Day 4 of Week 3 How To Plan Your Cardio Exercise

Today's Weight: same

Total lost: 7 pounds in 17 days

1/2 cup of oatmeal: 150
2 tsp of sugar: 30
1/3 cup of skim milk: 30
cinnamon:0
total: 210

vanilla powder protein: 110
4 1/2 oz banana: 112
1 tbl of powder coffee creamer: 30
total: 252
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running total: 462

1 jumbo egg:90
1 jumbo egg white: 17
2 oz of grilled chicken: 70
2 lefse:60
1/3 cup of fat free cottage cheese: 26
1/3 cup of canned pineapple: 46
coffee with 1 tbl of powdered creamer: 30
total: 333
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running total: 795

vanilla protein shake: 110
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running total: 905

1 hard shell taco: 50
1 low carb, wheat taco shell: 50
little over 1/3 cup of 95-98% lean ground cheese taco meat: 120 (est)
1 oz of mozzarella cheese: 80
3 small olives: 20
2 tsp of lite sour cream: 14
tomatoes: 5
lettuce: 5
coffee with 1 tbl of powder creamer: 30
total: 374
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running total: 1279

1/2 cup of Blue Bunny light bunny tracks icecream: 150
total: 1429


Fitness: 3 to 4 mile run through hilly trails with some high school girls...first I got lost, and then I tripped and rolled. I'm sure that would have been funny to watch. Every thing's fine just a little bruise. It was great, though, I love running in the trails.

Today's challenge: making sure to drink plenty of water.

Note on picture: Plain popcorn is healthy. It's all the extra stuff that we put on in it that creates all those calories. Although, I wouldn't recommend eating it like this. Maybe just playing with it.

How To Plan Your Cardio Exercise

Planning out your cardio exercise when you first start your diet will probably be the easiest part of your exercise program. There are a lot of different things you can do, but what you do and the intensity of it depends on your current fitness level. I will, however, make a few recommendations that I've found to be helpful to me in attaining my goals.

Whenever you make a fitness plan it's good to know what you want to eventually achieve so that you can start heading in that direction.

You will eventually want to do some type of cardio five days a week. And before you feel put off by that let me explain how and why.

Remember when I said that each day you work out is like adding another log to your weight burning fire? Well, even if you don't work out a lot, the fact that you did some amount of exercise is better than doing no exercise. Your body records the exertions you make and it reminds your metabolism to keep it running high, in the same way that eating six meals a day does.

Also, daily exercise is just a good healthy habit to get into. If you can train your body to do some type of exercise every day, in the beginning, then your body and mind will be less resistant to physical activity as you go along.

Now let's decide what physical exercise you want to do. For those who haven't exercised in a while or are carrying more than 30 pounds of extra weight, I would recommend walking, or using a machine at the gym that takes some of the weight off of your joints...like an elliptical machine, or a stationary bike, or swimming.

Then, you plan how long you want to work out on your cardio. If you want to start out exercising five times a week, I would, for example, if it's walking: walk twenty minutes Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and then 10 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday. Plan to go half on Tuesday and Thursday of what you are doing the other three days.

Or maybe you only want to start out with three days a week while working up to five times a week. If it's running, biking or the elliptical machine, you may be only able to go six minutes, three times a week like I did after I had my son. Each week I added two minutes to my time and before long I was running 20 minutes three times a week.

If you're walking, which is what I started out doing after my last child was born, I began by working up to a one hour walk 3 to 5 times a week. For those who are walking, I always liked going outside because it was so much more relaxing.

You are in charge of your exercise program and it's up to you to make adjustments based on your fitness level and observations as you go along.

I have noticed something very interesting that happens to me in the course of a work-out that does NOT happen when I don't work out.

I start planning and strategizing my exercise plan, while I am exercising. For some reason the very act of physical activity prompts creativity, clearer thinking and goal- oriented thoughts.

So, my final recommendation for you if you can't think of an exercise plan and just don't know what to do...go for a nice walk in the woods, by the beach or someplace relaxing. You may be surprised at the exercise ideas you come up with.