In order to save the world, we first need to know what is wrong with it. Lets start with our community. Focus on health, medicine, wellness, and lifestyle to determine the needs of Coppell. What areas are deficient? What areas are well served? How can we make a difference? How can we start to change the world by making our own environment healthier?
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Healthy Me Challenge
Can you give up something unhealthy for 5 days? OR could you add something healthy for 5 days? Can you tell a difference in the way you feel by removing or adding something from your diet or lifestyle? Take the challenge!
For five days I decided to increase my daily consumption of berries, specifically blueberries, in order to discover viable health benefits that this regular utilization may have on my overall well-being. Potential health benefits included things like: increased antioxidant levels, increased dietary fiber, phytonutrients, and an alternative source for water (since berries are mainly water, a large consumption can help with overall daily expenditure of water). Although I had really no way of confirming that these health benefits were taking place within my body, I could assume such by analyzing the reactions of my body and how those reactions may have been different from days when I was not consuming this many berries. The main amount of my berry consumption took place an hour or so before I went off to bed; I did so because I was informed that increased levels dietary fiber would help with bedtime hunger. After 5 days on this regimen, I felt no need for a midnight snack and when I woke up in the morning I was not unusually starved, both of which were characteristics I had while off this berry regimen. It is likely that I will continue with a similar regimen of perhaps smaller proportions to help with cost and what not.
This spring break I ate fruit everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner. The fruits that I ate mostly were tangerines, apples, bananas, oranges, and mangoes. To be honest, I did not feel any different than I had before. Before I would barely eat fruit. The most fruit I would ever eat would be maybe two apples a week. I chose to eat more fruit because I absolutely cannot stand vegetables and thus I picked a healthy food that would be tolerable: fruit. Fruits are healthy because they are anti-oxidant, which reveals that they provide substantial amounts of nutrients for the body. They also contain a lot of fiber that helps the digestive system (particularly bowel movement). It also aids in vision because it contains lutein. Moreover, whenever I talked about eating healthier with my friends, they tell me that people feel so much better and are able to accomplish tasks more efficiently. Thus I expected to feel healthier and to be able to achieve activities better than I would have before. Unfortunately, I felt no different. After three days I tried eating more fruit at each meal to see if that would make a difference but I still felt the same. Not to be misleading, I was not sluggish before, I was efficient and exercised a lot; however I never ate healthy foods. After five days I was running the same amount, sleeping the same amount, accomplishing chores at the same level of energy as before, and still craving the same junk foods. Although I did not notice a change in me, I know that my body physically underwent a change. I lost two pounds after five days! Thus I think I will continue eating fruit, however not to the same extent as I did these past five days. Maybe instead of eating chips I’ll eat tangerines. I’m not sure if it was the mainly the fruit that helped me lose weight but I think I’ll try for a little longer to figure it out!
Over the last 5 days I have given up soft drinks. I typically have a Dr.Pepper everyday or every other day which is very unhealthy. Carbonated beverages can increase your risk for obesity and diabetes in addition to losing calcium in ones bones. I gave up soft drinks because they are high in sugar and I wanted to prove to myself that I could give them up again after I went a whole year without them in 2009. After day 1 I honestly did not feel very different. However, the morning of day 3 I realized that I was more awake and had more energy. Typically, I would have a Dr.Pepper in order to give me a "pick me up" in the middle of the day. However, after giving it up, I no longer needed the beverage to regain energy. At the end of day 5 I realized why I gave it up in 2009. Not drinking soda made me feel so much healthier and happier! I do not know if I can completely give them up for the rest of 2011, but I definitely will decrease my intake in order to live a healthier life.
For the Healthy me challenge I chose to give up the school’s lunch food for five days, so instead of getting the meals offered in the cafeteria I brought my own lunch. The lunches I packed included a turkey sandwich on pita bread, a serving of strawberries or an apple, pretzel sticks or cheetos, a Capri sun and cookies. By replacing my lunch with what I had at home I felt much more nourished and energized. Instead of crashing around sixth period I could make it through the rest of my afternoon feeling more full and alert. Also the food I collected myself tasted better and satisfied me more than the CiCi’s pizza that CHS provides. Also I saved a lot more money and time since the lunches in the cafeteria are expensive and the lines to get them are long. I am happy with the changes I made and I plan on continuing my new lunch diet for the rest of the year.
During Spring Break, I gave up soda for 5 days. I normally drink soda during work or at dual credit because there is nothing else to drink. I know soda isn't all that great for me, but I drink it anyways because it taste good and helps me to stay awake. By giving up soda, i realized that soda is mostly caffeine and sugar and it doesn't really help my body. Usually, soda doesn't make a different to me or my body. Without drinking soda for the week during Spring Break, I didn't feel as weak and tired as I normally am. When I do drink soda, I tend to break out and I didn't think it was from the soda, but it is. All that sugar and sugar isn't healthy because it can lead to health problems such as diabetes and obesity. Soda doesn't help my health especially due to the coloring and flavoring that is added. I think after giving up soda for 5 days, I can limit the amount of soda I drink, but not give it up forever. I can have a soda once a week, but not one every day.
Starting Saturday, the 19th, I completely gave up candy. Before that I somewhat regulated how much I ate but I decided to fully eliminate it for five days. On a regular basis, I would have some sort of candy at lunch in the school store or whenever I got home from school. SO, during that time of day, it was especially hard to resist eating it. I honestly could not notice any extremely evident changes with my body after getting rid of candy from my diet (probably because it was only five days and not two weeks). It is good to know though that I haven't bee taking in a load amount of sugar. Even though I didn't have evident changes after five days, it felt really good to know that I was being healthier. I might just try for another week or so going without candy to see changes in my energy level and health. Yet, I have given up soda since New Years and I I have definitely noticed changes in my lifestyle! Over the three month period of no soda, I have just felt overall better and less exhausted after coming home from school. So maybe if I go longer without candy I should surely see some sort of change!
This assignment seemed perfect to blog about because Lent recently began. I gave up all drinks except for water. This includes: sodas, milk, iced tea, etc. In the past I have given up desserts or pasta and whatnot but this year I decided to give up drinks because I am guilty of making quick stops just to pick up an Arizona sweet tea or a large Dr Pepper from Sonic regularly. I figure this will help me stay healthy and it should save me some money! It will help me stay healthy because I will be substituting my usual drinks with water which I know I do not get enough of on a daily basis, some days I would say I go without drinking any water at all. Through drinking purely water and no other drinks I will rehydrate my body. I can already tell that I am less tired and focusing in class seems to come easier, although it could just be psychosomatic now that I am thinking about it. Nonetheless all of the extra water in my system is healthy and is making me feel like a better person for making healthy choices in my everyday diet. Obviously, I will be continuing to give up sodas, milk, iced tea and other drinks for more than five days because Lent is 40 days long. I hope that through Lent and giving up all of these drinks I will be able to stick with it for longer than 40 days though!
For five days over Spring Break I chose to eliminate all drinks including coffee, tea, milk, and sodas from my diet and only consume water. I did this because I find myself constantly depending on caffeinated drinks to give me a boost of energy throughout the day. I usually drink the recommended 8-10 cups of water a day, but I find myself always needing a coffee or tea by the afternoon due to lack of energy. By solely drinking water I stayed hydrated throughout the day. In addition because I wasn't consuming any caffeine or sugar I found that I didn't crash an hour or two later because of the energy rush. I felt as though I was able to concentrate on work for longer periods of time and that I had much more energy to do everyday things. I also found that I did not have a single headache, which for me is usually a common occurrence during a school week or while I'm working. All in all, I felt much better when I was hydrated and only drank water. Only drinking water is somewhat difficult, but I will try harder to drink more water throughout the day and only have one (or even none) tea or coffee a day. But I after seeing how much better I felt with only drinking water, I will definitely keep it in consideration before getting a sugary/caffeinated from somewhere.
For my healthy me challenge, I gave up soda and juice for 5 days. I decided to do this because I usually drink 2 sodas a day and a couple glasses of juice. The health benefits that it offered was that because I wasn’t drinking carbonated and sugar filled drinks, I wasn’t consuming unhealthy amounts a day. By drinking only water, I was able to get my water amount that I need a day and cut down on the amounts of sugar that my body consumes. Over the course of the challenge, I felt much better every day when I did not consume all of the sugar. I didn’t need to take a nap after school and I was able to do all my homework and all my other activities with ease. Normally, I would have to sleep before I would continue with my day or even drink another soda. I would say that after the healthy me challenge I will still drink a glass of juice a day and maybe one soda a week, but I am for sure going to cut down on the amount that I take in. I did not realize the effect that it had on my daily life.
I gave up chocolate for 5 days. I was very surprised that I was able to do this because I normally have some type of chocolate everyday. I did this because I know chocolate is not healthy for you and I wanted to see if I could do it. I also did this because I want to start eating healthier all together, and one major reason is because I have dance tryouts soon and I want to look my best. The health benefits offered from not eating chocolate everyday are in taking a lower amount of calories, sugar, and other bad ingredients for my body. Not eating chocolate everyday made me feel much better everyday! I had way more energy from day to day, wasn’t as tired during the day, and I was more happy around my friends and family. I will try to continue to not eat chocolate everyday and so far I’m doing very well. I have also added more vegetables and fruits to my daily diet and lowered my daily calorie intake. (:
For 5 days, I gave up soda because like most teenagers, I grap a dr. pepper whenever I'm feeling tired and need an extra little boost to get through the rest of the day. For these days, I mainly drank water, and lots of it. I found that when I didn't consume as mush sugar and caffine from soads and drank more water to keep hydrated, I didn't have the usual crash a few hours later and I didn't feel the need that I needed to nap. A couple days into my time without soda, I felt that I could focus better on schoolwork and that I had more energy. Since I've been able to see the difference between how I feel when I drink soda and when I don't, I am definitely going to cut down on the amount of soda I drink because it not only makes me feel better, but less soda is better for my health too.
For my healthy me challenge, I decided to sit down and eat a real breakfast for 5 mornings in a row. Most mornings, I do not leave myself enough time to eat breakfast before I go to school, so I grab a granola bar to eat when I start to feel hungry before lunch. I always become hungry during second period, and even after eating my granola bar I am very hungry until I eat lunch. My hunger distracts me, which is why I thought it would be a good idea to add breakfast to my day for my healthy me challenge. According to WebMD, the health benefits of eating a healthy breakfast include improved concentration, lower cholesterol, a more nutritionally complete diet, and more strength and endurance to engage in physical activity throughout the day. From Sunday, March 19th to Thursday, March 24th I sat down and ate a bowl of frosted mini wheats and a banana for breakfast. I chose to eat frosted mini wheats because I have seen many commercials on TV where they claim to keep kids full; Kelloggs claims that "one bowl of any Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats gives you about 20% of your daily fiber to keep you full so you can concentrate throughout the day". When researching the cereal, I saw that the second ingredient listed was sugar; since I do not eat fruit very often, I paired the cereal with a banana to make the meal healthier. After five days, I noticed that I was, in fact, more full throughout the day because I ate a full breakfast instead of mindlessly eating a small granola bar. I don't think that it was the cereal that caused me to concentrate better, but instead the fact that I was not distracted by my hunger. Eating breakfast for five days in a row made me want to make time for breakfast every day because it was nice to feel full in the morning; I felt more prepared for the day, more awake, and more motivated to do my work in class.
For the Healthy me challenge I also gave up soft drinks for 5 days. I normally have around one soda per day, which is bad for your health. I wanted to give up soda because every time I go out to a restaurant, I get a soda to drink. A healthier and cheaper alternative would be water. Soda contributes to weak bones, tooth loss, periodontal disease, and gingivitis. Drinking a soda also increases your risk for obesity by 1.6 times. Not drinking soda for 5 days didn’t make me feel any different; however I think it would have if I had done it for more than 5 days. I didn’t continue with not drinking soft drinks after the five days, but I decided to not drink them as much.
I added more milk into my diet for five days and cut back on sugary drinks. I usually drink a lot of juices, vitamin water, and tea so i thought i would be beneficial to drink less sugar loaded drinks. I did this because my mom is always saying that i need to drink more milk but I never do. I thought I would change my diet to make her happy and to see if it really made a difference. Although it was hard for me to give up juices for breakfast i replaced them with milk and i was surprised how different i felt throughout the day. While it wasn't a big difference I did notice that i felt more energized and less drowsy in class. Milk has a lot of calcium which strengthens bones and helps control blood pressure. It has protein, vitamins A and D, and potassium which help with the balance of fluids in the body. Milk is 87% water so it helps keep the body hydrated also. Surprisingly drinking more milk made my body feel a lot more energized. Instead of taking a nap after school i worked out two days after school. I think that reducing the amount of sugary drinks in my diet also helped me feel better throughout the day. Whenever I am thirsty I usually just grab whatever is in my fridge which consists of juices, propel, and vitamin water, which contrary to popular believe is not good for you. But in the past five days i found myself fixing a glass of milk instead. This was a positive change for me and i think i will definitely incorporated more milk in my diet. It is also insuring knowing that milk will strengthen my bones, so when i get older my bones won't be as fragile. Milk has both short and long term positive effects. So overall i have learned that milk does make a difference when you add it to your diet and that my mom was right:)
Ellie Rose- 2 For my healthy me challenge, I decided to give up diet coke. I chose to give up diet coke because it is a drink that I have become dependent on daily and I wanted to see how I would do without being able to have it. So I went from drinking 3-4 cans per day to not being able to drink it at all. The first few days were extremely hard. I got horrible headaches and I was in a very grumpy mood all the time. It wasn't until the 5th day when I really noticed a good result from this experiment. Because I couldn't drink diet coke, I replaced having a soda with water or some type of juice. I noticed towards the end how much my body appreciated these mostly natural drinks with more energy and an overall healthy feel. This part of the experimented actually surprised me because I had felt so bad prior, I just thought each day would get harder and harder. I am thankful I did this experiment because it really taught me how addicted I was to the soda and how I probably needed to change this bad habit. At this point, I am not sure if I'll be able to give up diet coke completely, but I am going to try to decrease the amount I drink everyday.
In the season of Lent, I decided to give up forms of sweets - candy, desserts, chocolate, the whole nine yards - because I have a large sweet tooth that I need to tame. The first two days were VERY difficult for me, especially when my mom would bake cookies or offer ice cream after dinner; it became a test of my will to not stuff them down my throat. I also began to notice just how big a part sweets and desserts were a part of my diet; granola bars I usually have for snacks were covered in chocolate, and I have gotten in to the habit of eating sweets after almost every meal.
However, around the third day, it became easier for me to say "no". It gave me confidence in myself, and a genuinely felt healthier - lighter, less sluggish, and happier. I also found myself gravitating toward natural sugars in fruits, such as in apples and bananas. Even though I was still tempted to give in to my cravings, I felt proud of myself for being able to control my indulgences.
Will I continue this diet after the 40 days? I'm considering it, simply because of how good it has made me feel so far. In the very least, this test-run has given me the power to say "no", and I will definitely make significant cuts in the amount of sweets I consume daily.
For five days, I gave up energy drinks and soda from my diet. To be completely honest, I struggled with this challenge since energy drinks and soda are practically part of my daily diet. Usually I consume sodas and energy drinks late at night to try to keep me up so I can do homework. Although I did not feel as energized at night, I noticed a tremendous difference when waking up the next morning. I felt more energized and less sleepy than I did when I consumed energy/soft drinks the night before. After researching why I felt so much energized, I discovered that the caffeine disrupts one from having quality sleep. This explains why I feel so tired in the morning when heading to school and is a minor reason why I am late to 1st period the majority of the time. Moreover, soda and energy drinks can cause bones to weaken, teeth to decay, as well as lead to obesity. From the information I researched it is quite obvious that soda and energy drinks are not good for me. After giving up sodas/energy drinks for five days, I realize that my addiction is not a healthy life choice. Although I do not believe that I will be able to give up sodas/energy drinks completely, I will definitely try to reduce my soda/energy drink intake.
I typically eat very healthy foods high in protein and very low in fat with lots of fruits and vegetables replacing carbs. So it was hard for me to think of anything to give up because I eat such a restricted diet but lately I have been drinking a lot of lemonade as the weather has gotten warmer. I do not drink sodas or other sugary drinks so for three days I decided to give up my lemonade fix and drink only water, milk, and orange juice. It was hard to do because I used to drink sodas frequently until I quit 2 years ago and therefore turned to lemonade. The first day I almost slipped and stopped by Sonic for my favorite Strawberry Lemonade during happy hour, but by the third day I was unconsciously reaching for water. I can not say if I will continue to only drink water, milk and orange juice. On the fourth day I did not have one but because I do not drink any other sugary drinks such as fruit juices and sodas, I believe that it would be fine in my diet to splurge every once in awhile with a lemonade.
I gave up cereal and milk as a pre-run meal for five days. I gave up this meal because I had to for my Google project (I went on a minimally processed, all-natural food diet). After the first track practice in which I didn’t eat cereal as a pre-run meal, I felt like I got a better workout on the track. Specifically, I felt like I had more energy to run fast throughout the entire track workout. This probably occurred because I didn’t have as much sugar in my system from the cereal and milk, and instead had more “ready to use” protein and carbohydrates from the peanut butter sandwich I ate as a substitute pre-run meal. And while I like cereal and milk, the results of this semi-fast are just too encouraging to ignore... I’ll eat a peanut butter sandwich from now on in order to get more out of my workouts.
For the healthy me challenge, I decided to take multi vitamins for 5 days. As it is, I have not had a soda or soft drink in over a year, and I rarely have fast foods, so I figured instead of taking something out of my diet, I would add something. I noticed almost immediately that I had more energy and did not get as tired throughout the day as I had before I started the vitamins. I was able to cut out the afternoon naps after school, as well as feel like I had gotten more sleep than before I started taking the vitamins, even though I was actually sleeping for the same amount of time. I plan on continuing taking the vitamins for as long as I can, and would recommend others to try them as well.
Right after spring break, I decided to add in more water to my daily intake. I am drinking close to 100 oz of water each day, which is A LOT. Besides running to the bathroom after every class period, I have noticed that my eyes are not as dry and my acne seems to be clearing up. I feel more awake and alert in class, and I feel more responsible for my body, especially since a huge part of a human is water. I didn't just stop with the water though. I added in more fruits to my diet as well. Unlike most teenagers, I don't get enough fruits. Veggies are no problem, but eating fruit is just not my thing. I haven't seen a huge difference, but I do feel better in knowing that I am giving my body the nutrients that it needs! GO HEALTHY FOODS!!
For the healthy me challange I decided to give up soft drinks and also limit my consumption of sports drinks (especially when I wasn't working out). Generally I did not have soda every day because my parents never buy them so we cannot drink them. However, whenever I would eat out at a restaurant I would purchase a soda without fail. 2 weeks ago I started ordering only water. First and foremost it made me realize how expensive it is to buy drinks when you go out to eat. The majority of the places make you pay anywhere from $1 to $3 for any type of soft drink. I used to pay that without thinking about it but now I only buy water and it has saved me a ton of money. More importantly, I used to drink soda after soccer games and I would get headaches (probably from dehydration). Lately I have been getting those much more rarely and with less intesity. Also, my body doesn't crave soda the way it used to so I have almost lost my taste for it. All in all, the money I save along with the way my body has felt these past couple of weeks has made me keep up the challange and I bet it will make me cut back on soda consumption in the future.
I’m not a terribly unhealthy eater, but I do not drink as much water as I should, especially being an athlete. Doctors recommend that you consume 64 ounces (roughly 8 glasses) of water a day, and I do not usually consume that much water. For five days I decided to replace all liquids I consume (soda, juice, tea, ect) with water. I drank water with every meal and I carried around a 32 ounce Nalgene water bottle during school, trying to finish it by the end of the day. After a couple days, my body could feel the difference. Being hydraded,I felt like I had more energy, even though I was not drinking caffeinated beverages. I also felt much better during soccer practice. I did not get tired as easily and I also was not as sore the next day after a hard work out. After this trial, I do not think that I am going to continue to only drink water as my only beverage, but I will make a more conscious effort to drink water and consume the recommended 64 ounces a day because it made me feel healthier and more energized.
For this challenge, I chose to give up caffeinated drinks such as soda, tea, etc. I chose caffeinated drinks because I drink sodas on a daily basis, and I know by giving them up, I would be able to somehow improve my health. Without these caffeinated drinks, I actually noticed an increase in headaches. Because I was so consistent in drinking sodas, when I suddenly stopped, my body reacted with headaches because it wasn't receiving its daily dose of caffeine. Caffeine causes vasoconstriction which is the narrowing of blood vessels by muscles in their walls. That can precede headaches which is why headaches was a symptom of no caffeine. Not having caffeine everyday also helped me sleep better at night. I was able to sleep longer, therefore, I had more energy during the day. Giving up caffeinated drinks helped me feel more energized during the day, but it surprisingly had a negative effect as well. However, as the days went on without caffeine, I noticed the headaches slowly getting better and better. I could tell my body was getting used to having no caffeine. Because I liked the results of having no caffeine, I decided to continue my challenge a little longer.
For the Healthy Me challenge, I chose to give up eating candy at lunch for five days. I decided to give up candy because it was an item I sometimes added to my lunch that I felt was not healthy and that I could get by without. I got a late start on the task and didn't begin until Wednesday. The days that I ate lunch in school were a lot harder than those where I had lunch on the weekend. The school has the store that is stocked with every type of sweet/candy imaginable and when all of my friends go on their "school-store run", it was hard to resist going with them. After the first couple of days, however; excluding candy from lunch became easier and easier. Instead of eating something unhealthy and high in sugar like candy, I chose to just add another item to my packed lunch like pretzels or peanut butter crackers to replace the candy. I found that I was still satisfied with my lunch after the substitution and that even without the sugar from candy, I wasn't any more tired than usual. I didn't truly need candy as part of my lunch to have a full meal. I think I will continue to abstain from eating candy with my lunches just because it seems like candy is pointless sugar intake that I can easily do without.
For five days I gave up caffeine. I usually have some sort of caffeine a couple times a day, like Starbucks or a coke. I know that caffeine isn't very good for you so I wanted to see what I would feel like without it. For the first two days I had a small headache during the day, but I was't craving anything. After the second day i didn't get headaches anymore, but I did crave a soda. I didn't give into my craving and I did notice that I wouldn't get as tired in the afternoon as I did before. I felt more energized throughout the whole day instead of having lots of energy and then being really tired right after. After the five days I decide to keep it up and it has been easy to do, I like not being really tired in the afternoon and I figured out that it has to be from the caffeine I was having, because now it's gone!
