A few weeks ago I talked about an issue I have been having with my heart, and how working out is so important for anyone’s health. I actually got serious about keeping a regular workout routine since high school. Just before my junior year, I got a yearly physical and my mom mentioned to the doctor that she thought my cholesterol should be checked, as high cholesterol runs in her family. Sure enough, my cholesterol came back at an alarming level, enough to have the doctor sit down with me and have a serious chat about diet and lifestyle. I was given two lists of foods – one that I shouldn’t consider touching, and one that I should try to incorporate into my meals. The do not touch list was pretty easy to figure out why those foods are banned – fast food, fried food, butter, salty foods, etc. The list of foods that I should try to incorporate in my diet was interesting to look through. Bagels (plain bagels, no cream cheese) came highly recommended, and can remember three days a week I would buy a plain bagel in my school cafeteria for breakfast. I also changed the type of milk I drank from 1% to skim – which my fiancé still gripes about! I almost never use butter on rolls or bread, and try to find a suitable substitute when it is called for in a recipe. I also cut out fast food 100% my entire junior year. As someone who was fairly busy in high school and not quite a cook yet (cough, still), this was difficult to do, but I took my health warning seriously. A seventeen year old healthy female shouldn’t have had the numbers that I did, and I didn’t want to have serious effects from it, or be put on medications for the majority of my life.
The doctor also suggested I have a regular workout routine. While I was a cheerleader and that required me to work out with my squad, I also started walking on a regular basis with my mom, and bought a slew of DVD’s so I could work out at home. The routine carried into college, where I still bought DVD’s and frequented my college gym, and still now at age twenty-five. Health is not something to take lightly, so make sure you do yourself a favor and just pay attention to what you eat and if you are working out like you should. It doesn’t have to be something drastic or life-changing. Small steps are great to start off with – and getting regular check-ups is a great plan as well!
Below is my workout schedule for the week. Non-bold is my 5K training schedule.
Monday: Run 10 minutes, walk 10 minutes, 20 minutes Pilates DVD with strength band
Tuesday: Walk 15 minutes, 50 sit-ups, 30 minute interval run on treadmill, 30 minute Yoga DVD
Wednesday: Run 15 minutes, walk 15 minutes, 60 minute elliptical
Thursday: Walk 15 minutes, 50 sit-ups, 30 minute treadmill incline walk, 10 minute cardio DVD
Friday: Day Off
Saturday: Run 7 minutes, walk 1 x 6
Sunday: 30 minute interval run on treadmill
I thoroughly enjoyed this post! When I was younger, I never thought that food could be an issue, but when my father was diagnosed with kidney failure last year (due to extremely high blood pressure), it really put things in perspective for me. He has a ton of food that he can’t eat, and foods that he can eat, but just cooked differently; I knew this would be a long journey for him, so I did the only thing I knew how to do, I supported him. I changed my diet and started eating more renal approved foods; I’ve tried peaches, jello, and even meat with no flavoring, but I enjoyed them. I’m very picky eater, but the foods that I do eat are sweets, junk food, or pasta with tomato sauce. Knowing that illnesses such as renal failure, high blood pressure, and cancer run in my family as put a lot of things in perspective for me. My health is a lot more important to me now than it was five years ago! Also, I admire your dedication with your workout schedule; I usually workout for a few days, stop, and then complain about how I need to start working out again! Lol!
Author
Thanks for your thoughts Josie Ann! What a difference you can make to your health by making those changes 🙂