Health and Fitness Reality Check

Going on a "Diet" doesn't work and is unhealthy.

I believe that "Diets" don't actually work, and if they do, the person doing the diet most likely had strong will power, or once they got to their goal weight, began regaining the weight and had to start all over. However, note that my opinion is probably slightly biased. Being a girl in a society where being skinny, having thigh gaps and a good overall appearance, continues to be a struggle for most young women all over the world. The media makes it seem as if models are what women should be aiming to look like, and that the only way to achieve looking like a model is to diet and exercise. Just to be sure, dieting is defined by Merriam Webster as "a regimen of eating and drinking sparingly so as to reduce one's weight." Dieting implies that one must RESTRICT oneself from certain foods in order to lose weight. Though not a very reliable source, Urban Dictionary describes a diet as a "four-letter word that often leads to deprivation, frustration and, ultimately, failure," which essentially explains how I feel about diets - I don't think they work.

Dieting can do more harm than good. As a result of the constant weight loss and gain from dieting, "the risk of death from heart disease, including heart attacks, and the risk of premature death in general [becomes doubled]". This puts dieters at higher risk than they were before. It was also found that dieters  "end up weighing more than they did to begin with."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-447651/Diets-damage-health-shows-biggest-study.html

Dieting can be extremely dangerous for athletes, as well. The website below lists the problems associated with diets, referring mainly to low-carb and high-protein diets. These types of diets "are extremely popular because of the quick water-weight loss that occurs at the start of the diet." However, after losing the water weight, dieters are faced with a myriad of problems ranging from increased risk of kidney and heart disease to mood changes and depression.

Read more on FamilyEducation: http://life.familyeducation.com/nutrition-and-diet/weight/35884.html#ixzz310ZTm8v9

On the contrary, diets work for some people, and they had a positive outcome from dieting. Suzanne Gerber says, "when it comes to self-discipline, [she's] no paragon of virtue. But thanks to [her] teacher’s directive and a clear understanding of cheating’s cost, [she] was able to stay on course." There are some people like Gerber that are able to stay focused on their goals enough to complete the diet and have minimal side effects. 

Read more:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/11/19/why-diets-dont-work-and-what-to-do-instead/

After researching, I still believe that dieting is really unhealthy and does not work. Though there are cases in which people have "survived" a diet, I still don't think it's worth risking a whole line up of diseases and side effects. I think a better alternative would be to CHANGE your diet instead of GOING ON a diet. Simply incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your diet, eating food in moderation, and drinking more water can make a substantial difference, and it's a lot healthier than depriving yourself. By changing your diet, not only will you get the benefit of an actual diet by losing the weight, but you will also avoid the list of health issues that can arise from dieting. You might even help prevent those health issues from happening just by making healthier choices with the food you eat.

Hill Run

On Friday, we did the Hill Run. I was pretty proud of my run. I tried to run to the very top each time, meaning no shortcuts. I also tried to run each time, but wasn't able to accomplish this. I walked up the hill once, and the other times, I ran a bit past halfway and then walked the rest. Although I didn't run as much as I should have, I'm still proud of the determination and perseverance I had while doing the run. Sprinting up a hill isn't the easiest thing to do, so I know that I shouldn't be too hard on myself for walking a few times. I think one thing that could have really helped me do the run better (faster and less walking) is competition. I saw that there were a few people racing to the top, and thought that if I had some competition, I would have done more runs. For next time, I hope to do the full run. No more walking up the hill.

Self assessment

I've noticed that I'm not the same as I was when I was in Get Fit, and that kind of scares me. I haven't been doing as many blogposts and I haven't been as enthusiastic as I was before. I guess I forgot that everything I do affects the people around me - my attitude towards different activities, how hard I try during fitness days, etc. I've forgotten to keep track of my progress through blogging. I haven't posted since before spring break, whereas last year, I'd post at least once a week. Those are my two main concerns in this class, that I'm not allowing myself to grow and learn as much as I can. I'm almost preventing myself from learning. I need to improve on these two things so that I can get the most out of this class.

