New Parents?!

In my anatomy class, we learned about how the reproductive system works, along with the functions of the kidneys and the bladder. However, (since I have an awesome teacher), she made it extremely creative for us! We were able to act like “new parents” and understand those functions in a more unique and cool way! Take a look at what my group created to show what we learned:

1. We made a cool chart of some things to “look forward to” when you’re pregnant!

2. We made an awesome flyer specifically geared towards new parents!

Hope you enjoyed these, and that they become useful to you!

3D Printing

Hello everyone! Very recently, I have watched a TED Talk that discusses 3D Printing, and how it will change the future of medicine. For instance, no longer will people be dying due to lack of available organs, or from their body not being able to accept the new organ. The reason why this invention is insanely cool, is the fact that it prints YOUR OWN CELLS. Therefore, your body will always be accepting of the incoming organ, and don’t have to rely on any donations from others.

This video was factual, as well as inspirational. In the video, there was a boy named Luke who was 10 years old. He had a disease that effected his bladder, as well as his kidneys. The doctor decided to use the 3D printing on this boy for a new bladder, and it worked!! Luke came for the TED Talk, and explained how thankful he was for this invention and how it has helped him live his life to the fullest.

If I could have a 3D printer, and I could print ANYTHING I wanted, I would print houses. I feel it would be a great opportunity to be able to travel the world an print houses for those in need. It provides a way to be extremely creative, while whenever I travel, I can just print myself a house. 🙂 It would be great seeing all the cool things that can be done through printing houses!

The Need For Sleep

After recording and observing my sleeping patterns the past four days, I have come to some conclusions!

SLEEP TIME: In four nights of sleeping, I had an average of about 5 hours of sleep. That is NOT good. I always knew I didn’t get enough sleep, but seeing documentation of my horrible sleeping patterns drew my attention. A teenager, on average, should be getting 8.5-9.5 hours of sleep per night. Seeing that I only reached about half of the sleep necessary for my age, I fully understand why I constantly feel unmotivated and exhausted during school hours.

TECHNOLOGY: Throughout this study, it was recorded that on average, I spent almost 4 hours on technology after 8:00pm. This highly contributed to my lack of sleep and unstructured sleeping habits. However, most of it was due to homework. I can prevent this by beginning my homework earlier in the day to decrease screen time after 8:00pm.

SUGAR INTAKE: I never realized how much sugar I was consuming in after 8:00pm. My family usually has dinner around 7:30-8:00, therefore anything during dinner or after is usually past 8:00pm. This can affect sleeping habits by sugar providing energy to the body, and become unable to fall asleep at a reasonable hour. I can attempt to change the time our family has dinner every night to 7:00-7:30, so that I don’t consume much sugar past 8:00pm.

These two variables entirely effected my total sleeping time. It’s helpful knowing what I need to work on, and planning steps as to how it can be fixed! 🙂

Ted Talkin’

Hello everyone! I’m excited to say that I have recently watched a Ted Talk video that has incredibly changed my perspective on the world. I’m hoping that with the information I share with you today, along with real life experiences, you will be motivated to make a movement!

THE TALK:

It was astonishing to see the puzzle pieces between real-life experiences and science come together as Nadine Burke Harris gave a presentation as to how childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime. Some examples of childhood trauma were (but not limited to):

• Abuse
• Neglect
• Parent with mental illness
• Parent with substance abuse

Harris began to take special notice in children when she worked in a hospital located in California. She discussed that children would come in specifically to be tested for ADHD. Harris usually couldn’t make a diagnosis, however, correlated a distinction between possible illness and trauma. This sparked further research as to how exposure of adversity affects the health of children. Harris came across a study consisting of 17,500 adults coming to two conclusions:

1. ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) are INCREDIBLY common. 67% of the adults tested had at least one ACE.
2. There was a definite does/response relationship between ACE and health outcomes.

THESE NUMBERS ARE INSANE!!

In her exact words after coming across this study: “When we understand the mechanism of the disease, is our job to use this science for prevention and treatment.”

