Wednesday, May 18, 2011

I think I'm going to try *GASP* diet and exercise

I got these off ksl.com I think I'm going to try them.


Day 1
Breakfast: Oatmeal, half a cup of berries and a glass of almond milk.

Lunch: Half of a pita sandwich with lean turkey lunch meat, spinach, tomatoes and mustard, a side of carrots and hummus.

Dinner: Baked salmon flavored with lemon juice, salt and pepper, fresh sauteed green beans and a side of brown rice.

Day 2
Breakfast: Three egg-white omelet filled with spinach, tomatoes and onions with a side of melon.

Lunch: Tomato basil soup with a side green salad.

Dinner: Lean chicken breast seasoned with your choice of herbs or marinade with a sweet potato and fruit salad on the side.

Day 3
Breakfast: Avocado pear smoothie sweetened with honey and half of an English muffin.

Lunch: Crisp tofu, red pepper, green beans and cabbage sauteed in a stir fry with sesame sauce.

Dinner: Halibut with a side of barley risotto and peas.

Day 4
Breakfast: Whole grain toast topped with goat cheese and raspberries.

Lunch: Turkey roll-up with light cream cheese and tomatoes with a side of veggie chips and a pear.

Dinner: Black bean burrito with caramelized onions, mushrooms and mango salsa on a whole wheat tortilla with one cup of tortilla soup.

Day 5
Breakfast: Whole-wheat pancakes topped with applesauce.

Lunch: Large spinach salad with hard-boiled egg and light honey mustard dressing.

Dinner: Pork chops with a side of mashed cauliflower and baked cinnamon apples.

Day 6
Breakfast: An oat bran muffin with a side of strawberries.

Lunch: Chili with chicken, green chiles and white beans.

Dinner: Falafel in a pita with a side of cous cous and green salad.

Day 7
Breakfast: Greek yogurt parfait with honey, oats and berries.

Lunch: Portabello mushroom burger with a side of sweet potato fries.

Dinner: One California roll with one cup of edamame and one cup of miso soup.

Other
Snacks: Carrot sticks or red pepper slices and hummus, a handful of almonds, an apple with one tablespoon of peanut butter, Greek yogurt with berries, baked chips with salsa, beet or kale chips or fruit salad.

Super foods to include in your meal: red tomatoes, black beans, spinach, almonds, Swiss chard, mushrooms, kale, avocado, salmon, flax seed, Greek yogurt, pumpkin seeds, oats, grapefruit, carrots and broccoli.

Low-calorie seasonings and flavors: cinnamon, honey, Stevia all-natural sweetener, agave nectar, mustard, basil, sage, thyme, coconut oil, olive oil, garlic, ginger, saffron and red chiles.

And for when I feel like eating a little unhealthy:
The Rule of 3 - doing three different exercises every day - is a great way to mix things up and make sure you're not bored while you get the exercise your body needs.

Here are three easy things to do at home to get you started:

Choose a Pilates move to do each day
You don't even need a mat. Joseph Pilates designed his exercises so that people could do them from home. A quick online search will reveal detailed instructions on how to perform each pose.

Wall Roll Down is a great one that many people like that will get you started on your core.

Stand tall against a wall, and keeping your body against the wall, walk your feet out about eight inches from the wall. Pull your stomach in. Keep your shoulders down and away from your ears, chest open, and raise your arms over your head. Keep your arms up by your ears as you slowly roll your spine down and away from the wall, vertebrae by vertebrae. Keep your abs pulled in as you work slowly, peeling the spine away from the wall. Relax your head and neck. Roll down as far as you can stretch while keeping your hips against the wall. Keeping your arms in the same place, roll up slowly paying close attention while you use your stomach muscles to move your body up. Keep rolling up, replacing your vertebrae against the wall one by one as you go. Finish in an upright position with your arms up and hands clasped together

Choose an exercise DVD or video game to which you can relate
"Jillian Michaels: The Complete Workout for Beginner" and "The Michael Jackson Experience" for the Wii are two excellent workouts to put on your TV and computer

The Michael's workout burns an estimated 370-460 while using 3- to 5-pound dumbbells and a resistance band. (97 minutes; $24.95 for a two-DVD set; jillianmichaels.com). Do as much of it as you have time for.

The Jackson workout is a product of the 80s and 90s, and I find it a pleasure to work out and dance to Michael Jackson's hits, and even one song - Smooth Criminal - gets my heart rate up so quickly I have to take a break between each song. You can do a few songs here and there throughout the day which is good for your overall fitness and heart rate.

Squats
Squats are my least favorite exercise to do anywhere- even at home, but boy, are the results worth it.

First, place a chair just behind you and stand in front of it with feet about hip- or shoulder-width apart. Then tighten your abs as you bend your knees and slowly and squat towards the chair. Keep your knees behind your toes and sit down on the chair for a few seconds. Squeeze in your glutes and hamstrings to lift up out of the chair and begin extending the legs. Stand back up fully and repeat this at least 10 times.

You may be asking yourself if such a short, simple routine will do anything but make it hard to walk up and down stairs the next day. The answer is: Yes. Especially if you do it consistently.

By incorporating the Rule of 3 you'll soon be in the wonderful habit of taking care of your body and toning up while losing weight. Google, YouTube, Livestrong.com, and many other sites have so much information on daily workouts that you can choose three new exercises to try at home every day and never do the same thing twice, if you don't want to.

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