Mental Health

When we had our lesson on mental health, the most impactful part was the way people can handle anxiety. I have suffered several anxiety attacks already this semester and I also appear to be developing performance anxiety in football which is something that I am definitely not used to. Everything our guest speaker talked about resonated very well with me due to the personal nature of the topic.

Finding ways to limit stressors as discussed in the presentation will help me overcome this. Ways that I could do this is by limiting my caffeine intake, meditating more, and improving my own self image. Life is too good to be stressed and worried all the time. Hopefully I will be able to turn this who situation around and return to a healthy balance of  work and play.

The Illusionists

Body image is a touchy subject that can question how advertisements and the media can portray certain body types. I never really thought too much into how the commercial world distorts our own body image. Any time someone brought up body shaming in advertisements, I always laughed it off saying they were reading too much in to the situation. The Illusionists changed my perception a little on the subject.

The body shape perception was an on and off again point that I could agree with, but the issue that bothered me the most was the skin color changing creams. I found it disturbing that advertisements could influence people to want to have a different skin color to feel more beautiful. From there, I was able to launch deeper into the argument. There are certain aspect of the body that can be changed naturally with diet and exercise such as body size. With that being said, anything that can be changed not so naturally through the use of artificially created chemicals and surgeries should stop being pushed in advertisements.

There comes a point where people lose their identity in the pursuit of being beautiful or fashionable. Walking that fine line is dangerous to society as well as the individuals who will stop at nothing to feel good about themselves.

Bite Size

The Bite Size documentary had kids with successes as well as failures. One child made proper steps to living healthily while others stuck to their normal routines without any benefit. If the kid had any success it was due to the support they had from their peers as well as from authority figures.

Davion was able to use his want and desire to play football to make him start living a little more healthy. His coach was very influential and basically gave the kid an ultimatum: push yourself to be better or don’t pursue football at all. We see him finishing his sprints, lifting weights, running on a treadmill, and participating more in practice.

Emily did not have the peer support or the family support necessary for a decent life change. We never once see any of her friends except at the camp in the beginning, and her family doesn’t take her desire to be healthy seriously. If they ever do, they make her feel guilty about them having to change their lifestyle.

Moy was one of my favorite examples because just about any one of us could be just like his dad. Moy’s dad was a hypocrite, calling Moy lazy when they both partook in sedentary activities daily. Leave it to the mother, the real boss of the family, to not only get Moy to make healthy choices, but her husband as well. Moy had the best family dynamic than any of the other children. As a result, we saw some decent improvement.

Finally, the girls in the Si Se Puede program were the brightest spots in the whole documentary. Under the guidance of KeAnna Pollard, a group of girls from the Mississippi Delta area were able to find healthy eating habits, become more active, and promoted their own self concept. This challenge was very effective because each of those girls had KeAnna to look up to for guidance and each other to look for help.

Childhood obesity is a very preventable disease, but it is very hard to make the proper lifestyle changes to prevent obesity from happening. It requires a daily commitment to make healthy choices and to be active. It also requires proper support from everyone involved. This solution to obesity is built on a deck of cards, and every family member, friend, authority figure and/or anyone else must do their part to prevent this epidemic from spreading.

Streeeeeetching

The last two days of stretching in class has done wonders for my body. I am not very flexible and my muscles are always really tight, especially in my upper body. Sadly, I felt as if we didn’t do enough upper body stretches, but I did learn a lot about how to stretch many areas of my body.

The experience as a whole was great.  I left class both days feeling pretty good about myself despite the fact that during the actual stretches I was in quite a bit of pain. I discovered that I am still kind of flexible in my hips while my hamstrings and quads are very tight. I also learned the importance of breathing while stretching. It not only calms your mind, but it also prevents you from stretching too far.

I have foam rolled and done yoga before, and I understand the benefits even more now.  With this knowledge, it wouldn’t be right for me to never do them ever again. I have access to foam rollers so I definitely will continue to roll myself out. Should I have the opportunity to do a yoga class, I would take up the offer. The way both made my body feel is worth another go around.

The VO2 Max Test!

The VO2 max test was one of the most uncomfortable things I have ever gone through. The mouthpiece made it very difficult for me to keep my mouth wet. My mouth was feeling all minds of funky when it was all said and done. It was stressful at first because I wasn’t used to all of the equipment being all over my head, making me run a little harder than I probably should have. After a while, I was settled in to the running motion. You can see this on my results page.

As for my results, I am fairly satisfied. The results say that I was really working hard, making my results more accurate. I scored above average which is all that I could really hope for. Long distance running is not my strong suit. I prefer sprints.

I am going to do everything possible to avoid having to take this test again, but if I absolutely had to do that again, I am sure that I could do better. It took a while to get used to the process, and find the best way to get a decent pace. I will also have a better strategy to manage my breathing so that I can more effectively attack the test.

Barriers to a Healthy Life

Living a healthy life isn’t always an easy endeavor. It requires self-discipline, proper planning, determination, and more. Each and every day you must chose to live this healthy lifestyle. You can’t allow a bump in the road take you off your goals. With that being said, these are a few things that prevent me from living this healthy lifestyle 100% of the time.

I live a very active lifestyle with changes in my schedule being a constant threat to my plans to live healthy. It might be due to a travel plan or a last minute request from a friend. These hiccups in my daily and weekly routines can throw me off, and make me take shortcuts like skipping out on a weight lifting session or grabbing a McDouble out of the drive-through while I am on the road.

This active lifestyle can also be a burden on my body. There are several days when all of my energy has been drained and I choose the easy way out. With tough, physical football practices and the constant wear and tear on my body, it can be tough to have the desire to cook a healthy meal for myself.

