Chapter 8 Blog

Chapter 8 is focused largely on nutrition. For someone like myself, I should be eating about 2500 calories a day according to the chapter. Another important aspect of nutrition is hydration and protein. Interestingly enough, this book states that caffeinated drinks such as coffee also can count towards your fluid intake for the day. I thought before that they actually dehydrate you but it is just a common misconception. Drinking the right amount of water is important as too much or too little poses many health risks. Protein is also abundant in our body and should appear in our daily diet. Usually when we eat diets high in protein, we neglect another important nutrient in carbohydrates. This nutrient provides us with the energy we need to make it through any given day. Different types of carbs can be broken down at different rates and can give energy quicker or slower depending on what you are preparing for. The book touches on fats and how they are misunderstood. There are good fats and bad fats that we can fuel our bodies with. When we eat too much of other substances, our bodies will turn the excess to fat and store it in our cells as such. The book also mentions the importance of vitamins and minerals in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Many of these provide substance that we otherwise would not be able to get. One thing the book touches on that resonates with me is paying attention to the food labels that show the daily values of each nutrient. These are super important when trying to eat right because it allows you to calculate the proper amount of each specific nutrient. This can help avoid over eating any certain one and having it stored as fat. When choosing our foods, its important to pay attention to the organic claims and labels. One great thing I learned this chapter is what the different organic claims tend to mean. For example, the only items that are 100% organic actually say it on the label, while something that says ‘organic’ only needs to be 95% organic.

This week on my personal health journey I only went to the gym three weeks. I felt like I had 3 very productive days so I can’t complain all that much. I did some running on the treadmill on some rest days just to see what I could get my time to for the mile and a half. I really pushed myself and beat the time I need to run by almost a minute but the last quarter mile was a battle to say the least. Im not sure how it would have gone had I been out on a real track as most of my outdoor running is on a trail rather than flat grounds. I chose to stay out of the trails for most of the week because theres been a good amount of coyote sightings in my area and I don’t feel comfortable taking my dog with me. I think over the next week Im going to head to a track and time myself for a mile and a half and see what I can get. My featured picture of myself this week is of me fishing at the dam down the street. It’s a little bit of a trail that opens up to a nice spot to cast a few lines and hiking there was a quick way for me to get my dog and I some exercise while enjoying some time outside.