After reading over responses on the questionnaire we sent out for our Jump Start 21 challenge, it seems that many of you have the goal to either improve your overall health, lose weight/improve your body composition, or to build functional strength. All of which are great goals, and all of which have one thing in common that can make all the difference and that is Nutrition. Having a good healthy diet plan will increase energy levels, increase the body's ability to recover quickly from exercise, and eliminating excess amounts of sugars and refined carbohydrates will improve body composition.

Rather than going into detail on what you should and should not eat, and how much of it, I've decided to just give you all a couple of nutrition tips that I have found work for me. All of these are easy switches that you could get started on today!!

       1) Drink half of your body weight in ounces of water per day

                - Ex. I weigh 205 lbs. So I should be drinking just over 100 oz of water per day.

       2) Replace sweets with fruits

                - I have found that substituting fruit in place of a cookie or a doughnut, cures my sweet tooth and improves how I am feeling rather than making me feel tired and sluggish.

       3) Eat a healthy breakfast every day

                - The most important meal of the day! Eating a healthy breakfast in the morning will boost your metabolism and reduce the risk of overeating and having food cravings throughout the day.

       4) Don't shop without a list

                - I have found this to be super helpful for myself when it comes to eating healthy. If I have a list of foods that my body needs, it is much easier to avoid the foods my body does not need.

       5) Eat before going grocery shopping

               - Eating before going to the store is a huge one. We have all been grocery shopping while we are starving and we end up pulling everything off the shelves and buying a ton of things just because of how good they sound

                 at the time. This along with number 4, always shopping with a list, will steer us clear of even having the option to eat foods that will hinder our progress towards accomplishing these goals.

Looking forward to seeing you guys crush these goals!