Blog #9 My struggle with healthy weight

Since I have been in college, I have struggled to maintain a constant diet. Although it has improved, my freshmen year is when i struggled with weight the most. At the time, I was an on-campus student. I guess you could say I gained the "freshmen 15". Being that I was away from home I grew accustomed to my meal plan.I even changed my plan from receiving 12 meals a week, to the $1000 meal plan bucks. This was probably a bad idea. All I did was snack and eat. The food was absolutely delicious! Chick-fa-lae, pizza, burgers, cakes, and smoothies, soon became my friends, and slowly but surely I began to gain weight. In an attempt to lose the excess weight, I attempted to exercise on a regular basis, but continued with the same eating habits.Of course, I got no where. My exercise routine only lasted for a good week.Now that i have my own apartment I seem to eat less. However, I cannot help but to snack when I am doing work. I now buy my own groceries. Cooking has now become my best friend. Three years later I have lost my excess weight!
My social influences,environment and budget caused me to overeat during my freshmen year. One's budget also comes into play when dieting. Healthier foods cost more than non-healthy foods. Being that I had no job, I veered toward cheaper, more fattening foods. Although weight loss can be a success with exercise, eating healthier foods also helps. When one does not have the finances to do so, this makes it a struggle.
Fitting exercise into my schedule is a struggle because school work and being a full-time parent to a 5-month old still seems to get in the way. I think that once my son gets older, it will probably be easier for me to exercise, because he will be able to walk and play in the park, while "mommy" takes a jog around the park;)
In all i think that time management, money, and self-motivation makes all the difference in the world when it comes to health- management.

Chp 9 & Supplemental Reading

From cosmetic surgeries to weight loss, women have found many new ways to become “beautiful” in one sense. Competition amongst women soon becomes the driving force of beauty.I found the reading, "One Size Definitely Does Not Fit All" by Mary Duenwald to be very interesting. Duenwald speaks about the competitiveness that some women seek in order to fit the "normal" body image. While some women are accepting of their body image and weight, others will do just about anything to fit soceital standards.Modeling is one of the many careers that focuses on nutrition and body image. In doing so, many models go through eating disorders in hopes of mantaining the body weight needed to keep their career. Unfortunately, some of these models become underweight, which puts their lives at risk. All women should take pride in their body image.Everyone was created differently. Is this not beauty? The uniqueness in which every woman has should define her beauty. Unfortunately, some women so not see this as so. One must look within themselves to realize that we were born of natural beauty.


Mary Duenwald. The New York Times. June 22, 2003 p1 col 01 (40 col in).

Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2003 The New York Times Company


This photo is not meant to offend anyone.It is an overexaggerated picture of what some women go through in order to gain societal acceptance. Sadly, some women see this size as being a healthy weight.

STDs

Noone has the right to place judgement on a person based on an STD. For one must realize that STDs are not always based on endorsing in promiscous behaviors.One who is faithful to his/her spouse may recieve an STD from their mate, due to the other partner being unfaithful. Therefore, the faithful partner will unknowingly contract the STD during sexual intercourse. One should also know that STDs can also be contracted through oral sex. Lets not forget about Herpes 1, a common STD in which children and adults can get. Some children contract this STD during a mother's pregnancy, while others, get them as cold sores or fever blisters. Does this mean that the child is of low economic status or is sexually active? Of course not. Oral herpes is very common amongst children, especaily during times of illness.
Having sexual intercourse during menustration increases the risk for an STD. The transmission on blood from one person to another increases the risk of an STD. This does not neccesarily mean that the women does not study good hygiene. One must realize that blood plays a great role ion contracting an STD and HIV, due to bacteria found in blood.Although STDs can come from being promiscous, there are many other things that come into play when receiving an STD. STDs are like viruses that spread from one person to the other, when protection is not used.It is important that everyone get tested on a regular basis even if they feel that they can trust their partner.

Testing for Pregnant Woman #6

While pregnancies bring about many exciting moments, mothers must also look to receiving the proper health. Getting tested periodically, for STDs and other infectious diseases is one of the many important health factors during pregnancy. Although this is so, many women do not get tested on a regular basis during pregnancy. In fact, many doctors conduct certain test during different trimesters of a woman's pregnancy. Some doctors even go as far as to only conduct test on certain women, depending on age, and other factors in which women may be at high risk for. Examples of these are seen in older women. Often times, it is these women whose babies are at a higher risk of having birth defects and other complications. In doing so, many younger and middle- aged woman are not always tested for every infectious disease. This leaves younger and middle-aged woman and their unborn vulnerable to many diseases. While some older women discover the health of their unborn during pregnancies, it is not until the baby is born that many younger and middle-aged woman discover that their child has contracted a disease or has a dis formality, due to the lack of testing. However, many doctors do conduct STD testing on a regular basis. This is very important, since the transmission of an STD or infectious disease can have a huge effect on the babies health. By staying informed with the health status of the mother and child, pregnant women learn the different health measures that they can take in order to better the health of themselves and the baby. Although doctors, conduct "basic" test on pregnant women, every women deserves to be tested on a monthly basis for "every" infectious disease and STD no matter the age or health status of the individual. Yes, this may seem like a long and strenuous project, but better to be safe than sorry.