastic bottles) available for each day.

3.     Set aside a notebook for journaling.

4.     Choose your stress management techniques before each day arrives.

5.     Choose a form of exercise that you will perform.

6.     Weigh yourself and measure the circumference of your hip and waist for a baseline so that you can observe the fruits of your labor.

IMPORTANT: Eat ONLY when you’re hungry and drink pure filtered-water (amount varies from person to person, i.e. age, gender, activity level, body size, humidity, temperature. Let thirst be your guide. Consult with your healthcare professional if you have a health condition that may affect water consumption amount). Aim for sufficient sleep quantity and quality (individual needs may vary). Choose your mode of exercise. Floss daily (reduces gum bacteria and inflammation). Do not drink alcohol, use illegal substances, or smoke for the duration of the RSW-45. Limit caffeine if you are sensitive to its affects. You may use stevia, raw honey (3-5 tbsp per day) and/or sugar alcohols (erythritol, xylitol, or sorbitol – consume in small amounts due to possible GI stress – be cautious if you have gut health issues) as sweeteners but eliminate all other artificial sweeteners (Sweetn’ Low, Equal, NutraSweet, Canderel, and Splenda).

Consuming whole foods to meet your nutrient needs is preferential to supplementation. However, when you are deficient in certain nutrients supplements may be necessary. In this case, supplementation is essential for optimal health and should NOT be taken lightly. Consult your healthcare provider for your individual supplement needs. I am a proponent of supplements and, therefore, strongly recommend you ask your healthcare professional what supplementation would benefit you, individually, the most. If you are not taking a probiotic, it is important to eat fermented foods in order to get the bacteria needed for optimal gut health.

Disclaimer: The purpose of the RSW-45 is to assist people in reducing their stress and mitigating the harmful inflammatory response to stress through suggested stress management techniques and dietary and supplement changes. It is not intended to prescribe a diet, but to eliminate known unhealthy foods and habits and offer healthy alternatives. Consult with your nutritionist, licensed physician or healthcare professional before beginning this program for his or her professional advice regarding this program and your involvement in it.

 *Optional:

Journal - Thoughts, quotes, and questions are provided to inspire your daily journaling. Feel free to write about what you did for the day and what you are feeling.

Daily Centering Activity – A 10-15 minute daily centering activity to help set the tone for the rest of the day.

This is our Beta Product to support youth basketball coaches with specific practice plans, philosophy, and logistics support to increase the fun they have, the impact they make and save volunteer coaches time and money as they search for ways to add value to our youth basketball players.  

Course purchase will also include membership to a community of closed FB group of peer youth coaches with light moderation and any and all updates of this course as we improve it with your feedback.  

Learn the home band workout designed to increase powerful first step explosion, defensive stance and lateral excellence, vertical jump, and also prehab against injuries in this perfect for solo workouts without equipment besides a $15 package of bands. 

"The Challenge” as designed by professional trainer Rusty Gregory, presents the first important and necessary steps in improving the health and performance of middle school and high school athletes. It is an excellent and easy to follow program which emphasizes the importance of a healthy diet which eliminates sugar, simple carbohydrates and processed foods. Recent medical research has confirmed the unhealthy risks of a poor diet, especially in active teen athletes, and this program offers delicious alternatives to the sugar and carb filled foods which most teens enjoy. By outlining the health benefits of The Challenge, as well as the health risks associated with a diet filled with sugar and carbs, Rusty’s program will help to motivate athletes and their families to achieve better health and better sports performance. I highly recommend The Challenge to anyone who wants to improve their diet, their health and their overall sense of well-being in their lives. The motto “Eat Better, Play Better” should be a strong motivation for all athletic coaches."

Ruth Ann Plotkin, M.D.

Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics

Board Certified in Pediatric Endocrinology

Sugar, and many other easily digested carbohydrates, have been thought for many years to be healthy sources of energy for athletes. Many coaches and trainers believed that you could easily burn off the sugar that was consumed in soft drinks, sports drinks, and sweet snacks with bouts of vigorous activity, without considering the more harmful effects that sugar can have on your overall health. Decades later, physicians and nutritionists have determined that excessive sugar and carbohydrate intake can actually be quite detrimental to your body, causing inflammation, joint pain, poor gut health, malnutrition and decreased immune function. Additionally, studies have shown that sugar is as or MORE addicting than substances such as caffeine, pain medications (opioids) and stimulants, like cocaine and methamphetamine. This is all the more reason to approach sugar elimination with a detailed, step-by-step plan that allows for individualized progress through withdrawal and towards healthy substitutions.

Too much sugar at one time produces an immediate energy high which is quickly followed by a crash and burn. This happens when insulin is produced, and the sugar is rapidly metabolized and falls to low levels in the blood. This reactive hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) can make you feel weak, dizzy and fatigued. Your body is not happy and then craves another sugar hit, leading to a vicious cycle which over time can seriously affect your body’s metabolism.