I'm lucky enough to have a family that is very health-conscious when it comes to food and meals. We eat at home frequently, and when we do, my mom makes sure to provide healthy entrees and a bunch of vegetables and/or fruits. However, when we don’t eat at home--especially if I’m on my own--all that nutritional caution flies out the window. I’ve recently made a pact with myself to improve my personal consumption and make healthier choices since I’m about to go off to school on my own.The first thing I could think of (and hoped to see the fastest results with) was cutting out all soda from my diet. As a singer, I’ve always heard that drinking soda hinders the voice from working efficiently. Hindered vocal cords make singing much harder and can increase the chance of using them incorrectly and creating damage. By cutting out soda, I hoped my body would improve due to the lower sugar, sodium, and calorie intake, and my voice would no longer be subject to the drying effects of caffeine and carbonation.
Even after a day, it was incredible to see how much easier it was to sing, especially on notes that were previously more difficult to sing. After a few days, my voice continued to improve, and I even felt more naturally energetic, a feeling much different than the buzz I get from caffeine. I do confess that the first few days were hard; I’d get a small headache about halfway through the day due to the sudden lack of caffeine each day, but even that went away after the first few days. I certainly do plan to stop drinking soda, if not completely, then at least limiting my intake significantly. The beneficial effects were really surprising, and it definitely wasn’t as unbearable as I thought it would be!
For five consecutive days I gave up my daily breakfast of a bagel and cream cheese and replaced it with a hearty bowl of cereal, a hard boiled egg, and a banana. I decided to do this because eating a bagel with cream cheese is not the best thing to eat to start off everyday with. By switching my meal plan, I have been able to include protein into my diet, from the egg. I've been able to include calcium from the cereal. Lastly, I have been able to incorporate a serving of fruit into my diet. The change in my diet has made me feel more awake in class and less sluggish. I will continue this diet for more than five days because it is more healthy and better for my body in the long run.
As part of the Healthy Me Experiment, I gave up eating processed foods for 6 days. Although I felt tired at times, more due to lack of sleep, and craved some foods such as soda and desserts, the diet gives great results and I would recommend it to others. Since I drink soda a bunch and eat high carb food items instead of veggies, this diet forced me to go beyond my normal limits of food, forcing me to avoid unhealthy choices and eating greens. Most of the days I consumed foods such as bananas, apples, pears, strawberries, clementines, as well as a plethora of more. Along with fruits I ate veggies, and items that had less than less than 5 ingredients. I initially started this diet for someone's Anatomy Project, but after seeing how it actually worked and showed me positive results, I plan to continue this diet after a minor break. The diet was beneficial as most of the foods were anti-oxidants and contained a plethora of needed vitamins and minerals. I really enjoyed the experience and can not wait to start back again!
The last 3 weeks, I've given up all drinks but water for Lent. I usually drink lots of juice, Gatorade and tea and a few soft drinks a week, so just drinking water has made me feel so much healthier! By cutting out everything but water, I am decreasing my daily sugar and carbohydrate intake. Not only is water the healthiest thing you can drink, water is the most natural thing to drink. The only negative thing about just drinking water is how sick I am of just drinking water, I want soda and Gatorade! I will continue to drink only water until Lent is over, but after that, I will continue drinking a lot of water, I'll just throw in a few other drinks here and there so I can still be healthy by what I drink.
For the Healthy Me Experiment, I decided to stop drinking a soda in the morning. Drinking a soda usually gives me a sugar boost, and helps me concentrate in the morning. I started on Sunday, March 20, and for the first five days, I had headaches in the morning, I could not concentrate, and I was very tired. I also drank more water in the morning, and I ate an occasional piece of fruit in the morning, like an apple, in order to get more fiber and eat breakfast, instead of going without. The water helped keep me hydrated, and the fruit gave me a sugar boost, albeit a natural one, in the morning. I think I'll keep up with this diet, at least in the short term, as I feel more alert in the morning, and not dependent on something to keep me alert.
For the past week, I decided to try giving up caffeine. Before lacrosse practice every day, I usually drink Spark which contains almost 100 milligrams for caffeine per serving. Without the caffeine, I was noticeably more tired and less alert during practice. However, I did notice that it was easier to sleep at night without the caffeine in my system. Overall, I will probably continue drinking caffeine before practice.
For the Healthy Me challenge, I gave up caffeine for a week the week before Spring Break. The first few days of no caffeine, I was extremely tired and had almost no energy. I didn't think I drank that much caffeine before, but this experiment showed me I drink a lot more than I had previously thought. After the first few days were over, though, I began to have a lot more energy than previously and I was able to accomplish a lot more in less time than before because of the new energy I had. I have continued to have no caffeine since the experiment, and I plan to not drink caffeine unless I absolutely need it.
For 5 days I gave up sodas. I typically have 1 soda a day, or every other day at around lunch time for an extra energy boost. Day one I didn't feel much different because I sometimes skip a day of drinking soda if we have run out of them at home or I don't have time to drink a full soda. Day 2 was about the same as day one, but I noticed I had a small head ache that would come and go all day. By day 3 I noticed that I wasn't as tired as I normally am come mid afternoon. It was nice to actually not be tired during the after noon, like i normally am. By day 5 I noticed I had more energy through out the day, I didn't get tired during the afternoon, and I didn't really have any head aches or craving for caffeine. I'm going to continue to not drink soda for as long as i can because it gives me more energy in the long run.
For five days I decided to increase my water intake. I do not usually drink that much water throughout the day. I know that drinking 8 cups of water a day is the recommended minimum and I am lucky if I drink that much. I decided to increase my water intake all the way up to 10 glasses of water every day. By drinking 10 glasses of water, I felt more refreshed and cleansed. Also, it made me feel more full when I ate. I will continue to drink at least 8 cups of water every day because it actually did make me feel healthier and it made me eat slower.
For five days i gave up brownies and soda. I replaced brownies with peanut butter and soda with strawberries. I also started eating more servings of vegetables. I kept this going for about a week so far and hope to keep going because the affects on my body were making me feel great. Before starting this new diet My body didn't get the proper care it needed so I would feel tired and really lazy to do anything. My life was sitting on the couch eating brownies and drinking Dr. Pepper. I never felt the need to get up and be active but since i've started this new diet I feel more alive. More energetic and able to get myself off the couch. I feel like I can breathe better and intake more oxygen. Changing my diet didn't just change how energetic it was but also changed my mood and made me feel more happy. As to keeping this going, I think I will.
I love Dr. Pepper and I usually drink three of four cans a day. For this challenge, I gave it up for five days because sodas are pretty unhealthy. Sodas are high in sugar and contain a lot of caffeine. I didn't feel any different after the first day. The second day I had a strong craving and a slight headache. The third day I still had a bit of a headache, but as the day went on I noticed I had more energy. The fourth and fifth day I felt really good, and a lot less sluggish. This challenge showed me how much my body relied on caffeine. Because of this, I am going to cut back a lot on my Dr. Pepper consumption.
My diet is generally healthy aside from my afternoon snack. I eat foods high in protein alot of fruits and make sure to have milk for my daily calcium diet. However, everyday i come from school i snack on something unhealthy as nachos, chips and salsa or i even go get food from outside. Instead, i tried making something beneficial for myself. It was something simple, like making a ham and cheese sandwich or eating more fruits. I did feel more energized throughout the day and i didn't even spend money making these simple items. I have actually implemented this in my diet, even though i still get food from outside once or twice a week. I think this challenge was very helpful, and it can change a person's lifestyle forever.
For my 5 days i decided to force myself to eat breakfast. I usually dont eat breakfast because im just not very hungry in the morning, but i heard it helped you wake up in the morning so i decided to try it. On day 1 i quite literally had to force myself to eat my egg whites and toast, though i did feel a little more awake during the day. On my second day of egg whites and toast i woke up actually kind of hungry, and i ate more then i had the day before. For days 3-5, i actually woke up starving and had to make more eggs to fill myself up. it also helped wake me up and kept me awake throughout the entire day. i think i will actually keep eating breakfast on a daily basis now.
I gave up chocolate. This was very hard for me because I love chocolate so much. At first I thought is was very unlikely that I would go a day without it, but I just told me that I can do it (and knowing that was for a grade also motivated me) helped a lot. The reason I chose chocolate because I wanted a challenge and because I eat WAY too much of it in the first place, so I thought is was a great opportunity to give it up. The benefits is the decreased sugar intake because chocolate, especially milk chocolate, has a lot of sugar in it. It also has fat in it as well, so my fat intake also decreased. So with less sugar and fat there are less "LB"s adding to my waist. During the time I went through withdrawal, because it was I forcing myself from eating it, instead of free will. So it was hard. With that said, I don't think I will be able to continue it. It was hard enough during the five days.
During Spring Break, I decided to change my diet and eat whole wheat food instead of processed food. The main foods i added were whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread instead of regular white sandwich bread and processed white pasta. The main difference I noticed during eating whole wheat was the difference in energy levels throughout the day. Before I used to eat 5 to 6 small meals in a day, and after about an hour or so, I felt hungry again. Since i switched to a whole wheat diet, my energy levels were stable throughout the day, and my appetite was suppressed throughout the day. The reason for this is that Whole foods have a low GI index. Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI. High GI foods push your body to the extremes, releasing high amounts of glucose in a small amount of time. Low GI foods release glucose more slowly. Switching to eating mainly low GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals. This is the science behind whole wheat foods.
For this Healthy Me Challenge, I gave up all food and drinks except for rice, beans, and water. This was not just for the challenge however. Me and my family participated in this event with other members from our church, First Baptist Lewisville, in order to help the fight against world hunger. The money that we did not spend on other food or drinks, was saved and at the end of the week, given as an offering in church. This week long diet provided me with a difficult challenge. After the 2nd day I felt very nauseous and was unable to eat my dinner due to the queazy feeling! After a week of just rice and beans, I felt a lot more dependent on my relationship with God and overall my body had learned to coop with the minimal diet. I was hungry before meals as i normal become, and after the small meals i felt energized. I lost six pounds and learned alot about fasting. Overall i would recommend fasting from something every once and a while. Wether it be a soft drink or a meat, changing your diet for a shirt while is very challenging, but effective in making you healthier.
For five days I decided to give up eating all desserts. This was incredibly hard because not only do I like to eat sweets, but I also enjoy baking them. I did this because most desserts contain a high amount of sugar, which is not good when consumed in large amounts (It can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, and a number of other problems). Not eating sugar can also prevent some diseases such as diabetes. When I did not eat any dessert I most definitely felt healthier. I also tried to eat more fruit for the same five days I did not eat desserts. I did this because I like fruit, and it is a good alternative to desserts. Fruits contain many nutrients and antioxidants which can prevent all kinds of diseases. They also contain natural sugar which gives the body energy. When I did this I felt very good, and looked healthier. I will continue to eat more fruit for the next five days.
Most mornings before school i wake up, get ready for school and leave without eating anything for breakfast. My parents continuously insist on my eating something, but i just don't feel like eating in the morning. So, for the Healthy Me Challenge, i decided i would eat a banana every morning before school. I chose a banana because i like them, my parents buy them all the time, and i was told that they help in overall trumpet playing, which i have to do every morning for band first period. I noticed a big change on the second day, when i would not feel as tired as i used to in the mornings. i felt i had more energy, and was able to focus more in my morning classes. on the fourth and fifth day, i noticed it was like a night and day change. i overall felt 100 times better in the mornings, and after the fifth day, i grabbed a banana the next few mornings without even realizing it. i know i will definitely continue this, not just eating a banana every morning, but eating in general anything healthy every morning, to keep up the energy i feel from it.
For the Healthy Me Challenge, I gave up carbs for five days. I had been reading about different diets online, and I heard a lot of good things about low carb diets. It was very hard to do, because my only options were eggs, meat, and cheese. One difference that I noticed was that I had more energy. I felt more awake and alert, and was able to concentrate better. I also had less cravings for sweets. I found that I was more satisfied eating smaller portions, and even if I did eat a large portion, I didn't have that sluggish, bloated feeling afterwards. After trying out a carb-free diet for five days, I think that I will definitely try to restrict my carb intake, because it made me feel all around better. Though it is difficult to avoid carbs altogether with all of the processed foods available today, I will definitely make a point to limit my carb intake and, if possible, give them up completely.
For the Healthy Me Challenge, I added a full serving of spinach to my diet every day in addition to the normal veggies I eat. I know that spinach is one of the healthiest veggies out there, and since there are only a few green vegetables that I really enjoy eating, I thought I'd make myself do this for 5 days. I hate cooked spinach, but I found that I actually love fresh spinach leaves! Every day when I came home from school I would eat a spinach salad with the egg whites of a hard-boiled egg--it was delicious! And it not only filled me up and replaced an unhealthy snack, but it made me feel more refreshed and energized. I'm not sure if that was psychological or not, but either way, I felt better! It felt good to know that I was eating better, as well as indirectly taking some unhealthy options out of my diet by replacing it with the spinach.
Over Spring break I decided to try and eat better and on a more regular schedule than I usually do. I focused on eating more fruit and protein and less sugars. And I also made an effort to make sure I was able to eat breakfast lunch and dinner all at reasonable times. The specific foods I focused on eating were lean proteins such as chicken and turkey and I replaced the processed sugars I eat with fruits, such as apples oranges and bananas. I found that this switch of eating habits did benefit me. I noticed it mostly in my sleeping pattern, I found that i slept better when I ate healthier and on a regular schedule. Another benefit I found is that when I woke up I felt well rested and had energy from the beginning of the day to the end. Over all this challenge benefited my lifestyle in a positive way, and showed me that just changing the way you eat can affect my normal day activities. I will try to continue to eat this way in the future
On average my food intake is fairly healthy, meaning no fast food, soda, or candy. So for this post I thought instead of taking something out of my diet I would add something healthy to my diet. For 5 days I decided to up my vegetable intake by two servings a day. Every morning I ate a full serving of carrots and in my lunch I started to pack a full serving of broccoli. After 5 days of doing this my over all sense of being I could tell was improved; I had more energy, I could think clearer, and I felt better rested when I woke up. I didn't think that increasing my vegetable intake would improve my over all self but I was pleasantly surprised that it did.
Giving up chocolate for any period of time can be a very hard thing to do, but I did it. Luckily I gave it up for Lent so I have the ability to remember not to eat for a better reason. Living without chocolate is kind of rough because you do not realize everything that it is in. Everything from candy, chocolate milk, brownies, cookies, other desserts, nutella, hot chocolate, and so much more. Although giving up chocolate is hard, I did not notice that much of a difference but it is probably because I do not consume massive amounts of chocolate. I believe the hardest thing was to remember not to eat, simply because it is always so easily available. Overall I noticed little things, like I don't have as big of a craving for sweets if I am not consuming it as much. I think that giving up one unhealthy thing for you at a time is a great idea so you can slowly work to healthier diet and better lifestyle.
Walking home was a habit I started my junior year, but I stopped doing senior year due to the fact I was able to bum rides off of friends. It's about a mile and a half to my house from CHS and the exercise of lugging school books helps keep me moving and active.
So I started the habit back up again, for 5 days I walked home everyday. It was a bit boring at first. But by the end of the 5th day I felt better when I got home, less tired and didn't feel the need to take a mid noon map.
During spring break I decided to add something unhealthy to my diet because I usually have a pretty clean diet. So what I did was with every meal I drank a coke as my beverage because I usually drink wither water or green tea. The switch up was very shocking to my body and toward the end of the 5 days I was feeling very bad. At first when I would drink one I would get this sudden charge of energy but after a while I would become very tired and lost the energy I had gained. Besides from the energy, I also started to feel very sick from all the sugar I was drinking because I was used to water or green tea which has no sugar. Adding an unhealthy drink to my diet was not fun especially when I was used to a healthier choice.
Everyday, during 6th period, I get a package of Skittles to supply my sugar addiction. For 5 days I gave up getting the 210 calorie, sugar filled goody and saw drastic changes in my daily routine and workout. I'm usually a very healthy person, and have a low consumption of calories (following a 1000-1500 calorie diet) so I am usually very low in energy. I usually eat the Skittles because it helps me stay energized with such a low calorie intake and also helps satisfy my sugar desires. During the 5 day period, I struggled everyday, and seemed low in energy, but during the 3rd day, I substituted the Skittles with an apple. Eating the apple gave me the enough energy to finish the day strong, and is a healthier substitute. From now on, I'll supply my sugar cravings with fruits.
For the healthy me challenge, I decided to give up sodas and sweet tea for a week. I know that they are packed with sugar so it seemed like a great option for something to give up in order to improve my health. Instead of drinking soda the last week I stuck with water and tea sweetened with sweet and low. I didn't notice a huge change but i did find myself being able to fall asleep easier because of the lack of caffeine intake. My stomach also felt better overall because i wasn't taking in so much carbonated water and sugar. I probably won't give up soda forever but I will definitely limit my soda intake because it has such negative health effects.
My diet consistently involves cereal and sandwhiches and school food. This is because i work a 4-5 week and go to school and I don't get home until 10:30 so I usually scavenge my refrigerator for whatever goodies may be hiding in it which is mostly junk food. So I told my mom that I was super craving berries of all kinds and of course she gave them to me because she felt bad about how much I work. So for 5 days everytime I came home I would fill a bowl with raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. I immediately felt better during the school day and didn't feel as exhausted as before. Also its much tastier to eat then whatever happens to be in the refrigerator at that moment. So I will continue to eat these delicious berries.
This week I removed processed foods from my diet. The biggest difference between this week and every other week is that I completely cut out soft drinks. Instead of drinking sodas, I added about 48-72 ounces of water to my daily intake. Due to the decrease of sugar and preservatives in my diet and the increase of water, I feel much more energetic and have lost a significant amount of weight. Also, despite not sleeping as much as normal, I still felt more alert and awake during the day. Although the designated "diet period" is over, I plan to continue a diet of natural foods and no sodas.
For the past five days, I have eaten strawberries consecutively, every day at home. My favorite type of fruit is strawberry, so i chose to go with strawberries for my health benefit. I ate more fruits because I usually do not eat a lot of fruits in general. Moreover, I decided to eat more fruits to eat a tasty and healthy type of fruits, which lets me keep eating it without getting tired of the fruit. The health benefits it offered was that strawberries contain antioxidants; like anthocyanins have been shown by several studies to be effective in reducing risks of developing cancer, cardiovascular disease and inflammation-related diseases. Furthermore, I tend to eat a lot of foods with high sodium, however strawberries are very good in potassium and magnesium content, both of which are very effective in lowering high blood pressure caused by sodium. Eating many strawberries made me feel healthy, because it was a fruit and I knew exactly that It would contain good source of nutrients. I will continue eating strawberries after five days! We have more in the refrigerator, so I will eat more when I feel like it. (:
In my household Sunny Delight is the most common beverage. After I get home from school the first thing I do is get a glass of Sunny D. My brother and I average about 4 to 5 glasses each of Sunny D everyday. The main reason we buy it is not just because of the great taste, but also because of the cheap price for a large amount. There are 120 calories per serving in Sunny D. Although Sunny D is very high in vitamin C it is also very high in sugar. So I decided to give up Sunny D for 5 days. Instead of the Sunny D, my alternative was mainly water, milk, and cranberry juice. Although I didn't feel any different, I knew my choice was healthier and that it would be in the long run. I plan on continuing this diet.
On a usual day, between work and home, I have at least one Dr. Pepper. Even though I knew that they were unhealthy it's extremely hard to get over the caffeine withdrawal since I hate the taste of coffee. Also, I'm not the type to check the nutrition facts and even when I do I don't see the content in the big picture reality. However, after having done some research for the google project I learned that each Dr. Pepper contains roughly 36 grams of sugar and that drinking that much sugar on a daily basis in addition to the rest of the sugar found in my diet could easily lead to type 2 diabetes. After seeing this I decided to give up Dr.Pepper for 5 days completely. At first it was extremely difficult, feeling like I was in a haze and certainly irritable yet, after 3 days I found myself returning to how I use to feel. I still wanted to drink Dr. Pepper but I felt fine without it. Now after the 5 days I feel more alert and happy with no soda in my system. I might still have the occasional soda but I'll try to stay away from them.
For my challenge, I decided to add in two fruit servings a day. I eat healthy, but I don't always have a balanced diet. I like fruit, but I don't do well incorporating it into my lifestyle. It is hard to find healthy food in New York. We bought all of our meals so it's difficult to keep up a good food intake. I decided to bring fruit to New York along with find cafes who sell fruit. I couldn't feel much of a difference when I started it before New York, but I felt a difference one we got there. We walked everywhere and had very early mornings, so I needed all the energy and stamina I could get. Eating two fruit servings everyday helped keep up my energy and keep me focused. Instead of intaking more sugar or caffeine, I used the natural ingredients of fruit to help keep me going. It is always hard to change your eating lifestyle, but I hope this one will stick. Eating more fruit helped me out physically and mentally and I hope I keep it up.
I am unusually a pretty healthy eater but a lot of the time I don't eat healthy at all. Normally when my mom doesn't cook, I go out to eat with friends. But I do drink a lot of sodas, so for 5 days I decided to drink water or sport drinks instead. The switch was fairly easy because I've been out playing frisbee and running a lot so drinking something other than soda was quite easy, but I didn't really feel any different from the switch. I had more energy when drinking sport drinks or water because a lot of the time I drank sodas with caffeine in them so I crashed a lot and was tired a lot of the time.
For the healthy me challenge, I decided to add increased amounts of fruits to my diet. I don't usually consume very much fruit, but recently I have started to eat bananas more and more throughout the day. I have been eating a banana shortly after my workout which has provided a good source of simple carbohydrates and I believe has helped with my recovery. I have also started eating a banana when i get hungry at night before I go to bed. Instead of eating a big meal which has a lot of calories which is unnecessary right before bed, I just eat a banana and it digests quickly and I am satiated quickly and can go to bed sooner.
For five days I gave up Monster. Monster is filled with caffeine and ginseng and all sorts of additives that are horrible for your body. I aways had one in the morning to wake me up and sometimes had one during lunch. This is why i took it out of my diet. At first it was hard, but after i a couple days i got used to it. I think i will cut down on monsters after this.
I gave up liquids which included a lot sugars like soda and juice and instead I drank a lot of water. I felt healthier because I would usually use soda or juice to keep me up, but water worked just as well and even better because I felt more hydrated. Even though the assignment requires only 5 days I believe that I will keep on my h2o diet for the remainder of my life (try to) so that I may stay healthier and more active.
For the past couple of weeks I have given up drinking soda so that I could avoid the caffeine. I chose to do this because I had a high blood pressure from a unhealthy life style and my first steps were to stop drinking anything that had caffeine, large amounts of sodium, and to start exercising again. I was drinking Mountain Dew everyday and I would sometimes drink 2-3 within minutes or an hour which is extremely unhealthy. Knowing my health was on the line it wasn't too hard giving up the drink, but I do wish I could drink one every once in a while.
