Personalized Nutrition And Exercise Plan Essay

For as long as I can remember, I have always had some sort of struggle with my weight. When I was younger, I was a top ranked gymnast and it was extremely important for me to maintain a low, yet healthy weight. I managed to be successful with that for years up until the time that I got severely injured ultimately forcing me to quit competing. Upon quitting gymnastics, I hit puberty, my body drastically changed, and access weight has been an issue ever since. The birth of my two children has not helped my struggle with weight as I had gained 40 pounds with each pregnancy. As you can see, my outstanding weight issue is what will be discussed in this paper. Up until now my diet has consisted of whatever and how much of whatever I chose to eat. I have never paid attention to calories, nutritional facts, or the size of portions. I have always just eaten what I wanted to eat until I had felt like I had had enough. Although I struggle with my weight, I have never been considered â€Å"fat† by those around me. My height is 5 feet 4 inches and my weight is 175 pounds. When I enter this information into a BMI calculator it gives me the body mass index of 30 which is considered moderately obese. Just hearing the word obese gives me a horrible feeling and makes me want to cry. I have never considered myself obese. However, at the same time I am constantly disgusted with my body. Throughout my journey through this class I have been able to think of many goals to set for myself to allow me to be healthier. First, I will start with my nutritional goals. The first nutritional goal I will talk about is my daily caloric intake. From now on, I plan to limit my daily calories to 1200 making sure I do not fall below the 1200 count. I realize how important it is to consume at least 1200 calories a day; falling below the 1200 calorie count can lead to dangerous, unhealthy weight loss as well as poor nutrition. My second nutritional goal is to pay attention to the percentages of each thing I am supposed to include in my diet such as protein, fiber, vitamins, and so on. For example, I want to make sure I consume the recommended 45 grams of protein and be careful that I do not exceed this amount. Staying within my recommended nutritional needs is important for a successful weight loss. Next, I will move on to the goals I have set for myself when it comes to exercise. As mentioned in a previous assignment, I usually try to take Zumba classes twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays. These classes are a minimum of an hour in length. I have talked to my instructor and found out that Zumba burns a minimum of 500 calories an hour for the weight range that I am currently in. Burning 500 calories in an hour is amazing and definitely helpful when it comes to losing unwanted weight. I plan to stick with my two Zumba classes a week. My second exercise goal is to spend 30 minutes each morning, just after waking, doing some sit-ups, push-ups, and crunches. My husband, who is a huge health and workout fanatic, has informed me that doing a short workout first thing in the morning helps kick up your metabolism. Lastly, the most important goal I could possibly set for myself would be to increase my water consumption. I have never been a fan of water because I have always thought of it as something will a dull taste. There are weeks when I can go without drinking any water. It seems as though I get my hydration from foods, some juice, but mostly soda pop. Soda pop is, by far, my worst addiction. Every time that I eat I feel as though I need to drink a pop with my food. I plan on eliminating pop from my diet and replacing it with water. Certain actions will be required to ensure I reach my goals. I will start planning out meals and making sure they have the appropriate amount of calories needed. When it comes to shopping for groceries and ingredients, I will take the extra time needed to carefully organize a shopping list that way I can avoid buying compulsively. This will make it easier to not only eat healthier, but buy healthier so that I do not have any high calorie, diet blowing snacks hidden in the house. With any goals that you set in life there will always be times when you run into complications. When it comes to my exercising goals I feel as though my family and children may complicate some of my plans. I cannot necessarily attend a Zumba class while my husband is at work and a sitter cannot be found. There may also be times when we are on the run and healthy food just is not an option at the time. Holiday meals are also a time when my caloric intake may be higher than normal. I just have to realize that even if I do mess up every now, or choose to splurge, I must continue on and not give up or lose motivation to complete my goals. In order to determine whether or not I succeed with my goals I will need ways to measure the success. I will start out by taking measurements of my body including areas like my waist, hips, thighs, arms, and chest. Even though I may not see a huge difference on the scale the inch measurements taken will be the deciding factor. I will also plan to include my husband and family in my goals so that they are informed about them and can help aid me in the journey of completing them. If friends and family know it will make it easier to stay motivated. Failure to truly commit myself to this plan can lead to morbid obesity. There are so many health risks that include heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer, gallbladder disease, gallstones, osteoarthritis, gout, and breathing problems such as sleep apnea and asthma. Staying healthy is so important to me now more than ever. I want to live long healthy lives and be able to watch my children grow up, graduate, get married, and have my grandchildren. Obesity is such a serious problem and surprisingly it affects over 34% of American adults (Hellmich, 2010). That number is astonishing to me! I feel as though this plan will work out great for personal weight loss. Experts have spoken about how weight can be loss with simply dieting, however, they have also pointed out the dieting accompanied with exercise will increase your results (â€Å"Exercise and Weight Loss,† n.d.). By decreasing my caloric intake and increasing the amount of physical activity I can be sure that I will shed some, if not all, of the unwanted pounds, not to mention, live a healthier life. With some exercise and diet plans changing circumstances can force you to make alterations to your plan. Many people may include physical activity that can only take place outdoors; however, I have set goals that can be performed either inside or outside all year long. The changing seasons will not have an effect on the diet and exercise plan I have laid out for myself. The only circumstance that may slightly affect my diet and exercise plan would be pregnancy. My husband and I have discussed the possibility of having another child sometime within the next two years. If pregnancy does arise then I will have to make alterations to my plan such as adding 300 calories to my diet a day as well as avoid doing sit ups because of the possible damaging effects to the abdomen. I can, however, still participate in my Zumba classes which will be an outstanding exercise. In conclusion, as outlined above, I have set forth an easy yet effective nutritional and exercise plan. I truly believe that if I alter my diet to eating the recommended 1200 calories a day and increase my physical activity I will be successful in my weight loss. It is important for me to keep in mind that the 1200 calories should consist of healthy foods not exceeding my recommended protein, fat, and other intakes. I have my heart set on losing weight and finding a healthier me and with this mindset I know I can succeed! References BMI Calculator Plus: Personalized BMI for Your Body Type and Metabolism. (2008, November 26). WebMD – Better Information. Better Health. Retrieved May 12, 2011, from http://www.webmd.com/diet/calc-bmi-plus Exercise and Weight Loss. (n.d.). WebMD – Better Information. Better Health. Retrieved May 12, 2011, from http://www.webmd.com/diet/exercise-weight-control Hellmich, N. (2010, January 13). U.S. obesity rate leveling off, at about one-third of adults – USATODAY.com. News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World – USATODAY.com. Retrieved May 12, 2011, from http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/weightloss/2010-01-13-obesity-rates_N.htm Obesity, Cholesterol, and Heart Disease – Weighing Your Risks. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2011, from http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/obesity-health-risks