This week, your challenge is to FOCUS ON NUTRITION. Now that you have established your relative health, it is time to make the necessary changes to your diet in order to see an improvement in your eating habits, energy and overall well-being.

CHALLENGE: Make small, sustainable changes to your daily nutrition. This challenge focuses on 5 small changes to your daily intake and a few tips and tricks to make your new eating habits stick.

1. Portion Control: Restaurants have changed the way we view portions. Super-sized meals are a huge factor contributing to the obesity epidemic in the US. Portion Control doesn’t mean you need to be left unsatisfied. Reduce large portions of fatty or unhealthy foods and increase intake of lean meats, vegetables and low-sugar fruits.

2. Hunger Strike: Strike the word hunger from your vocabulary! Don’t wait until you are hungry to eat. Put your body on a schedule (3 small meals and 1-2 smart snacks daily) that will increase your ability to metabolize foods and make use of the fuel your body is being fed.

3. Good Fats: Natural Fats like those found in Avocado, Nuts, Olive Oil and Lean Meats are essential to your body’s function. Use these in moderation to help build lean mass.

4. Good Carbs: There’s Brown Rice and then there’s Brownies. Complex Carbs like those found in Whole Grain Cereal or Wheat Bread can add value to your diet if they are high in fiber and other nutrients. Look for unprocessed, unbleached Whole Grain or Whole Wheat options to get sustainable energy and manageable blood sugar levels. Simple Carbs like those found in desserts and candy can add a lot of calories to your diet and burn faster; giving a quick spike of energy followed by a crash.

5. Mix or Match: Several fad diets encourage you to cut out one or more food groups. However, most professionals recommend a balance of Fruits, Vegetables, Dairy, Protein, Fats and Grains. When you eat and what you eat together is just as important. Try to keep grains and starchy vegetables in the first two thirds of the day. Mix and Match Veggies and Fruits with Protein or Grains, but stay away from heavy meals of Protein and Grain in one sitting to give your body a chance to burn fat and calories more efficiently.

TIPS & TRICKS – - The two best tricks for a quick and healthy overhaul are cooking at home and planning ahead.

Get Your Home Chef Hat On. The majority of your meals should be home cooked because that is the only way to know exactly what you are putting into your body. Pick up a healthy cookbook by your favorite Celebrity Chef. They will ensure that you don’t sacrifice taste for nutrition.

Plan for Success. Planning ahead will help you in many ways. Shop for the week (or two weeks) to make sure that you are stocked up on healthy options. Prepare your meals ahead of time to guarantee that you always have a healthy meal ready – even on short notice. Portion your meals and put them in to containers that you can easily carry to school or work.

RD Fit: Week 2 – - What to Do?

Leverage your Vegetables. Whenever you change your eating habits, whether by portion control or cutting out unhealthy foods, you can be left with cravings or feeling deprived. Vegetables are you best way to beat the diet blues. Fibrous and Hearty Veggies like Eggplant, Zucchini and Squash can fill you up without filling you out. Unlimited servings of Low Starch Veggies** can also kill your cravings instantly.

**GO Green: stock up on green veggies for the most impact. Celery and Cucumber have high water content to make you feel more satisfied, Spinach and Kale are packed with nutrients and can help your digestive system.

RD Fit: Week 2 – - Where are you?

Let’s see where you are in the RD Fit: Lifestyle Challenge program.

During week 2, you should start to feel the results of the challenge, even if you can’t see them quite yet. Take note of your energy level compared to week 1. Also try to keep track of any changes in your sleeping patterns.

It is still really early in the program, so pay close attention and keep going!