Starting Plan Next Monday and Filled with ?s

[Rachel]

Hello there,

I am halfway through the book and planning to start the program next week. I am using this week to determine exactly what I need to do.

I have a lot of questions and would appreciate any and all advice.

Do I have to eat two nutrition bars and/or drink shakes every day? I am hoping to lose weight and I was wondering if an apple and cottage cheese would suffice.

When do I mix in good fats?

Can I drink alcohol at all?

I know it says to only do 20 minutes of cardio, but I am training to run in long-distance running and plan to run longer than 20 minutes on cardio days. Is this a problem?

[Chris]

You don't have to eat nutrition bars and shakes every day. The cottage cheese and apple is better than a bar anyway. The shakes just make life more convenient, but they're not required either.

You can mix in a little bit of good fats with every meal... or you can have them with only a couple of your meals. Don't be afraid of healthy fats, they are good for you... but they do add a lot of calories. Keep this in mind, and keep the fat portions small.

You can drink on your free day. You can have some alcohol on other nights if you want, but realize that it will drastically slow your progress. It's something I've never been very strict on, but I know I'd do better without it.

You can do longer cardio sessions if you want. Only do the HIIT stuff for 20 minute workouts. But you have a distance goal, so it's fine to do long running sessions. The intervals will help your training though, so be sure to do them 1x per week (at least).

Good luck! Welcome to the forums!