Wellness

The wellness wheel couldn't have come at a better time because I've recently been trying to change my dieting and exercising habits, as well as the way in which I feel and look at myself. Knowing that my answers to some of these questions could be completely bias, I realize that the wellness wheel is how I look at myself in my perspective. Others could have different opinions about how I score myself.

I found that I did very well on section eight, scoring a perfect twenty. Now, that is just how I felt at the time I took the test. Different answers and scores could appear at different times depending on my mood. Section eight was about wellness with playing and working. I feel I did very well on this particular section because I know how to separate work from play. I know when and how to work hard; and I'm very proud of the things I do and my accomplishments. On the other hand, I know when I've been working too much, and personal enjoyment away from work is almost like therapy to me. I think that the way I work is what enabled me to do so well in this section. I usually enjoy work, and I always try to turn work into an enjoyable activity, instead of "work". I feel that if you work hard, you should play hard too.

The main areas that I scored low in are the areas surrounding diet and exercise. Throughout my life, up until the past couple of years, I've always been extremely athletic and did some form of exercise regularly. However, now that I have more responsibilities; working full-time and going to school full-time, I've notice that I have slipped from exercising regularly, to not exercising at all. I've become a couch potato, figuring that I put so much time and effort into work, that when I get home I should sit on the sofa and plop my feet on the coffee table, eating junk food till my stomach erupts. I know this isn't me, and I don't want to be a couch potato for the rest of my life. However, this horrible habit that I've developed is a cycle that spirals downward leading me to unhealthy obesity. I'm only 170 pounds, still in shape, but on the verge of gaining an actual beer belly. I need to break the cycle and set a routine exercise plan for myself that will also include a relaxed diet. I've always eaten unhealthy foods: candy, bacon, greasy foods, fast food; tending to shy away from fruits and vegetables. However, fruits and vegetables are main parts of my food group, and I need to eat a lot more of them, rather than fatty carbohydrates.

I think I need to get myself more involved in an extra curricular activity such as basketball. Along with taking health this term, I'm also taking basketball for my PE credit. I used to play basketball throughout high school, and only if my coach saw me now, he would make me run laps till I puked. I used to be in top physical condition, but look at me now. In order for me to get back in shape by the summer, (so I can take off my shirt at the pool without hesitation) I need to start lifting weights again. My basketball class should take care of my cardiovascular, but I also need to regain muscle mass. I want to set a goal to lift weights three days a week for an hour at a time. I play basketball for an hour and a half, twice a week, which is a good start for running and burning off the fat. I should eventually start to take time out of my day to run on my own though. My goal is to be able to bench press 220 pounds (I could bench 250 in high school), and to be able to run a six minute mile by the end of this term. For my dieting portion, I think that a starter goal would be to not eat at any fast food restaurants at least until the end of this term. If I don't achieve these goals I think you should give me an F, but if I do complete my goals you should give me an A!!

Enough about how bad my exercising and dieting habits are; I'm actually surprised that my self wellness scores weren't as bad as my exercising and dieting scores. I've been going through some tough growing pains lately due to a lot of responsibility changes and just growing up in general. All my family just moved away from Portland after my parents go divorced and since I've been going to college for the last two years, and holding down a job here, I decided to stay.