food/activity journal reflection

I thought that the idea of the keeping a food journal and activity journal was going to really helpful experience for starting a healthy summer.  But, when I began to keep both journals I found that I was extremely unhealthy, and hardly active at all.  I did not eat nearly enough fruits and vegetables, and my water intake was pathetic.  The first week I did not feel so bad about this, because I was going to set a goal the next week and taadaa!...A new healthier me! It was not the case.  I did start to eat more fruits and veggies the second week, and I did drink less soda.  But, my activity level did not budge at all.  I found it very difficult to find that time to exercise.  Whenever I did have a free moment I used it to either relax for a few minutes, or hang out with friends.  I think that when I get into the classroom bringing a healthy lunch as a good example for my students is going to important.  My parents were very good at keeping healthy foods in the house, but now as an adult I need to leave the fast food industry behind!  When I was able to see good examples of healthy eating it was easy for me to eat the same way.  But, whenever I was around people (especially in college) who ate poorly, it was easiest for me to just eat whatever they ate too. 

I think it is very important to get students at least thinking about the things they are putting into their bodies, and the amount of physical activity they are participating in.  I was also thinking that setting classroom goals would be a good motivator to get the student wanting to live a healthier life.  For example, "This week are all going to try and eat a healthy snack at snack time".  Or, "At recess we are all going to try and play a game of..."  Have little manageable goals will allow the students to see that they are capable of making changes in their own lives, one small step at a time.

I think that this activity can led itself to many other fields.  With writing and English we could easily think about the things we eat and write reflective journals like we did in the this class, and we could also read about different ways that food helps our bodies (skin, heart, bones, etc).  I also think that it would be a fun way to incorporate geography.  Thinking about the different kinds of foods that other cultures eat, and how they impact their bodies, and maybe even being able to try new foods that some of the students have not yet been exposed to.  I think that this is a fun activity that really makes you reflect on how you treat your body and makes you want to do better, even if it is just one small step at a time.