4/17/2019 8:26PM
I’ve had a bit of a mixed week this week regarding my fitness. With all of the work beginning to pile up over the last month of the semester, coupled with my habit of putting off assignments and completing them in a caffeinated haze, compound on that obligations to my fraternity, and finally anxiety about what exactly I’m going to do post-grad, I’ve stressed myself out to the max. I’m surprised I ended up getting to the gym; but I think that’s what I needed to try and recharge. Lifting is a great healthy method to relieve stress and I feel so much better when I leave the gym. So I’d say that’s a SMART goal completed. The next thing I absolutely need to fix is my erratic sleep schedule, which has once again been thrown out of whack by drinking caffeine to stay alert and crank out assignments. Waking up late in the morning or early in the afternoon will severely impede my productivity and the window I have available to go to the gym, run errands, eat, socialize, and complete assignments. My SMART goal for this week will be to reduce my caffeine intake to take a healthy first step towards ultimately quitting again. It’d also be very nice to rid myself of the excess calories and sugar in those drinks.
On to my diet, I had a huge “cheat weekend”, which really means that I just ate out a bunch, stayed up late, didn’t drink enough water, and kind of just ate like crap for four days. It started with my fraternity formal on Friday, which I planned, The ball went very well, and I actually enjoyed myself, although my friends and I, along with our dates, went back to our suite and put in a big Dominos order. OOF. Lots of chicken bacon pizza, breadsticks, and cinnamon twists. Certainly saw that in the morning. Over the course of the weekend, I went to Chipotle with my friends at least three times, and got both a burrito and a bowl each time. That doesn’t help either. This week I’m going to focus on eating clean again and continue to go to the gym to work that extra weekend weight off.
Onto the chapter, I recognized that I have some hereditary risk factors for high blood pressure, hypertension, and diabetes, as my mother’s family has a history of diabetes and heart disease and my father’s side has high blood pressure. In order to mitigate my risk for these diseases, I need to eat healthy, exercise regularly, and get good sleep; so pretty much exactly what I’m trying to do right now. That’s good news at least. I already knew a lot about heart disease and the causes of it, especially atherosclerosis and coronary. It was a nice refresher and a strong motivator to continue pursuing my health and wellness goals. Also, strokes sound absolutely terrifying so I’m definitely working to keep that risk as low as possible.
Regarding cancers, the strategies to mitigate risk remain largely the same: healthy nutrition, regular exercise, and engaging in healthy lifestyle habits (good sleep, not smoking, no drugs, etc.). While I’m going to be on the lookout for what I can see, screening myself for skin or testicular cancer, I’m not going to live in fear of cancer. Personally, I think it’s largely up to luck whether you get it or not. While your lifestyle and habits play a part, it’s so irregular that I think genes and your physiological composition make up a large part of cancer contraction.
Overall, the week could’ve been better but it could always be worse. I know what I need to work on and the only thing left is to get it done. Here’s a photo from my formal, it was the first one I’ve actually enjoyed because I’ve always been so absorbed in planning and making sure they go well. Just wish I could have more time in my undergrad.
Logan's Fitness HEAL102 