Which is EXACTLY what she did.

She is making a difference. She sparked a hunger for learning. She initiated a growth in areas of which we are uncertain. She didn’t marginalize the issue. She started a MOVEMENT.

LET’S MAKE A MOVEMENT

Sarah Weldon, is striving to be the first person to row around Britain utterly by herself, in oder to raise money for education packs around the world. This will bring advancement such as internet and online classes for underprivileged communities. This movement, or also known as Oceans Project, is projected to begin May 28th and last a total of 13 weeks. Some specific “packs” include:

1. Care for HIV/Aids orphans in Swaziland
2. Community teaching in India
3. A school for deaf children in Bolivia

“Education is a tool that can help to even the playing field for children who find themselves a victim of circumstance, and help give themselves and their families a better future.”

Sarah saw a need. Sarah is meeting that need. Sarah started a MOVEMENT.

HOW CAN I MAKE A MOVEMENT?

When we look at our ability to impact others, we continuously degrade our ability. We begin to have a mindset of, “My actions don’t matter.” Or, “Nothing I can do will make a difference.” Or even, “I’m too young.” All of the statements listed are completely false. Our actions always matter whether it’s from noticing someone being bullied and standing up for them, or witnessing the same thing and making a world-wide blog to spread awareness across seas. Our actions, whether little or big, will always make a difference. And who knows, your one action could lead to a chain of people gaining confidence to make a change as well!

In my life, I have been graciously blessed with an extravagant number of opportunities to prevent poverty and spread love. I have been to Austin, Wyoming, El Salvador, and Haiti specifically to help impoverished people reach into a level and sense of security. I have helped package food for Africa through an organization (Numana) for four years, and am praying for families daily all over the world to make a breakthrough.

Life is tough. We weren’t meant to do it alone. We were built for relationship. We were built to help.

Just remember: We>Me

(We is greater than me)

Thank you for your time, and I hope that you have become inspired to make a difference, make a movement, and make a change. 🙂

Diet…Should I Try It?

Hello everyone! This six weeks, I had the opportunity of watching this AHH-mazing TED Talk video (link listed at bottom of page) concerning the lifelong effects of dieting, and learning instead to “eat mindfully”. Most of us (me included) view the word “diet” as a temporary and highly restrictive program of eating in order to lose weight. Which brings to the question, “Does dieting or a temporary eating restriction help us healthily lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle?”

Through thorough research, I have compiled a list of reasons as to why you should (hopefully) reconsider the “latest”, “newest”, or even “best” diet. Take a look at the facts people!!

1. Push For Long-Term Success

The facts don’t lie to us- over 90% of people who have been on a diet regained all or most of their weight within 1-5 years. That’s literally insane!! Why go on a diet for weight loss to gain it back within a couple of years? It’s true. Your diet will fail you the very second you focus on something else. The point is, the fad diets (low carbs, low calories, etc.) will be just a temporary fix to a lifelong process. Once we have reached our set goal of weight loss, it’s incredibly easy to slip back into our old eating habits. Why? Because we never learned any different in the first place. Diets consisting of carbohydrate and calorie restrictions (as well as many others) teach us absolutely nothing as to how to constructively create a healthy diet that would perpetually have lifelong benefits. This “fad-dieting” creates a repeating circle of: dieting, weight loss, satisfaction, weight gain, dissatisfaction, dieting, etc. DO YOU SEE THE CYCLE? Good, me too. Dieting can have high inconvenience, restrictions, cost, or even simply put- just too complicated. Let’s remove all this complication and replace it with simplicity. Think about it… “if diets worked, we’d all be thin already.”

