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Issue 170 ~ 5th July 2024

Hello,

Now that we feel that summer has properly arrived Mary and I thought it would be a great idea to announce our 10-Day Summer Booster Challenge!

We receive so many emails from our readers who find it difficult to lose those last few lbs (often just half a stone) despite their best efforts. We also receive emails from others who are trying to get off the ‘starting blocks’ to lose their excesses. So, our 10-Day Summer Booster Challenge will give anyone the kick-start they need to make all the difference – fast!

Finding the motivation to get cracking is the biggest challenge but when we feel we are part of a like-minded group – which our ‘Newsletter family’ is – then we know we are not alone and that others are ‘digging deep’ too!

There is nothing like a short, focused and concerted effort to make a real difference to how we look and feel – and when better than in July when hopefully the sun is shining and we can enjoy cool salads and fresh strawberries and when going for walks or exercising outside is a real pleasure. Making an effort for just 10 days is very do-able, so let’s get cracking!

I have designed The 10-Day Summer Booster Eating Plan and Mary has created The 10-Day Summer Booster Fitness Challenge that will transform your overall fitness and wellbeing. By combining both the Eating and the Fitness elements you will be optimising your ability to lose weight and become fitter as well as transform your sense of wellness because the food included is super healthy – and full of goodness and great for your gut too. Hopefully you will be sleeping better, your skin should improve and your overall feeling of ‘wellness’ will give you a tremendous energy boost.

So, together, we are giving you the opportunity this summer to give your body a terrific tonic for your health, fitness and confidence! What have you got to lose but those unwanted lbs and inches? Enjoy it!

THE 10-DAY SUMMER BOOSTER EATING PLAN

In designing this Eating Plan I have selected recipes that offer high nutrition and low or controlled calories. Within the Plan you will see lots of delicious recipes which are all on the website, many of which are accompanied by ‘how-to-cook’ videos to make it even simpler for you to follow the instructions.

Daily Allowance:

Eat three meals a day - Breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Have 450ml or ¾ pint semi-skimmed milk (or soya/oat/almond alternatives) per day.
You can have 1 extra portion of fruit per day (e.g.1 portion x 100g raspberries or strawberries or blueberries or two kiwi fruits or 1 x small apple or pear, or 125ml fresh fruit juice). This is in addition to the Eating Plan.

Notes:

There are 10 days of meal options, all of which are interchangeable or repeatable.
There are lots of low-fat healthy recipes – just click on the highlighted link for each recipe.
Veggie options are available.
Follow the portion sizes where stated.
Water is unlimited, and tea too. (Try to reduce coffee consumption).
Low-cal drinks diluted with water are unrestricted.
Use soy sauce or balsamic vinegar in place of salad cream or mayo for salads.
Avoid all butter, oil and other fats except Fry-light Oil Spray.
No alcohol and no snacks for 10 days.

THE 10-DAY EATING PLAN

DAY 1
BREAKFAST: 40g any high fibre cereal or oats for porridge or muesli served with milk from allowance topped with 100g blueberries (V).
LUNCH: 1 slice wholegrain bread toasted, topped with 100g baked beans and a poached or dry-fried egg, plus a salad of carrot, celery, peppers, cherry tomatoes, raw mushrooms (V).
DINNER: Fresh Salmon Pasta Salad or Crushed Bean Rigatoni (V). Plus a large salad of leaves and vegetables.

DAY 2
BREAKFAST: 1 slice wholegrain bread, toasted, served with one scrambled egg plus 4 grilled tomatoes (V).
LUNCH: Crunchy Pepper Salad (V) served with 100g baked beans and 100g tuna in brine served with soy sauce. For vegetarian option use 200g baked beans.
DINNER: Mexican Beef or Roast Vegetable and Lentil Dahl (V). Plus a side salad.

DAY 3
BREAKFAST: 200g live yogurt (Greek-style or regular) served with 100g chopped strawberries and 50g blueberries (V).
LUNCH: Tuna Wrap or vegetarian alternative plus a small salad.
DINNER: Chicken and Pepper Stir-Fry. For vegetarian option use Quorn pieces.

DAY 4
BREAKFAST: 1 Weetabix plus one tbsp Branflakes topped with 100g blueberries served with milk from allowance (V).
LUNCH: Coronation Chicken Salad. For vegetarian option have a large salad served with one boiled egg and a small avocado pear.
DINNER: Cottage Pie with Sweet Potato Mash with unlimited vegetables (excl. potatoes). For vegetarian option use Quorn mince.

DAY 5
BREAKFAST: Two boiled eggs plus a satsuma and a kiwi fruit. (V)
LUNCH: Rice and Bean Salad (V) served with a side salad of leaves and vegetables, or roast chicken breast with a large salad.
DINNER: Horseradish Fish Pie or Rich Mushroom Tagliatelle (V). Plus unlimited vegetables.