Coming from a family whose roots lie in the country of Pakistan, our eating habits tend to follow those of any other South Asian or Indian family. Although we are not vegetatrians, seldom is there a dish that is not made with a noticeable amount of oil, onions, and best of all, salt. Traditional Pakistani foods are high in carbs, fat, and sodium. While they contain lots of protein as well, it doesn't satisfy all the bad things it consists of. On an average night my family would sit down and eat white rice or oven baked flatbread with some sort of side dish that is loaded with spices. Normally we don't eat three course meals and seldom is there a vegetable to go with our dish, unless cooked within. These five days were a great opportunity for me to change our routine up a little bit. What is usually not a three course meal, began as one. I bought salad greens from the grocery store and topped a small bowl of salad off with a little bit of low fat italian dressing. My family is so used to eating South Asian food, that I though a little twist would be good for a change. For the main course, I cooked a lentil soup served with steaming white rice. Lentil soup, which is usually served hot, may be vegetarian, but can also be made with meat stock or pieces of meat. To go with the soup, I grilled beef kabobs using olive oil instead of our normal cooking oil. For dessert, I cut up some fresh fruits and we called it a day. Paying attention to how healthy our meal was definitely wore me out for five days, but the long term effects of a healthier lifestly are much more rewarding.
For the past few years, I have been a constant gamer with an avid passion. Lately, I have abstained from playing any games for the past week. In order to enjoy my spring break and Lent with my family, I sacrificed my game to have a life, plainly speaking. It was a relief, not having to constantly worry about keeping track with my statistics and such. Rather, I had more time to spend with my family, and it was a relief and joyful experience. I aim to hopefully cut back entirely to play only on week ends, and eventually in college, quit games altogether. Sounds farfetched, but I have the will and confidence to pull through.
I used to drink water all the time when i was younger but lately my great drinking habit has declined. So i made a decision to fill up my camelback water bottle at least 4 times a day for 5 days. Immediately, i began to feel more on my toes and it kept me full so i wouldn't snack on anything bad. Drinking so much water each day just made me feel more refreshed and satisfied with everything that i did. I know for a fact that i will try to continue this habit.
My family and friends tell me often that I seem addicted to chocolate. I think the reason is I always bring chocolate or snack that made out of chocolate and eat it whenever I want to have it. So, I decided to stop taking chocolates for 5 days in a low. First time when I started, it was the worst thing ever happened in my life. I had some withdrawal symptoms, such as feeling tired all day and trying to find foods that can replace chocolate. However, few days later I could handle those symptoms by taking fruits instead of taking chocolate. Fruits are much healthier and fresher for your body. Also, contain much lower calories. During those 5 days I learned a lot of lesson that I can leave without chocolate and I can lost lots of weight by just stop taking it every day. I’m really glad that I learned this lesson and the fact that I already lose 2 pounds!
For the purpose of this assignment I decided to give up all sodas. Prior to giving up soda for five days I would typically drink at least 2 to 4 sodas a week. Throughout the five days I replaced the sodas I would typically drink with mainly water and also milk and juices. After not drinking soda for a day I did not notice a difference in how I felt, but after the full five days I could noticeably realize that I was not as tired in the middle of the day as I usually would be after I had drank a soda. Also, I noticed that by avoiding sugary caffeinated sodas and by only drinking water for the most part I was felt more hydrated and energized. Not drinking sodas is also much healthier because I reduced the amount of sugar and calories I took in everyday. Other healthy alternatives I found, which were tasty, was fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh made lemonade, and both of these drinks had far less sugar than sodas and had no caffeine. After leaving soda out of my diet for five days I have realized that I don't need to drink soda at all because it is not healthy for me and there are plenty of other healthier options to drink.
Starting on Monday April 4, 2010 to Friday April 8, 2010 I added several servings of fruit into my diet. For each meal I consumed a variety of fresh fruit. In the mornings I had sides of fresh cut pineapples and strawberries, along with my normal bowl of cereal. As for lunch, I ate a turkey and cheese sandwich, chips, and instead of having cookies for dessert, I ate fresh peaches. Dinner for me changes every night, but for these five days, my dessert of fresh fruit stayed the same. With every meal at dinner I consumed a banana and strawberries for dessert. This whole process of changing my eating habit allowed me to feel more energized. I performed this task to give my body an opportunity to digest better foods and become healthier. From the classroom to the tennis court, fresh fruit gave me an extra spark to keep on going. The health benefits dealing with this choice are awesome. The strawberries and fresh cut pineapples gave me a refreshing wake up call, the peaches at lunch rejuvenated my taste and gave me more energy throughout the day, and the dessert of strawberries and banana gave me a refreshment to end my day. The banana’s at dinner kept me from cramping after a long and hard day, the strawberries helped my brain function better, the pineapples help my digestion, and the peaches lower my risk of heart disease or cancer. Throughout this entire process I actually felt great. Many people are usually not up to par on eating fresh fruits, but if they tried, they would feel the difference. Every day I was full of energy, which was a whole new experience because before this I never consume that much fruit in a day. I loved the feeling I got after each serving of fresh fruit so I will totally continue this process because I know that in the long run it will benefit my health.
The food I decided to give up for five days was bread. Bread isn't necessarily unhealthy if has lots of whole grains but there are healthier options that you can choose. As a runner I eat a lot of carbs especially a couple days before a race but I also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I decided to replace my bread with more protein because I still would get enough carbohydrates from the amount of fruit and vegetables I eat. After only 2 days I started noticing that my running was easier because my legs were recovering faster due to my greater intake of protein. Also I felt better on my runs because I didn't have any processed food in me, I was only eating fresh foods. I think cutting out bread was a good experiment,I don't think I'll completely boycott bread from now on but I will cut back on the amount I eat and continue to eat more protein.
Instead of giving up something, I chose to add fruit to my diet. I normally eat and drink pretty healthy, but I decided to eat 4-5 servings of fruit every day - each meal and in place of snacks. Fruit provide a lot of nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folic acid. Because fruits are rich in fiber, they are really good for snacks because they make your stomach feel full but are still low in calories. Having fruit as a snack instead of chips or something unhealthy, I cut a lot of calories out of my diet and at the same time received healthy nutrients. The vitamin C in various fruits is good for growth and repair of body tissues and also helps heal cuts and wounds. It's also good for the immune system. I have actually enjoyed taking this challenge because I was able to eat healthy and at the same time eat normal portions of food that tastes really good! I am for sure going to continue doing this from now on.
The thing that I decided to give up for 5 days was drinks other than water and milk. It was not a challenge because I do not like soda. The other main drinks I consume pretty frequently would be drinks like gatorade or lemonade or tea, drinks with alot of sugar. For breakfast and dinner I always drink skim milk, no matter what the meal. For lunch it is different because I am sometimes at school or out to eat at different places, so it was sometimes hard to always get a water instead of lemonade or tea. Water is much healthier for you regarding sugar, but sugar helps me stay awake. When I am drowsy and have to go to something, I usually get a drink that has sugar in it to keep me going. So it was hard on the aspect to just stick with water. But overall I felt much better about myself and what I was putting in my body. Sugar can make you crash also so I just felt more consistent with my diet and my sleeping habits. I will probably not stick with this "diet", but I will definitely be more aware of what I am drinking and when, and how it makes me feel after.
For the past five days, I gave up desserts. I am not just including desserts after dinner, but cookies, brownies, and other delicious treats at any time during the day. Instead when I craved something sweet or a chocolate flavor, I would eat fruit or drink water. I noticed a difference in the way I felt almost immediately. I wasn't nearly as tired as frequently as I was before. I felt like I had a lot more energy! I am glad I made the change. Because of my body structure,metabolism, and how active I am, I always thought I could get away with eating unhealthy with no damage to my physical feature. But after making the change, I noticed I was still getting affected by my poor diet. The fatigue wasn't just from soccer or work or school, a large part of it was from my poor diet.
For the Healthy Me Challenge I decided to give up some unhealthy choices. I am a manager at Fat Daddy's Burger House, and I work a lot of hours. A benefit from working at Fat Daddy's Burger House is the privilege to bring home a meal every time I work. I have been eating greasy burgers and deep fried chicken way too often, and my body cannot handle it. Every once and a while I will order a salad to-go, but it is still way too high in calories and fat. For five days I gave up eating food from Fat Daddy's, and I started eating the meals my mother cooked which consisted of stir fry, snap peas, rice, turkey burgers, cantaloupe, strawberries, and many more heart healthy foods. After changing diet I noticed I was functioning much better throughout the day. My digestive system was regulated, I wasn't getting heart burn, and I was seeing better results from my workouts that I do during my off period. Everything I had been eating was fried, and I was just not providing my body with the right nutrients, especially after lifting weights. Another way I avoided eating grease on a bun was by eating healthy snacks before going into work so I am not tempted to bring home any food from work. This challenge has reminded me mentally and physically, that it is important to watch my diet to make sure I function optimally.
I decided to give up soda for 5 days. I did this because I drink a bottle of soda nearly every day because I am so addicted to the flavor and routine. This offered a lot of health benefits because for one-- I'm not consuming the extra sugar and also not drinking too much soda leaned towards a healthier diet. It made me miss my soda for the first couple of days but for the last three days, it didn't really bother me. I felt really proud because it took so much persistence for me to do that. I won't completely rid of sodas in my diet after the five days I haven't had it, but I will definetely limit it. A soda once in a while is not all that bad-- in fact, it may even come in handy sometimes.
Starting last week, I made sure to eat a banana every morning with breakfast. Bananas have been proven to have many positive effects on the body like reducing depression, eyesight protection, increasing kidney function, avoiding morning sickness, and increasing nerve function. After making this diet change, I noticed that I had considerably more energy throughout the day, and wasn't as hungry around lunchtime. I actually plan on continuing to add a Banana to my daily routine. I would highly recommend this delicious and healthy fruit to anyone.
For last week, I have limited my intake of soft drinks to less than one a day. In the five day period, I had maybe one or 1.5 sodas, which is much less than my typical six or more weekly. Since I am playing numerous recreational sports, I need to be more healthy to have better endurance and taking out the sugar and caffeine in sodas can be a huge help. Over the course of the week, I substituted water or gatorade in for Coke and noticed that my energy was up during the school. Now I am able to last longer in my indoor soccer games and hoops league basketball games, which means a lot to my competitive nature. I also gave up sugar based cereal during the same week and focused more on healthier breakfasts. This was extremely beneficial as I was more attentive in class and did not crash from the sugar in Fruity Pebbles. Hopefully, I will continue this trend and become healthier overall.
For my healthy me challenge, I decided to give up soda for five days. I don’t really have a favorite but I would normally drink Coke daily. Water was my primary replacement but just to mix it up I would drink milk, orange juice, and apple juice. I always knew Coke was bad for you if you drank excessive amounts so I thought one can was reasonable. To my surprise, I was a lot less tired during the day when I drank more water than when I drank Coke. Also, I was able to keep my daily sugar intake down due to all the sugar in Coke. Based on how much change I felt, I will most likely continue to not drink Coke.
For the Healthy Me Challenge I switched my chocolate pudding desert for a fruit smoothy for five days. I switched these two because it was the cheap to switch because i paid less and I still got to eat my desert. It didn't taste as good but it was more filling and they were about the same amount of food. I felt about the same but I did have a little more energy in the morning and I lost 3 pounds. I think I will continue this because i have been trying to lose a few pounds to get back in shape like I was in football season.
For my healthy me challenge, I decided to give up drinking gatorade for a week. I typically drink a lot of gatorade even if I have not just finished a workout or sports related activity. There are a lot of good electrolytes and things in gatorade but there is also a ton of sugar in gatorade that makes it unhealthy for you. Instead of gatorade, I drank primarily water, but also switched it up with simply orange juice and skim milk. I honestly did not notice much of a difference; my weight stayed the same and there was no difference in terms of feeling healthier or anything like that. However, after avoiding gatorade for only a week i've found myself more inclined to just grab a bottle of water instead of a much less healthier bottle of gatorade when I am thirsty.
For 5 days I gave up healthy drinks such as sodas, energy drinks or "fruit" juice that contained almost no juice and increased my daily intake of water. I also gave up chips, which I normally eat a small bag each day. When I gave up sodas and other sugary drinks and started drinking a lot more water I felt healthier and cleaner. When I drank water and only water all day I felt more refreshed the whole day and less dehydrated. When I drink soda, I just get that momentary sweet pleasure, but I don't feel as cleansed as when I drink water. With water I can drink a lot and still feel healthy about what I've had to drink and not have to worry about how many calories, sugars, or caffeine. I also felt the same way with the chips. Instead of eating chips, I would substitute a small salad with little dressing and I felt good about it because I was getting some greens in my diet and not just junk food. The healthy me challenge was very beneficial because I'm gonna try to cut out all those junk foods and drinks out of my diet. Doing this will make me feel much better about what I eat and I know that I'll be helping my body out by staying healthy!(:
For my healthy me challenge, I gave up chips. I usually eat a bag of chips and a sandwich for lunch, and I sometimes have chips for a snack after school. Chips are very tasty, but they are high in carbs and have no nutritional value. Instead of eating chips with my lunch, I ate berries and fruit instead. For snack, I had yogurt with fresh fruit or a spoonful of peanut butter. I thought I would miss eating chips, but I actually didn't. When I ate peanut butter instead of chips, I felt a lot more energized because I gained more protein. I also enjoyed having a higher consumption of fruit. I felt proud when I chose to eat berries instead of a bag of chips. Although I couldn't physically feel the benefits of eating fruit, I knew it was having a positive affect on my body and overall health. It helped limit my carb intake, which resulted in losing a little weight! :) I felt just as full when replacing chips with a healthier option.
During the past five days I gave up eating desserts. Usually after dinner I eat either eat some cake, pudding or something like that. Not eating desserts gave me more energy after dinner. Usually after dinner i just lay down and watch TV. Instead after dinner I felt good and went and played basketball with my friends. Not eating dessert is something that I plan on continuing because it is a much better lifestyle to live. I feel like I can't just give it up all the time but I will only eat it on special occasions, not every day like i use to.
All my life, I have been drinking diet sodas because I was told they were much healthier for you than regular drinks. There is zero calories and zero grams of sugar in diet coke as opposed to the 200 calories in regular coke. It was obviously healthier to drink until people realized it was loaded with artificial sweeteners. This means that diet drinks are filled with many different chemicals instead of real sugar to make them taste good. For this challenge, I gave up drinking diet sodas for a week and drank unsweetened iced tea instead. Iced tea has very few calories and no artificial sweetener unless you add them. This is a healthier alternative than a drink with many chemicals or a regular soda with a lot of sugar. This makes me feel better knowing I haven't poisoned my body with artificial sugars everyday.
This past week before prom I eliminated sweets and fast food from my daily meals. I have always been told that when a person eats thing like chocolate or fast food, not only is it bad for your health, but it can cause a person to have worse acne. With prom in one week, and me wanting my face and body to look at its finest for pictures, I put myself up to the challenge and improved my eating habits. For example, at lunch my mother usually packs me some type of dessert such as a cosmic brownie or small chocolates, and this past week I didn't have any dessert at all during lunch. At night after a lacrosse practice I would go home every night to eat instead of fast food. By the end of the week on the day of prom, my face was clear of acne, and I energized and fantastic. Small improvements were definitely seen in my health from going the entire week on a much healthier diet. I can't promise that I will never eat fast food or chocolate again, but I am definitely going to try and limit my intake of those foods to a smaller amount during the week.
For the healthy me challange I gave up eating fast food for five days. On an average week I normally eat fast food about six times. Instead of going out to eat at fast food places for lunch everyday, I started to bring my own lunch with healthy items like fruit. I brought simple thins like apples and oranges.The reason I gave up fast food is because of the effects it has on your body and its effect on health. Fast food is high in calories and fat and has a minimum amount of protein and healthy ingredients. By eating better things for me like fruit and not having french fries I am getting a more balanced diet which will also be good for me in the long run. Throughout the week i noticed that I have more energy throughout the day and am able to concentrate easier. I am not always hungry and snacking when I eat a good meal. Based on the effects, in the future I will try to cut back on how much fast food I am eating and replace it with healthier foods.
For the healthy me challenge i decided to give up all drinks except for water and skim milk. Normally i would either drink Diet Dr. Pepper and Sweet Tea, so because of that i decided to go back and drink what i used to drink when i was a little girl. When i was much younger i used to only drink skim milk or water with on occasion i would drink soda. But as i got older i started drinking the more unhealthier stuff. So because of that, i decided to give it all up so i could get my body used to the healthier stuff. During that time, it started off weird not having all that sugar in my body, but as the week progressed i felt much better. Based off of what happened during that week, i am now cutting back on all my sweet drinks and is drinking more milk and water, and only having sweet tea or sodas on occasions so i could have a healthier diet.
For the Healthy Me Challenge, I decided to include more water in my diet. Most of the time, I don't drink as much water as I am supposed to. For some reason I almost never get thirsty and I usually have to remind myself to drink at least one or two glasses of water a day in order to keep myself hydrated. Plus I drink coffee in the mornings so the caffeine dehydrates me even more. Obviously, a couple glasses of water isn't enough so I decided to drink 8 glasses of water. At first, I wasn't too happy about it since water isn't exactly my favorite beverage. On top of that I made frequent trips to the bathroom, so that was not a lot of fun either. However, drinking lots of water flushed the toxins out of my body, which made me feel more energetic and healthier overall. I felt like I was able to get through the day more easily and I was able to concentrate better. Then I wasn't so tempted to eat little snacks throughout the day since the water kept me full, which helped me lose a couple pounds! After experiencing these benefits, I'm going to try to stick to this new healthy habit. This made me realize that water can really do so many amazing things for your body. I can't guarantee that I will drink 8 glasses of water daily for the rest of my life, but I will definitely try to incorporate more water into my diet.
For the healthy me challange I choose to give up any type of drink except for water. I typically only drink water when working out at cheer, choosing orange juice in the mornings, gatorade at lunch, a soda after school and milk during dinner. For five days I only drank water and could most definitely feel a difference. My body was better satisfied with drinkning water, not leaving a sort of full and sick feeling like you would get out of a soda. Also, I wasn't wanting more like the sugary taste of gatorade makes you feel. I felt as if I had more energy and could get full off of the food I was eating instead of the drink. I felt that I could get through my day easier with more concentration and energy. It even made me feel lighter in a way? like all the extra sugars and caffeine weren't holding me down. I enjoyed this challenge and have continued to drink a lot more water since.
For most of my life, I have been an unhealthy eater. It was never anything I worried about. I ate what I wanted and I figured I would just burn it all off in basketball. Then, when basketball season ended, I decided that I needed to make a change if I wanted to stay fit. So for the last 50 days, I have been doing a workout program called P90X. This program included a diet, which I have also been doing. So for the last 50 days, I have not eaten fast food, I have not eaten junk food (except on a few special occasions), most processed foods, and I have not had anything to drink but water. Instead I am eating healthy and natural foods. My average day consists of one serving of fruit, two servings of vegetables, 3 servings of protein (or meat), two carbohydrates (whole wheat only), one serving of dairy, and two or three small snacks. I have never felt better in my entire life. I suffered from severe stomach aches for years and now that I have changed my diet I feel good all the time. I have more energy and best of all I do not feel guilty after every meal. Changing my diet was a great decision. I have learned that there is a difference between a full stomach and a stomach ache. The greatest benefit of my new diet is all of the nutrients it provides. I am no longer eating processed food so I have greatly limited my saturated fat and trans fat intake. There is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to eat healthy even after I have completed P90X. I like feeling healthy.
Trevor Lopez- For the Healthy Me Challenge, I switched my school food diet for lunch time as well as giving up fast foods all week. On a normal day at lunch, I would have the Smucker's Crustless PBJ's, a Special K protein bar, chocolate milk, and sometimes a chocolate chip cookie and in the evening I normally go out and grab some Sonic or a pizza fro Subway. Last week, however, I paid attention to the nutrional facts and the ingrediants on the back of foods and tried to avoid high fructose corn syrup at school. So my meals now consisted of deli sandwiches which contained simple cheese and turkey, baked kernels which wwas just crunchy corn with salt and some flavoring but no HFCS, lemonade or water, and any fruit they had avaliable up front. My diet after school had also now changed to home-cooked meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. This new way of eating has made me feel better knowing I'm not buying into the foods that can make people obeses and also to the fact that I'm actually burning more calories upon working out. I of course broke this whole trend at prom with the ridicoulous amount of desserts they had but now I'm going to try to stick with this healthy lifestyle and possibly go even healthier, giving up red meats and fast food all together.
For the Healthy Me Challenge, I gave up sodas for a week. Starting last Monday, I didn’t drink or even sip a soda all week. I usually have a soda a day, maybe even more than one if I eat out. Being in the heart of baseball season, practice and games finish late, so fast food is a quick solution for fixing a hungry appetite. I gave up sodas because they are high in sugar, but yet are a big part of my diet. Carbonated beverages can increase your risk for obesity and diabetes in addition to losing calcium in bones. Giving up sodas for a week made me feel proud and accomplished. Throughout my life, I’ve tried giving up sodas many of times, but always only lasted a couple of days. Being somewhat of a competitive person, I only let myself down by not following through with these challenges. Finishing this challenge was a relief and I proved to myself that with some sweat and dedication, giving up sodas is possible. My no soda streak ended today at the grand opening of Whataburger. Being the first Whataburger in Coppell, I felt like it was the right time to celebrate with a delicious Sprite to wash down my burger. Free Whataburger for a year does not necessarily mean I have to wash down every burger with a soda, but what is only one soda a week?
For my healthy me challenge i decided to add more water intake for 5 days. I used my camelbak water bottle (.75 Liters) and filled it up 4 times per day. It kept me full so i wouldn't feel hungry all the time and helped keep me from snacking when i got home from school. Also, i noticed that i felt more refreshed and definitely more hydrated through out the day which was good because i'm always thirsty. By drinking more water it helped me lose a few pounds, keep my skin clear, and helped my mood through out the day. I'm definitely going to try and keep drinking a lot of water each day because it made me feel so great.
