Walking the 5K

769 Words2 Pages

Abstract

When I read this assignment, my first thought was choosing walking as my exercise. Why? Because my sister has been running for a few years and as convinced me that I could walk at a 5K race. So I have been walking since the beginning of the summer and my first race is in a month. This is also a chance for me to find ways that I could incorporate nutrition into my diet without my immediate family rioting. The benefits of walking will actually help me greatly because my family seems to have a history of everything. All four of my grandparents died with cancer. My mom is a cancer survivor. Most of her siblings have died of some form of cancer. Mom also has had a stroke. My dad, his dad, and distant cousins on that side of the family have had heart attacks. Both my parents have diabetes and high blood pressure. And my mom is obese. I am overweight myself and have been since I had my oldest son in 1997 then 18 months later had twins boys. I have lost 20 pounds since then but slowly because of my lack of motivation to exercise. But now I have a reason to get up and exercise; a 5K race. And my sister to support me and push me to do it.

Walking the 5K

There are three different types of exercise. They are aerobic exercise, strength training, and flexibility. Aerobic exercise or cardio is where a person's heart rate and breathing rate are increased. For most people, a total of thirty minutes a day for at least three days is the best. Examples of aerobic exercise is walking, dancing, swimming, or anything that gets the heart rate up. Walking is actually my favorite physical activity.

Strength training needs to be done at least 2 or 3 times a week to help build strong muscles and bones. The more muscle a person has the ...

... middle of paper ...

...to, 1 cup sliced cooked carrots, 1 cup spinach salad, 2 medium raw tomato slices, 2 whole wheat rolls, 1 small apple. Using My Pyramid Tracker, the nutrient analysis came out to be 689 kcalories, protein was 44 grams (target was 46), carbohydrate 107 (target 130), Total fat 20 (target 25).

This analysis shows that these choices will help me to gain energy in order to walk the 5K race next month. Walking is important for me for several different reasons. But one of the reasons is, it is something my sister and I can do together.

Works Cited

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010, May 10). Physical Activity and Health. Retrieved August 21, 2010, from http://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/everyone/health/index.html

DeBruyne, L., Pinna, K., & Whitney, E. (2008). Nutrition and diet therapy principles and practice (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole

Open Document