This week your challenge is to liquidate your kitchen. You’ve made it past the halfway mark and it is time to redouble your efforts to make sure that you reach your goals. To guarantee that there won’t be any slips or dips in your progress, now is a good time to purge your kitchen of the cheat foods that you allowed yourself to have in the first half of the 90 day challenge.

Some “cheat foods” are obvious like cookies, cakes, candy, chips and ice cream. Others are less overt like fatty meats, salad dressing, high sodium pre-made foods, high calorie drinks and certain sugar substitutes.

CHALLENGE: Replace cheat foods with lifestyle foods. These will be permanent staples in your pantry, fridge or freezer that satisfy your cravings without stretching your waistline.

RD Fit: Week 8 – – What to Do?

Processed foods are the most common perpetrators in the crime against health. Try to remove at least five items that include the following:

• Bleached Flour (pasta, white rice, white bread)
• High Sugar (soda, energy and meal replacement bars, sugary cereals, white sugar)
• High Fat (ribeye steak, cheeseburgers, fried foods, coffee creamer)
• High Sodium (prepackaged meals even the popular diet brands – - read before you feed)
• High Cholesterol (whole eggs, skin on chicken)

You can replace these items with healthy lifestyle-friendly alternatives that will boost your energy and fuel your activities without weighing you down or letting you crash:

• Better than Bleached Flour (tofu noodles, brown rice, quinoa, wheat bread)
• Better than High Sugar (sparkling water, all natural granola bars without added sugar, agave, stevia)
• Better than High Fat (filet of sirloin steak, turkey burgers, faux fried foods, soy or almond milk)
• Better than High Sodium (make your own healthy meals and portion similar to the prepackaged brands)
• Better than High Cholesterol (egg beaters or egg whites, boneless/skinless chicken)

Pick up the book Eat This, Not That for some healthy replacements to your favorite guilty pleasure foods.

RD Fit: Week 8 – – Where are you?

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

You’ve made it over the hump and the finish line is in sight. Now is the time to renew your focus and goals. It is also the time to set yourself up for success in the long run. Eliminating cheat foods and finding lifestyle foods to take their place is a great way to start.