EAT Breakfast – Oatmeal/ Multigrain Cereal
Prepare your favorite whole grain cereal (oatmeal or multigrain) Toss in a few almonds and a splash of maple syrup, milk or soy milk and you’re good to go! OR for a change. Instead of sweetening the oatmeal, we’re going to make it ¡savory!
- Pour on one teaspoon of virgin olive oil – Toss a few raw almonds or walnuts on top and add a sprinkle of garlic powder, or other savory seasoning salt and pepper to taste.
If you can shift your mind from the habit of what oatmeal is SUPPOSED to taste like, you’ll end up with a high energy meal that won’t drop you off from a sugar high.
EXERCISE – More Stairs
This is more than just an exercise, it’s an experiment. Return to those same set of steps or the incline you found in your home or office.
¿How many steps were you able to do yesterday before your heart rate picked up?
Begin climbing the stairs once again in the same relaxed fashion as yesterday, until you feel your heart rate begin to pick up. Again, this can be in as few as three steps or as many as three hundred. It doesn’t matter. Once your pulse has risen, continue for a few more moments before resting.
Repeat this exercise once more, sometime in the early evening if possible.
- ¿What did you eat for breakfast this morning?
- ¿How long did it sustain you?
- If you’re like most people, you were able to do a few more steps or a longer distance than yesterday. Repeat this exercise once in the afternoon and again in the early evening.
EXHALE – Diaphragmatic Breathing
This is a review of the Belly Breathing Exercise mentioned in week two.
Practice diaphragmatic breathing by lying down on a couch, bed or the floor. Place one hand on your chest and the other hand on your abdomen. As you breathe, the hand on your abdomen will rise as you inhale and lower as you exhale while the hand on your chest remains relatively still.
Once you are able to breathe lying down, try sitting up and repeat the same process. Eventually you will notice that you have begun to breathe diaphragmatically all of the time.
- ¿Did you laugh or cry out loud today?
- ¿Do you take time for yourself on a regular basis
- ¿How often?
- ¿What do you consider “time for yourself?”