2. Lack Of Nutrition

What? Dieting is LACKING nutrition? Isn’t it supposed to be INCREASING my nutrition?! Well…um…yes. Dieting lacks many nutrients that are incredibly essential in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In fact, once your body begins to undergo significant weight loss, your brain acts as if your body were starving itself. NOT COOL, but so true. Your brain unconsciously knows within a 20 pound range as to where your body needs to be. When we gain weight and approach out of the range that our brain has set for us specifically, it almost “re-calibrates” itself, ultimately setting a new range for where your body should be. Kinda cool, right? Well, not so much. Let’s say, now you are ready to put down the chips and get off the couch to begin exercising again. Let’s even further say that you lose 25 pounds and put yourself back into your normal weight. Your brain does not “re-calibrate” itself back into its normal state…I know…crazy!! But again, it’s true. You are then living a life, according to your brain, of starvation. Therefore, your body is unconsciously storing extra food, even though you are not at an unhealthy weight. (Don’t blame me, blame your hypothalamus.)

3. Eating Disorders

Becoming frustrated or obsessive with dieting can certainly lead to eating disorders which are incredibly destructive to the body. In the TED Talk video, it mentioned that girls who obsess over weight in their teenage years are three times more likely to either gain weight later in life or become bound by an eating disorder- both being harmful. Some scary statistics include:

-Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents

-95% of those who have eating disorders are between the ages of 12 and 25.8

-20% of people suffering from anorexia will prematurely die from complications related to their eating disorder, including suicide and heart problems

-42% of 1st-3rd grade girls want to be thinner

-81% of 10 year olds are afraid of being fat

It’s heartbreaking to see how much dieting has influenced and shaped our society.

So what do we do?

Take control of your health by taking control of your lifestyle. It was shown that people who consumed fruits and vegetables, incorporated regular exercise, did not smoke, and had a moderate intake of alcohol were surpassingly healthier than people who did little or none of the above. Learn to eat when your body is hungry, and learn to stop when your body is full. This will take some time and observation as to learning how your body reacts, but in the end, it’s a great skill to learn mindfulness eating. “Work WITH your appetite, instead of fearing it.”

“The best answer is to dieting, then, is: A lifelong program of everyday healthy, pleasurable eating coupled with regular exercise. To lose weight, eat less and exercise more. How boring! How prosaic! Yet how true.” Meg Selig

I hope this post inspired you as much as it did me, to really focus on a long-term healthy lifestyle, rather than a temporary “quick fix” diet. Diets aren’t worth it. Diets. Aren’t. Worth. It.

Hey, guess what?

Diets aren’t worth it. 🙂

Link to TED Talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work?utm_source=newsletter_weekly_2014-01-11&utm_campaign=newsletter_weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_content=talk_of_the_week_button

Link to eating disorder statistics: http://www.anad.org/get-information/about-eating-disorders/eating-disorders-statistics/

Health eHeart

Hello everyone! For the past six weeks, I challenged myself not only to learn and discover parts of the heart I had never heard of, but to understand my personal and family heart history and how it effects my health. An amazing opportunity rose to where I could participate in an informational survey consisting of questions concerning my surroundings, emotional health, stress, family health history, as well as my overall health. Going into this project, I was in fact a little skeptical as to how a survey could actually teach me something beneficial. However, I was crazy wrong!!

Surroundings

Did you know surroundings actually effect your heart conditions? We go through our daily lives, most of us not even paying attention as to where some of our stress really comes from!

“Stress is an important medical consideration, and creating an environment that reduces stress is a key piece of improving health outcomes.”

As humans, we need to feel safety, security, physical comfort, AND psychological comfort. Therefore, just the right of familiarity will provide a relaxing environment and ultimately reducing stress and KEEP YOUR HEART MORE HEALTHY! 🙂

Emotional Health & Stress

Through some aftermath thorough research, emotional health/stress really plays a high factor into the overall health of your heart. It was found that people who were dealing with depression, anxiety, and high stress levels does not necessarily link to heart problems or disease, but it strongly increases risk. This picture below was one of the questions this survey asked:

I’ve been realizing that this school year has been really taking a toll on my emotional stress. I constantly have an anxious feeling about school work, college, things I need to do, or just worrying about little things! However, now that I know how it can effect my heart’s health, I will now work harder to prevent putting further stress on my body that is unneeded 🙂

Family Health History

Before taking this survey, I had no idea how valuable it truly is to know family medical history. Since families tend to have very similar genes, there is a reasonable chance that you may have some risks or take more/higher precautions in certain areas. Also, if there is a certain medical pattern repeating in family medical history such as stroke/heart attacks, cancer, heart diseases, high blood pressure or any other medical condition that could possibly be passed down from generation to generation, doctors can be more aware and constantly look for signs or symptoms.

