Welcome to my monthly eating clean, keto, intermittent fasting and exercise motivational blog called Choosing Healthy Monica Akerele! I hope you are doing well and staying healthy in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic and trying your best not to gain the quarantine 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 nor 30! What have you resolved to do concerning your holistic health, diet and exercise life in 2020? How are things going so far? Wherever you are in your process please don’t give up on your goals towards becoming a healthier version of YOU! We don’t do diets here we are living this healthy life out one day at a time, one meal at a time, one exercise at a time! I am on this journey with you to becoming healthier holistically. It is not a sprint, it is a lifetime journey. Every journey begins with one step. If you are ready to take that first step join me on my next monthly challenge beginning on Sunday August 2, 2020!!! Read below for the details and subscribe to my Choosing Healthy with Monica Akerele Youtube Channel on the link below!!! Thanks for your support and I look forward to sharing more relevant content to help make Choosing Healthy a lot more motivational and empowering for you!

The goal for this monthly challenge is to eat clean that means no processed foods and no added sugar! Eat organic/Non-GMO food as much as possible but if its not possible for you to buy organic just stick to whole foods/eating clean. Here are the acceptable foods for this challenge:

1) Meat including chicken, turkey, beef and pork that are organic or free from hormones, preservatives, antibiotics & steroids. Turkey or Pork Bacon with no Nitrites or Nitrates. Aldi, Walmart, Target, Trader Joes, Publix, Harris Teeter, Kroger, Whole Foods Market, Healthy Home Market, Fresh Market, EarthFare and other grocery stores sell these meats. You can also have organic eggs. Aldi sells their organic eggs for $3.49 a dozen. This is the best price I’ve seen to date.

2) Organic/Non GMO Vegetables (fresh or frozen – no canned vegetables)

3) Organic Fruit – Berries are best as they have a lower glycemic index and are full of antioxidants.

4) Nuts (almonds, pecans, macadamias, walnuts) and seeds (chia and flax seeds)

5) Drinks: Spring Water, unsweetened organic/Non-GMO almond milk, coconut milk or organic vegan protein for a breakfast shake or smoothie, black coffee, Bulletproof Coffee, Bone Broth and hot green, black, white tea or herbal tea. You can drink coffee or tea without a sweetener. NO DIET SODAS/DRINKS nor artificial sweeteners as studies suggest that they can be harmful to your health & possibly cause cancer. Strive to drink at least 1 gallon of water per day.

6) Eat healthy fats such as organic coconut oil, coconut butter, avocados, avocado oil, olive oil, grass-fed butter and Ghee.

I recommend the following programs for weight loss & overall health:

Whole30: Whole30 program – I recommend this program for people who simply want to change your diet to eating clean healthy whole food in order to reduce inflammation and to break the cycle of eating processed foods for overall good health.

Ketogenic Diet: Ketogenic Diet It is a low carb/high fat diet where the body produces ketones in the liver to be used as energy. As a result the body goes into ketosis where it burns fat instead of sugar for energy thus kick starting weight loss.

Intermittent Fasting: Intermittent Fasting Guide

I’ve tried them all and they do work and are beneficial for you to incorporate into your healthy lifestyle but ask your doctor/dietician first before beginning any of them.

7) Sleep at least 7-8 hours per day! This is soooooooo important!

8) Exercise at least 3-5 days per week for 30-60 minutes per session.

9) Download the MyFitnessPal or Carb Manager app on your smartphone or tablet. The purpose of these apps is to track your meal macros, water and exercise activity for the day. It also allows you to track your weight and other measurements. Remember this you cannot manage what you do not measure!

10) Remember the following NOs on this challenge – No sugar outside of fruit, No starchy carbs including corn, potatoes, rice, pasta, no beans, no peanuts, no vegetable oil, no canola oil, no soybean oil, no dairy (outside of eggs & grass-fed butter), no artificial sugars or sweeteners and NO processed foods.

I know this may seem challenging but it has truly been the key to my weight loss success along with prayer! I have lost 64 pounds by implementing these processes. Let me know what questions you have by sending me an email at contact@monicaakerele.com. If you would like to take this challenge with me subscribe to this blog for free by clicking on the follow button.

As a reminder our next monthly eating clean keto and exercise challenge starts on 8/2/2020! It’s a getting back to the basics #SelfCare challenge! Take a picture before you start so when the challenge is over you can see the difference that one month of healthy eating, intermittent fasting and exercise made.

Disclaimer: Always get your doctor’s approval before embarking upon a ketogenic, intermittent fasting and/or an exercise regimen. This is not a substitute for professional medical, nutritional or exercise advice this is for motivational and educational purposes only.

Let’s Go! You CAN do it!

In case you didn’t know I have 2 singles titled “Trust In You” and “Faithful Is Our God” that were released on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and all other digital music stores. Click the links below to listen or download these songs on Amazon Music!

TRUST IN YOU

FAITHFUL IS OUR GOD

Stay connected to keep up to date with what I’m doing in music, ministry and health motivation! – Monica Akerele, MSW, LMSW