Old Essays From Five Years Ago About Healthy Eating and Physical Activity

While looking for something on my computer I ran across these essays I had written for English II five years ago. I thought it was funny and thought I would share. I have always been a health nut. haha

Healthy Eating

Have you ever tried eating healthy and just given up within a couple days or weeks? Everyone has; at least one time in his or her life. Healthy eating is hard, and does take practice; however, it can be achieved through, eating at appropriate times, knowing your food’s benefits, and planning your meals a-head of time. Healthy eating does not take place over night, and it requires patience and determination to achieve this life-long benefit to your health. There are so many foods out there that are extremely bad for you, like fast food, most restaurant food, and many processed foods. I think it is important for everyone to have the knowledge of this and learn about healthy eating strategies along with its advantages.

To maintain health, the number one thing that can be done is through your diet. Eating healthy is hard, but with practice it can be achieved. While someone is trying to eat healthy, it is good to take baby steps. By doing so you are not depriving yourself from your favorite unhealthy foods all at once. If you eliminate foods gradually, you will eventually have a long-term change in your eating habits that will lead to life long healthy eating. Keep in mind that a healthy diet does not just depend on what you eat; it’s how much you eat and how often. Over eating of any kind of food is unhealthy, and eating when you are not hungry or starving yourself is also unhealthy. It is best to eat every three to four hours until you are satisfied. Eating every three to four hours allows your body to stay satisfied, and that keeps down cravings so you are less likely to over eat when you do.

           

            When people think of eating healthy they get discouraged right away. They think they can only eat fruits and vegetables and think they have to say “so long” to all their favorite foods. That is not true, because there are so many alternatives and little things that you can do to keep your diet healthy while eating your favorite foods. An example is, if you love hamburgers and absolutely love the taste of them. You can put half ground turkey and half ground beef, where you will still have the taste, while eating healthy at the same time. Another discouragement is that people think a lot of foods are bad for them when they are not; such as breads, pasta, cheese, and milk. Just because something may be fattening does not mean your body doesn’t need it. You need carbohydrates that are in bread and pastas, because carbohydrates are the body’s first source of energy. You also need calcium for strong bones, which is found in milk and cheese. To make your choices healthier, you should stick with whole grains to help maintain your blood sugar level, and low fat cheese, and soy or skim milk to keep calories and fat down as well. You can see the food pyramid for all recommended daily intakes of different categories of food like carbohydrates, protein, fruits, vegetables, dairy, and fats that will help you maintain a healthy diet.

            Everyone’s life is so busy. They are too busy to plan their meals, or pack a lunch, or snack to ensure they will get food at an appropriate time. Your body is like a car you have to have fuel to operate. Our fuel is our food. Without proper nutrition your body will not operate at it’s maximum level, leading to fatigue, and lower mental alertness throughout your day. Extended lack of nutrition from not eating or eating unhealthy can lead to health problems such as, strokes, heart attack, diabetes, obesity and anorexia. Many people in the US are unaware of these diseases and the drawbacks of not eating, or not eating right. To avoid leading an unhealthy diet you should grocery shop regularly, and plan your meals. Like I said before, baby steps can be taken, but eventually preplanning your meals will come natural. 

            I hope after reading this you will understand how important a healthy diet is, and think about what steps you are willing to practice to work toward a healthy eating life style. It is hard, because of our busy life styles, but ultimately eating at appropriate times, knowing your foods, and planning your meals a head of time will eliminate eating unhealthy and going through a McDonalds drive through. Healthy heating habits lead to good health!   

Physical Activity

            The lack of physical activity has a major impact on our nation’s health today. Many Americans are unaware of the benefits of physical activity and how it can improve their health status mentally and physically. Physical activity is not just exercise; it is doing other things as well as yard work, house chores, and anything that will keep you moving. With all the benefits physical activity offers, if everyone participated our population’s health status would significantly change for the better. If people would partake in just thirty minutes of physical activity at least three times a week, we could lower many diseases, help maintain the side effects of disease, and improve mental health.

            Physical activity helps prevent many diseases and other health conditions. Like heart disease, diabetes, osteoporosis in women, and helps prevent strokes, high blood pressure, and obesity. All these diseases are what our society is suffering from at high rates. Also these diseases come hand and hand with one another. High blood pressure correlates with heart disease, and the same for obesity and diabetes. They all intertwine with one another. One comes with the other, which leads to more and more health problems.

            Exercise also has a major impact on mental health as well. People who exercise can manage their weight and increase their energy level. Maintaining weight and having energy all contributes to the decreased number of people affected with depression, and increases the amount of people with high self-esteem due to the effects physical activity has on the body. Exercise has also been proven to help reduce stress and anxiety. Stress and anxiety can also lead to lead to high blood pressure if it is not managed.

            People who are already suffering from a disease can also benefit from physical activity to help maintain their symptoms from the disease and prevent other health problems from occurring. If you are diagnosed with heart disease, your doctor will instruct you to do physical activity to maintain your condition’s side effects. Exercise gets your hear rate up and since your heart is a muscle, it will strengthen.

            Physical activity is a ticket for a good health. If people were exposed to the advantages of physical activity, they will be more likely to participate. Everyone knows that exercise is good for you; knowing the actual details and diseases they prevent and maintain would help motivate people to get into action. Physical activity helps prevent serious diseases, improves mental health, and helps maintain the effects of diseases. Promotion of physical activity and their advantages should be demonstrated to help our societies health status improve drastically.