For the last week I have been cutting down on Dr.pepper. Dr. Pepper is my favorite soda and i know that it is terrible and it doesn't help me with anything. After giving up Dr. Pepper i realized that i relied on it a little too much i wanted Dr.Pepper because it tasted good and because i thought it gave me my energy but it didnt instead of having Dr.Pepper i had fruit punch and lots of water and last week i found myself with more energy and i felt more awake in all of my classes and i felt like i understood everything so much more. I use to drink atleast a 4 Dr.Pepper's a day and i thought that was fine but now that i should only have a Dr.Pepper 1 soda a week and drink more juice and water so that i can have all the energy i need to go through out the day. I did this so i could see how my soda habit was effecting my life and how i need to change it now i am working to stay on this track and make sure that i always have energy by working out and drinking less Dr. Pepper
For five days I decided to increase my daily consumption of strawberries in order to discover different health benefits that this regular utlization may have on my overall well-being. instead of crashing around 7 P.M. i could make it through the rest of my night feeling more full, and alert. Doing this will make me feel muche better about what I eat, and I know that I will be helping my body out by staying healthy.!!! Shana Shirani Per. 7th
I occasionally eat cereals that are high in sugar or artificially sweetened right from the box. I eat this like three to four times daily in a week. Sometimes I fool myself about not eating it and before I know it I find myself eating it again. I've been told by my folks that it is not really good for me and that it can increase my blood sugar levels. So for this challenge, I decided to quit eating artificially sweetened cereal. The only way I can do this is by eating a substitute like Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. This cereal is made with real corn and it has no added sugars or sweeteners’ did this because I knew what my parents were talking about is true and too much sugar can lead to diabetes which endangers your health. All of this artificially sweetened cereal could be sometimes dangerous to one’s health. Take Cinnamon Toast Crunch for example, it says on the box "whole grain" with a big check mark on the side. Anyone that does not read the ingredients information on the back will not know what he/she is putting in their system. It has about 9-10g of sugar and 2.8g of fat per 3/4 cup serving. I must say that after my five days off artificially sweetened cereal, I felt like I have reduced my sugar in take levels. I am definitely going to continue this challenge because it can increase my chances of not eating too many sugars than I should.
While I ussually eat healthy meals at home and rarely eat fast food, I eat a lot of chocolate throughout the day on a daily basis. I couldn't even bring myself to give up chocolate for lent because I knew I would miss it too much. That said, I decided to tough it out for five days and go without chocolate last Monday through Friday for the Healthy Me challenge, and I noticed some pretty evident results. Giving up chocolate meant passing on desert every night, and I felt much fresher and less sluggish for the rest of the night. In addition, it led me to eat more fruit when I wanted something sweet, and this was a solid discovery. I realized how much I enjoy strawberries and granny smith apples, and I plan to make these a regular part of my diet. The most noticeable thing to me from giving up chocolate, however, was the whiteness of my teeth. My teeth seemed cleaner throughout the week, and this was evident to me especially when I brushed my teeth and saw the difference. After the five days came Saturday, which was prom and my 18th birthday, so I probably made up for my lack of chocolate for the week in that one night, but the results of the challenge were very clear.
Last week, during the 5 school days, I decided to give up something that is a big part of my diet. For 5 days, I gave up my favorite drink, Dr. Pepper. First off, I would like to say that the decision to give up Dr. Pepper for 5 days was a big one simply because I frequently do not go even a day without it. The first day that I did this challenge was not too difficult, but after about the second or third day it got to be very difficult. I would get massive headaches, only because I was not getting the normal caffeine that I usually drank. I chose to do this, only because I wanted to see if it was even possible for me. While doing this challenge, I came to the realization that I slept a lot better without Dr. Pepper. This was probably because I was no longer fighting off all of the caffeine and sugars from drinking sodas. After doing this challenge, I made the decision to not completely cut out soda from my diet, but that I need to limit how much I drink. Any time that I eat out, I always order a Dr. Pepper, and I need to start drinking more water and other drinks that are healthier for me and do not contain as much sugar. This challenge helped for me to realize how bad of an addiction I have to Dr. Pepper.
Instead of giving up chocolate or junk food, I decided to give up on coffee. I would usually grab a quick cup of coffee as an energy booster if I was bored or craving it; however, I realized how unhealthy it was for me! After going 5 days without it, I realized how much sugar I was avoiding in that one cup and saved my time in making the coffee and money. Also, because the extra caffeine in coffee makes me release the energy more quickly, in those 5 days I didn't have that '2 p.m. feeling' of when my body craved for the caffeine. I felt more refreshed and energized throughout the day as a result. It is obvious that companies like Starbucks add extra sugar and addictive ingredients into their products, so I figured that by taking out coffee from my diet I would be forcing myself to function on it's own without all the caffeine. I began drinking coffee once again but only two or three times a week. I've decided not to allow my body to depend on it as a result of this challenge.
One thing I seem to always do right when I get home from school is walk straight to the pantry to begin a long night of snacking. Whether it is chips or cookies or other snack items, there are many nights where I just grab whatever I see to keep me busy while I do homework. So for the HealthyMe Challenge I decided to give up chips and cookies, the two most snacked upon items in my life for five days. I gave these two up because although they are the most common snacking items, they are quite unhealthy and very detrimental to my health. It offered great health benefits because I was intaking much less sugar as well as processed ingredients, considering that is mainly what chips and cookies are made up of. Although I didn't feel much of a difference, I know that it was a very healthy decision for my body, and that the lower intake of sugar and processed foods was giving me a more healthy lifestyle. I believe I will try to continue after these five days, or at least limit how much I snack every day, as well as try to eat more breakfast, lunch, and dinner to prevent excessive snacking.
Everyday my mom packs my lunch for me and for a treat everyday, she packs me 5 chocolate chip cookies. Then after dinner i usually have cookies for dessert. I knew i always needed to give cookies up or stop eating less of them, so when i was assigned this i knew i could start right here. So last Monday through Friday i decided to tough it out for 5 days. Giving cookies up meant that every day during lunch i would not have a dessert and every night i would not have a dessert. It was tough cause i have been in the routine of eating about 8 cookies a day so for 5 days it was extremely though for me. So instead my mom packed me an extra fruit either a banana or apple everyday for lunch and for dessert my mom made me a fruit smoothie. I never really knew how much you could enjoy fruit until you actually eat it on a consistent basis. The biggest difference was the acne on my face. It was always a little bad and when i gave it up i could definitely see my face becoming clearer. I wanted to continue with the challenge to see how big an impact it would make on me, but the day after i finished my challenge prom occurred and ill admit my judgement slipped and i had quite a few cookies. I am currently starting the challenge back up though for myself to see how big of a difference it will make in the next week or so. But for those five days, the change for not eating cookies on a daily basis was definitely beneficial to myself.
Last week, I added food into my diet instead of giving something up. For 5 days, I substituted my normal dessert which is usually ice cream or cookies for fruit salad. For me, I absolutely love ice cream especially when it starts to get hot and ice cream is creamy and delicious. I thought that there would be no different in how I felt because I usually eat fruit at least once a day. By eating fruit salad as a dessert instead of ice cream, I felt less tired and full. Normally, at the end of each meal I feel stuffed. The fruit salad made me feel more awake and less hungry. I still felt full without eating a bigger portion. By participating in the challenge, I realized that when I ate sweetened and fattening desserts such as ice cream, I was putting more sugar, calories, and bad fats into my body which made me feel like I did. Foods such as ice cream and cookies are so full of fattening ingredients and preservatives to keep them longer. Will I never eat ice cream or cookies again? No, but I did learn that it's ok to eat ice cream or cookies just in small amounts and once or twice a week instead of everyday.
For the past five days I made an effort to include some type of fruit or vegetable in every meal I ate. I made a conscious effort to include a banana or some strawberries along with my cereal, or to add a helping or green beans to my dinner plate. I chose to add a serving of a fruit or vegetable to every meal I ate because I felt like it was a relatively easy way to include healthier foods into my diet. I usually get pretty hungry at meal times so I’m not too picky about what I’m eating so I figured adding a serving of fruits and/or vegetables would be a great way to be healthier. Normally, I don’t get anywhere near the proper amount of fruits and vegetables in too my daily diet so, so I figured this challenged would be a small step toward reaching a healthier diet. Also adding these servings of fruits and vegetables with meals eliminated the need for other, less healthy sides such as potato chips or french fries. Overall, I didn’t really feel too much difference while completing this challenge, however, I did notice a slight increase in the amount of energy I had after meals, especially lunch. Normally, I get really tired after lunch, but while doing this challenge I didn’t feel as tired and it didn’t last nearly as long. In the end I discovered a relatively easy way to incorporate healthy foods in to my diet and I plan to continue doing so for as long as possible.
I decided to change up my diet and make it healthier over the last few days. I changed up my breakfast every morning instead of just eating the same thing every day. I tried healthier breakfasts and I tried a more substantial meal. I ate some yogurt and fruit one morning and ate eggs another morning. I chose this option because I remembered that in one of the lectures, we were told that we should try and switch up our breakfasts every morning, so I decided to give it a try and make my breakfast healthy, since it really wasn't already. I was proud of myself for eating healthier and I definitely felt less guilty about what I was eating. It was nice to eat something a little different for a change, even though it did not hold me very long. I was actually hungry less than an hour later and I was starving by lunch. Now I know that I need to eat a little bit more with my breakfast. I think I will continue this after this assignment because it was nice to eat something besides poptarts every morning, not to mention it is much better for you. While it may not have been the most substantial breakfast, eating a healthier breakfast composed of fruit and yogurt made me feel much better in the long run.
At the beginning of 2011 i decided to give up artificial candy and soda for 1 year... I have always loved sour candy and have plenty of knowledge to discern how bad it is for my health, but i have not put forth a commitment to give it up until this year. This is not my first time to give up soda for a year, so it does not seem nearly as tough as it was the last time. I am hoping now that after a year of not having artificial candy i can pretty much completely eliminate it from my diet. I have also put a focus on eating more lean protein throughout the day (like chicken breast, turkey, and fish) instead of burgers and fries. i realize that i can get away with eating a lot of junk at this stage of my life because of my metabolism, but i am trying to create healthy habits for myself now to not make it harder on myself later. Because of these new habits i have instilled into my diet i have not only seen my body fat percentage drop but also found that my energy levels have began to increase during workouts! Giving up some of the little things has made a a tremendous difference, and it is not always easy to abstains.... but it is worth it.
I gave up drinking sodas and other carbonated drinks, as well as high fructose drinks for a week to see how it affected my everyday lifestyle. After about 2 or 3 days, i began to tell a difference in my energy level throughout the duration of the day, I no longer felt the need to take naps, or lay own, i wanted to go out and do something productive. After seeing how 1 week went without drinking sodas, high fructose drinks, and other carbonated beverages,i made the decision to greatly reduce the amount i drank in the future. Matt Wachter 2nd
For one week i decided to add more fruits to my breakfast lunch and dinner. I also wanted to switch the soda I drink with water. The point was I wanted to see how this change would affect my health and my sense of well-being. Overall i thought the challenge would be hard because I find it difficult to add fruits into my diet, but it turned out to be easier than I imagined. After a week I felt as if I had more energy and was able to focus more in class and retain more information. I was excited in this change because I know that the foods I eat impact my life. I will try to slowly change my eating habits to incorporate more healthy foods while limiting the bad ones. This decision I made, in my opinion, will greatly impact my future.
During my senior year, I have gotten extremely lazy in almost every aspect of life, slept more than ever before, and basically removed breakfast as a meal. So, for the Healthy Me challenge I decided to put an emphasis back on breakfast and not only that but make it a healthy one. I did this by first waking up earlier every morning to give myself adequate time to make and eat breakfast. My breakfast would usually consist of Honey Nut Cheerios with either a banana or blueberries and a big glass of Simply Orange Juice. This doesn't seem like much but for somebody who has not eaten breakfast in awhile it filled me up. After the five days, I can now see why so many people say "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." It not only helps wake me up but it also keeps me awake and focused during my classes. And if you ask my mom, it puts me in a better mood throughout the day. Thanks to these five days of breakfast, I will now be a lifetime supporter of the first and most important meal of the day.
For the healthy me challenge, I decided to take artificial sugar out of my diet as much as humanly possible for five days. First of all, though this, I realized just how many products artificial sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup, is in. I decided to take this challenge on after learning that recent studies have shown these sweeteners can cause everything from hallucinations, seizures, and brain tumors to kidney and liver enlargement and cancer as well as the more known side effects of obesity and diabetes. Like anything processed and manmade, these "sugars" aren't good for your body. I gave it up for five days and, honestly, I didn't feel much different. The only difference may have been staying at a steady energy rather than going from hyper to a crash. Although I didn't feel much different, I know consuming natural sugars is much better for my overall health and, there fore, I plan to continue to avoid artificial sweeteners in my diet as much as possible.
As a RomanCatholic, I have given up all soft drinks for Lent. Lent, for those who are unfamiliar with this tradition, is a 40 day-long celebration in which all Catholics are (supposed) to give up anything of their choosing for the entirety. So, I decided to give up soft drinks. As a frequent soda drinker, I found it very difficult the first few days of avoiding soda, and every Doctor Pepper can I saw was oh so tempting. But, I remembered my commitment to the challenge and stayed strong. As of tomorrow, it will be 4 weeks since I last had soda, and I can honestly say I dont feel any difference at all. I think for something like soda it will take a very long time to feel any difference, but hopefully I can keep up the challenge for even longer than lent and keep the unhealthy drinks out of my diet.
For the healthy me challenge, I gave up soda for 5 days. I usually have soda at least once, or even twice a day. The past week, I have substituted soda with water and unsweetened tea. These choices are far more healthier than soda that contains 36 grams of sugar in a single can of coke. It is said that you should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, and by eliminating soda, I was able to get closer to that goal. For the tea, I would drink it unsweetened and both hot and cold. Drinking warm tea is said to help your digestive system run more smoothly, so it has just as good positive affects, as water. Getting rid of soda has definitely felt more energized as well, and I plan to continue not drinking sodas forever. Katie Carlson Sixth Period
For the Healthy Me challenge, I decided to add healthier drinks to my diet. My normal drink selections are a plethora of sodas, fruit juices, and carbonized drinks. I learned from this most recent chapter that my diet isn't anywhere near as healthy as it could, and should, be. So, I decided to act upon this and add more drinks to my normal diet that are better for me. Milk and water were consumed n a more normal basis than usual as apart of this ritual. The milk in my diet tasted really good, and I forgot how much I had actually liked the taste of milk. It also helped me to be less tired and have more of an appetite because I was taking in far less caffeine than usual from the sodas. I also added more water to my diet. I hardly ever drink water outside of working out, so it was the most water that I had probably ever drink over a week long period. That also made me feel better and more energized. I enjoyed the effects that the changing of my diet produced, so I plan to continue to replace the unhealthy drinks in my diet with healthier ones.
I decided to give up sodas for 5 days. It wasn't too difficult because I can usually take or leave sodas. However there are some times when a soda sounds like a nice refreshing drink and I had to remind myself to make a healthier choice such as water. I think I would have to give it up for a little longer to really feel many affects. Just in the 5 days I kind of felt healthier. When I drink sodas, I am a little disgusted by all the sugar I am taking in, so drinking water was refreshing and it doesn't contain caffeine or make me more thirsty. I don't think I would ever give up sodas all together because there are some times when its a nice treat, but I will try to limit how many times I drink sodas. -Shannon Spaans
For the week leading up to Prom I ate only salads for lunch. Though at first feeling withdrawal from having protein in my meal as usual like a ham sandwich or taco with meat, I quickly found myself refreshingly full after each meal. For me, 5th period is always a rough one to get through since its after lunch and I usually don"t have THE perfect meal as we all probably dont. However, I noticed that when I had a salad, I stayed awake and alert much better. In the salad (my parents made me each morning) I would have romaine lettuce, tomatoes, baby pickles chopped up, croutons sometimes, and cucumber (and bacon bits a few times). I never had a dressing on top which practically repulsed my table-mates, but I suffered through what turned into a tasty and fulfilling substitute for a greasy burger, pizza, or fried food our lunch room has to offer...Also having a salad for that long and consistently allowed me to realize that I could learn to like salads and feel satisfied. I could not just have a salad for lunch but now the thought of making it a regular (for the most part) meal for just my lunch can have a great impact on my health, not to mention my weight. My mother and I actually went on this "diet" and she was the first to notice that she actually lost weight which of course made me jump up and run to the scale myself lol. Eating healthier and incorporating such vegetables and fruits can also help one's skin and attention ability. Lastly I would have grapes or strawberries for dessert or a snack throughout the day. Doing that (eating smaller portions throughout the day) can also help you maintain a healthy weight since one is not suppose to eat 3 heavy meals a day- especially not if thats all they eat each day. I will continue to incorporate salads into my daily appetite and I never thought I would be up to claim that : )
I consider myself a good fruit eater, but I am not good at eating my veggies. So for five days I decided to eat just a bowl of plain spinach leaves with my dinner. Reason I ate it plain instead of like a salad is the extra calories put in it by even adding just dressing. Also I don't think I'd be able to eat all my food plus an entire salad. Fresh spinach leaves are rich in vitamin A, iron, calcium, Omega 3 acids and more. So that is another reason why I chose to eat spinach over any other vegtable. But also, its not too expensive when you get it in a giant contianer. Also manager specials are awesome; You can get a bag for 89 cents. But not going to lie, it felt like I was just eating leaves which I thought was not bad, but I would like a variety. I'd really get bored of eating it everyday eventually. Also eating too much spinach increases your risk of getting kidney stones which is not fun! Also over the decade there has been many epidemics of e. coli on spinach but that is also why you should ALWAYS rinse before eating. But I will continue to eat it in moderation as well as other vegatables especially greens.
For Lint I gave up soda. At first it was really difficult, especially since I am a Dr.Pepper lover, but it quickly became easier. I replaced my morning caffeine cravings with Green Tea and during the day I tried to limit myself to water. I found that after a week I was used to the lack of soda and was well hydrated most of the time. My workouts became easier and I had more energy during the day. I have not missed my Dr.Pepper as much as I thought I would and am going to try to continue to go with out any soda for as long as possible.
Over the past couple of months, I've been avoiding breakfast. I just don't make time for it anymore as I used to. Growing up, I've always been told to never skip breakfast cause it's the most important meal of the day. So, for the past week I've decided to make a change to my routine by eating breakfast again. Eating a healthy breakfast actually makes a difference throughout the day. I noticed that I don't get very hungry at lunch, therefore I consume a lot less. Another thing I noticed is that my stomach doesn't growl and I'm not eager for when the lunch bell is going to ring. Another change I made to my diet is to moderate the amount of chocolate I eat. I can simply say that I am a chocolate addict, which isn't very good. So, I stopped eating chocolate as often. It's hard initially, but once you get used to it, it's not so bad.
For 5 days, I decided to give up fast food because in my classes we were watching Food Incorporated and Fast Food Nation. After seeing how the chickens are treated before they go into processing, grossed me out completely and inspired me not to eat it. I found myself thinking going to grab something to eat, which made me realize how much i actually do eat fast food. After not eating fast food for 5 days, my appetite was a lot bigger. I seemed to always be hungry, and I didn't leave any food on my plate at home. I also found myself having more energy to do things, and more of a desire to get my school work done. Also, without eating fast food, soda's were cut out of my diet, and that also had a big impact on me. I found myself being able to breathe a lot better, and I felt like I was more in shape. This activity made me realize that cutting certain things out of my diet can make a huge impact on my sports life and on my school life.
I am not really a horrible eater. I don't drink many sodas or anything, but my real problem is eating fast foods, especially things that are fried. When I stopped to think about it, sometimes my entire meals are completely fried. For example: A chicken strip meal from Chicken Express would contain fried chicken strips, fried okra, and fried corn nuggets. Lately I've been trying to cut the fried foods from my diet, especially since i am running a lot for lacrosse season. Since i don't really have much time to eat or cook at home, I have turned to sandwich places such as Subway, Quiznos, Which Wich, and Potbelly. After sticking to this for a pretty good while i have been able to observe a couple key differences. When eating fried foods i would feel very full and i always felt like I needed a nap or something afterward. When eliminating this from my diet I felt slightly less lethargic after meals. I dont know if it was just all in my head or what, but there was definitely a noticeable difference. I definitely feel like my body was able to function better when I cut the excess grease and fat from my diet, so I feel like I will probably try to continue to keep from eating the bad fast food. The only problem I had during this testing was that the sandwich shops are usually more expensive than a place like Wendys, but I think it was worth it.
Like many people, I decided to give up fast food for this Healthy Me Challenge. I didn’t consider myself an unhealthy person, but as I got conscience about not eating fast food, I realized that I eat fast food often. Not only is fast food tasty but it is also cheap and very convenient. Pretty much in every corner you can find a fast food restaurant. Giving up fast food for 5 days was harder than I imagined it would be. I also decided to give up cafeteria food since it is similar to fast food. Instead of buying lunch like I usually do, I made my own lunch in the morning. The hardest part of keeping up to this challenge was when I went out with my friends. When they decided to go into a fast food restaurant for a quick snack I just watched them eat. After the 5 days I consumed healthier food than I usually do and it felt nice that I was capable of giving up fast food. I didn’t fell so lazy all of the time and I feel like I became more productive. And I’m not sure if the challenge had to do with anything but I slept a lot better at night than I did in the past. Giving up fast food was more difficult than I thought, but it is doable. I should be more conscience about how much fast food I eat on a daily basis so I can cut down the amount of junk food I eat. Ami Lee 2nd
For five days I decided to increase my daily consumption of berries, specifically blueberries, in order to discover viable health benefits that this regular utilization may have on my overall well-being. Potential health benefits included things like: increased antioxidant levels, increased dietary fiber, phytonutrients, and an alternative source for water (since berries are mainly water, a large consumption can help with overall daily expenditure of water). Although I had really no way of confirming that these health benefits were taking place within my body, I could assume such by analyzing the reactions of my body and how those reactions may have been different from days when I was not consuming this many berries. The main amount of my berry consumption took place an hour or so before I went off to bed; I did so because I was informed that increased levels dietary fiber would help with bedtime hunger. After 5 days on this regimen, I felt no need for a midnight snack and when I woke up in the morning I was not unusually starved, both of which were characteristics I had while off this berry regimen. It is likely that I will continue with a similar regimen of perhaps smaller proportions to help with cost and what not.
ReplyDeleteThis spring break I ate fruit everyday for breakfast, lunch, dinner. The fruits that I ate mostly were tangerines, apples, bananas, oranges, and mangoes. To be honest, I did not feel any different than I had before. Before I would barely eat fruit. The most fruit I would ever eat would be maybe two apples a week. I chose to eat more fruit because I absolutely cannot stand vegetables and thus I picked a healthy food that would be tolerable: fruit. Fruits are healthy because they are anti-oxidant, which reveals that they provide substantial amounts of nutrients for the body. They also contain a lot of fiber that helps the digestive system (particularly bowel movement). It also aids in vision because it contains lutein. Moreover, whenever I talked about eating healthier with my friends, they tell me that people feel so much better and are able to accomplish tasks more efficiently. Thus I expected to feel healthier and to be able to achieve activities better than I would have before. Unfortunately, I felt no different. After three days I tried eating more fruit at each meal to see if that would make a difference but I still felt the same. Not to be misleading, I was not sluggish before, I was efficient and exercised a lot; however I never ate healthy foods. After five days I was running the same amount, sleeping the same amount, accomplishing chores at the same level of energy as before, and still craving the same junk foods.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I did not notice a change in me, I know that my body physically underwent a change. I lost two pounds after five days! Thus I think I will continue eating fruit, however not to the same extent as I did these past five days. Maybe instead of eating chips I’ll eat tangerines. I’m not sure if it was the mainly the fruit that helped me lose weight but I think I’ll try for a little longer to figure it out!
