Eating healthy is often a struggle for many Americans. This can be for a multitude of reasons, such as a lack of awareness and/or education, limited financial resources, reduced availability of fresh fruits and vegetables, and inadequate time to prepare meals. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle has been a personal battle for me as well. Although I was always active while growing up, I was raised with very unhealthy eating habits. Both of my parents worked and we ate fast food at least twice a week. I was also allowed to drink soda with dinner and my mother always cooked with a lot of butter, salt, and too many starchy foods. In sixth grade I became more aware of what “eating healthy” was, and I remember being shocked and upset with my parents.
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When I built my profile, I selected that I would like a plan designed to help me loose weight. I also entered that my activity level was very minimal. This is because sometimes I swim laps three days a week and sometimes I do not have time to swim at all, just like the wellness effort roller coaster exemplifies in figure 1-1 in our textbook. To my surprise, the plan provided to me allowed for a 2000-calorie diet. I thought this was a bit high in order to loose weight. I was also unable to meet the 2000 calories each day without going above my empty calorie limit. I wanted a plan that would help me loose weight, since my BMI is in the “overweight” …show more content…
I will also strive to consume less salt and empty calories. Even though it is unlikely I will change my diet overnight, I will be able to continuously make small changes toward a healthier lifestyle. ChooseMyPlate.gov not only has the SuperTracker for planning meals, but also provides a wealth of information on weight management, burning calories, proportion sizes, and much more. I like how the program shows that you can still have the foods you enjoy, just in moderation. I would definitely use this website as an educational tool for my patients. I believe it would be especially helpful for patients who are diabetic or are required to follow low-sodium or other dietary restricted plans. I am sure there are many people, like myself, who are unaware that this resource is available to them free of
When I built my profile, I selected that I would like a plan designed to help me loose weight. I also entered that my activity level was very minimal. This is because sometimes I swim laps three days a week and sometimes I do not have time to swim at all, just like the wellness effort roller coaster exemplifies in figure 1-1 in our textbook. To my surprise, the plan provided to me allowed for a 2000-calorie diet. I thought this was a bit high in order to loose weight. I was also unable to meet the 2000 calories each day without going above my empty calorie limit. I wanted a plan that would help me loose weight, since my BMI is in the “overweight” …show more content…
I will also strive to consume less salt and empty calories. Even though it is unlikely I will change my diet overnight, I will be able to continuously make small changes toward a healthier lifestyle. ChooseMyPlate.gov not only has the SuperTracker for planning meals, but also provides a wealth of information on weight management, burning calories, proportion sizes, and much more. I like how the program shows that you can still have the foods you enjoy, just in moderation. I would definitely use this website as an educational tool for my patients. I believe it would be especially helpful for patients who are diabetic or are required to follow low-sodium or other dietary restricted plans. I am sure there are many people, like myself, who are unaware that this resource is available to them free of