DAY 6
BREAKFAST: Austrian Muesli (V) (Needs to be prepared the night before).
LUNCH: Mackerel Pâté served with 3 wholegrain crispbreads and salad. For vegetarian option have a two-egg omelette served with salad.
DINNER: Lamb steak, well grilled, with unlimited veg and 100g new potatoes with skins plus a little gravy. For vegetarian option use a Quorn Steak.

DAY 7
BREAKFAST: 1 slice wholegrain toast spread with Marmite topped with a poached egg (V).
LUNCH: Mediterranean Prawn Salad. For vegetarian option exchange prawns for button mushrooms.
DINNER: 120g Roast chicken breast, unlimited vegetables and 100g dry roast sweet potatoes, and low-fat gravy or Baked Bean and Vegetable Bake (V) plus a side salad.

DAY 8
BREAKFAST: Two large bananas and one satsuma (V).
LUNCH: Large salad with 100g wafer-thin ham or beef or 100g canned tuna in brine or mixed beans and Homemade Coleslaw (V).
DINNER: Spaghetti Bolognese (serving size 52g uncooked weight of spaghetti) plus a small side salad. For vegetarian option use Quorn mince.

DAY 9
BREAKFAST: 1 banana sliced, one conference pear chopped with skin, plus 100g raspberries or chopped strawberries or blueberries, plus 2 tablespoons Greek-style live yogurt (V).
LUNCH: 300ml Homemade Soup (V) of your choice, plus a small salad.
DINNER: Chicken Korma served with beansprouts and stir-fried vegetables (no rice) or Teriyaki Tempeh (V) with Beansprouts and Broccoli (no rice). Plus a side salad.

DAY 10
BREAKFAST: 1 x 400g can plum tomatoes, boiled well till they reduce. Serve with 50g button mushrooms dry fried with a spray of Fry-light, served on one slice of toasted wholegrain bread (V).
LUNCH: Large plate of salad served with two hard-boiled eggs, fresh beansprouts, grated carrot and grated beetroot, served with soy sauce (V).
DINNER: Asian Salmon Steak with Stir-fry Vegetables or Roast Vegetable and Chickpea Pasta (V). Plus a side salad.

By clicking on the recipe names in purple above you can access each recipe or to see all the recipes for the Plan click here. (V) = Vegetarian.

If you substitute your own meals, please ensure they are within the calorie guidelines and made from fresh, healthy ingredients.
Breakfasts are approx. 200 calories.
Lunches are approx. 300 calories.
Dinners are approx. 500 calories.
Add to that the Daily Allowance of 450ml milk and the extra piece of fruit and you should be consuming around 1200 - max 1300 calories a day.

You may download and print off this Eating Plan for your personal use only by clicking here.

© Rosemary Conley 2024.

If you stick to this Eating Plan, and follow the Fitness Challenge below, you will be truly amazed at the results at the end of the 10 days. If you want to lose more weight, then simply continue onwards with the Plan until you are content with your weight.

Recipe of the Week

Rainbow Salad

Serves 1 (multiply ingredients to serve more)
Per serving: 100 calories (approx.)
Prep time 20 mins

¼ red pepper finely sliced
2 red cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 carrot peeled and finely grated
2 tablespoons canned sweetcorn
¼ yellow pepper finely sliced
1 small courgette coarsely grated including skin
Fresh garden peas from three pods
½ in slice cucumber, chopped
1 medium raw beetroot, peeled and finely grated
5 button mushrooms, chopped

Place the prepared salad vegetables carefully in lines down a rectangular plate to create a rainbow effect. Keep similar coloured vegetables together.
Serve with soy sauce.
Optional: Add prawns, tuna or smoked mackerel, or cottage cheese or a hard-boiled egg, or chopped chicken or lean ham or beef, or quinoa or other grains. (The calories for these protein foods are not included.)

Click here for more Recipes

Fun, Facts & Fitness from Mary Morris MSc.

There are occasions with all of us when we may gradually have lapsed with our usual exercise routine. It's all going so well and then something happens that stops it in its tracks and it is then really hard to get back up and running again. Holidays are a prime example of this happening. But to an extent this has happened to me with my recent surgery, as I have obsessed with the recovery of my right knee and neglected getting totally back on track with my whole-body conditioning. It is at times like this that I love a Challenge.

A commitment to a set programme for just 10 days is not too onerous. It's a short enough length of time to commit to, yet long enough enough to get us back on track. My Spring Challenge which I launched a few weeks ago was a great hit with my fitness group whilst I have been out of action. They have met every week, in rain or shine (and mostly rain!) at our local park and gone through their paces, much to the amusement of all the dog walkers passing by!

