Healthy Living Report

Section #:

YOUR FULL NAME:

Long-term goal

Copy your previous long-term goal(s) below:

My previous long-term goal was: My long term goal is to treat and prevent my depression. I plan to find a job that makes me happy, or be satisfied with the job I have.

Write a new long-term health-related goal in one sentence. It can be a continuation of the long-term goal you set at the beginning of the semester. It should be something you want to work on in order to live a healthy life.

Sample #1: My new long-term goal is to eliminate my risk of developing type II diabetes by 2020.

Sample #2: My long-term goal is to maintain a healthy body weight for the rest of my life.

My new long-term goal is to: Lose at least one hundred pounds to bring my BMI to a healthy number and eliminate the risk of heart disease by 2018.

Short-term goals

Copy the short-term goals from Modules 2, 3, 4, and 5 below:

Module 2 Goal: I would like to lose 15 pound by October 16, 2015 by counting my caloric intake every day

Module 3 Goal: Start the process of helping my depression by consulting with my doctor.

Module 4 Goal: Make my goal of 10,000 steps per day to keep my body active.

Module 5 Goal: To control my stress in the classroom at work.

My new shorter goals are to (2 minimum):

1. To lose another 20 pounds by the end of February 2016
2. To have more fun with my students and let my stress over little things go.

Action Plan Summary

In the space below, using 200-300 words to summarize briefly the action plans you have developed in Modules 2, 3, 4, and 5;  whether you have followed  your action plans and why; and what barriers you have encountered and strategies you have used to overcome the barriers.

The action I took for my first short term goal was to count my caloric intake every day to lose 15 pounds in 6 weeks. I successfully lost 13 pounds in that time but I did not take it as a loss. I continued to lose weight up to 22 pounds this semester by counting my calories. The barrier I faced with this challenge was when I was eating with other people. I did great when I was worrying about myself but as soon as someone else suggested eating out or cooking something not as healthy, I succumbed to their influence. I need to be stronger with my self control. My second goal was to seek help with my depression and I did that, I am on Zoloft and continue to take it every day. The barrier I faced was facing the depression of losing my mom last spring – medicine isn’t going to help that. My third goal was to get in 10,000 steps every day which is the national average. I made about 8,000 steps every day. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to make that goal if I was not exercising with cardio. My barrier was the weekends when I tend to rest more than be active. My fourth goal was to manage stress at work. One of my students made that a little hard to manage (haha!) but I did find myself having more fun with my kids and “letting go” a little but more.

Reflection: Address the following:

1. Identify the knowledge and skills you have acquired from each module in this course that have helped you achieve each of your short-term goals and your long-term goal. Use at least two examples.

In module 1, changing the way that I thought about myself (that I am too overweight to change myself) helped me realize that I can make the changes to improve my life. I broke down the barrier that I am worth it and it gave me enough self-confidence to start the process. Module 2 showed me what it meant to be healthier for my heart and my cardiorespiratory fitness. It gave me the knowledge that I am effecting my body in a negative way and why I should change my habits. It also brought the topic of depression into the for-front of my mind (knowing I have depression). Module 3 helped me determine where I was physically and showed me what types of exercise or activities change what parts of my body, allowing me to start losing my weight for my short term goal. One example is that I learned that breaking the exercise into smaller segments of time is just as effective as sustaining the activity over time. Module 4 taught me about the nutrition I needed to be able to lose weight and why it is important to be smart about what I put in my body. Module 5 taught me more about my mental health and my depression and helped me realize that depression is not as embarrassing and more common than I realized. Stress is also a huge factor that causes my depression and this chapter taught me that I deal with more stress than I should and more ways to prevent it. Lastly, module 6 taught me to think positively and get rid of my excuses to changing my lifestyle for the better. I use too many excuses daily and I need to lose them and be more active with making myself healthier.

1. Discuss the key strategies that you implemented during the semester that you plan to continue. Explain why you believe the strategies will aid in developing or maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

One key strategy I used was being more conscious of my food intake and what kind I was eating. Sometimes I don’t even realize I am eating or I eat when I am not hungry (a side effect of my ADD) and I was much more conscious of what I was putting in my body when I started to calorie count. I also am thinking more positively about my life now that I have all of the information I received from these modules about my physical and mental health. I realized that it is ok to be where I am, as long as I am happy and changing my life for the better.

1. Describe whether there is anything that you wish were introduced in this course that could have helped you achieve your goals. Justify your answer.

This course was perfect for reaching my goals.

1. Explain how your perceptions have changed during this semester regarding your priorities for healthy living.

My perception of physical activity has changed, I now think it is more important to get active than where my priorities were before. I also think that mental health is not as embarrassing to admit to yourself or someone as it was before and it is the first step to getting help. I was ashamed of my depression – even though most of it was caused by my mom passing away. I still thought that I shouldn’t be depressed and thought I could handle it on my own.

1. Based on your new long-term goal and the new short-term goals, describe your plan of action for improving or maintaining your healthy living in the future:

• Identify the barriers you may encounter that could inhibit the achievement of your new short-term and long-term goals.
• Describe the strategies you will use and support (people or resources) to help you overcome the barriers and achieve your goal.

I could face the barrier of getting discouraged when my weight loss isn’t progressing the way I want it to. That is a barrier I have always faced and it usually stops me from my goals. I think the holidays could be a barrier to losing my weight with all of the holiday food that surrounds my family. I will overcome these barriers by having my family support me through my negative thoughts with my weight loss, I will tell them more about my nutrition and diet so they know how to support me better. I will also exercise more and stay away from the food as much as I can through the holidays, keeping my calorie counter up to date. A barrier for my short term goal of less stress in the classroom would be the people that bring me down, and the students that need more help. I will not let my coworker’s attitudes discourage me from having a good day with my students and I will have more positive actions when dealing with the more stressful students. I could take more breaks away and take deep breaths when I feel like getting stressed at work.

1. Write any other comments that you wish to include.

Thanks for being a great Professor! Everything you have done or comment you have made has helped me through this course.