Bottom line- Please don’t blow off family history!!

Personal Health

Does personal health effect your heart? ABSOLUTELY. The number one cause of death is…wait for it…heart disease. We need to learn how to take better care of ourselves before we find ourselves in a not so good situation. Heart disease risk can be reduced by;

-Not drinking alcohol, smoking, or using tobacco

-Increasing physical activity

-Eating a variety of food groups

-Reducing high fat, sugar, or salty foods

Remember, changing our overall diet and health doesn’t happen overnight! It takes time, dedication, and constant self-motivation. Set goals daily, weekly, monthly, and even yearly to keep yourself on track of maintaing a healthy lifestyle!

Ultimately, this survey was extremely helpful in sparking new ideas of how to combat stress and continuing a heart healthy diet! It brought new things to my attention, as well as provided me with some focal points. I would highly recommend this survey, because not only does it help you, but it helps the organization learn furthermore how to combat heart disease and what actually is the cause. Below are screenshots of the topics of questions you will be asked and what it looks like when you’re finished!! The survey only takes 30 minutes MAX and is seriously super great so go check it out!

http://scistarter.com/project/971-Health%20eHeart%20Study

In Health, We Will Find Wealth

Lately, I’ve realized that people continuously seem to come up with ample excuses as to why they don’t have time for healthy eating or fitness/exercise. Some of the most popular statements I constantly hear are:

“I don’t have time.”

“I don’t have enough willpower.”

“I’m too tired.”

“Exercise is boring.”

The thing regarding all of the above statements, is they are ALL fixable! Yes, you heard me right. Every single one of them can be fixed and altered in only a matter of time. I realize that most of us struggle with the upkeep of our busy lives- assuming there is no time whatsoever to completely and totally change our lifestyle. And, you know what? You’re actually somewhat right. Changing you’re lifestyle (eating habits and incorporating exercise) WILL take time as well as dedication and overflowing motivation. However, I want to take a couple moments and really talk to you about the benefits of deciding to make the change and that it truly is possible!!

I want to take one second and mention this absolutely wonderful video describing the personal gains of exercise and how it changes our body in such a positive way. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUaInS6HIGo) This video puts things into an entirely new perspective and I haven’t seen anything as interesting and motivating as this video!

1. I Don’t Have Time.

False. You DO have time. You personally choose not to make time. How many hours do you spend watching TV a day? How much time to you spend endlessly surfing through your phone? (Internet, Email, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook) Anyways, you get the idea. We as human beings are so easily distracted and extremely unmotivated. How can we change that? Well first, put down the phone/laptop/iPad (or any other electronic device) and get moving!! You will never regret putting time away to benefit your health. I realize we have such busy schedules, and if you have that one show (or five) that you just can’t seem to give up, start incorporating exercise within your show. For instance, every time a character says or does something specific, do crunches, push-ups, etc. Commercial? Hold a plank. We have time for exercise, we just choose to spend it differently.

2. I don’t have enough willpower.

Making such a drastic change is extremely difficult, but it is completely and utterly possible! First, I would definitely recommend finding an accountability partner, whether it’s your friend, neighbor, spouse, Jesus, co-worker, pet fish…just find someone!! No one can can conquer this by themselves. Remember, it’s you’re entire lifestyle you’re changing. One problem I seem to see when people begin to get motivated for changing their eating or exercise habits is they have a temporary mindset- they begin to rationalize. People think that once they lose a certain number of pounds, fit into that one “specific dress”, or get that “six pack” they’ve been praying for that their fitness stops there, right? Wrong. In order to live in such a way that we continuously obtain our goal is we need to shift our mindset into thinking of a “temporary diet” as a “chosen lifestyle”. Once we come to this understanding, we become aware of our new-found willpower. Therefore, not only will you be obtaining external motivation, but internal motivation as well. Always remember: We>Me.

