Day Four

Get your Heart Pumping!

Anytime you begin exercising, whether you hit the gym, jog, lift weights, or go for a power walk..your body starts getting healthier! And when you do cardio or aerobic exercise you are specifically elevating your heart rate which helps reduce the risk of heart disease. (Youʼll also lower that nasty, bad cholesterol, create leaner, toner muscles--which helps your body burn fat, reduce stress and elevate your mood.)

Exercise for today:

At least 45 minutes of cardio. Put in some interval drills. Push yourself out of that comfort zone---break a sweat and get your heart pumping.

Here's a mat workout about 20 minutes long (in two sections.) It's great for toning, lengthening and stretching muscles. This is also a good workout for becoming more in touch with your body--how flexible are you? I love getting on the floor and doing these types of moves, I find it helps calm, balance and center me.

Your pre-made menu for today:

BREAKFAST:  Canadian bacon/vegan bacon and small piece of cheese/vegan cheese melted on *bread/english muffin. Small fresh squeezed juice.

SNACK:  1/4 cup healthy trail mix.

LUNCH:  Mediterranean Plate: Falafel, stuffed grape leaves, lettuce, tomato, hummus, tabouli on whole wheat pita. 

SNACK:  Fruit or small low-sugar greek or almond yogurt.

DINNER:  Seitan (wheat meat) or lean grilled steak/chicken (about 6 oz) with steamed medley of broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and brown rice.

Tip:

Eating too much sugar inhibits your fat burning enzymes which slows down fat loss. Try to stay away from excess sugar.

Recipe:

Raw Beet Salad

I love this quick, fresh, healthy recipe. All of the ingredients are so good for you and it's great as a snack or side dish.

Mix Together:

2 stalks finely chopped celery

1 cup peeled and grated raw beets

2 chopped apples of your choice (i like one sweet, one tart) cored and chopped

Grated carrot to taste

Toss with light vinaigrette to moisten (to taste)

Salt & pepper to taste

Serve over bed of greens

Day Seven

Congratulations on making it to Day Seven!

The beauty of the 7 Day Slim Down is you can interchange any days you like, start any day of the week, and mix and match fitness and food plans.
If you missed a few days (we all have stuff that shoves our best laid plans onto the back burner from time to time) just get started again as soon as you can.
Making lifestyle changes don't happen overnight.  Don't get discouraged!  Even the little changes add up. Hey, we all get set in our ways, become creatures of habit, and the best way to break "bad" habits are to create "new" healthy habits.
Thanks for coming along on this journey, you're all very important and beautiful to me!
Stay tuned for Phase Two of The 7 Day Slim Down.

Your exercise for today:

This is one of my favorite workouts to do for myself, in my classes and with clients. It really challenges you and works the entire body, burns tons of calories and gets that endorphin rush pumping!
Add about 30 minutes of cardio and you've got a GREAT workout---another one you can do anywhere.

Ten Each

Always check with you doctor before performing any new exercise routine.

 Warm up a few minutes before starting, take a break if you need it and  always stop if experiencing any pain. 

 This is an INTENSE routine, and fairly advanced.  Modify wherever needed.

Perform each exercise 10 times with as little rest as possible until you complete one full cycle.  

Take a 2:00 minute break and repeat full cycle 2 more times.

1. Burpees:  Standing, lean over and place both hands on the floor in front of your feet, then hop back on toes, hop feet back up to hands, stand/jump up.  Modified:  Step back one leg at a time, and forward one leg at a time.
2. Squat Jumps:  Squat and jump! (land light on the feet.)
3. Push-Ups:  On toes or on knees.
4. Toe-Touch Sit Ups:  Lie on floor, legs extended, roll up touch toes, roll back down. 
5. Triceps Dips:  Sit on edge of bench or coffee table, place palms close to your sides, fingers pointed forward and dip down and up (keep chest lifted and shoulders down)
6. Plank Jacks:  Assume forearm plank position, on toes, jack in and out.
7. Tuck Jumps:  Standing, squat down a bit and jump up, tucking knees up towards your chest and slap thighs. Land lightly back on the floor.
8. Split Lunges:  Assume stationary lunge position, explode and switch legs.  Modified: Step back and lunge one leg at a time, alternating.
9. Leg Drops:  On back, place hands under butt and extend legs up to ceiling, lower as close to floor as possible then raise back up. 
10. Down Dog to Up Dog:  Assume down dog position, take a few deep breaths then flow through to up dog, engage abs move back to down dog.

Your pre-made menu for today:

BREAKFAST:  Plain greek yogurt mixed with fresh fruit and a little honey. Toasted whole wheat bread/english muffin.

SNACK:  Rice cake with organic peanut butter or veggie cream cheese.

LUNCH:  Spinach salad with chopped veggies, hard boiled egg, balsamic dressing, small piece of protein tossed in.

SNACK:  10 (organic) chips and salsa.

DINNER:  Grilled fish or sushi/sashimi with brown rice. Steamed mixed veggies.

Tip:

Click Here:

EXERCISE AND YOUR BRAIN

Recipe:

Garlic-Basil Shrimp and Zucchini Pasta

1 cup whole wheat pasta

4 ounces fresh cooked or frozen pre-cooked shelled shrimp, thawed

1 cup chopped steamed zucchini

2 Tbls chopped fresh basil (I like more than that!)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbls olive oil

Cook pasta. Sauté garlic and zucchini in olive oil in skillet, add shrimp, cooked pasta, and basil. Salt and pepper to taste and add a little more olive oil if needed.

Serve with green salad and one piece whole grain bread.