Hana Lee
Over the last 5 days I have given up soft drinks. I typically have a Dr.Pepper everyday or every other day which is very unhealthy. Carbonated beverages can increase your risk for obesity and diabetes in addition to losing calcium in ones bones. I gave up soft drinks because they are high in sugar and I wanted to prove to myself that I could give them up again after I went a whole year without them in 2009. After day 1 I honestly did not feel very different. However, the morning of day 3 I realized that I was more awake and had more energy. Typically, I would have a Dr.Pepper in order to give me a "pick me up" in the middle of the day. However, after giving it up, I no longer needed the beverage to regain energy. At the end of day 5 I realized why I gave it up in 2009. Not drinking soda made me feel so much healthier and happier! I do not know if I can completely give them up for the rest of 2011, but I definitely will decrease my intake in order to live a healthier life.
ReplyDeleteFor the Healthy me challenge I chose to give up the school’s lunch food for five days, so instead of getting the meals offered in the cafeteria I brought my own lunch. The lunches I packed included a turkey sandwich on pita bread, a serving of strawberries or an apple, pretzel sticks or cheetos, a Capri sun and cookies. By replacing my lunch with what I had at home I felt much more nourished and energized. Instead of crashing around sixth period I could make it through the rest of my afternoon feeling more full and alert. Also the food I collected myself tasted better and satisfied me more than the CiCi’s pizza that CHS provides. Also I saved a lot more money and time since the lunches in the cafeteria are expensive and the lines to get them are long. I am happy with the changes I made and I plan on continuing my new lunch diet for the rest of the year.
ReplyDeleteDuring Spring Break, I gave up soda for 5 days. I normally drink soda during work or at dual credit because there is nothing else to drink. I know soda isn't all that great for me, but I drink it anyways because it taste good and helps me to stay awake. By giving up soda, i realized that soda is mostly caffeine and sugar and it doesn't really help my body. Usually, soda doesn't make a different to me or my body. Without drinking soda for the week during Spring Break, I didn't feel as weak and tired as I normally am. When I do drink soda, I tend to break out and I didn't think it was from the soda, but it is. All that sugar and sugar isn't healthy because it can lead to health problems such as diabetes and obesity. Soda doesn't help my health especially due to the coloring and flavoring that is added. I think after giving up soda for 5 days, I can limit the amount of soda I drink, but not give it up forever. I can have a soda once a week, but not one every day.
ReplyDelete1st Period
Starting Saturday, the 19th, I completely gave up candy. Before that I somewhat regulated how much I ate but I decided to fully eliminate it for five days. On a regular basis, I would have some sort of candy at lunch in the school store or whenever I got home from school. SO, during that time of day, it was especially hard to resist eating it. I honestly could not notice any extremely evident changes with my body after getting rid of candy from my diet (probably because it was only five days and not two weeks). It is good to know though that I haven't bee taking in a load amount of sugar. Even though I didn't have evident changes after five days, it felt really good to know that I was being healthier. I might just try for another week or so going without candy to see changes in my energy level and health. Yet, I have given up soda since New Years and I I have definitely noticed changes in my lifestyle! Over the three month period of no soda, I have just felt overall better and less exhausted after coming home from school. So maybe if I go longer without candy I should surely see some sort of change!
ReplyDeleteThis assignment seemed perfect to blog about because Lent recently began. I gave up all drinks except for water. This includes: sodas, milk, iced tea, etc. In the past I have given up desserts or pasta and whatnot but this year I decided to give up drinks because I am guilty of making quick stops just to pick up an Arizona sweet tea or a large Dr Pepper from Sonic regularly. I figure this will help me stay healthy and it should save me some money! It will help me stay healthy because I will be substituting my usual drinks with water which I know I do not get enough of on a daily basis, some days I would say I go without drinking any water at all. Through drinking purely water and no other drinks I will rehydrate my body. I can already tell that I am less tired and focusing in class seems to come easier, although it could just be psychosomatic now that I am thinking about it. Nonetheless all of the extra water in my system is healthy and is making me feel like a better person for making healthy choices in my everyday diet. Obviously, I will be continuing to give up sodas, milk, iced tea and other drinks for more than five days because Lent is 40 days long. I hope that through Lent and giving up all of these drinks I will be able to stick with it for longer than 40 days though!
ReplyDeleteFor five days over Spring Break I chose to eliminate all drinks including coffee, tea, milk, and sodas from my diet and only consume water. I did this because I find myself constantly depending on caffeinated drinks to give me a boost of energy throughout the day. I usually drink the recommended 8-10 cups of water a day, but I find myself always needing a coffee or tea by the afternoon due to lack of energy. By solely drinking water I stayed hydrated throughout the day. In addition because I wasn't consuming any caffeine or sugar I found that I didn't crash an hour or two later because of the energy rush. I felt as though I was able to concentrate on work for longer periods of time and that I had much more energy to do everyday things. I also found that I did not have a single headache, which for me is usually a common occurrence during a school week or while I'm working. All in all, I felt much better when I was hydrated and only drank water. Only drinking water is somewhat difficult, but I will try harder to drink more water throughout the day and only have one (or even none) tea or coffee a day. But I after seeing how much better I felt with only drinking water, I will definitely keep it in consideration before getting a sugary/caffeinated from somewhere.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Roach
ReplyDeleteFor my healthy me challenge, I gave up soda and juice for 5 days. I decided to do this because I usually drink 2 sodas a day and a couple glasses of juice. The health benefits that it offered was that because I wasn’t drinking carbonated and sugar filled drinks, I wasn’t consuming unhealthy amounts a day. By drinking only water, I was able to get my water amount that I need a day and cut down on the amounts of sugar that my body consumes. Over the course of the challenge, I felt much better every day when I did not consume all of the sugar. I didn’t need to take a nap after school and I was able to do all my homework and all my other activities with ease. Normally, I would have to sleep before I would continue with my day or even drink another soda. I would say that after the healthy me challenge I will still drink a glass of juice a day and maybe one soda a week, but I am for sure going to cut down on the amount that I take in. I did not realize the effect that it had on my daily life.
I gave up chocolate for 5 days. I was very surprised that I was able to do this because I normally have some type of chocolate everyday. I did this because I know chocolate is not healthy for you and I wanted to see if I could do it. I also did this because I want to start eating healthier all together, and one major reason is because I have dance tryouts soon and I want to look my best. The health benefits offered from not eating chocolate everyday are in taking a lower amount of calories, sugar, and other bad ingredients for my body. Not eating chocolate everyday made me feel much better everyday! I had way more energy from day to day, wasn’t as tired during the day, and I was more happy around my friends and family. I will try to continue to not eat chocolate everyday and so far I’m doing very well. I have also added more vegetables and fruits to my daily diet and lowered my daily calorie intake. (:
ReplyDeleteFor 5 days, I gave up soda because like most teenagers, I grap a dr. pepper whenever I'm feeling tired and need an extra little boost to get through the rest of the day. For these days, I mainly drank water, and lots of it. I found that when I didn't consume as mush sugar and caffine from soads and drank more water to keep hydrated, I didn't have the usual crash a few hours later and I didn't feel the need that I needed to nap. A couple days into my time without soda, I felt that I could focus better on schoolwork and that I had more energy. Since I've been able to see the difference between how I feel when I drink soda and when I don't, I am definitely going to cut down on the amount of soda I drink because it not only makes me feel better, but less soda is better for my health too.
ReplyDeleteFor my healthy me challenge, I decided to sit down and eat a real breakfast for 5 mornings in a row. Most mornings, I do not leave myself enough time to eat breakfast before I go to school, so I grab a granola bar to eat when I start to feel hungry before lunch. I always become hungry during second period, and even after eating my granola bar I am very hungry until I eat lunch. My hunger distracts me, which is why I thought it would be a good idea to add breakfast to my day for my healthy me challenge. According to WebMD, the health benefits of eating a healthy breakfast include improved concentration, lower cholesterol, a more nutritionally complete diet, and more strength and endurance to engage in physical activity throughout the day. From Sunday, March 19th to Thursday, March 24th I sat down and ate a bowl of frosted mini wheats and a banana for breakfast. I chose to eat frosted mini wheats because I have seen many commercials on TV where they claim to keep kids full; Kelloggs claims that "one bowl of any Kelloggs Frosted Mini Wheats gives you about 20% of your daily fiber to keep you full so you can concentrate throughout the day". When researching the cereal, I saw that the second ingredient listed was sugar; since I do not eat fruit very often, I paired the cereal with a banana to make the meal healthier. After five days, I noticed that I was, in fact, more full throughout the day because I ate a full breakfast instead of mindlessly eating a small granola bar. I don't think that it was the cereal that caused me to concentrate better, but instead the fact that I was not distracted by my hunger. Eating breakfast for five days in a row made me want to make time for breakfast every day because it was nice to feel full in the morning; I felt more prepared for the day, more awake, and more motivated to do my work in class.
ReplyDeleteShannon Miller, 2nd period
Katherine M.
ReplyDeleteFor the Healthy me challenge I also gave up soft drinks for 5 days. I normally have around one soda per day, which is bad for your health. I wanted to give up soda because every time I go out to a restaurant, I get a soda to drink. A healthier and cheaper alternative would be water. Soda contributes to weak bones, tooth loss, periodontal disease, and gingivitis. Drinking a soda also increases your risk for obesity by 1.6 times. Not drinking soda for 5 days didn’t make me feel any different; however I think it would have if I had done it for more than 5 days. I didn’t continue with not drinking soft drinks after the five days, but I decided to not drink them as much.
Period 3
ReplyDeleteI added more milk into my diet for five days and cut back on sugary drinks. I usually drink a lot of juices, vitamin water, and tea so i thought i would be beneficial to drink less sugar loaded drinks. I did this because my mom is always saying that i need to drink more milk but I never do. I thought I would change my diet to make her happy and to see if it really made a difference. Although it was hard for me to give up juices for breakfast i replaced them with milk and i was surprised how different i felt throughout the day. While it wasn't a big difference I did notice that i felt more energized and less drowsy in class. Milk has a lot of calcium which strengthens bones and helps control blood pressure. It has protein, vitamins A and D, and potassium which help with the balance of fluids in the body. Milk is 87% water so it helps keep the body hydrated also. Surprisingly drinking more milk made my body feel a lot more energized. Instead of taking a nap after school i worked out two days after school. I think that reducing the amount of sugary drinks in my diet also helped me feel better throughout the day. Whenever I am thirsty I usually just grab whatever is in my fridge which consists of juices, propel, and vitamin water, which contrary to popular believe is not good for you. But in the past five days i found myself fixing a glass of milk instead. This was a positive change for me and i think i will definitely incorporated more milk in my diet. It is also insuring knowing that milk will strengthen my bones, so when i get older my bones won't be as fragile. Milk has both short and long term positive effects. So overall i have learned that milk does make a difference when you add it to your diet and that my mom was right:)
Ellie Rose- 2
ReplyDeleteFor my healthy me challenge, I decided to give up diet coke. I chose to give up diet coke because it is a drink that I have become dependent on daily and I wanted to see how I would do without being able to have it. So I went from drinking 3-4 cans per day to not being able to drink it at all. The first few days were extremely hard. I got horrible headaches and I was in a very grumpy mood all the time. It wasn't until the 5th day when I really noticed a good result from this experiment. Because I couldn't drink diet coke, I replaced having a soda with water or some type of juice. I noticed towards the end how much my body appreciated these mostly natural drinks with more energy and an overall healthy feel. This part of the experimented actually surprised me because I had felt so bad prior, I just thought each day would get harder and harder. I am thankful I did this experiment because it really taught me how addicted I was to the soda and how I probably needed to change this bad habit. At this point, I am not sure if I'll be able to give up diet coke completely, but I am going to try to decrease the amount I drink everyday.
In the season of Lent, I decided to give up forms of sweets - candy, desserts, chocolate, the whole nine yards - because I have a large sweet tooth that I need to tame. The first two days were VERY difficult for me, especially when my mom would bake cookies or offer ice cream after dinner; it became a test of my will to not stuff them down my throat. I also began to notice just how big a part sweets and desserts were a part of my diet; granola bars I usually have for snacks were covered in chocolate, and I have gotten in to the habit of eating sweets after almost every meal.
ReplyDeleteHowever, around the third day, it became easier for me to say "no". It gave me confidence in myself, and a genuinely felt healthier - lighter, less sluggish, and happier. I also found myself gravitating toward natural sugars in fruits, such as in apples and bananas. Even though I was still tempted to give in to my cravings, I felt proud of myself for being able to control my indulgences.
Will I continue this diet after the 40 days? I'm considering it, simply because of how good it has made me feel so far. In the very least, this test-run has given me the power to say "no", and I will definitely make significant cuts in the amount of sweets I consume daily.
For five days, I gave up energy drinks and soda from my diet. To be completely honest, I struggled with this challenge since energy drinks and soda are practically part of my daily diet. Usually I consume sodas and energy drinks late at night to try to keep me up so I can do homework. Although I did not feel as energized at night, I noticed a tremendous difference when waking up the next morning. I felt more energized and less sleepy than I did when I consumed energy/soft drinks the night before. After researching why I felt so much energized, I discovered that the caffeine disrupts one from having quality sleep. This explains why I feel so tired in the morning when heading to school and is a minor reason why I am late to 1st period the majority of the time. Moreover, soda and energy drinks can cause bones to weaken, teeth to decay, as well as lead to obesity. From the information I researched it is quite obvious that soda and energy drinks are not good for me. After giving up sodas/energy drinks for five days, I realize that my addiction is not a healthy life choice. Although I do not believe that I will be able to give up sodas/energy drinks completely, I will definitely try to reduce my soda/energy drink intake.
ReplyDeleteJeff Kennedy 1st period
I typically eat very healthy foods high in protein and very low in fat with lots of fruits and vegetables replacing carbs. So it was hard for me to think of anything to give up because I eat such a restricted diet but lately I have been drinking a lot of lemonade as the weather has gotten warmer. I do not drink sodas or other sugary drinks so for three days I decided to give up my lemonade fix and drink only water, milk, and orange juice. It was hard to do because I used to drink sodas frequently until I quit 2 years ago and therefore turned to lemonade. The first day I almost slipped and stopped by Sonic for my favorite Strawberry Lemonade during happy hour, but by the third day I was unconsciously reaching for water. I can not say if I will continue to only drink water, milk and orange juice. On the fourth day I did not have one but because I do not drink any other sugary drinks such as fruit juices and sodas, I believe that it would be fine in my diet to splurge every once in awhile with a lemonade.
ReplyDeleteI gave up cereal and milk as a pre-run meal for five days. I gave up this meal because I had to for my Google project (I went on a minimally processed, all-natural food diet). After the first track practice in which I didn’t eat cereal as a pre-run meal, I felt like I got a better workout on the track. Specifically, I felt like I had more energy to run fast throughout the entire track workout. This probably occurred because I didn’t have as much sugar in my system from the cereal and milk, and instead had more “ready to use” protein and carbohydrates from the peanut butter sandwich I ate as a substitute pre-run meal. And while I like cereal and milk, the results of this semi-fast are just too encouraging to ignore... I’ll eat a peanut butter sandwich from now on in order to get more out of my workouts.
ReplyDeleteFor the healthy me challenge, I decided to take multi vitamins for 5 days. As it is, I have not had a soda or soft drink in over a year, and I rarely have fast foods, so I figured instead of taking something out of my diet, I would add something. I noticed almost immediately that I had more energy and did not get as tired throughout the day as I had before I started the vitamins. I was able to cut out the afternoon naps after school, as well as feel like I had gotten more sleep than before I started taking the vitamins, even though I was actually sleeping for the same amount of time. I plan on continuing taking the vitamins for as long as I can, and would recommend others to try them as well.
ReplyDeleteRight after spring break, I decided to add in more water to my daily intake. I am drinking close to 100 oz of water each day, which is A LOT. Besides running to the bathroom after every class period, I have noticed that my eyes are not as dry and my acne seems to be clearing up. I feel more awake and alert in class, and I feel more responsible for my body, especially since a huge part of a human is water. I didn't just stop with the water though. I added in more fruits to my diet as well. Unlike most teenagers, I don't get enough fruits. Veggies are no problem, but eating fruit is just not my thing. I haven't seen a huge difference, but I do feel better in knowing that I am giving my body the nutrients that it needs! GO HEALTHY FOODS!!
ReplyDelete-Emily Hyslop
For the healthy me challange I decided to give up soft drinks and also limit my consumption of sports drinks (especially when I wasn't working out). Generally I did not have soda every day because my parents never buy them so we cannot drink them. However, whenever I would eat out at a restaurant I would purchase a soda without fail. 2 weeks ago I started ordering only water. First and foremost it made me realize how expensive it is to buy drinks when you go out to eat. The majority of the places make you pay anywhere from $1 to $3 for any type of soft drink. I used to pay that without thinking about it but now I only buy water and it has saved me a ton of money. More importantly, I used to drink soda after soccer games and I would get headaches (probably from dehydration). Lately I have been getting those much more rarely and with less intesity. Also, my body doesn't crave soda the way it used to so I have almost lost my taste for it. All in all, the money I save along with the way my body has felt these past couple of weeks has made me keep up the challange and I bet it will make me cut back on soda consumption in the future.
ReplyDeleteI’m not a terribly unhealthy eater, but I do not drink as much water as I should, especially being an athlete. Doctors recommend that you consume 64 ounces (roughly 8 glasses) of water a day, and I do not usually consume that much water. For five days I decided to replace all liquids I consume (soda, juice, tea, ect) with water. I drank water with every meal and I carried around a 32 ounce Nalgene water bottle during school, trying to finish it by the end of the day. After a couple days, my body could feel the difference. Being hydraded,I felt like I had more energy, even though I was not drinking caffeinated beverages. I also felt much better during soccer practice. I did not get tired as easily and I also was not as sore the next day after a hard work out. After this trial, I do not think that I am going to continue to only drink water as my only beverage, but I will make a more conscious effort to drink water and consume the recommended 64 ounces a day because it made me feel healthier and more energized.
ReplyDeleteSarah Barlow-5
For this challenge, I chose to give up caffeinated drinks such as soda, tea, etc. I chose caffeinated drinks because I drink sodas on a daily basis, and I know by giving them up, I would be able to somehow improve my health. Without these caffeinated drinks, I actually noticed an increase in headaches. Because I was so consistent in drinking sodas, when I suddenly stopped, my body reacted with headaches because it wasn't receiving its daily dose of caffeine. Caffeine causes vasoconstriction which is the narrowing of blood vessels by muscles in their walls. That can precede headaches which is why headaches was a symptom of no caffeine. Not having caffeine everyday also helped me sleep better at night. I was able to sleep longer, therefore, I had more energy during the day. Giving up caffeinated drinks helped me feel more energized during the day, but it surprisingly had a negative effect as well. However, as the days went on without caffeine, I noticed the headaches slowly getting better and better. I could tell my body was getting used to having no caffeine. Because I liked the results of having no caffeine, I decided to continue my challenge a little longer.
ReplyDeleteSarah Spence, 1st
For the Healthy Me challenge, I chose to give up eating candy at lunch for five days. I decided to give up candy because it was an item I sometimes added to my lunch that I felt was not healthy and that I could get by without. I got a late start on the task and didn't begin until Wednesday. The days that I ate lunch in school were a lot harder than those where I had lunch on the weekend. The school has the store that is stocked with every type of sweet/candy imaginable and when all of my friends go on their "school-store run", it was hard to resist going with them. After the first couple of days, however; excluding candy from lunch became easier and easier. Instead of eating something unhealthy and high in sugar like candy, I chose to just add another item to my packed lunch like pretzels or peanut butter crackers to replace the candy. I found that I was still satisfied with my lunch after the substitution and that even without the sugar from candy, I wasn't any more tired than usual. I didn't truly need candy as part of my lunch to have a full meal. I think I will continue to abstain from eating candy with my lunches just because it seems like candy is pointless sugar intake that I can easily do without.
ReplyDeleteFor five days I gave up caffeine. I usually have some sort of caffeine a couple times a day, like Starbucks or a coke. I know that caffeine isn't very good for you so I wanted to see what I would feel like without it. For the first two days I had a small headache during the day, but I was't craving anything. After the second day i didn't get headaches anymore, but I did crave a soda. I didn't give into my craving and I did notice that I wouldn't get as tired in the afternoon as I did before. I felt more energized throughout the whole day instead of having lots of energy and then being really tired right after. After the five days I decide to keep it up and it has been easy to do, I like not being really tired in the afternoon and I figured out that it has to be from the caffeine I was having, because now it's gone!
ReplyDeleteI'm lucky enough to have a family that is very health-conscious when it comes to food and meals. We eat at home frequently, and when we do, my mom makes sure to provide healthy entrees and a bunch of vegetables and/or fruits. However, when we don’t eat at home--especially if I’m on my own--all that nutritional caution flies out the window. I’ve recently made a pact with myself to improve my personal consumption and make healthier choices since I’m about to go off to school on my own.The first thing I could think of (and hoped to see the fastest results with) was cutting out all soda from my diet. As a singer, I’ve always heard that drinking soda hinders the voice from working efficiently. Hindered vocal cords make singing much harder and can increase the chance of using them incorrectly and creating damage. By cutting out soda, I hoped my body would improve due to the lower sugar, sodium, and calorie intake, and my voice would no longer be subject to the drying effects of caffeine and carbonation.
ReplyDeleteEven after a day, it was incredible to see how much easier it was to sing, especially on notes that were previously more difficult to sing. After a few days, my voice continued to improve, and I even felt more naturally energetic, a feeling much different than the buzz I get from caffeine. I do confess that the first few days were hard; I’d get a small headache about halfway through the day due to the sudden lack of caffeine each day, but even that went away after the first few days. I certainly do plan to stop drinking soda, if not completely, then at least limiting my intake significantly. The beneficial effects were really surprising, and it definitely wasn’t as unbearable as I thought it would be!
