Physical activity as a part of healthy lifestyle

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is crucial to physical and mental wellness. As my 2014 fall semester flew by I learned a few new techniques. I came into this General Fitness course with a pretty fair mindset of physical and mental fitness. Years of emotional and physical therapy have made me very aware of where I am in the wellness realm, where I should be and how to bridge the gap between these two. This summer I lived off my student loans instead of working non-stop like I normally and currently do. I spent my summer down by the creek and out in the summer sun. One might think I spent my summer acting like a kid and though it may look that way, I really spent my summer becoming a better me. I lost thirty pounds, gained some muscle mass, and took time to de-stress myself. I started this semester quite happy with whom I had become. The semester itself has been spent maintaining my summer achievements and figuring out how I am to continue to maintain them as the school year progresses and the seasons change.

Physical activity is a big part of maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Being active is never something I’ve really had a big problem with. As a communications major, theatre minor taking 18 credits, working 40+ labor intensive hours each week at Macy’s, and taking care of a three year old I’m always on the go. Getting even a second to sit down is a beautiful thing. My job has me on my feet for 12 hours. Theatre has me running around like a chicken with its head cut off and my major requires a lot of movement- unless I’m to the editing portion where I’m sitting in front of the computer and then it’s a bunch of brain power, not exactly much physical work. Lord knows a three year old will keep you moving! In order to keep myself in this active state I need to keep myself organized and set a schedule to get everything done in order of importance. The biggest issue in my life is that physical activity doesn’t equate to physical fitness. I need to keep to my laid out workout regimen. I’ve also quit smoking this semester. Needless to say I’m very proud of myself. I need to continue this. With a child on the way, this is extremely crucial to not only my health but my daughter’s health. I’m currently using a rewards system with myself and plan to continue with this. Noticing the amount of money I have saved without smoking I am able to spend this new found money on new shoes, clothes, and now baby items!

Eating properly is also crucial to one’s wellness. This semester I’ve been fairly decent about eating the right amount of food with nutritional value. By only buying nutritionally rich food I’ve had no choice but to eat properly. I plan to keep up with this. Not only do I have to do this for myself I have to do this for my daughter so that she is healthy upon her arrival into this world. My fiancé has been a big help with this as I’ve needed the peer reminder. I occasionally get caught up in everything I’m doing in life and forget to eat. He’s been very good at reminding me to eat and making sure that I have proper food to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Maintaining stress is also important. I was in therapy for years so this has become very easy to me. Knowing my coping mechanisms and using them has become a part of my daily life. I just need to stick to my normal stress relieving techniques and all should continue to run smoothly in my life.

As this semester comes to a close I’ve found myself thrilled with my wellness advances. Strict planning and rewarding myself for my positive behaviors while reprimanding myself for my negative behaviors will continue to advance and maintain my wellness as a whole.