30 Day Mediterranean Lifestyle Challenge
Today is Day 30! Congratulations to everyone who is still working on creating their own little Mediterranean Blue Zone. For those of you that have reached your goal weight, it's time to move onto Wave 3. Cyndi Fales from Lifeworks Strategy tells us how.
Now do a little happy dance and stay the course. Screenings will be held April 17.
Once you hit your goal weight—you are ready for Wave 3, the final wave! It may take some people a few weeks to reach their goal while others may need a few months. Continue in Wave 2 until you reach that goal weight and then move on to Wave 3. When you get there, Celebrate—you have earned it!!
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| Image from organizedchaos-lisa.blogspot.com |
Wave 3 isn’t too different from Wave 2, same food lists and same plate sizes/portions—you just get to give your self a little more wiggle room. This phase continues to emphasize a variety of wholesome foods and allow for “indulgences,” including: dark chocolate, juices, potatoes and pretzels, which should be limited to special occasions. Now the key is to make sure you don’t wiggle or “indulge” too much off the recommendation or you might have trouble maintaining your healthy weight. Other items to be mindful of to keep at your health weight include: keeping your portion sizes in check, not over snacking, going easy on the fruits and bread, and continuing to be physically active. Ultimately, continue learning and striving to get the maximum nutrients with the minimum number of calories.
If you “relapse” with sugar and/or refined flours… start back at Wave 1 to eliminate those cravings. If you reach your goal weight after the 10 days you can go right back to Wave 3, or Wave 2 if you don’t get back to your healthy weight after Wave 1.
If you have been following the Sonoma Diet closely, you may be ready for some new recipe ideas. There are tons of recipes and resources on the Oldways website. You can search through their recipes here. Some of the favorites in my house are Greek Style Lasagna and Stuffed Peppers. When I have family or friends over for dinner, I love doing stuffed peppers, we typically use poblano peppers. I roast peppers ahead of time and then lay out all the “fillings” and let each guest fill their own pepper. You can do any fillings you want, be creative—we like quinoa, black bean, mushrooms, corn, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and chicken or shrimp. Stick them in the oven to finish cooking and then serve. By letting each person stuff their own pepper, you have the flexible to control what is in your meal and so do each of the guests.
By Wave 3, the goal is that you have ultimately learned to “eat for pleasure, eat for health and eating to stay at the best weight.” We hope that you have found that it is not a huge burden—and actually quite delicious and rewarding. You don’t have to eat Mediterranean the rest of your life, but hopefully you can take away a few aspects of the lifestyle to continue in your routine. Keep trying new foods and new recipes, don’t be afraid to go grocery shopping and cook.
Continue to strive to turn all your meals into slow, satisfying, and sociable experiences. Do whatever you think best to stay within the Mediterranean/Sonoma Diet. It's your diet now.
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