The Finish Line

     Throughout this semester, I have been writing a blog over general health and wellness.  I can honestly say that I never thought that I would participate in writing a blog.  While it may not have been something I fancied to do, it did have some effect on me.  For example, when I was looking up information on individual wellness, I realized that some parts of my life needed a change. Anyways, as the semester comes to an end so will my blog.  It's been a good experience, but it will not be something that I will continue to do with my time.  For my last blog, I wanted to form a general outline of health and well-being.

     There are seven dimensions of wellness. There is emotional, physical, social, occupational, environmental, intellectual, and spiritual.  A person that manages these seven portions of their life are considered a "well" person.



     For general health, the key is a well-balanced diet and the required amount of daily exercise.  The hardest part of general health for most people is the well-balanced diet.  Some people tend to crave specific foods, usually unhealthy foods, which causes them to break a healthy diet.  The key is being disciplined enough to limit one's intake of unhealthier foods.  What makes diets so difficult in America today is the large amounts of unhealthy foods being produced.  Everywhere you turn there is a new toxic food product being made or displayed for the consumers to buy.

     For more information over these topics, go to http://www.wellness.com/.  This website contains all needed information for maintain a full, well lifestyle. Thanks and gig'em.

Difference in Being Healthy and Losing Weight

     Is losing weight always healthy?  While a lot of people may answer this question yes, the correct answer is no.  Plenty of Americans, especially girls, lose weight in a very unhealthy manner.  You hear all the time of people not eating or barely eating to lose unwanted weight.  This way of going about losing weight is extremely unhealthy, and in the long run can actually cause you to gain weight. 
     When an individual stops eating the proper amount of nutrients the person will lose weight but not the weight that person may have wanted.  When you cut your diet down to scarse amounts of food, most likely, you will not take in enough proteins.  With this lack of proteins the individual will lose their muscles which will cause a drop in weight.  The individual's body fat percentage will increase, even if they look skinnier.  As soon as that person stops their 'diet' and starts eating like normal Americans, the weight they put back on is not going to look attractive. 
     Not only will the person's body fat percentage increase with the lack of food diet, but the individual will not be getting the proper amounts of nutrients.  The human body needs a certain amount of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins everyday.  Good carbs give the body energy to stay focussed and get through the day.  The proper fats are neccesary for the organs of the body.  And proteins allow for muscle growth and stamina.  A proper combination of these three things daily will help lead to a healthy life.

Healthy College Life

     The key to a healthy college life is to balance your schedule with exercise, schoolwork, relaxation, and the correct relationships.  Being a student at Texas A&M, I have learned to manage my schedule accordingly, but this also goes for college students all over the country.  

     Schoolwork and studying are crucial when it comes to a successful college student, but some people over-do it which leads to massive amounts of stress.  When you manage your time accordingly you will have stress, but it's a good stress.  It's a stress that allows you to accomplish the tasks at hand.  A healthy life consist of this stress.  The wrong stress is the stress that makes you feel like you will never accomplish the assignments.  This stress will add extra pressure to yourself, and lead you to an unhealthy lifestyle.  To manage these stress-levels, one must incorporate side activities to one's schedule.  

     Exercise is one side activity that can get your mind off of school and makes you feel better.  Exercise can give the individual more energy, and allow the individual to have an increase in focus.  Not only this, but it is key for a generally healthy lifestyle.  When you start feeling stressed or over-loaded with work, make a trip to a city park, weight room, or even  take a walk around a neighborhood.  

     Relationships can help and hurt you in college.  That is why it is very important to maintain correct relations with people around you.  It is important to have friends that have the same interest as you do.  This is a mutual relationship that can help reduce the stress levels.  

7 Dimensions of Wellness

     When people think of health, most tend to perceive it as physical status.  There are actually seven portions of being healthy.  There is emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual, physical, occupational, and environmental.  Each of these contribute to having a healthy lifestyle.  