It is a known fact that a diet high in sugar can lead to chronic disease in the future, but it can also have a more immediate effect on your body and your basketball game. By eliminating sugar from your diet, your body automatically begins to break down fat, so that your muscles will become more toned and refined, resulting in a more muscular and chiseled physique. In addition, unhealthy weight will be lost which will help to improve your self-image and basketball performance. Eliminating sugar and adding healthier snacks to your diet also helps keep your hair shiny, smooth and elastic, and improves your skin’s complexion.

Consider professional basketball stars LeBron James (Five things we can learn from LeBron James' low-carb diet), Ray Allen, Dwayne Wade and Maya Moore (Maya Moore Talks Diet Change and Difference in Performance). Each of these athletic stars eliminated sugar from their diets in the form of the Paleo Diet or a modified version of it. Each one used their diet change to elevate and extend their professional careers.

The “20-Day Kick the Sugar Habit Challenge for Basketball Performance Gains” (The Challenge) is designed to jump-start the elimination of refined added sugar from your diet.  Because it is a challenge and only 20 days long, The Challenge is tough and will push you at times. The stronger your addiction to sugar, the more difficult and necessary The Challenge will be. Parents need to get on board with buying more healthy foods. This will help the entire family transition into making healthier choices that evolves into a new kind of family grocery list, one full of performance enhancing-loaded foods for basketball AND day-to-day activities.

It is strongly recommended that your parents and preferably the entire family, act as role models and join you in participating in The Challenge with you, which will make the twenty days easier to complete. Eating healthy meals together as a family is a comfortable ritual that can hold each participating family member accountable to The Challenge. It is also suggested that you participate with a friend or in a group to increase your adherence to this new lifestyle.

There will come a time when you will lose a desire to eat sweet foods and drinks. This could take days, weeks or even months, but it will come. When this day arrives, not only will you have conquered your sugar cravings and addictions, but also the slightest sweet tasting food may become too much for you to eat.

One of the biggest challenges you will face is finding healthy and delicious snacks to substitute for the sugar-containing foods you are eliminating. At the end of The Challenge, you will see a list of snack recommendations and food substitutions. These lists are by no means exhaustive, but they serve as helpful tools that you can use to find healthy, nutrient-dense, real food. Although not required, choosing grass-fed meats, organic produce, pasture-raised eggs and wild caught fish, whenever possible, is the healthiest route to follow.

“Processed food” or “ready to eat food”, is designed for convenience and ease of consumption, but not for good overall health. They usually are tasty, require minimal preparation, and have a longer shelf life than “real food”. The perceived benefits of these processed foods are a result of the amount of chemicals that are used to produce them, which is where the health problems kick in. They are created in a lab with a lengthy list of ingredients, many of which are very difficult to even pronounce. In part, The Challenge was formed to help act as the impetus to get you off processed foods. By eliminating processed foods and the sugar in your diet for the next 20 days, you will have taken a big step in removing the culprits which are holding you back from becoming your best …. playing your best basketball and looking your best.

So, how many calories should a basketball-playing teenager consume in a day? That will depend on the height, weight, gender, age and activity level of the player. An online calorie counter can help assess your energy intake needs. But it is important to note that you should eat only when you are hungry or in need of energy for a practice or competition, not out of boredom or when you are emotionally stressed. Research indicates that a highly active teenager should consume 80-100 grams of carbohydrates a day to fuel his/her basketball practice or competition. If extended play or practice is expected, such as a tournament with multiple games in a day, then additional grams of carbohydrates are needed.

Using a carb counter will help you to determine how many carbs are contained in the foods that you eat. This amount will allow you the energy that you need to play basketball at the highest level without negative side effects. This assumes that your carbohydrates are coming from healthy sources.

The Challenge instructs you on how to eliminate a certain food or group of foods for each of the first ten days. If a day encourages you to eliminate a food or drink that you do not consume at least once a month, then CONGRATULATIONS, you get a day off from eliminating a food or drink. Each food elimination is cumulative, so you will not be eating that food for the remainder of The Challenge, and hopefully, for the future.

The first ten days of The Challenge address the issue of eliminating unhealthy, energy consuming sugary foods from your diet. With each food elimination, a replacement option has been provided to make your dietary transformation easier. These are only suggestions, so if you do not like the option that is offered, look back at the Snack Recommendations, Food Substitutions, and Resources: Low-Carb Snacks for Kids (all of which are listed below), for additional ideas. For the purposed of The Challenge, white, wheat and whole wheat flour will be included as sugar/carbohydrates. Also, it is important that every day of The Challenge you drink water in the amount of half of your body weight in ounces. So, an athlete with a body weight of 110 pounds would need to consume 55 ounces of water in a day.

Disclaimer: The purpose of The Challenge is to assist male and female youth basketball players in enhancing his or her basketball game and health through proper dietary and nutritional practices. It is not intended to prescribe a diet, but to eliminate known unhealthy foods and offer healthy replacements. Consult with your nutritionist, licensed physician or healthcare provider before beginning this sugar eliminating program for his or her professional advice regarding this program and your involvement in it.

This course is a prerequisite for any resistance training program used to improve strength on the basketball court. Although athletes of all ages will benefit from the following exercises, the focus of this 30-day challenge is on the development of the middle school and high school basketball player in a safe and functional manner.