3. I’m too tired. 

Did you know that exercise actually makes us LESS tired? It sparks blood flow to our brain and allows for better mental awareness and cognitive abilities. By creating an exercise routine, you will soon see a difference as to how you don’t become tired/worn out shopping for groceries or any other daily activity. Regular exercise boosts our endurance and strength, as well as provides us with greater capabilities. Therefore, “I’m too tired,” is no longer a valid excuse. Regular exercise will actually PREVENT us from becoming tired or feeling unmotivated throughout the day.

4. Exercise is boring.

This statement is incredibly false it’s actually hilarious. Who said that you have to go run 5 miles to exercise? Who told you that you must run on a treadmill for thirty minutes a day in order to lose weight? Yes, these are exercise options, but for those of you who become bored easily with the same routine, boy oh boy do I have something for you! Nowadays, your local YMCA or Recreational Center not only provide a wonderful workout center, but CLASSES. Yes. Enroll in a class. Just do it. It can be anything from yoga to kickboxing, Zumba to Pilates, cycling to aerobics! Signing up for a class is a fantastic way to incorporate routinely exercise into your life as well as providing an opportunity to find new accountability partners with resembling motives. Also, who doesn’t enjoy kick-starting their day with a wonderful walk in the morning and adding a breath of fresh air? Oh, and you know that housekeeper you hired to do all your vacuuming, sweeping, and dusting? Do it yourself!! ALL of this contributes to the wonderful lifestyle of exercise. Like I said before, becoming active doesn’t mean you have to run a marathon! It just doing the daily things 🙂

Health is wealth. I fully stand by that statement. Exercise provides our body with the feeling of richness, strength, wholeness, and capability. I know it’s difficult for us to continuously feel internally motivated, but constantly think of it as a new lifestyle and a new beginning! I can talk to you all day about how exercise and health benefit the body, but only YOU can decide to make the change. Only YOU are in charge of what you do with your time and what you put in your body. I hope this post inspires you to take the first step in becoming active and living healthy. Remember, it IS possible!!!

7: The Minimal Lifestyle

For the past six weeks, I have been given the wonderful opportunity to begin living a minimalist lifestyle…but that starts with food. Who would have thought that food would be something to take out of your life to “de-stress” and ultimately “detox” your body? I always assumed that in order to live a minimalistic lifestyle, our possessions and items would have to go- NOT the food we consume on a daily basis. However, with further research and reading the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker, it allowed for me to not only be motivated to complete this “7” challenge, but have some reason and passion behind it all.

You’re probably thinking, “What is this 7 book she is talking about? How in the world could it have this much influence on her?” The book “7” was written by a woman named Jen Hatmaker. She is a pastors wife, currently living in one of the coolest cities- Austin, TX. She wrote this book about her journey to a minimalistic lifestyle, naming 7 areas in her life that she wanted to simplify. Those areas consisted of clothes, spending, waste, food, possessions, media, and stress. However, for this specific blog post, I will be talking about how I took on the 7 challenge and thrived to complete the food portion.

These are some questions that I pondered in the beginning: Is it nutritionally possible to solely survive off of 7 foods for one month? If so, is there a right or wrong food choice? What health benefits can I take away from this challenge? Is there something I can measure that will differentiate my daily food choices/intake compared to my new carefully selected food choices/intake? Ultimately, I came to the conclusion to take on the 7 challenge, and begin to find answers to my questions.

