For those of you wanting to join me in The Harcombe Diet Challenge, or if you are just interested in knowing more about it, please please please do yourself the favour and go read up about it on Zoe Harcombe's website. It really is a wealth of information,but it is vital for you to know everything there is to know about this diet.

I have received my first email after registering and i want to share it with you, so that you can have a good idea of what to expect. I hope all of this info helps! Once you register you should receive this kind of email too! As well as receiving an email every day from the 1st of July to tell you everything you need to know and do for that day! :) I'm very excited to start this! Click on the links provided to see the possible food menu for the next week. Remember that you can swop out certain stuff, just be careful not to mix your proteins and carbs together.

June 25th, 2013
The Harcombe Diet® 30 Day Blitz Eat Naturally, Move Naturally

Preparing for your 30 Day Blitz

It’s just a week to go before the start of The Harcombe Diet® 30 Day Blitz and this first note is here to get you - and your kitchen - ready for success.

We also thought you'd also like a heads up on what's coming to you daily during the first 30 days of July (July 31st you should be celebrating!)

Each day you'll wake up to an email with a variety of diet, health, activity and motivation tips. There'll be bonus content daily - videos, podcasts and blogs - to support the key message of the day and to help your learning and motivation throughout the month.

It is, of course, difficult to pitch this right for everyone - some of you will be Harcombe experts and others will be Harcombe virgins :-) Some of you will be virtually Paleo, some veggie. Some of you will be marathon runners and some of you might think Sky Sports counts as natural activity ;-)

We'll be trying to make sure we cater as much as possible for as many of you as possible. Please join with us and embrace what you can and adapt where you can't - and share your inventions and experiences with the rest of us. We're all in this together.

For those of you who like meal plans (called "planners" in Stop Counting Calories & Start Losing Weight!), we've done a 7-day plan for omnivores and a 7-day plan for vegetarians.You can download a copy here.

If you're the person who likes to plan meals ahead, now is the time to use the plans - either to the letter and repeat as desired - or to use them as a base for your own weekly plan. If there's a breakfast that works for you - stick with it, or alternate a couple. If you know you're not going to eat fish, and our challenges can't tempt you to try, then get your fish-free meal plan sorted. The "flexis" can use the plan for ideas and/or keep the Workbook allowed foods list to hand and rock and roll as 'lastminute.com' as suits you.

So, onto your prep work before starting next week.

First, your kitchen.

You’ll need to purge your kitchen of any lingering junk that you are keeping. Not having junk options available makes it much easier to resist those foods if you get the cravings for them at 4pm, or when you get back from work, or if you get bored.

Diligently work through your food cupboards and fridge and throw out all of the items listed in your workbook.

THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS.

THERE ARE NO EXCUSES.

ALL THE JUNK MUST GO.

Restocking. Whichever day you do food shopping, use it to restock your cupboards and fridge with the foods on the list in your workbook. Always go for the best quality you can afford and remember this doesn’t mean the most expensive. Rolled rib of locally reared, free-range pork is currently less than £5/kilo at our butcher. Best fillet of beef is, by comparison more than £40/kilo. In season fruit and vegetables are also far better value than exotic fruits flown in from overseas - they are also a far more natural resource.

Getting YOU ready.

You will achieve far more and have a lot more fun if you find yourself a buddy to do the program with. Some habits will be harder to break than others and having a friend that you can talk to will help you through these obstacles. Choose a buddy who has similar interests and health goals to yourself and make a commitment to each other that you are there to support and help each other, not to criticise and lead each other astray! Getting a local buddy will have benefits for exploring the local area and some of the activities. If you can't think of anyone near you, do try to find a buddy in the club (www.theharcombedietclub.com/)

Scout out your local area.

Over the next 30 days you’ll be returning to a more natural way of eating and moving and, so, you should start thinking about where you will get your food from. Supermarkets are convenient for staples, but you’ll get far better quality and range from a butcher, greengrocer etc. Go and find your local butcher, farm shop, free range egg supplier, local organic supplier or farmers' market and see what produce is in season.

There’ll be no need to visit your gym, but you will be doing some outdoor activities. If you live in an urban environment, take some time over the next week to locate your local park or open green space. Work out a route, or a few, that would take you 30 minutes to walk. Stairs are good modern substitutes for natural up and down walking, so we'll be making good use of stairs over the next 30 days. Be aware of any stairs that you can access - at home or at work, on the tube or in shopping centres.

If you live in a more rural environment, find a local forest or open field that you can use freely.

If you work from an office/factory/other building, use a lunch break one day this week to identify a couple of places where you could take a walk during your lunch or other break. See if there are stairs nearby for use during the day and find a quiet area where you could do some stretches - maybe there's an area just outside your workplace, or an unused office, the top of a stairwell or even the restroom.

Finally, get some comfortable shoes/trainers for your leisure walks and activities and a pair of tracksuit leggings or shorts and a lightweight top that doesn’t restrict movement. Keep your activity kit clean and dry so that it’s always comfortable to quickly change into and, for the 30 day period, keep it readily accessible so that you don’t need to spend time looking for your shoes or t-shirt.

p.s. Here’s a Top Video for the day to help get you ready for the last diet you'll ever need:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5CeeawiW7Q

See you next week.

To your very best health

Zoë, Andy & Olly

www.zoeharcombe.com
www.theharcombedietclub.com
www.instinctive-fitness.com