This weeks reading as for chapter 8 discussed nutrition and health benefits from food. This chapter was interesting to me because I am vegetarian so I am always trying to inform myself on different ways of consuming the appropriate nutrients with my modified diet. I was unfamiliar with the term functional foods before this weeks readings, so that is something new that I learned. Functional foods are foods believed to have specific health benefits. Another concept I found intriguing was paying attention to what goes on top of your foods. So often I order salad but load it up with cheese and dressing and defeating the whole purpose. Cooking at home is a way that you can monitor what goes on your food for toppings as opposed to eating out. Eating at the table was listed as a mindful method of eating. I’m very guilty of snacking in front of the TV and I think I should take the books advice to mindfully eat. I also learned about the importance of water intake. I knew it was important to drink water but this chapter motivated me to do more of that! I was unaware of the idea that drinking too much water is a bad thing, however my concern is that I should start drinking more water so I don’t really need to worry about that. I learned about proteins and the concept of incomplete and complete protein. I loved that the book gave insight on combining plant protein to make a complete protein because as I mentioned before I do not eat meat. I didn’t know all of the benefits fats bring to the body including that on your hair and skin! I liked the tips on how to include more fat into your diet and I plan to use some of these tips with my health journey. The chapter also discussed how you should be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day and made a good point by saying this doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym daily. The reading discussed healthy food decision making for college students. Budget shopping is important because in college most of us don’t have ample funds. Buying fruits and vegetables that are in season is a cheaper way to get those foods in. Also frozen vegetables are a cheaper option and usually just as healthy!
I liked that this chapter included a whole passage about vegetarianism. The chapter stated some of the reasons why someone would become a vegetarian and I have similar reasons that line up with the book. I also read that a lot of people are lactose intolerant, which surprised me because I didn’t know it was so common. I’ve never been diagnosed as lactose intolerant, however dairy seriously upsets my stomach and I only eat it in moderation. As I read about food born illnesses I couldn’t help but think about romaine lettuce! Over 1,000 deaths annually in the US from food poisoning is atrocious and needs to be controlled!
As for my goals, this week I was not as healthy as I would have liked. St Patrick’s day and spring break took its toll on me. I didn’t eat as healthy as I would like and I skipped a few days working out. It is hard getting back into the swing of things but being back to my normal routing has helped. Yoga has become both a stress reliever and a form of strength training to me lately and I’ve been doing it most nights before bed. There were several days last week that were very nice out and I went outside for walks. I look forward to the weather warming up so I can go on more walks. I plan on incorporating my knowledge from this weeks reading into my goals. Firstly, I need to start hydrating a lot more and drinking much more water than I do now. I want to start combining plant proteins which are incomplete so that I am sure to get all of the protein that I need. To consume more healthy fats I plan on adding flax seed to my foods! I also plan on getting 30 minutes of exercise a day by walking to all of my classes and not parking so close! Even during my breaks between classes I want to start walking. While my goal for this class has been motivated on losing weight, I think its important to not just focus on weight but overall being healthier. So often I deprive myself hoping for weight loss and I’ve learned from the reading this is not good and I need to be sure I’m getting a well rounded nutritional diet. This is what I am going to start focusing on in my health journey along with the weight loss.
Tori'sHealthJourney 