For five consecutive days I gave up my daily breakfast of a bagel and cream cheese and replaced it with a hearty bowl of cereal, a hard boiled egg, and a banana. I decided to do this because eating a bagel with cream cheese is not the best thing to eat to start off everyday with. By switching my meal plan, I have been able to include protein into my diet, from the egg. I've been able to include calcium from the cereal. Lastly, I have been able to incorporate a serving of fruit into my diet. The change in my diet has made me feel more awake in class and less sluggish. I will continue this diet for more than five days because it is more healthy and better for my body in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAs part of the Healthy Me Experiment, I gave up eating processed foods for 6 days. Although I felt tired at times, more due to lack of sleep, and craved some foods such as soda and desserts, the diet gives great results and I would recommend it to others. Since I drink soda a bunch and eat high carb food items instead of veggies, this diet forced me to go beyond my normal limits of food, forcing me to avoid unhealthy choices and eating greens. Most of the days I consumed foods such as bananas, apples, pears, strawberries, clementines, as well as a plethora of more. Along with fruits I ate veggies, and items that had less than less than 5 ingredients. I initially started this diet for someone's Anatomy Project, but after seeing how it actually worked and showed me positive results, I plan to continue this diet after a minor break. The diet was beneficial as most of the foods were anti-oxidants and contained a plethora of needed vitamins and minerals. I really enjoyed the experience and can not wait to start back again!
ReplyDeleteAshish Aerry
1st Period
The last 3 weeks, I've given up all drinks but water for Lent. I usually drink lots of juice, Gatorade and tea and a few soft drinks a week, so just drinking water has made me feel so much healthier! By cutting out everything but water, I am decreasing my daily sugar and carbohydrate intake. Not only is water the healthiest thing you can drink, water is the most natural thing to drink. The only negative thing about just drinking water is how sick I am of just drinking water, I want soda and Gatorade! I will continue to drink only water until Lent is over, but after that, I will continue drinking a lot of water, I'll just throw in a few other drinks here and there so I can still be healthy by what I drink.
ReplyDeleteLauren Wilson-pd.1
For the Healthy Me Experiment, I decided to stop drinking a soda in the morning. Drinking a soda usually gives me a sugar boost, and helps me concentrate in the morning. I started on Sunday, March 20, and for the first five days, I had headaches in the morning, I could not concentrate, and I was very tired. I also drank more water in the morning, and I ate an occasional piece of fruit in the morning, like an apple, in order to get more fiber and eat breakfast, instead of going without. The water helped keep me hydrated, and the fruit gave me a sugar boost, albeit a natural one, in the morning. I think I'll keep up with this diet, at least in the short term, as I feel more alert in the morning, and not dependent on something to keep me alert.
ReplyDeleteFor the past week, I decided to try giving up caffeine. Before lacrosse practice every day, I usually drink Spark which contains almost 100 milligrams for caffeine per serving. Without the caffeine, I was noticeably more tired and less alert during practice. However, I did notice that it was easier to sleep at night without the caffeine in my system. Overall, I will probably continue drinking caffeine before practice.
ReplyDeleteFor the Healthy Me challenge, I gave up caffeine for a week the week before Spring Break. The first few days of no caffeine, I was extremely tired and had almost no energy. I didn't think I drank that much caffeine before, but this experiment showed me I drink a lot more than I had previously thought. After the first few days were over, though, I began to have a lot more energy than previously and I was able to accomplish a lot more in less time than before because of the new energy I had. I have continued to have no caffeine since the experiment, and I plan to not drink caffeine unless I absolutely need it.
ReplyDeleteFor 5 days I gave up sodas. I typically have 1 soda a day, or every other day at around lunch time for an extra energy boost. Day one I didn't feel much different because I sometimes skip a day of drinking soda if we have run out of them at home or I don't have time to drink a full soda. Day 2 was about the same as day one, but I noticed I had a small head ache that would come and go all day. By day 3 I noticed that I wasn't as tired as I normally am come mid afternoon. It was nice to actually not be tired during the after noon, like i normally am. By day 5 I noticed I had more energy through out the day, I didn't get tired during the afternoon, and I didn't really have any head aches or craving for caffeine. I'm going to continue to not drink soda for as long as i can because it gives me more energy in the long run.
ReplyDeleteFor five days I decided to increase my water intake. I do not usually drink that much water throughout the day. I know that drinking 8 cups of water a day is the recommended minimum and I am lucky if I drink that much. I decided to increase my water intake all the way up to 10 glasses of water every day. By drinking 10 glasses of water, I felt more refreshed and cleansed. Also, it made me feel more full when I ate. I will continue to drink at least 8 cups of water every day because it actually did make me feel healthier and it made me eat slower.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth Cotton
For five days i gave up brownies and soda. I replaced brownies with peanut butter and soda with strawberries. I also started eating more servings of vegetables. I kept this going for about a week so far and hope to keep going because the affects on my body were making me feel great. Before starting this new diet My body didn't get the proper care it needed so I would feel tired and really lazy to do anything. My life was sitting on the couch eating brownies and drinking Dr. Pepper. I never felt the need to get up and be active but since i've started this new diet I feel more alive. More energetic and able to get myself off the couch. I feel like I can breathe better and intake more oxygen. Changing my diet didn't just change how energetic it was but also changed my mood and made me feel more happy. As to keeping this going, I think I will.
ReplyDeleteJaison Jose
Per. 3
Sierra Wollmar, period 3
ReplyDeleteI love Dr. Pepper and I usually drink three of four cans a day. For this challenge, I gave it up for five days because sodas are pretty unhealthy. Sodas are high in sugar and contain a lot of caffeine. I didn't feel any different after the first day. The second day I had a strong craving and a slight headache. The third day I still had a bit of a headache, but as the day went on I noticed I had more energy. The fourth and fifth day I felt really good, and a lot less sluggish. This challenge showed me how much my body relied on caffeine. Because of this, I am going to cut back a lot on my Dr. Pepper consumption.
My diet is generally healthy aside from my afternoon snack. I eat foods high in protein alot of fruits and make sure to have milk for my daily calcium diet. However, everyday i come from school i snack on something unhealthy as nachos, chips and salsa or i even go get food from outside. Instead, i tried making something beneficial for myself. It was something simple, like making a ham and cheese sandwich or eating more fruits. I did feel more energized throughout the day and i didn't even spend money making these simple items. I have actually implemented this in my diet, even though i still get food from outside once or twice a week. I think this challenge was very helpful, and it can change a person's lifestyle forever.
ReplyDelete-Abheer Chandorkar
3rd period
For my 5 days i decided to force myself to eat breakfast. I usually dont eat breakfast because im just not very hungry in the morning, but i heard it helped you wake up in the morning so i decided to try it. On day 1 i quite literally had to force myself to eat my egg whites and toast, though i did feel a little more awake during the day. On my second day of egg whites and toast i woke up actually kind of hungry, and i ate more then i had the day before. For days 3-5, i actually woke up starving and had to make more eggs to fill myself up. it also helped wake me up and kept me awake throughout the entire day. i think i will actually keep eating breakfast on a daily basis now.
ReplyDeleteCody Marr
Stephanie Obialo 3rd
ReplyDeleteI gave up chocolate. This was very hard for me because I love chocolate so much. At first I thought is was very unlikely that I would go a day without it, but I just told me that I can do it (and knowing that was for a grade also motivated me) helped a lot. The reason I chose chocolate because I wanted a challenge and because I eat WAY too much of it in the first place, so I thought is was a great opportunity to give it up. The benefits is the decreased sugar intake because chocolate, especially milk chocolate, has a lot of sugar in it. It also has fat in it as well, so my fat intake also decreased. So with less sugar and fat there are less "LB"s adding to my waist. During the time I went through withdrawal, because it was I forcing myself from eating it, instead of free will. So it was hard. With that said, I don't think I will be able to continue it. It was hard enough during the five days.
Manav Sharma
ReplyDelete5th
During Spring Break, I decided to change my diet and eat whole wheat food instead of processed food. The main foods i added were whole wheat pasta and whole wheat bread instead of regular white sandwich bread and processed white pasta. The main difference I noticed during eating whole wheat was the difference in energy levels throughout the day. Before I used to eat 5 to 6 small meals in a day, and after about an hour or so, I felt hungry again. Since i switched to a whole wheat diet, my energy levels were stable throughout the day, and my appetite was suppressed throughout the day. The reason for this is that Whole foods have a low GI index. Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Carbohydrates that break down quickly during digestion and release glucose rapidly into the bloodstream have a high GI. High GI foods push your body to the extremes, releasing high amounts of glucose in a small amount of time. Low GI foods release glucose more slowly. Switching to eating mainly low GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals. This is the science behind whole wheat foods.
For this Healthy Me Challenge, I gave up all food and drinks except for rice, beans, and water. This was not just for the challenge however. Me and my family participated in this event with other members from our church, First Baptist Lewisville, in order to help the fight against world hunger. The money that we did not spend on other food or drinks, was saved and at the end of the week, given as an offering in church. This week long diet provided me with a difficult challenge. After the 2nd day I felt very nauseous and was unable to eat my dinner due to the queazy feeling! After a week of just rice and beans, I felt a lot more dependent on my relationship with God and overall my body had learned to coop with the minimal diet. I was hungry before meals as i normal become, and after the small meals i felt energized. I lost six pounds and learned alot about fasting. Overall i would recommend fasting from something every once and a while. Wether it be a soft drink or a meat, changing your diet for a shirt while is very challenging, but effective in making you healthier.
ReplyDeleteFor five days I decided to give up eating all desserts. This was incredibly hard because not only do I like to eat sweets, but I also enjoy baking them. I did this because most desserts contain a high amount of sugar, which is not good when consumed in large amounts (It can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, and a number of other problems). Not eating sugar can also prevent some diseases such as diabetes. When I did not eat any dessert I most definitely felt healthier. I also tried to eat more fruit for the same five days I did not eat desserts. I did this because I like fruit, and it is a good alternative to desserts. Fruits contain many nutrients and antioxidants which can prevent all kinds of diseases. They also contain natural sugar which gives the body energy. When I did this I felt very good, and looked healthier. I will continue to eat more fruit for the next five days.
ReplyDeleteRyan Martinez
ReplyDeleteperiod 5
Most mornings before school i wake up, get ready for school and leave without eating anything for breakfast. My parents continuously insist on my eating something, but i just don't feel like eating in the morning. So, for the Healthy Me Challenge, i decided i would eat a banana every morning before school. I chose a banana because i like them, my parents buy them all the time, and i was told that they help in overall trumpet playing, which i have to do every morning for band first period. I noticed a big change on the second day, when i would not feel as tired as i used to in the mornings. i felt i had more energy, and was able to focus more in my morning classes. on the fourth and fifth day, i noticed it was like a night and day change. i overall felt 100 times better in the mornings, and after the fifth day, i grabbed a banana the next few mornings without even realizing it. i know i will definitely continue this, not just eating a banana every morning, but eating in general anything healthy every morning, to keep up the energy i feel from it.
For the Healthy Me Challenge, I gave up carbs for five days. I had been reading about different diets online, and I heard a lot of good things about low carb diets. It was very hard to do, because my only options were eggs, meat, and cheese. One difference that I noticed was that I had more energy. I felt more awake and alert, and was able to concentrate better. I also had less cravings for sweets. I found that I was more satisfied eating smaller portions, and even if I did eat a large portion, I didn't have that sluggish, bloated feeling afterwards. After trying out a carb-free diet for five days, I think that I will definitely try to restrict my carb intake, because it made me feel all around better. Though it is difficult to avoid carbs altogether with all of the processed foods available today, I will definitely make a point to limit my carb intake and, if possible, give them up completely.
ReplyDeleteFor the Healthy Me Challenge, I added a full serving of spinach to my diet every day in addition to the normal veggies I eat. I know that spinach is one of the healthiest veggies out there, and since there are only a few green vegetables that I really enjoy eating, I thought I'd make myself do this for 5 days. I hate cooked spinach, but I found that I actually love fresh spinach leaves! Every day when I came home from school I would eat a spinach salad with the egg whites of a hard-boiled egg--it was delicious! And it not only filled me up and replaced an unhealthy snack, but it made me feel more refreshed and energized. I'm not sure if that was psychological or not, but either way, I felt better! It felt good to know that I was eating better, as well as indirectly taking some unhealthy options out of my diet by replacing it with the spinach.
ReplyDeleteEmily Fowler
Over Spring break I decided to try and eat better and on a more regular schedule than I usually do. I focused on eating more fruit and protein and less sugars. And I also made an effort to make sure I was able to eat breakfast lunch and dinner all at reasonable times. The specific foods I focused on eating were lean proteins such as chicken and turkey and I replaced the processed sugars I eat with fruits, such as apples oranges and bananas. I found that this switch of eating habits did benefit me. I noticed it mostly in my sleeping pattern, I found that i slept better when I ate healthier and on a regular schedule. Another benefit I found is that when I woke up I felt well rested and had energy from the beginning of the day to the end. Over all this challenge benefited my lifestyle in a positive way, and showed me that just changing the way you eat can affect my normal day activities. I will try to continue to eat this way in the future
ReplyDeleteOn average my food intake is fairly healthy, meaning no fast food, soda, or candy. So for this post I thought instead of taking something out of my diet I would add something healthy to my diet. For 5 days I decided to up my vegetable intake by two servings a day. Every morning I ate a full serving of carrots and in my lunch I started to pack a full serving of broccoli. After 5 days of doing this my over all sense of being I could tell was improved; I had more energy, I could think clearer, and I felt better rested when I woke up. I didn't think that increasing my vegetable intake would improve my over all self but I was pleasantly surprised that it did.
ReplyDeleteGiving up chocolate for any period of time can be a very hard thing to do, but I did it. Luckily I gave it up for Lent so I have the ability to remember not to eat for a better reason. Living without chocolate is kind of rough because you do not realize everything that it is in. Everything from candy, chocolate milk, brownies, cookies, other desserts, nutella, hot chocolate, and so much more. Although giving up chocolate is hard, I did not notice that much of a difference but it is probably because I do not consume massive amounts of chocolate. I believe the hardest thing was to remember not to eat, simply because it is always so easily available. Overall I noticed little things, like I don't have as big of a craving for sweets if I am not consuming it as much. I think that giving up one unhealthy thing for you at a time is a great idea so you can slowly work to healthier diet and better lifestyle.
ReplyDeleteWalking home was a habit I started my junior year, but I stopped doing senior year due to the fact I was able to bum rides off of friends. It's about a mile and a half to my house from CHS and the exercise of lugging school books helps keep me moving and active.
ReplyDeleteSo I started the habit back up again, for 5 days I walked home everyday. It was a bit boring at first. But by the end of the 5th day I felt better when I got home, less tired and didn't feel the need to take a mid noon map.
I plan to keep up this habit. :)
During spring break I decided to add something unhealthy to my diet because I usually have a pretty clean diet. So what I did was with every meal I drank a coke as my beverage because I usually drink wither water or green tea. The switch up was very shocking to my body and toward the end of the 5 days I was feeling very bad. At first when I would drink one I would get this sudden charge of energy but after a while I would become very tired and lost the energy I had gained. Besides from the energy, I also started to feel very sick from all the sugar I was drinking because I was used to water or green tea which has no sugar. Adding an unhealthy drink to my diet was not fun especially when I was used to a healthier choice.
ReplyDeleteEveryday, during 6th period, I get a package of Skittles to supply my sugar addiction. For 5 days I gave up getting the 210 calorie, sugar filled goody and saw drastic changes in my daily routine and workout. I'm usually a very healthy person, and have a low consumption of calories (following a 1000-1500 calorie diet) so I am usually very low in energy. I usually eat the Skittles because it helps me stay energized with such a low calorie intake and also helps satisfy my sugar desires. During the 5 day period, I struggled everyday, and seemed low in energy, but during the 3rd day, I substituted the Skittles with an apple. Eating the apple gave me the enough energy to finish the day strong, and is a healthier substitute. From now on, I'll supply my sugar cravings with fruits.
ReplyDeleteFor the healthy me challenge, I decided to give up sodas and sweet tea for a week. I know that they are packed with sugar so it seemed like a great option for something to give up in order to improve my health. Instead of drinking soda the last week I stuck with water and tea sweetened with sweet and low. I didn't notice a huge change but i did find myself being able to fall asleep easier because of the lack of caffeine intake. My stomach also felt better overall because i wasn't taking in so much carbonated water and sugar. I probably won't give up soda forever but I will definitely limit my soda intake because it has such negative health effects.
ReplyDeleteMy diet consistently involves cereal and sandwhiches and school food. This is because i work a 4-5 week and go to school and I don't get home until 10:30 so I usually scavenge my refrigerator for whatever goodies may be hiding in it which is mostly junk food. So I told my mom that I was super craving berries of all kinds and of course she gave them to me because she felt bad about how much I work. So for 5 days everytime I came home I would fill a bowl with raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, and blueberries. I immediately felt better during the school day and didn't feel as exhausted as before. Also its much tastier to eat then whatever happens to be in the refrigerator at that moment. So I will continue to eat these delicious berries.
ReplyDeleteChristina Portillo
ReplyDeleteThis week I removed processed foods from my diet. The biggest difference between this week and every other week is that I completely cut out soft drinks. Instead of drinking sodas, I added about 48-72 ounces of water to my daily intake. Due to the decrease of sugar and preservatives in my diet and the increase of water, I feel much more energetic and have lost a significant amount of weight. Also, despite not sleeping as much as normal, I still felt more alert and awake during the day. Although the designated "diet period" is over, I plan to continue a diet of natural foods and no sodas.
Soo La
ReplyDeleteClass: 7th
For the past five days, I have eaten strawberries consecutively, every day at home. My favorite type of fruit is strawberry, so i chose to go with strawberries for my health benefit. I ate more fruits because I usually do not eat a lot of fruits in general. Moreover, I decided to eat more fruits to eat a tasty and healthy type of fruits, which lets me keep eating it without getting tired of the fruit. The health benefits it offered was that strawberries contain antioxidants; like anthocyanins have been shown by several studies to be effective in reducing risks of developing cancer, cardiovascular disease and inflammation-related diseases. Furthermore, I tend to eat a lot of foods with high sodium, however strawberries are very good in potassium and magnesium content, both of which are very effective in lowering high blood pressure caused by sodium. Eating many strawberries made me feel healthy, because it was a fruit and I knew exactly that It would contain good source of nutrients. I will continue eating strawberries after five days! We have more in the refrigerator, so I will eat more when I feel like it. (:
In my household Sunny Delight is the most common beverage. After I get home from school the first thing I do is get a glass of Sunny D. My brother and I average about 4 to 5 glasses each of Sunny D everyday. The main reason we buy it is not just because of the great taste, but also because of the cheap price for a large amount. There are 120 calories per serving in Sunny D. Although Sunny D is very high in vitamin C it is also very high in sugar. So I decided to give up Sunny D for 5 days. Instead of the Sunny D, my alternative was mainly water, milk, and cranberry juice. Although I didn't feel any different, I knew my choice was healthier and that it would be in the long run. I plan on continuing this diet.
ReplyDeleteOn a usual day, between work and home, I have at least one Dr. Pepper. Even though I knew that they were unhealthy it's extremely hard to get over the caffeine withdrawal since I hate the taste of coffee. Also, I'm not the type to check the nutrition facts and even when I do I don't see the content in the big picture reality. However, after having done some research for the google project I learned that each Dr. Pepper contains roughly 36 grams of sugar and that drinking that much sugar on a daily basis in addition to the rest of the sugar found in my diet could easily lead to type 2 diabetes. After seeing this I decided to give up Dr.Pepper for 5 days completely. At first it was extremely difficult, feeling like I was in a haze and certainly irritable yet, after 3 days I found myself returning to how I use to feel. I still wanted to drink Dr. Pepper but I felt fine without it. Now after the 5 days I feel more alert and happy with no soda in my system. I might still have the occasional soda but I'll try to stay away from them.
ReplyDeleteFor my challenge, I decided to add in two fruit servings a day. I eat healthy, but I don't always have a balanced diet. I like fruit, but I don't do well incorporating it into my lifestyle. It is hard to find healthy food in New York. We bought all of our meals so it's difficult to keep up a good food intake. I decided to bring fruit to New York along with find cafes who sell fruit. I couldn't feel much of a difference when I started it before New York, but I felt a difference one we got there. We walked everywhere and had very early mornings, so I needed all the energy and stamina I could get. Eating two fruit servings everyday helped keep up my energy and keep me focused. Instead of intaking more sugar or caffeine, I used the natural ingredients of fruit to help keep me going. It is always hard to change your eating lifestyle, but I hope this one will stick. Eating more fruit helped me out physically and mentally and I hope I keep it up.
ReplyDeleteKatie Perdue
I am unusually a pretty healthy eater but a lot of the time I don't eat healthy at all. Normally when my mom doesn't cook, I go out to eat with friends. But I do drink a lot of sodas, so for 5 days I decided to drink water or sport drinks instead. The switch was fairly easy because I've been out playing frisbee and running a lot so drinking something other than soda was quite easy, but I didn't really feel any different from the switch. I had more energy when drinking sport drinks or water because a lot of the time I drank sodas with caffeine in them so I crashed a lot and was tired a lot of the time.
ReplyDeleteFor the healthy me challenge, I decided to add increased amounts of fruits to my diet. I don't usually consume very much fruit, but recently I have started to eat bananas more and more throughout the day. I have been eating a banana shortly after my workout which has provided a good source of simple carbohydrates and I believe has helped with my recovery. I have also started eating a banana when i get hungry at night before I go to bed. Instead of eating a big meal which has a lot of calories which is unnecessary right before bed, I just eat a banana and it digests quickly and I am satiated quickly and can go to bed sooner.
ReplyDeleteConner Heckmann
Anatomy, 7th
For five days I gave up Monster. Monster is filled with caffeine and ginseng and all sorts of additives that are horrible for your body. I aways had one in the morning to wake me up and sometimes had one during lunch. This is why i took it out of my diet. At first it was hard, but after i a couple days i got used to it. I think i will cut down on monsters after this.
ReplyDeleteI gave up liquids which included a lot sugars like soda and juice and instead I drank a lot of water. I felt healthier because I would usually use soda or juice to keep me up, but water worked just as well and even better because I felt more hydrated. Even though the assignment requires only 5 days I believe that I will keep on my h2o diet for the remainder of my life (try to) so that I may stay healthier and more active.
ReplyDeleteFor the past couple of weeks I have given up drinking soda so that I could avoid the caffeine. I chose to do this because I had a high blood pressure from a unhealthy life style and my first steps were to stop drinking anything that had caffeine, large amounts of sodium, and to start exercising again. I was drinking Mountain Dew everyday and I would sometimes drink 2-3 within minutes or an hour which is extremely unhealthy. Knowing my health was on the line it wasn't too hard giving up the drink, but I do wish I could drink one every once in a while.
