THE 7-DAY CHALLENGE

A lot of people need a kick on a part of the body occupied by the gluteus maximus muscle in order for them to do something good.
People like these (and include me in this august majority) can’t change anything in life, including the way they feel and look. Unless severely provoked. In such circumstances, ordinary people do extraordinary things.

(pic: http://1stepcloser2im.blogspot.com/2008/05/cda-bike-course-computrainer.html)

This post is for those of you who need to shed fat. I am throwing this challenge to all of you:
Starting this Monday (or any day of the week), can you go for one week (seven days, or one hundred and sixty-eight hours) without eating one milligram of bad food?
Specifically, do you have it in you to do ALL of the following, for one full week, no excuses?
1. Eat NO artificial sugars, sweeteners, fruit juices, honey, agave nectar, chocolate (and you know what else could come in this group), etc.
2. Drink NO alcohol, whether beer and wine, or rum, whisky, etc.
3. Eat NO grains, including rice, wheat, corn, etc., including hidden forms, for example, batter-fried chicken (the batter contains grain).
4. Eat NO processed foods at all. This includes breads, chips, biscuits, cake, savories, ice cream, pizza, etc.
5. Not eat out at all.
6. Work out or do an activity for 45 minutes every day. You could start bodyweight exercises at home, and you could climb stairs several times fast, or walk outside, or play tennis, to complete this criterion. If you are already doing exercise, increase the intensity by 10 percent and time by 10 minutes. For weight trainers, this could mean increasing your loads or your total reps or both. If you are the type who skips core workouts because you lifted heavy, then be particular not to cheat this week. If you are too busy, remember you are saying no to yourself. Take 30, then.
7. Eat (all) vegetables, except potatoes.
8. Eat (all) fruits, but no fruit juices. Do not exceed three portions a day.
9. Eat (preferably lean) meats and eggs ad libitum.
10. Fast for 18 hours on any one occasion. If you can do two, even better. The hours need to be consecutive, and may include overnight sleep time.
“But I am already doing all this, dude!” are you saying? Then this challenge is not for you. Simple. This is for the vast majority who do not manage to start a healthy lifestyle because of the lack of a stimulus. Hopefully, this challenge will spur you on, and you will try this out.
Why, one may ask? Simple. If you fulfill this challenge, it is likely that you will run up a calorific deficit of around 1000 to 1500 calories every day, leading to a net loss of two to four pounds of fat. One week.
This will show you that, by next Monday, you would have changed your health and body composition for the better. A significant first milestone.
Are you man or woman enough to do it? Can you submit your name in the comment box, and report back to all of us? I will set an example. I will do more than any of you and try to lose the most fat, by jacking up the intensity of my workouts. And I will be honest if I fail. If you can, weigh up, but this is not important. I guarantee you that sincere effort in this will make you notice the change in some way.
If you are a blogger, take up the challenge and post this in your blog. Take it up as a tag that will change the lives of your readers, rather than some totally frivolous tags we all have been part of. I won’t name you individually, as I want no feeling of obligation on your part, but know I am talking to YOU. No one else.
You can use the ten criteria, and I would appreciate a link to this blog, but that is not important. Giving me money is. Alas, all this is free, and such is life!

To some of my favorite fitness bloggers, I invite you to involve your readers to this challenge: DR, Vic, Rusty, Scott Bird, and Son of Grok. If you wish, you could alter the specifics of the challenge for your readers.
Come on, let us show ourselves that we can do it. Go! See you next week, and drop in your responses!
Warning: If you are suffering from diseases like hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, etc. you may be able to benefit from such lifestyle adjustments as necessitated by this challenge, but please be careful and, if necessary, ask me or your doctor about it. All risks are yours!