On the other hand, I have also been noticing some major improvements. I've gotten better at motivating myself to do at least one more. One more push up. One more jump. I've noticed that my endurance is getting a lot stronger now that I'm in rugby. Rugby really helped me stay active during the break, making the transition back to fitness days much easier. Another thing I noticed, just yesterday, was that I can do a lot more push ups (without breaks) than I was able to when I first started. It's things like these that I look forward to at the end of PE, seeing results. 

I think I'm pretty good at being personally responsible. I have good attendance and always come prepared to class. I'm also getting pretty good at telling myself when to stop and when to keep going. I know my limits. I try as hard as I can during fitness days. One thing I could improve on is my enthusiasm. I found that I haven't been as enthusiastic about certain activities, and I don't try my hardest if I don't like the activity we're doing. But I have been trying to turn things around. Yesterday, we were doing Insanity, and though it's not my favorite fitness activity, I tried really hard. I don't think I've ever swear so much before.

One last improvement I could make is to be more of a leader. I noticed that I haven't been helping out with setting up nets or getting groups organized. I always just assume someone else will do it. It won't be a hard fix, I just need to take initiative and help out more when we to block-wide activities.

I know that I need to make some major improvements, but I'm also proud of the progress I've made so far. I hope to continue making progress and make the necessary improvements that will allow me to get the most out of this class.

Woo Kim - Tae Kwon Do

On Friday, we took a field trip to Woo Kim and did some Tae Kwon Do. Although I originally planned not to go, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was a bit apprehensive at first, since there weren't very many girls going on the field trip, but it worked out eventually, with us girls having our own separate line. I really enjoyed learning self-defense tactics. It was interesting getting to see how easily you could take someone down just with a few simple moves. All in all, it was a fun experience, and even though tae kwon do is not really my type of thing, I would do it again. :)

GURU PYRAMID

Today, we did the Guru Pyramid. I think I've done it before, but I didn't try as hard as I did today. I don't think I've ever been so tired, but so happy with my results. I tried really hard to push myself to the very end, and I think I achieved this, since I was one of the last people to finish. However, looking back now, I feel like I may have skipped the 5th level. Oops... Even so, I know that I tried my hardest today. In the future, I think the only thing I would improve is to finish faster. I think I could have ran to the middle more often than walk there. One thing I did improve was taking less breaks. I didn't take any water breaks until the very end, and only took a few two second breaks in between exercises. One last thing I should note is that I did the modified push up, but I did twice as many push ups to make up for the modification. All in all, I'm very proud of the progress I made today knowing that I pushed myself and did my best.

Extended Beep Test

On Friday, we did extended beep test. I was really happy with what I accomplished on Friday. The most beep breaks I took was 3 or 4 beeps, and then I ran again. I don't think I've ever been able to do that before. I was really happy that I was able to motivate myself enough to keep running after 3 or 4 beeps. I was also really happy that near the end, I ran after 2 beeps. I think I really pushed myself and I was really satisfied with the sense of accomplishment I felt. I found that running with someone who is around the same fitness level as me really helped me. It made me think, "If they can do it, why shouldn't I be able to?" I hope for next time to continue to decrease the number of breaks I take. I also need to work on getting to the line before the beep, since I wasn't able to do so near the end of the beep test. All in all, I think I did really well, and I hope to continue making improvements as the semester goes on.

INSANITY!

On Tuesday, we did Insanity for fitness. It was so hard! I found it really difficult to stay active. I had to take a few breaks other than the given water breaks, which is okay with me, since Insanity isn't exactly the easiest exercise in the world. I was especially proud of myself during the beginning of the workout. I was working really hard, really pushing myself. I think what messed me up was the water break. I think it indicated to my body that it was over. It was after the first water break that I started to slow down, when I was really supposed to go faster. I hope that for next time, I will continue to push myself even after the water breaks. I hope to do the whole work out non-stop (except for water breaks) next time. 

I was actually really proud of myself when I did Insanity. I felt like I got a really good work out. It was really intense, and I was definitely sore the day after. Other than the improvements already stated, I think I did pretty well. I'm proud of the effort I put in that day. :)