ABSTRACT The basis of this project was to document my weekly food intake and exercise. The idea was to incorporate the nutrition knowledge that was learnt in class. The tracker used was MyPyramid’s SuperTracker and it was able to give a detailed report of the nutrients and calories I consumed in a week. It also informed me of what nutrients were deficient or too excessive in my diet. This research will provide a detailed breakdown of how nutritious my diet is, what nutrients my body needs, whether I am consuming enough calories a day, and finally if I am receiving enough physical activity in order to stay healthy.

INTRODUCTION Water, fitness, and food, oh my! These are some of the most important things that we infuse into our schedule almost every day. Although each of these things seems like small factors, they play a tremendous role in our well being. These aren’t the only things that influence our health though. Our lifestyle, diet, nutrition and physical activities all distinguish how healthy our body really is. Each of these factors connected and play a big role in living a healthy lifestyle. If you are indulging in junk food but aren’t being active enough during the week, chances are that your health won’t be as good as you expected it to be. Understanding how much nutrition you need daily along with how much exercise your body needs can help change your whole lifestyle and body for the better. Here I discuss how my lifestyle, diet, nutrition, and physical activity have changed. I will also discuss how my health has changed for the better since taking this class.
LIFESTYLE
Growing up with two health enthusiast parents, I have always felt the need to eat healthy. Even when I was in high school I found myself reaching for salads and fruit cups while I watched all of my friends grab a Big Mac. Since I can remember my surroundings have always influenced me to be fit. Although I didn’t play many sports in school, I became a competitive cheerleader my senior year. When I wasn’t busy with homework and cheer practice I was working out at the gym with friends. School and cheerleading where the only things I thought about that year. It wasn’t until after I graduated that my healthy lifestyle began to change drastically. I decided to stay in Germany with my family and take college classes through the University of Maryland. I quickly noticed that college was a lot more stressful and time consuming than high school had ever been. It seemed like studying and working part time at a restaurant took up all of my time. Whenever I was at work I would eat a lot of junk food like hot wings, French fries, and tons of soda to keep me going. On my off days I wouldn’t have the energy to work out so instead would just lounge around at home. I soon realized how much my lifestyle and body was changing. I became so unsatisfied with my health and lifestyle that I was becoming depressed. It seemed like one day I looked in the mirror and was completely unhappy with what I had done to my body. I had earned the title of gaining the “Freshman Fifteen” and wanted it gone immediately. I realized that I needed to change my habits and revamp my lifestyle if I wanted to be happy again. After my 19th birthday I decided to make changes for the better. I started out by looking up fitness sites, then revamped my diet, and started hitting the gym again. It definitely wasn’t easy in the beginning but after a few months my body got used to working out. After a few months I decided that in order to stay fit I needed to find a new job that kept me away from fast food. Luckily I was able to get a job at a protein bar at my local gym. It was here that I learned about the benefits of weight training. At first I was intimidated to work out in the weight room because many girls don’t venture in there. After a few days I decided to get over my fears and give weight lifting a try. Since then my lifestyle has again changed drastically. I now weight train 5 times a week, do cardio 4 times a week, stick to a strict diet, and feel comfortable in my body. I decided to take a nutrition class to further improve my health and knowledge of the nutrients I feed my body. Here I will go into further detail about my diet, what I have learned about nutrition, and my weekly physical activities.