So now, here is my new active 10-Day Summer Booster Challenge! As usual this includes our normal daily walks, with hopefully a longer one once a week. Added to these walks will be a strong emphasis on our strength work, using many of the routines on our website with a set day to do them. My recent start in taking a Creatine supplement (as mentioned in Newsletter 168) has certainly upped my motivation to do more strength work, knowing that the Creatine is more effective when combined with plenty of resistance training. A recent article in the Daily Telegraph was entitled 'To live long and strong in retirement, lift heavy weights'. That is our mantra too, as you well know!

If you decide to go ahead with this Challenge why not write it down with a start date in your diary knowing that you will need to be focused for the following 10 days. Good luck with it!

THE 10-DAY SUMMER BOOSTER FITNESS CHALLENGE

How to do the Challenge:

DAYS 1 – 5

Choose a start date and record it in your diary.
Combine it with The 10-Day Summer Booster Eating Plan.
Print off the Fitness Challenge and put it in a prominent place such as the front of your fridge, and remember to record each activity session as you complete it.
Drink plenty of water before and after your exercise sessions. On hot days ensure you have water with you on your walks and wear sun protection.
How far you go on your daily walk is only a suggestion. If you have not done your daily walk recently then start with 15 minutes at a gentle pace. If you are a regular walker then carry on as usual with 30+ minutes. Remember to do your Post-walk stretches.
All the Strength Workouts are on our website using either a resistance band or hand weights.
The ‘Exercise Snack Day’ allows you to do a valuable strength exercise at any time when you have a spare minute. Ideas and recommended repetitions are in the Plan. For example…
- Walk up and down stairs consecutively.
- March on the spot.
- Table-top press-ups.
- Balance on each leg for 30 seconds.
- Sit-to-stand multiple times from a dining chair.

DAYS 6 – 10

Make your 30+ minute daily walks more challenging this week. Try to make sure there are some inclines and alternate your pace between steady and then much brisker.
With the hand weights it is important you work with the heaviest you can manage. I encourage you to have ideally a 2kg weight in each hand, increasing to 2.5kg or even 3kg. A 1-litre bottle of water weighs 1½ kg so is a good starting point for beginners.

THE 10-DAY FITNESS CHALLENGE

DAY 1
Walk 15 - 30mins.
Do the Standing Band Workout

DAY 2
Walk 15 - 30mins.
Do the Balance Exercises or a Ballet session

DAY 3
Walk 15 - 30mins.
Exercise Snacks Day:

Sit to Stand x 12
Press-ups 2 x 10
Stairs 3 - 4 times consecutively

DAY 4
Walk 15 - 30mins.
Do the Floor Band Workout

DAY 5
Go for a longer Walk.
Do the Whole Body Stretch Programme

DAY 6
Walk 30 - 45 mins.
Do the Standing Weights Workout

DAY 7
Walk 30 - 45 mins.
Do a Pilates Programme

DAY 8
Walk 30 - 45 mins.
Exercise Snacks Day:

Sit to Stand x 12
Press ups 3 x 10
Stairs 4 - 5 times consecutively

DAY 9
Walk 30 - 45 mins.
Do the Floor Weights Workout

DAY 10
Go for a longer walk.
Do the Whole Body Stretch Programme

You may download and print off this Fitness Plan for your personal use only by clicking here.

If you follow Rosemary's Eating Plan and take up my Fitness Challenge for the full 10 days you will reap tremendous benefits to your health, fitness and vitality.

Are you ready to accept our 10-Day Summer Booster Challenge?

Did you know...

Although this newsletter is designed to be read on a screen we know many of you like to print it off. Both this Newsletter and all the recipes from the website are printable.

To print this Newsletter you may just be able to click "Print Email" or "File" then "Print" in Outlook or your email programme. Alternatively, If you have opened the Newsletter in your web-browser you may have three vertical dots in the top right-hand corner of your screen. Clicking these opens the menu where there will be an option to print. Please bear in mind that it may run to many pages of full colour so be careful not to use up all your ink or paper! You may wish to set your printer to print in black and white only.

If you want to be able to refer back to any Newsletter instead of printing it you can always find it again on our website. You can find every Newsletter we have issued since we started in April 2021 on the Rosemary's Weekly Newsletter page.

All the recipes that we feature in the Newsletter are added to the website and if you go to the Recipes page and open the one that you want, at the bottom of the page there is a "Download Recipe" button.

But before you get too print-happy, as it says on the bottom of many email signatures:

And finally...

We have specifically designed this 10-Day Summer Booster Challenge so that you can either do it now or save it for a later date. But one thing’s for sure, if you do it you will feel so pleased with yourself at the end. Having something to aim for, and then to have completed it, is incredibly good for our feeling of self-worth and general confidence – and that’s on top of everything else that you have done to boost your general health and fitness! Fabulous!

With love and best wishes,

Rosemary Conley CBE DL