First thing’s first: What will be my selected food choices for the next MONTH? Honestly, it’s hard enough figuring out what you want for dinner the next couple nights, let alone figuring out what I would want every. single. night. From doing in depth nutritional research, I figured I would need some source of lean protein. Therefore, I chose chicken as my first food. Next, I chose eggs due to the fact that they can be cooked in ample ways as well as provide protein (and a breakfast food!). Now that I’ve got my protein fixes, I need my fruits and veggies!! Looking at nutritional value, I carefully chose apples, spinach, and edamame (if that counts as a veggie..hooray! If not, well, I love edamame). My next food was easy, considering if I didn’t have some sort of bread intake for the next month I might actually die (not really, but my heart would). I figured plain whole wheat toast would greatly be added to my selected pile of foods. Now for the breaking moment…my last food choice…sweet potatoes. Yes, sweet potatoes. Keep in mind that the only source of seasoning/marinating I can use is plain ol’ salt and pepper.

Don’t worry, I won’t completely bore you with a day to day update on this absolutely (insane) experiment. However, I will point out some of the positives and negatives that stood out to me over this time period.

Negatives: It’s hard. Well OBVIOUSLY! Okay, maybe that wasn’t the correct term to have used. It’s more on the lines of… inconvenient. My newly structured diet was incredibly inconvenient- and not only for me, but my family as well. I personally believe that living a life filled with making healthy choices should be hard, but NOT inconvenient. There are always healthy options/substitutes (apples in place of fries, a salad rather than soup, etc.) but being healthy should not be an “inconvenience” to you or your family. Therefore, I would not recommend this diet let alone lifestyle to anyone who is not 100% committed to making such a drastic change. Also, the headaches. Oh my goodness. When detoxing your body from all of the processed sugar, as well as caffeine, headaches WILL come…and that is a promise 🙂

Positives: Let me tell you, it takes maybe 20 minutes MAX in the grocery store. Why? You already know the food items you are limited to. No longer did I have to stand in the grocery store and try to figure out if I had all the ingredients for dinner the next couple nights. Also, I wasn’t just blindly throwing grocery items into my cart without even thinking about it. I only had seven items to choose from. It was simple. The amount of money saved by only purchasing these selected items was insane! It kindly forced us to eat more at home, which means…more quality family time. Another thing to keep in mind is the weight loss. I personally did not choose this diet in order to lose weight, however I lost about 6 pounds without even trying. And seriously- how good do you think it feels to know that all of the toxins of this world are outside of your bloodstream!!

Some words that really inspired me throughout this entire transformation derived from Hatmaker’s book, 7. Might I mention, she has two kids of her own, as well as in the process of adopting two children from Ethiopia.

“How can we extract our children from this filthy engine where indulgence and ignorance and ungratefulness and waste are standard protocol? Where they know they can throw perfectly good food away because there is always more in the pantry. I wept for all of my children tonight, my Ethiopian children orphaned by disease or hunger or poverty who will go to bed with no mother tonight and my biological children who will battle American complacency and overindulgence for the rest of their lives. I don’t know who I feel worse for.”

In conclusion, to answer all of my above previous questions before taking on the 7 challenge-

-Is it possible to solely survive off of 7 foods for one month? YES. Even though our American luxury lifestyle doesn’t want us to, we in fact can. 🙂

-Is there a right or wrong food choice? Not necessarily. As long as your are getting all of your daily nutritional value, you are good to go!

-What health benefits can I take away from this challenge? It is a great way to completely detox your body without completely abandoning nutrition. It also allows for a significant period of weight loss if that is one of your goals.

-What can I measure and how can differentiate between the two lifestyles? Honestly, the only number I could pull from this experiment was weight. However, at the end I could definitely feel a huge difference in my energy levels, cravings, headaches, etc.

I hope that whoever read through this found it helpful, and is motivated to find a plan that meets their nutritional needs! 🙂

A Student’s Guide to a Minimalist Diet in 5 Steps. (n.d.). Retrieved November 4, 2014.

http://minimalistbaker.com/resources/5-minutes-to-an-awesome-wordpress-site/

Hatmaker, J. (2012). 7: An experimental mutiny against excess : Clothes, shopping, waste, food, possessions, media, stress. Nashville, Tenn.: B & H Pub. Group.