So, in case you haven’t noticed by now, I’m not really big on the whole “diet” thing. And taking this Personal Nutrition’s class hasn’t changed my views anymore than it probably should have. I do know that eating healthy is required to live a long and vigorous life but I have always found a good reason not to. At the store, I think most people can agree, that fruits and vegetables are expensive; along with healthy boxes of cereal, organic granola and bags of dried fruit or trail mix. And not to mention the ridiculously low portions sizes but high price tags. Buying $10 dollars worth of vegetables, that will probably only last a day or two and will not satisfy my hunger does not compare to a box of macaroni and cheese, lucky charms (family size), a pack of ramen and a few boxes of hamburger helper. Now some health nuts may be saying that ‘you can’t put a price on life’ or ‘health and education are the one thing you should splurge on,’ but honestly I don’t care. A struggling family should not be going broke to try and feed their kids organic foods, but instead they should be trying to stretch their money and try their best to guarantee life and not necessarily a ‘fit’ one. It’s one of those die happy and a few pounds overweight or die healthy but broke and starved. So, I have decided to take matters into my own hands and see what exactly is healthy living.
I am giving myself a 30-day challenge. For the entire month of September 2010 (Wednesday September 1-Friday September 30) I will consume foods based on a ‘normal’ 2,000-calorie a day diet. According to my Personal Nutrition textbook, a 2,000-calorie diet was chosen as a good point of reference because that’s about the amount recommended for most moderately active women, teenage girls and sedentary men. I will be calculating carbohydrates, fats and proteins since these are nutrients. I will also try to include any vitamins, minerals and water (which are the remaining three nutrients) that I intake; and of course the dreaded portion sizes. Along with diet, I will work out on Tuesday and Thursday mornings for an hour a day; the book says that I should probably be working out an hour a day for seven days a week, but let’s not push it. Keep in mind that my goal is not to lose weight, I am happy being a size 7 and weighing about 125 pounds, and keep in mind that if I have a hamburger I will make it fit into my 2,000 calorie diet, but I would like to see for myself if the ‘average’ person can really live this healthy lifestyle, on a budget, working and being a full-time student. Tomorrow I will provide you with my stats such as:
-My exact current weight
-My height
-My class schedule
-My daily activities
-My age
Once a week (5 weeks for the month of September) I will document any changes in my statistics along with other information such as a grocery list of the healthy foods I bought vs. the things I would have, change in lifestyle and thoughts about that time period. However check my blogs daily. I will provide you with updates on what I ate for dinner, what will I eat for my upcoming birthday and how I am really feeling about the constant consumption of rabbit food.