Lastly the lack of money in my bank account prevents me from having the proper opportunities to be healthy. When I get out of college, I won’t have access to the student rec center, and I will have to find a gym. I will also have to buy my own food. I won’t be able to rely on the student cafeteria either. Balancing my budget to cover my basic needs, wants, and healthy lifestyle won’t be easy, but it’ll worth it.

Ethan’s Awesome Eggs

My first time ever cooking eggs by myself, I thought “Eggs by themselves are pretty bland.” So I started adding a few things. It was simple at first, just a dash of fajita seasoning, and then the addition of sausage. As the years went by my eggs became better and better. I think I just about perfected my eggs, so I will share them with you.

First, you will need the following ingredients. All of the ingredients are based on the number of eggs you decide to use. I used 4 eggs, so I used 4 peppers, and 4 ounces of pork sausage. The shredded cheese and butter were something I just felt for and didn’t really measure out. (You will see I do that a few times in this recipe.)

 

To begin, you must chop up the peppers for them to be sautéed. Then you turn on the stove to about 7 or 8 and put a little bit of butter on the skillet. Spread the butter around until you have a nice coat, then put your peppers in and stir them about until you begin to see a little bit of brown forming on the peppers. Next you put your pork sausage in the skillet and begin to break it apart with your wooden spoon, spatula, or whatever you are using. Be sure to cook all of the pink out of the sausage. We are dealing with pork, not beef, you rare steak eating psychopaths.

When the sausage is all cooked, break your eggs and add them in. Stir the eggs around a little bit then add in some fajita seasoning. Stir the eggs around some more and add in your shredded cheese. Continue the stirring, and when you are satisfied with your eggs, take the skillet off of the stove and put them bad boys on a plate.

Try and tell me that those eggs don’t look good. If you don’t like these eggs, your probably a communist.

 

This meal is obviously high in protein and contains calcium, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and carbohydrates. This meal is beneficial for me because of the constant weight training that I do for football. The abundance of protein help my muscles rebuild after a tough workout.

For the athlete on the go, I would recommend this meal that only takes 10 to 15 minutes to prepare. Just try not to make a mess like I do.

Pop-Tart Food Label Assessment

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that s’more flavored Pop-Tarts aren’t the best food in the world to consume. Further reflection on the food label reveals why this is the case.

 

Each package contains two pastries, and if we are completely honest with ourselves, we eat both. Just one pastry contains 1.5 grams of saturated fat and 230 mg of sodium. But the biggest kicker is the 19 grams of added sugar. The only redeeming factors of my favorite late night snack is the 3 grams of protein, the 37 grams of carbohydrates, 1 gram of dietary fiber.

There are also 10% daily values of Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Thiamin, Niacin, Iron, and Riboflavin.

Knowing the sad nutritional state of s’more Pop-Tarts probably won’t stop me from eating one every once in a while.

Chapter 1

In the First Chapter of “The Complete Guide to Fitness and Wellness,” the author gives the definition of wellness, saying “wellness reflects physical, emotional, social, intellectual, spiritual and occupational aspects.” Wellness isn’t defined by being physically fit, but also being in the right state of mind, and being capable of functioning in society.

The book provides ways to improve wellness in the above mentioned aspects in forms such as physical activities and exercise, proper eating, getting enough sleep, etc. As the course goes on, I want to learn to apply these to my life to improve my own wellness.

We also took a sleepiness test and I scored a 3 out of 6, making me sleepy. To be fair, I have been waking up early for football meetings and weights. The long practices do wear down my body. I could easily counter this with going to sleep earlier and catching a nap between classes.

Hello Old Friend

Hello old friend, wrap me in your cool embrace. Let your smell consume my breath for others to taste. Fill my head with swirls and laughter. Help me enjoy the evening. Help me say the things that I would never say by myself. Let your dreams cause mine to go to ruin.

Hello old friend, how I missed you dearly. When I breathe, the struggles and power all roll in and out. Send me to land better than the one I am in. Send me to the mountains where I can put my head on straight. Let me experience a relief knowing that it is only temporary. Let your dreams cause mine to go to ruin.

Hello old friend, your sight is soothing. I love seeing the beautiful movements as you console a heart that was broken. You press yourself against me and I forget my life as I allow anything to happen. Let your desires become mine. Let your dreams cause mine to go to ruin.

Hello old friend, how your worth brings me pride. You holding my hand is what I crave. I gain everything with you. With you, I can have whatever I desire. With you I can control. With you I can bring my other friends back to me. Let you come in abundance. Let me get closer to what I want. Let your dreams cause mine to go to ruin.

Hello old friend, how you brought so much satisfaction. I see shades of blue, green, and brown overwhelming me. I stand up as the colors flood me. Each glance is greeted with a kiss. Let the colors ever be shining my way. Let your joy always be there to make me feel better. Let your dreams cause mine to go to ruin.

Hello old friend, how hard I contemplate with you. I think so much with you in my hand. Pictures are painted that only some understand. Each word has a meaning and each meaning, a word. You help me get the dragons that are locked away in my head out for others to enjoy. They fly high and put on a show but no one ever knows where they came from or why they are there. Let the art fly high! Let the dragon be perfectly drawn! Let the passion be revealed! Let your dreams cause mine to flourish

I suppose that the rest of you are not my friend! The pen is there always! Alcohol, you are not my salvation! Drugs, I am not yours! Lust, I will no longer fall for your wicked charms! Wealth, I will never bow down to you! Popularity, you are not of utmost importance any longer! Pen, my beautiful pen. My gift from above from God himself! He takes form when the ink dries on paper.

I suppose that He gave me the crazy idea that the words can reach somebody. This much I have found true, my other friends couldn’t change lives like my pen does. It is to be my weapon in the war for souls.