ReplyDeleteGarrett Quick 7th period
Coming from a family whose roots lie in the country of Pakistan, our eating habits tend to follow those of any other South Asian or Indian family. Although we are not vegetatrians, seldom is there a dish that is not made with a noticeable amount of oil, onions, and best of all, salt. Traditional Pakistani foods are high in carbs, fat, and sodium. While they contain lots of protein as well, it doesn't satisfy all the bad things it consists of. On an average night my family would sit down and eat white rice or oven baked flatbread with some sort of side dish that is loaded with spices. Normally we don't eat three course meals and seldom is there a vegetable to go with our dish, unless cooked within. These five days were a great opportunity for me to change our routine up a little bit. What is usually not a three course meal, began as one. I bought salad greens from the grocery store and topped a small bowl of salad off with a little bit of low fat italian dressing. My family is so used to eating South Asian food, that I though a little twist would be good for a change. For the main course, I cooked a lentil soup served with steaming white rice. Lentil soup, which is usually served hot, may be vegetarian, but can also be made with meat stock or pieces of meat. To go with the soup, I grilled beef kabobs using olive oil instead of our normal cooking oil. For dessert, I cut up some fresh fruits and we called it a day. Paying attention to how healthy our meal was definitely wore me out for five days, but the long term effects of a healthier lifestly are much more rewarding.
ReplyDeleteFor the past few years, I have been a constant gamer with an avid passion. Lately, I have abstained from playing any games for the past week. In order to enjoy my spring break and Lent with my family, I sacrificed my game to have a life, plainly speaking. It was a relief, not having to constantly worry about keeping track with my statistics and such. Rather, I had more time to spend with my family, and it was a relief and joyful experience. I aim to hopefully cut back entirely to play only on week ends, and eventually in college, quit games altogether. Sounds farfetched, but I have the will and confidence to pull through.
ReplyDeletePeter Tran
Period 7
I used to drink water all the time when i was younger but lately my great drinking habit has declined. So i made a decision to fill up my camelback water bottle at least 4 times a day for 5 days. Immediately, i began to feel more on my toes and it kept me full so i wouldn't snack on anything bad. Drinking so much water each day just made me feel more refreshed and satisfied with everything that i did. I know for a fact that i will try to continue this habit.
ReplyDeleteMy family and friends tell me often that I seem addicted to chocolate. I think the reason is I always bring chocolate or snack that made out of chocolate and eat it whenever I want to have it. So, I decided to stop taking chocolates for 5 days in a low. First time when I started, it was the worst thing ever happened in my life. I had some withdrawal symptoms, such as feeling tired all day and trying to find foods that can replace chocolate. However, few days later I could handle those symptoms by taking fruits instead of taking chocolate. Fruits are much healthier and fresher for your body. Also, contain much lower calories. During those 5 days I learned a lot of lesson that I can leave without chocolate and I can lost lots of weight by just stop taking it every day. I’m really glad that I learned this lesson and the fact that I already lose 2 pounds!
ReplyDeleteJulie Kim
Period 2
For the purpose of this assignment I decided to give up all sodas. Prior to giving up soda for five days I would typically drink at least 2 to 4 sodas a week. Throughout the five days I replaced the sodas I would typically drink with mainly water and also milk and juices. After not drinking soda for a day I did not notice a difference in how I felt, but after the full five days I could noticeably realize that I was not as tired in the middle of the day as I usually would be after I had drank a soda. Also, I noticed that by avoiding sugary caffeinated sodas and by only drinking water for the most part I was felt more hydrated and energized. Not drinking sodas is also much healthier because I reduced the amount of sugar and calories I took in everyday. Other healthy alternatives I found, which were tasty, was fresh squeezed orange juice and fresh made lemonade, and both of these drinks had far less sugar than sodas and had no caffeine. After leaving soda out of my diet for five days I have realized that I don't need to drink soda at all because it is not healthy for me and there are plenty of other healthier options to drink.
ReplyDeleteStarting on Monday April 4, 2010 to Friday April 8, 2010 I added several servings of fruit into my diet. For each meal I consumed a variety of fresh fruit. In the mornings I had sides of fresh cut pineapples and strawberries, along with my normal bowl of cereal. As for lunch, I ate a turkey and cheese sandwich, chips, and instead of having cookies for dessert, I ate fresh peaches. Dinner for me changes every night, but for these five days, my dessert of fresh fruit stayed the same. With every meal at dinner I consumed a banana and strawberries for dessert. This whole process of changing my eating habit allowed me to feel more energized. I performed this task to give my body an opportunity to digest better foods and become healthier. From the classroom to the tennis court, fresh fruit gave me an extra spark to keep on going. The health benefits dealing with this choice are awesome. The strawberries and fresh cut pineapples gave me a refreshing wake up call, the peaches at lunch rejuvenated my taste and gave me more energy throughout the day, and the dessert of strawberries and banana gave me a refreshment to end my day. The banana’s at dinner kept me from cramping after a long and hard day, the strawberries helped my brain function better, the pineapples help my digestion, and the peaches lower my risk of heart disease or cancer. Throughout this entire process I actually felt great. Many people are usually not up to par on eating fresh fruits, but if they tried, they would feel the difference. Every day I was full of energy, which was a whole new experience because before this I never consume that much fruit in a day. I loved the feeling I got after each serving of fresh fruit so I will totally continue this process because I know that in the long run it will benefit my health.
ReplyDeleteEvan Cliff
Period 6
The food I decided to give up for five days was bread. Bread isn't necessarily unhealthy if has lots of whole grains but there are healthier options that you can choose. As a runner I eat a lot of carbs especially a couple days before a race but I also eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. I decided to replace my bread with more protein because I still would get enough carbohydrates from the amount of fruit and vegetables I eat. After only 2 days I started noticing that my running was easier because my legs were recovering faster due to my greater intake of protein. Also I felt better on my runs because I didn't have any processed food in me, I was only eating fresh foods. I think cutting out bread was a good experiment,I don't think I'll completely boycott bread from now on but I will cut back on the amount I eat and continue to eat more protein.
ReplyDeleteInstead of giving up something, I chose to add fruit to my diet. I normally eat and drink pretty healthy, but I decided to eat 4-5 servings of fruit every day - each meal and in place of snacks. Fruit provide a lot of nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy, including potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, and folic acid. Because fruits are rich in fiber, they are really good for snacks because they make your stomach feel full but are still low in calories. Having fruit as a snack instead of chips or something unhealthy, I cut a lot of calories out of my diet and at the same time received healthy nutrients. The vitamin C in various fruits is good for growth and repair of body tissues and also helps heal cuts and wounds. It's also good for the immune system. I have actually enjoyed taking this challenge because I was able to eat healthy and at the same time eat normal portions of food that tastes really good! I am for sure going to continue doing this from now on.
ReplyDeleteThe thing that I decided to give up for 5 days was drinks other than water and milk. It was not a challenge because I do not like soda. The other main drinks I consume pretty frequently would be drinks like gatorade or lemonade or tea, drinks with alot of sugar. For breakfast and dinner I always drink skim milk, no matter what the meal. For lunch it is different because I am sometimes at school or out to eat at different places, so it was sometimes hard to always get a water instead of lemonade or tea. Water is much healthier for you regarding sugar, but sugar helps me stay awake. When I am drowsy and have to go to something, I usually get a drink that has sugar in it to keep me going. So it was hard on the aspect to just stick with water. But overall I felt much better about myself and what I was putting in my body. Sugar can make you crash also so I just felt more consistent with my diet and my sleeping habits. I will probably not stick with this "diet", but I will definitely be more aware of what I am drinking and when, and how it makes me feel after.
ReplyDeleteMolly Hohfeler, 2nd
For the past five days, I gave up desserts. I am not just including desserts after dinner, but cookies, brownies, and other delicious treats at any time during the day. Instead when I craved something sweet or a chocolate flavor, I would eat fruit or drink water. I noticed a difference in the way I felt almost immediately. I wasn't nearly as tired as frequently as I was before. I felt like I had a lot more energy! I am glad I made the change. Because of my body structure,metabolism, and how active I am, I always thought I could get away with eating unhealthy with no damage to my physical feature. But after making the change, I noticed I was still getting affected by my poor diet. The fatigue wasn't just from soccer or work or school, a large part of it was from my poor diet.
ReplyDeleteChioma Ubogagu
For the Healthy Me Challenge I decided to give up some unhealthy choices. I am a manager at Fat Daddy's Burger House, and I work a lot of hours. A benefit from working at Fat Daddy's Burger House is the privilege to bring home a meal every time I work. I have been eating greasy burgers and deep fried chicken way too often, and my body cannot handle it. Every once and a while I will order a salad to-go, but it is still way too high in calories and fat. For five days I gave up eating food from Fat Daddy's, and I started eating the meals my mother cooked which consisted of stir fry, snap peas, rice, turkey burgers, cantaloupe, strawberries, and many more heart healthy foods. After changing diet I noticed I was functioning much better throughout the day. My digestive system was regulated, I wasn't getting heart burn, and I was seeing better results from my workouts that I do during my off period. Everything I had been eating was fried, and I was just not providing my body with the right nutrients, especially after lifting weights. Another way I avoided eating grease on a bun was by eating healthy snacks before going into work so I am not tempted to bring home any food from work. This challenge has reminded me mentally and physically, that it is important to watch my diet to make sure I function optimally.
ReplyDeleteI decided to give up soda for 5 days. I did this because I drink a bottle of soda nearly every day because I am so addicted to the flavor and routine. This offered a lot of health benefits because for one-- I'm not consuming the extra sugar and also not drinking too much soda leaned towards a healthier diet. It made me miss my soda for the first couple of days but for the last three days, it didn't really bother me. I felt really proud because it took so much persistence for me to do that. I won't completely rid of sodas in my diet after the five days I haven't had it, but I will definetely limit it. A soda once in a while is not all that bad-- in fact, it may even come in handy sometimes.
ReplyDeleteStarting last week, I made sure to eat a banana every morning with breakfast. Bananas have been proven to have many positive effects on the body like reducing depression, eyesight protection, increasing kidney function, avoiding morning sickness, and increasing nerve function. After making this diet change, I noticed that I had considerably more energy throughout the day, and wasn't as hungry around lunchtime. I actually plan on continuing to add a Banana to my daily routine. I would highly recommend this delicious and healthy fruit to anyone.
ReplyDeleteFor last week, I have limited my intake of soft drinks to less than one a day. In the five day period, I had maybe one or 1.5 sodas, which is much less than my typical six or more weekly. Since I am playing numerous recreational sports, I need to be more healthy to have better endurance and taking out the sugar and caffeine in sodas can be a huge help. Over the course of the week, I substituted water or gatorade in for Coke and noticed that my energy was up during the school. Now I am able to last longer in my indoor soccer games and hoops league basketball games, which means a lot to my competitive nature. I also gave up sugar based cereal during the same week and focused more on healthier breakfasts. This was extremely beneficial as I was more attentive in class and did not crash from the sugar in Fruity Pebbles. Hopefully, I will continue this trend and become healthier overall.
ReplyDeleteFor my healthy me challenge, I decided to give up soda for five days. I don’t really have a favorite but I would normally drink Coke daily. Water was my primary replacement but just to mix it up I would drink milk, orange juice, and apple juice. I always knew Coke was bad for you if you drank excessive amounts so I thought one can was reasonable. To my surprise, I was a lot less tired during the day when I drank more water than when I drank Coke. Also, I was able to keep my daily sugar intake down due to all the sugar in Coke. Based on how much change I felt, I will most likely continue to not drink Coke.
ReplyDeleteFor the Healthy Me Challenge I switched my chocolate pudding desert for a fruit smoothy for five days. I switched these two because it was the cheap to switch because i paid less and I still got to eat my desert. It didn't taste as good but it was more filling and they were about the same amount of food. I felt about the same but I did have a little more energy in the morning and I lost 3 pounds. I think I will continue this because i have been trying to lose a few pounds to get back in shape like I was in football season.
ReplyDeleteFor my healthy me challenge, I decided to give up drinking gatorade for a week. I typically drink a lot of gatorade even if I have not just finished a workout or sports related activity. There are a lot of good electrolytes and things in gatorade but there is also a ton of sugar in gatorade that makes it unhealthy for you. Instead of gatorade, I drank primarily water, but also switched it up with simply orange juice and skim milk. I honestly did not notice much of a difference; my weight stayed the same and there was no difference in terms of feeling healthier or anything like that. However, after avoiding gatorade for only a week i've found myself more inclined to just grab a bottle of water instead of a much less healthier bottle of gatorade when I am thirsty.
ReplyDeleteFor 5 days I gave up healthy drinks such as sodas, energy drinks or "fruit" juice that contained almost no juice and increased my daily intake of water. I also gave up chips, which I normally eat a small bag each day. When I gave up sodas and other sugary drinks and started drinking a lot more water I felt healthier and cleaner. When I drank water and only water all day I felt more refreshed the whole day and less dehydrated. When I drink soda, I just get that momentary sweet pleasure, but I don't feel as cleansed as when I drink water. With water I can drink a lot and still feel healthy about what I've had to drink and not have to worry about how many calories, sugars, or caffeine. I also felt the same way with the chips. Instead of eating chips, I would substitute a small salad with little dressing and I felt good about it because I was getting some greens in my diet and not just junk food. The healthy me challenge was very beneficial because I'm gonna try to cut out all those junk foods and drinks out of my diet. Doing this will make me feel much better about what I eat and I know that I'll be helping my body out by staying healthy!(:
ReplyDeleteMargaux Paylim
Anatomy P.6
For my healthy me challenge, I gave up chips. I usually eat a bag of chips and a sandwich for lunch, and I sometimes have chips for a snack after school. Chips are very tasty, but they are high in carbs and have no nutritional value. Instead of eating chips with my lunch, I ate berries and fruit instead. For snack, I had yogurt with fresh fruit or a spoonful of peanut butter. I thought I would miss eating chips, but I actually didn't. When I ate peanut butter instead of chips, I felt a lot more energized because I gained more protein. I also enjoyed having a higher consumption of fruit. I felt proud when I chose to eat berries instead of a bag of chips. Although I couldn't physically feel the benefits of eating fruit, I knew it was having a positive affect on my body and overall health. It helped limit my carb intake, which resulted in losing a little weight! :) I felt just as full when replacing chips with a healthier option.
ReplyDeleteMacaully Shumate
6th period
During the past five days I gave up eating desserts. Usually after dinner I eat either eat some cake, pudding or something like that. Not eating desserts gave me more energy after dinner. Usually after dinner i just lay down and watch TV. Instead after dinner I felt good and went and played basketball with my friends. Not eating dessert is something that I plan on continuing because it is a much better lifestyle to live. I feel like I can't just give it up all the time but I will only eat it on special occasions, not every day like i use to.
ReplyDeleteZack Ratcliffe 6th period
All my life, I have been drinking diet sodas because I was told they were much healthier for you than regular drinks. There is zero calories and zero grams of sugar in diet coke as opposed to the 200 calories in regular coke. It was obviously healthier to drink until people realized it was loaded with artificial sweeteners. This means that diet drinks are filled with many different chemicals instead of real sugar to make them taste good. For this challenge, I gave up drinking diet sodas for a week and drank unsweetened iced tea instead. Iced tea has very few calories and no artificial sweetener unless you add them. This is a healthier alternative than a drink with many chemicals or a regular soda with a lot of sugar. This makes me feel better knowing I haven't poisoned my body with artificial sugars everyday.
ReplyDeleteAllie Winkle
6th Period
This past week before prom I eliminated sweets and fast food from my daily meals. I have always been told that when a person eats thing like chocolate or fast food, not only is it bad for your health, but it can cause a person to have worse acne. With prom in one week, and me wanting my face and body to look at its finest for pictures, I put myself up to the challenge and improved my eating habits. For example, at lunch my mother usually packs me some type of dessert such as a cosmic brownie or small chocolates, and this past week I didn't have any dessert at all during lunch. At night after a lacrosse practice I would go home every night to eat instead of fast food. By the end of the week on the day of prom, my face was clear of acne, and I energized and fantastic. Small improvements were definitely seen in my health from going the entire week on a much healthier diet. I can't promise that I will never eat fast food or chocolate again, but I am definitely going to try and limit my intake of those foods to a smaller amount during the week.
ReplyDeleteFor the healthy me challange I gave up eating fast food for five days. On an average week I normally eat fast food about six times. Instead of going out to eat at fast food places for lunch everyday, I started to bring my own lunch with healthy items like fruit. I brought simple thins like apples and oranges.The reason I gave up fast food is because of the effects it has on your body and its effect on health. Fast food is high in calories and fat and has a minimum amount of protein and healthy ingredients. By eating better things for me like fruit and not having french fries I am getting a more balanced diet which will also be good for me in the long run. Throughout the week i noticed that I have more energy throughout the day and am able to concentrate easier. I am not always hungry and snacking when I eat a good meal. Based on the effects, in the future I will try to cut back on how much fast food I am eating and replace it with healthier foods.
ReplyDeleteFor the healthy me challenge i decided to give up all drinks except for water and skim milk. Normally i would either drink Diet Dr. Pepper and Sweet Tea, so because of that i decided to go back and drink what i used to drink when i was a little girl. When i was much younger i used to only drink skim milk or water with on occasion i would drink soda. But as i got older i started drinking the more unhealthier stuff. So because of that, i decided to give it all up so i could get my body used to the healthier stuff. During that time, it started off weird not having all that sugar in my body, but as the week progressed i felt much better. Based off of what happened during that week, i am now cutting back on all my sweet drinks and is drinking more milk and water, and only having sweet tea or sodas on occasions so i could have a healthier diet.
ReplyDeleteNatalie Meddaugh, 7th
For the Healthy Me Challenge, I decided to include more water in my diet. Most of the time, I don't drink as much water as I am supposed to. For some reason I almost never get thirsty and I usually have to remind myself to drink at least one or two glasses of water a day in order to keep myself hydrated. Plus I drink coffee in the mornings so the caffeine dehydrates me even more. Obviously, a couple glasses of water isn't enough so I decided to drink 8 glasses of water. At first, I wasn't too happy about it since water isn't exactly my favorite beverage. On top of that I made frequent trips to the bathroom, so that was not a lot of fun either. However, drinking lots of water flushed the toxins out of my body, which made me feel more energetic and healthier overall. I felt like I was able to get through the day more easily and I was able to concentrate better. Then I wasn't so tempted to eat little snacks throughout the day since the water kept me full, which helped me lose a couple pounds! After experiencing these benefits, I'm going to try to stick to this new healthy habit. This made me realize that water can really do so many amazing things for your body. I can't guarantee that I will drink 8 glasses of water daily for the rest of my life, but I will definitely try to incorporate more water into my diet.
ReplyDeleteFor the healthy me challange I choose to give up any type of drink except for water. I typically only drink water when working out at cheer, choosing orange juice in the mornings, gatorade at lunch, a soda after school and milk during dinner. For five days I only drank water and could most definitely feel a difference. My body was better satisfied with drinkning water, not leaving a sort of full and sick feeling like you would get out of a soda. Also, I wasn't wanting more like the sugary taste of gatorade makes you feel. I felt as if I had more energy and could get full off of the food I was eating instead of the drink. I felt that I could get through my day easier with more concentration and energy. It even made me feel lighter in a way? like all the extra sugars and caffeine weren't holding me down. I enjoyed this challenge and have continued to drink a lot more water since.
ReplyDeleteFor most of my life, I have been an unhealthy eater. It was never anything I worried about. I ate what I wanted and I figured I would just burn it all off in basketball. Then, when basketball season ended, I decided that I needed to make a change if I wanted to stay fit. So for the last 50 days, I have been doing a workout program called P90X. This program included a diet, which I have also been doing. So for the last 50 days, I have not eaten fast food, I have not eaten junk food (except on a few special occasions), most processed foods, and I have not had anything to drink but water. Instead I am eating healthy and natural foods. My average day consists of one serving of fruit, two servings of vegetables, 3 servings of protein (or meat), two carbohydrates (whole wheat only), one serving of dairy, and two or three small snacks. I have never felt better in my entire life. I suffered from severe stomach aches for years and now that I have changed my diet I feel good all the time. I have more energy and best of all I do not feel guilty after every meal. Changing my diet was a great decision. I have learned that there is a difference between a full stomach and a stomach ache. The greatest benefit of my new diet is all of the nutrients it provides. I am no longer eating processed food so I have greatly limited my saturated fat and trans fat intake. There is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to eat healthy even after I have completed P90X. I like feeling healthy.
ReplyDeleteTrevor Lopez- For the Healthy Me Challenge, I switched my school food diet for lunch time as well as giving up fast foods all week. On a normal day at lunch, I would have the Smucker's Crustless PBJ's, a Special K protein bar, chocolate milk, and sometimes a chocolate chip cookie and in the evening I normally go out and grab some Sonic or a pizza fro Subway. Last week, however, I paid attention to the nutrional facts and the ingrediants on the back of foods and tried to avoid high fructose corn syrup at school. So my meals now consisted of deli sandwiches which contained simple cheese and turkey, baked kernels which wwas just crunchy corn with salt and some flavoring but no HFCS, lemonade or water, and any fruit they had avaliable up front. My diet after school had also now changed to home-cooked meals with plenty of fruits and vegetables. This new way of eating has made me feel better knowing I'm not buying into the foods that can make people obeses and also to the fact that I'm actually burning more calories upon working out. I of course broke this whole trend at prom with the ridicoulous amount of desserts they had but now I'm going to try to stick with this healthy lifestyle and possibly go even healthier, giving up red meats and fast food all together.
ReplyDeleteFor the Healthy Me Challenge, I gave up sodas for a week. Starting last Monday, I didn’t drink or even sip a soda all week. I usually have a soda a day, maybe even more than one if I eat out. Being in the heart of baseball season, practice and games finish late, so fast food is a quick solution for fixing a hungry appetite. I gave up sodas because they are high in sugar, but yet are a big part of my diet. Carbonated beverages can increase your risk for obesity and diabetes in addition to losing calcium in bones. Giving up sodas for a week made me feel proud and accomplished. Throughout my life, I’ve tried giving up sodas many of times, but always only lasted a couple of days. Being somewhat of a competitive person, I only let myself down by not following through with these challenges. Finishing this challenge was a relief and I proved to myself that with some sweat and dedication, giving up sodas is possible. My no soda streak ended today at the grand opening of Whataburger. Being the first Whataburger in Coppell, I felt like it was the right time to celebrate with a delicious Sprite to wash down my burger. Free Whataburger for a year does not necessarily mean I have to wash down every burger with a soda, but what is only one soda a week?
ReplyDeleteTH-5
For my healthy me challenge i decided to add more water intake for 5 days. I used my camelbak water bottle (.75 Liters) and filled it up 4 times per day. It kept me full so i wouldn't feel hungry all the time and helped keep me from snacking when i got home from school. Also, i noticed that i felt more refreshed and definitely more hydrated through out the day which was good because i'm always thirsty. By drinking more water it helped me lose a few pounds, keep my skin clear, and helped my mood through out the day. I'm definitely going to try and keep drinking a lot of water each day because it made me feel so great.
