I actually enjoyed keeping a food and activity journal the
first few weeks of class. It made me more aware of what I was eating,
especially when I felt the need to snack. Having to write down everything that
I ate made me really think on if I was actually hungry or just wanting to snack
on something because I was bored. If I was hungry, I still let myself have a
snack, but it was more often a healthy one like a piece of fruit or a granola
bar instead of chips or fun size candy bars (which add up to a full candy bar
when you eat two or three of them!) I also learned that while I was pretty
healthy during the week, the weekend was usually a time of unhealthy eating.
While there is a time to enjoy food and drink and to let yourself indulge a
little bit, I think I let myself indulge a little too much when it came to the
weekend (especially with dessert!)
Recording
my activity was helpful too. I used to work out 3 or 4 times a week, but since
school started last quarter I was lucky to get it in once. I had already set a
goal for myself this quarter to work out more and having to record it in a
journal just reinforced this goal. I managed to work out twice the first week
but I didn’t feel that was enough. I decided that for the second week I would
set one activity goal and one eating goal.
Beginning
the second week my two goals were: to eat better on the weekend and to work out
at least 3 times that week. I think making these short term goals made them
more attainable and I can see how this would be beneficial for my students as
well. Long term goals are important, but often to reach these types of goals we
need to make a bunch of short term goals to help us get there. I also made
goals that I knew I could reach. I didn’t cut myself off from all unhealthy
things over the weekend because I knew that probably would never happen.
Likewise, I didn’t make a goal to exercise every day because I knew that would
be too difficult and I wouldn’t be able to reach that goal. It is important to
set reasonable goals and to help our students pick out reasonable goals as
well.
This
project was great because it could be applied to all different grade levels. It
could also be incorporated into other subjects that our students are learning
about such as the science of our bodies, math concepts like proportions and
measuring, Geography and environmental issues involving where our food comes
from, etc. It is also a great project because it directly relates to our
students and their lives. Students are more interested in learning about things
that pertain to them and with this food and activity journal they can learn about
what they eat and how that relates to other subject areas. This is definitely
an activity I will implement in the classroom.
