In Wellness, I have grown in my ability to make better decisions that relate to my health. My growth can help me in the future by keeping me stable. If I keep making good health based decisions then I will be able to avoid diseases, loss of memory, unstable emotions, and from being anti-social. If I have a better overall health than I can live a long an effective life. To fully develop the skill, I would have to apply these decisions constantly in my life; meaning I can’t just eat bananas one day and then turn around and eat Cheetos the next. My main goal for the distant future is to apply health in every one of my decisions I make.  I want to be able to be healthy in every aspect of my life.

 

       I practiced this skill when I went through my Wellness Plan and I decided to cut down on watching videos on my phone, so I can get more sleep and be better rested for the next day. One project that supports my growth is the Mini Wellness Plan. The purpose of the Wellness Plan was for us to address the issues of health that we can be improve and learn how to fix those issues, so we can set good health base habits in the future. In order to complete this project, we had to first state what aspect of health we wanted to improve, then we had to take that aspect and make it into a SMART goal that was long-term, then we had to create 2 short term goals (that still followed the SMART format) that would help achieve are long term goal, we had to list the steps we would take to reach those short term goals, also we had to write down the barriers or obstacles that would prevent us from completing the short term goal, and finally we listed the solution, which explained how we were going to “combat” that obstacle so we can still complete the goal. During this process, the product that was made was a calendar that kept track of our progress and verified if we were following our plan.

 

       One artifact that reveals my growth through the Mini Wellness Plan is the Mini Wellness Plan calendar. The classroom content that the calendar demonstrates is a SMART goal. The calendar has to have the short term goal you are focusing on for that month(s), but it is written following SMART. SMART is broken down into Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time. It breaks down what your goal needs to target. Your goal needs to be specific meaning it has to address a certain point, measurable meaning it can be documented with numbers, achievable meaning it states your previous status and what you want to achieve, relevant means it has to be a goal that truly challenges you but doesn’t ask for you to do impossible things, and time is the “due date” you want to reach the goal by. The calendar illustrates my growth overtime because it records how I struggled to follow my SMART goal, which supports my health and how I slowly started to follow my goal, so I can improve my health. For example, I wanted to cut down on the time I got my homework finished, so I can get more sleep at night. The first week I failed to follow my goal but then I started to follow my short term goal, and I was able to finish my homework by 8:30pm instead of 9:00 for 2 weeks straight.

Another learning endeavor, or assignment that supported my growth is The Meal Modification quiz. The purpose of this assignment was to educate us on how to turn a “not so healthy” or unhealthy meal into a healthier one yet still keep the integrity of the meal. It also educated us on the fact that we can still get vital nutrients, vitamins, and minerals from every meal we consume. 

       

       In order to complete this assignment, we first looked at MyPlate and saw that for each meal half of your plate should be fruits and vegetables, the other half should be grains and protein, and that dairy should be included. Second, we looked at a meal that Ms. Tash, Wellness/Fitness, teacher made and we learned that she wanted us to modify the meal but not disrupt the integrity of the meal. Integrity meaning if the main part of the meal is a hamburger you don’t change it to a salad.  In addition, we researched healthier alternatives to the different parts of her example meal. Then we did research on the benefits and consequences (if we intake too much) on key nutrients our body needs: Proteins, Lipids/Fats, Carbohydrates, and we looked up Dietary Fiber and Cholesterol. Fifth, after researching on the nutrients and healthy alternatives, we modified Ms. Tash’s meal as a class. Sixth, we study for the quiz that was centered on meal modification.  At the end of the assignment, we created Food Diary Reports, in which we recorded all the food and drinks we ate or drank on November 13, 2014 Thursday and either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday of that weekend. 

 

       One artifact or piece of evidence from this assignment is the Meal Modification quiz itself.  The artifact or the meal that Ms. Tash had us modify was described as: Pasta with 6oz of beef meatballs and parmesan cheese. Garlic bread and an iceberg salad with creamy Caesar dressing. Gatorade to drink. We, as an individuals, had to alter this meal so the person can still get some nutrients and avoid the consequences if you eat the meal as it is. I know two modifications I made to the meal, which  was cut down the 6oz of meat to 3 because less calorie intake, less weight gain, lower risk of obesity, lower risk of clogged arteries (LDL Cholesterol in the beef), and lower risk of Heart disease.  Modify the Iceberg salad to a Romane salad because it contains more essential vitamins and minerals compared to the Iceberg salad. 

As I previously stated, my growth is to make better decisions that relate to my health. For example, on the quiz one option to modify the meal was to replace the Gatorade for the drink to water because it is the healthiest option in a drink. The main reason why you want to have water is because it does not contain simple carbohydrates compared to Gatorade. If you drink water this lowers the simple carbohydrates intake, which lowers the possibility of the extra carbs to store as fat, lead to weight gain, obesity, and may result in heart disease or if you have to many simple carbohydrates.

 

            Also, portion control was another important term because you can still lower your intake of the bad things (LDL Cholesterol, too many Simple Carbs., etc.) if you only eat a small amount of it in a sitting. For instance, on the quiz the meal had 6oz meatballs and you can use portion control and cut that 6oz to 3. Now, 3oz may not seem like a big change, but you intake less calories, lowers risk of weight gain, lowers chance of obesity, clogged arteries (because of the LDL Cholesterol in the fat of the meat), and lower probability of getting Heart disease; all because you cut down on half of the meat you wanted to eat.