ReplyDeletecarly danner
7th
For the last week I have been cutting down on Dr.pepper. Dr. Pepper is my favorite soda and i know that it is terrible and it doesn't help me with anything. After giving up Dr. Pepper i realized that i relied on it a little too much i wanted Dr.Pepper because it tasted good and because i thought it gave me my energy but it didnt instead of having Dr.Pepper i had fruit punch and lots of water and last week i found myself with more energy and i felt more awake in all of my classes and i felt like i understood everything so much more. I use to drink atleast a 4 Dr.Pepper's a day and i thought that was fine but now that i should only have a Dr.Pepper 1 soda a week and drink more juice and water so that i can have all the energy i need to go through out the day. I did this so i could see how my soda habit was effecting my life and how i need to change it now i am working to stay on this track and make sure that i always have energy by working out and drinking less Dr. Pepper
ReplyDeleteFor five days I decided to increase my daily consumption of strawberries in order to discover different health benefits that this regular utlization may have on my overall well-being. instead of crashing around 7 P.M. i could make it through the rest of my night feeling more full, and alert. Doing this will make me feel muche better about what I eat, and I know that I will be helping my body out by staying healthy.!!!
ReplyDeleteShana Shirani Per. 7th
I occasionally eat cereals that are high in sugar or artificially sweetened right from the box. I eat this like three to four times daily in a week. Sometimes I fool myself about not eating it and before I know it I find myself eating it again. I've been told by my folks that it is not really good for me and that it can increase my blood sugar levels. So for this challenge, I decided to quit eating artificially sweetened cereal. The only way I can do this is by eating a substitute like Kellogg’s Corn Flakes. This cereal is made with real corn and it has no added sugars or sweeteners’ did this because I knew what my parents were talking about is true and too much sugar can lead to diabetes which endangers your health. All of this artificially sweetened cereal could be sometimes dangerous to one’s health. Take Cinnamon Toast Crunch for example, it says on the box "whole grain" with a big check mark on the side. Anyone that does not read the ingredients information on the back will not know what he/she is putting in their system. It has about 9-10g of sugar and 2.8g of fat per 3/4 cup serving. I must say that after my five days off artificially sweetened cereal, I felt like I have reduced my sugar in take levels. I am definitely going to continue this challenge because it can increase my chances of not eating too many sugars than I should.
ReplyDeleteWhile I ussually eat healthy meals at home and rarely eat fast food, I eat a lot of chocolate throughout the day on a daily basis. I couldn't even bring myself to give up chocolate for lent because I knew I would miss it too much. That said, I decided to tough it out for five days and go without chocolate last Monday through Friday for the Healthy Me challenge, and I noticed some pretty evident results. Giving up chocolate meant passing on desert every night, and I felt much fresher and less sluggish for the rest of the night. In addition, it led me to eat more fruit when I wanted something sweet, and this was a solid discovery. I realized how much I enjoy strawberries and granny smith apples, and I plan to make these a regular part of my diet. The most noticeable thing to me from giving up chocolate, however, was the whiteness of my teeth. My teeth seemed cleaner throughout the week, and this was evident to me especially when I brushed my teeth and saw the difference. After the five days came Saturday, which was prom and my 18th birthday, so I probably made up for my lack of chocolate for the week in that one night, but the results of the challenge were very clear.
ReplyDeletePeter Sblendorio
Last week, during the 5 school days, I decided to give up something that is a big part of my diet. For 5 days, I gave up my favorite drink, Dr. Pepper. First off, I would like to say that the decision to give up Dr. Pepper for 5 days was a big one simply because I frequently do not go even a day without it. The first day that I did this challenge was not too difficult, but after about the second or third day it got to be very difficult. I would get massive headaches, only because I was not getting the normal caffeine that I usually drank. I chose to do this, only because I wanted to see if it was even possible for me. While doing this challenge, I came to the realization that I slept a lot better without Dr. Pepper. This was probably because I was no longer fighting off all of the caffeine and sugars from drinking sodas. After doing this challenge, I made the decision to not completely cut out soda from my diet, but that I need to limit how much I drink. Any time that I eat out, I always order a Dr. Pepper, and I need to start drinking more water and other drinks that are healthier for me and do not contain as much sugar. This challenge helped for me to realize how bad of an addiction I have to Dr. Pepper.
ReplyDeleteKeely Leonard
Anatomy- 1
Instead of giving up chocolate or junk food, I decided to give up on coffee. I would usually grab a quick cup of coffee as an energy booster if I was bored or craving it; however, I realized how unhealthy it was for me! After going 5 days without it, I realized how much sugar I was avoiding in that one cup and saved my time in making the coffee and money. Also, because the extra caffeine in coffee makes me release the energy more quickly, in those 5 days I didn't have that '2 p.m. feeling' of when my body craved for the caffeine. I felt more refreshed and energized throughout the day as a result. It is obvious that companies like Starbucks add extra sugar and addictive ingredients into their products, so I figured that by taking out coffee from my diet I would be forcing myself to function on it's own without all the caffeine. I began drinking coffee once again but only two or three times a week. I've decided not to allow my body to depend on it as a result of this challenge.
ReplyDeleteRitika Harchekar
3rd
One thing I seem to always do right when I get home from school is walk straight to the pantry to begin a long night of snacking. Whether it is chips or cookies or other snack items, there are many nights where I just grab whatever I see to keep me busy while I do homework. So for the HealthyMe Challenge I decided to give up chips and cookies, the two most snacked upon items in my life for five days. I gave these two up because although they are the most common snacking items, they are quite unhealthy and very detrimental to my health. It offered great health benefits because I was intaking much less sugar as well as processed ingredients, considering that is mainly what chips and cookies are made up of. Although I didn't feel much of a difference, I know that it was a very healthy decision for my body, and that the lower intake of sugar and processed foods was giving me a more healthy lifestyle. I believe I will try to continue after these five days, or at least limit how much I snack every day, as well as try to eat more breakfast, lunch, and dinner to prevent excessive snacking.
ReplyDeleteEveryday my mom packs my lunch for me and for a treat everyday, she packs me 5 chocolate chip cookies. Then after dinner i usually have cookies for dessert. I knew i always needed to give cookies up or stop eating less of them, so when i was assigned this i knew i could start right here. So last Monday through Friday i decided to tough it out for 5 days. Giving cookies up meant that every day during lunch i would not have a dessert and every night i would not have a dessert. It was tough cause i have been in the routine of eating about 8 cookies a day so for 5 days it was extremely though for me. So instead my mom packed me an extra fruit either a banana or apple everyday for lunch and for dessert my mom made me a fruit smoothie. I never really knew how much you could enjoy fruit until you actually eat it on a consistent basis. The biggest difference was the acne on my face. It was always a little bad and when i gave it up i could definitely see my face becoming clearer. I wanted to continue with the challenge to see how big an impact it would make on me, but the day after i finished my challenge prom occurred and ill admit my judgement slipped and i had quite a few cookies. I am currently starting the challenge back up though for myself to see how big of a difference it will make in the next week or so. But for those five days, the change for not eating cookies on a daily basis was definitely beneficial to myself.
ReplyDeleteIlene Monh
ReplyDeletePd.1
Last week, I added food into my diet instead of giving something up. For 5 days, I substituted my normal dessert which is usually ice cream or cookies for fruit salad. For me, I absolutely love ice cream especially when it starts to get hot and ice cream is creamy and delicious. I thought that there would be no different in how I felt because I usually eat fruit at least once a day. By eating fruit salad as a dessert instead of ice cream, I felt less tired and full. Normally, at the end of each meal I feel stuffed. The fruit salad made me feel more awake and less hungry. I still felt full without eating a bigger portion. By participating in the challenge, I realized that when I ate sweetened and fattening desserts such as ice cream, I was putting more sugar, calories, and bad fats into my body which made me feel like I did. Foods such as ice cream and cookies are so full of fattening ingredients and preservatives to keep them longer. Will I never eat ice cream or cookies again? No, but I did learn that it's ok to eat ice cream or cookies just in small amounts and once or twice a week instead of everyday.
Ryan Horner- 5th
ReplyDeleteFor the past five days I made an effort to include some type of fruit or vegetable in every meal I ate. I made a conscious effort to include a banana or some strawberries along with my cereal, or to add a helping or green beans to my dinner plate. I chose to add a serving of a fruit or vegetable to every meal I ate because I felt like it was a relatively easy way to include healthier foods into my diet. I usually get pretty hungry at meal times so I’m not too picky about what I’m eating so I figured adding a serving of fruits and/or vegetables would be a great way to be healthier. Normally, I don’t get anywhere near the proper amount of fruits and vegetables in too my daily diet so, so I figured this challenged would be a small step toward reaching a healthier diet. Also adding these servings of fruits and vegetables with meals eliminated the need for other, less healthy sides such as potato chips or french fries. Overall, I didn’t really feel too much difference while completing this challenge, however, I did notice a slight increase in the amount of energy I had after meals, especially lunch. Normally, I get really tired after lunch, but while doing this challenge I didn’t feel as tired and it didn’t last nearly as long. In the end I discovered a relatively easy way to incorporate healthy foods in to my diet and I plan to continue doing so for as long as possible.
I decided to change up my diet and make it healthier over the last few days. I changed up my breakfast every morning instead of just eating the same thing every day. I tried healthier breakfasts and I tried a more substantial meal. I ate some yogurt and fruit one morning and ate eggs another morning. I chose this option because I remembered that in one of the lectures, we were told that we should try and switch up our breakfasts every morning, so I decided to give it a try and make my breakfast healthy, since it really wasn't already. I was proud of myself for eating healthier and I definitely felt less guilty about what I was eating. It was nice to eat something a little different for a change, even though it did not hold me very long. I was actually hungry less than an hour later and I was starving by lunch. Now I know that I need to eat a little bit more with my breakfast. I think I will continue this after this assignment because it was nice to eat something besides poptarts every morning, not to mention it is much better for you. While it may not have been the most substantial breakfast, eating a healthier breakfast composed of fruit and yogurt made me feel much better in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAt the beginning of 2011 i decided to give up artificial candy and soda for 1 year... I have always loved sour candy and have plenty of knowledge to discern how bad it is for my health, but i have not put forth a commitment to give it up until this year. This is not my first time to give up soda for a year, so it does not seem nearly as tough as it was the last time. I am hoping now that after a year of not having artificial candy i can pretty much completely eliminate it from my diet. I have also put a focus on eating more lean protein throughout the day (like chicken breast, turkey, and fish) instead of burgers and fries. i realize that i can get away with eating a lot of junk at this stage of my life because of my metabolism, but i am trying to create healthy habits for myself now to not make it harder on myself later. Because of these new habits i have instilled into my diet i have not only seen my body fat percentage drop but also found that my energy levels have began to increase during workouts! Giving up some of the little things has made a a tremendous difference, and it is not always easy to abstains.... but it is worth it.
ReplyDeleteI gave up drinking sodas and other carbonated drinks, as well as high fructose drinks for a week to see how it affected my everyday lifestyle. After about 2 or 3 days, i began to tell a difference in my energy level throughout the duration of the day, I no longer felt the need to take naps, or lay own, i wanted to go out and do something productive. After seeing how 1 week went without drinking sodas, high fructose drinks, and other carbonated beverages,i made the decision to greatly reduce the amount i drank in the future.
ReplyDeleteMatt Wachter 2nd
For one week i decided to add more fruits to my breakfast lunch and dinner. I also wanted to switch the soda I drink with water. The point was I wanted to see how this change would affect my health and my sense of well-being. Overall i thought the challenge would be hard because I find it difficult to add fruits into my diet, but it turned out to be easier than I imagined. After a week I felt as if I had more energy and was able to focus more in class and retain more information. I was excited in this change because I know that the foods I eat impact my life. I will try to slowly change my eating habits to incorporate more healthy foods while limiting the bad ones. This decision I made, in my opinion, will greatly impact my future.
ReplyDeleteDuring my senior year, I have gotten extremely lazy in almost every aspect of life, slept more than ever before, and basically removed breakfast as a meal. So, for the Healthy Me challenge I decided to put an emphasis back on breakfast and not only that but make it a healthy one. I did this by first waking up earlier every morning to give myself adequate time to make and eat breakfast. My breakfast would usually consist of Honey Nut Cheerios with either a banana or blueberries and a big glass of Simply Orange Juice. This doesn't seem like much but for somebody who has not eaten breakfast in awhile it filled me up. After the five days, I can now see why so many people say "breakfast is the most important meal of the day." It not only helps wake me up but it also keeps me awake and focused during my classes. And if you ask my mom, it puts me in a better mood throughout the day. Thanks to these five days of breakfast, I will now be a lifetime supporter of the first and most important meal of the day.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Rexroat 5th
For the healthy me challenge, I decided to take artificial sugar out of my diet as much as humanly possible for five days. First of all, though this, I realized just how many products artificial sweeteners, such as high fructose corn syrup, is in. I decided to take this challenge on after learning that recent studies have shown these sweeteners can cause everything from hallucinations, seizures, and brain tumors to kidney and liver enlargement and cancer as well as the more known side effects of obesity and diabetes. Like anything processed and manmade, these "sugars" aren't good for your body. I gave it up for five days and, honestly, I didn't feel much different. The only difference may have been staying at a steady energy rather than going from hyper to a crash. Although I didn't feel much different, I know consuming natural sugars is much better for my overall health and, there fore, I plan to continue to avoid artificial sweeteners in my diet as much as possible.
ReplyDeleteAs a RomanCatholic, I have given up all soft drinks for Lent. Lent, for those who are unfamiliar with this tradition, is a 40 day-long celebration in which all Catholics are (supposed) to give up anything of their choosing for the entirety. So, I decided to give up soft drinks. As a frequent soda drinker, I found it very difficult the first few days of avoiding soda, and every Doctor Pepper can I saw was oh so tempting. But, I remembered my commitment to the challenge and stayed strong. As of tomorrow, it will be 4 weeks since I last had soda, and I can honestly say I dont feel any difference at all. I think for something like soda it will take a very long time to feel any difference, but hopefully I can keep up the challenge for even longer than lent and keep the unhealthy drinks out of my diet.
ReplyDeleteFor the healthy me challenge, I gave up soda for 5 days. I usually have soda at least once, or even twice a day. The past week, I have substituted soda with water and unsweetened tea. These choices are far more healthier than soda that contains 36 grams of sugar in a single can of coke. It is said that you should drink at least 8 glasses of water a day, and by eliminating soda, I was able to get closer to that goal. For the tea, I would drink it unsweetened and both hot and cold. Drinking warm tea is said to help your digestive system run more smoothly, so it has just as good positive affects, as water. Getting rid of soda has definitely felt more energized as well, and I plan to continue not drinking sodas forever.
ReplyDeleteKatie Carlson
Sixth Period
For the Healthy Me challenge, I decided to add healthier drinks to my diet. My normal drink selections are a plethora of sodas, fruit juices, and carbonized drinks. I learned from this most recent chapter that my diet isn't anywhere near as healthy as it could, and should, be. So, I decided to act upon this and add more drinks to my normal diet that are better for me. Milk and water were consumed n a more normal basis than usual as apart of this ritual. The milk in my diet tasted really good, and I forgot how much I had actually liked the taste of milk. It also helped me to be less tired and have more of an appetite because I was taking in far less caffeine than usual from the sodas. I also added more water to my diet. I hardly ever drink water outside of working out, so it was the most water that I had probably ever drink over a week long period. That also made me feel better and more energized. I enjoyed the effects that the changing of my diet produced, so I plan to continue to replace the unhealthy drinks in my diet with healthier ones.
ReplyDeleteI decided to give up sodas for 5 days. It wasn't too difficult because I can usually take or leave sodas. However there are some times when a soda sounds like a nice refreshing drink and I had to remind myself to make a healthier choice such as water. I think I would have to give it up for a little longer to really feel many affects. Just in the 5 days I kind of felt healthier. When I drink sodas, I am a little disgusted by all the sugar I am taking in, so drinking water was refreshing and it doesn't contain caffeine or make me more thirsty. I don't think I would ever give up sodas all together because there are some times when its a nice treat, but I will try to limit how many times I drink sodas.
ReplyDelete-Shannon Spaans
For the week leading up to Prom I ate only salads for lunch. Though at first feeling withdrawal from having protein in my meal as usual like a ham sandwich or taco with meat, I quickly found myself refreshingly full after each meal. For me, 5th period is always a rough one to get through since its after lunch and I usually don"t have THE perfect meal as we all probably dont. However, I noticed that when I had a salad, I stayed awake and alert much better. In the salad (my parents made me each morning) I would have romaine lettuce, tomatoes, baby pickles chopped up, croutons sometimes, and cucumber (and bacon bits a few times). I never had a dressing on top which practically repulsed my table-mates, but I suffered through what turned into a tasty and fulfilling substitute for a greasy burger, pizza, or fried food our lunch room has to offer...Also having a salad for that long and consistently allowed me to realize that I could learn to like salads and feel satisfied. I could not just have a salad for lunch but now the thought of making it a regular (for the most part) meal for just my lunch can have a great impact on my health, not to mention my weight. My mother and I actually went on this "diet" and she was the first to notice that she actually lost weight which of course made me jump up and run to the scale myself lol. Eating healthier and incorporating such vegetables and fruits can also help one's skin and attention ability. Lastly I would have grapes or strawberries for dessert or a snack throughout the day. Doing that (eating smaller portions throughout the day) can also help you maintain a healthy weight since one is not suppose to eat 3 heavy meals a day- especially not if thats all they eat each day. I will continue to incorporate salads into my daily appetite and I never thought I would be up to claim that : )
ReplyDeleteI consider myself a good fruit eater, but I am not good at eating my veggies. So for five days I decided to eat just a bowl of plain spinach leaves with my dinner. Reason I ate it plain instead of like a salad is the extra calories put in it by even adding just dressing. Also I don't think I'd be able to eat all my food plus an entire salad. Fresh spinach leaves are rich in vitamin A, iron, calcium, Omega 3 acids and more. So that is another reason why I chose to eat spinach over any other vegtable. But also, its not too expensive when you get it in a giant contianer. Also manager specials are awesome; You can get a bag for 89 cents. But not going to lie, it felt like I was just eating leaves which I thought was not bad, but I would like a variety. I'd really get bored of eating it everyday eventually. Also eating too much spinach increases your risk of getting kidney stones which is not fun! Also over the decade there has been many epidemics of e. coli on spinach but that is also why you should ALWAYS rinse before eating. But I will continue to eat it in moderation as well as other vegatables especially greens.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Halvorson
1st period
For Lint I gave up soda. At first it was really difficult, especially since I am a Dr.Pepper lover, but it quickly became easier. I replaced my morning caffeine cravings with Green Tea and during the day I tried to limit myself to water. I found that after a week I was used to the lack of soda and was well hydrated most of the time. My workouts became easier and I had more energy during the day. I have not missed my Dr.Pepper as much as I thought I would and am going to try to continue to go with out any soda for as long as possible.
ReplyDeleteOver the past couple of months, I've been avoiding breakfast. I just don't make time for it anymore as I used to. Growing up, I've always been told to never skip breakfast cause it's the most important meal of the day. So, for the past week I've decided to make a change to my routine by eating breakfast again. Eating a healthy breakfast actually makes a difference throughout the day. I noticed that I don't get very hungry at lunch, therefore I consume a lot less. Another thing I noticed is that my stomach doesn't growl and I'm not eager for when the lunch bell is going to ring. Another change I made to my diet is to moderate the amount of chocolate I eat. I can simply say that I am a chocolate addict, which isn't very good. So, I stopped eating chocolate as often. It's hard initially, but once you get used to it, it's not so bad.
ReplyDeleteFor 5 days, I decided to give up fast food because in my classes we were watching Food Incorporated and Fast Food Nation. After seeing how the chickens are treated before they go into processing, grossed me out completely and inspired me not to eat it. I found myself thinking going to grab something to eat, which made me realize how much i actually do eat fast food. After not eating fast food for 5 days, my appetite was a lot bigger. I seemed to always be hungry, and I didn't leave any food on my plate at home. I also found myself having more energy to do things, and more of a desire to get my school work done. Also, without eating fast food, soda's were cut out of my diet, and that also had a big impact on me. I found myself being able to breathe a lot better, and I felt like I was more in shape. This activity made me realize that cutting certain things out of my diet can make a huge impact on my sports life and on my school life.
ReplyDeleteTyler Landis
Deinhammer 7th
I am not really a horrible eater. I don't drink many sodas or anything, but my real problem is eating fast foods, especially things that are fried. When I stopped to think about it, sometimes my entire meals are completely fried. For example: A chicken strip meal from Chicken Express would contain fried chicken strips, fried okra, and fried corn nuggets. Lately I've been trying to cut the fried foods from my diet, especially since i am running a lot for lacrosse season. Since i don't really have much time to eat or cook at home, I have turned to sandwich places such as Subway, Quiznos, Which Wich, and Potbelly. After sticking to this for a pretty good while i have been able to observe a couple key differences. When eating fried foods i would feel very full and i always felt like I needed a nap or something afterward. When eliminating this from my diet I felt slightly less lethargic after meals. I dont know if it was just all in my head or what, but there was definitely a noticeable difference. I definitely feel like my body was able to function better when I cut the excess grease and fat from my diet, so I feel like I will probably try to continue to keep from eating the bad fast food. The only problem I had during this testing was that the sandwich shops are usually more expensive than a place like Wendys, but I think it was worth it.
ReplyDeleteBrandon Mullins
Deinhamm 7th
Like many people, I decided to give up fast food for this Healthy Me Challenge. I didn’t consider myself an unhealthy person, but as I got conscience about not eating fast food, I realized that I eat fast food often. Not only is fast food tasty but it is also cheap and very convenient. Pretty much in every corner you can find a fast food restaurant. Giving up fast food for 5 days was harder than I imagined it would be. I also decided to give up cafeteria food since it is similar to fast food. Instead of buying lunch like I usually do, I made my own lunch in the morning. The hardest part of keeping up to this challenge was when I went out with my friends. When they decided to go into a fast food restaurant for a quick snack I just watched them eat. After the 5 days I consumed healthier food than I usually do and it felt nice that I was capable of giving up fast food. I didn’t fell so lazy all of the time and I feel like I became more productive. And I’m not sure if the challenge had to do with anything but I slept a lot better at night than I did in the past. Giving up fast food was more difficult than I thought, but it is doable. I should be more conscience about how much fast food I eat on a daily basis so I can cut down the amount of junk food I eat.
ReplyDeleteAmi Lee 2nd