     Being emotionally healthy is the ability to enjoy life despite unexpected challenges and problems.  This deals with expressing feelings and emotions in a positive manner.  Holding in negative emotions can lead to stress and illnesses.  Keeping a positive mind-set can help lead to a healthier, happier life.  For college students, one needs to find an activity or something that is relaxing and allows one to take a mental vacation.

     Intellectual health lets an individual explore more opportunities to learn and grow.  To be intellectually healthy, one must regularly engage in new learning opportunities and experiences. When you grow intellectually, your mind can have influence over your body.  

     A portion of health that people might not immediately spot is social health.  Social health is the ability to relate and interact with others.  For some people, like me, it is uncomfortable, but it is very important for one's overall well-being.  For college students, being in an organization helps with this portion.  It allows the individual to interact with their peers.  Being respectful and caring for others is an example of being socially healthy.

     Spiritually health helps a person reach a sense of inner peace.   A person's good ethics, values, and morals contribute to their spiritual health.  This can help give you the sense that all is right with the world.  For some, attending church can help with this. 

     The most common thought of health is physical health.  Being physically health can lead to more energy and a sound mind.  To achieve this portion of being healthy, one must exercise, eat right, get appropriate amount of sleep, and avoid risky social behavior.  Locally there are many parks one can go to to acquire the correct amount of exercise. 

     For college students, occupational health begins with determining what roles, activities, and commitments takes up a majority of their time.  One must learn to balance personal and professional time to achieve the most fulfilling wellness.

     Last but not least there is environmental health.  Components to this health are access to clean air, nutritious foods, sanitary water, and adequate clothing and shelter.  For the most part, one's environment needs to be clean and safe.

     Adults in the working world along with college students should learn to practice these forms of health to have a good sense of wellness.  If one has a good senses of wellness, it will make life more enjoyable even through tough times this world has to offer.

Blaming Fast Food

     Why is it, that people want to blame fast food joints for their unhealthy eating habits, and therefore, their obesity?  Some people might find this to be a dumb question because fast food is very unhealthy, but the truth is, fast food places don't make an individual eat there.  People that are not very strict with their diet will continue to eat unhealthy until they either have a physical problem , they finally notice what these toxic foods are doing to them.  The problem with this is that they immediately blame the fast food industry.  People need to learn to take responsibility for their actions and accept that it is their fault. Several time the people have tried to sue that business for selling them unhealthy foods.  This is just wrong.  The company is just doing whatever they can to earn money and if the people are willing to intake this poison  then all the power to them.  It is the individual's choice to purchase the items.  I'm not trying to take all the blame off of the food places, but we, especially Americans, need to learn a proper diet and avoid stuffing our faces in their garbage. 

Addition of Supplements

     Some people may view taking supplements as being harmful to the body because of the extra chemicals that may be contained in them.  But in reality, most supplements give the body the needed amount of nutrients.  For general health the body needs a certain amount of nutrients a day, and most people don't come close to reaching those limits.  While supplements are extremely beneficial, they can also cause harm to one's self in a couple ways.

     Supplements can increase your metabolism, focus, and energy levels.  A good example of supplements that do these are pre-workout supplements and fat loss supplements.  These products increase your heart rate to keep your system moving, and therefore burns calories throughout the day.  These can also become harmful if you: eat unhealthy, take too much of the supplement, or take multiple types at the same time.  Pre-workout and fat loss products can also include mood enhancers.  Which help you get through the day.  And the most important benefit is the nutrients that they supply.  Most people don't intake the correct amount of nutrients a day.  If you look at the number you're supposed to in-take, you will find it hard to get to those numbers.  These supplements can help with that. 

     Before you consume any supplements, make sure that you know what is contained in them.  Research and learn about the side-effects and the chemicals they contain.  Also, follow the directions on the bottle or jug to see how much or how often to take the product.  I have found that this website, http://www.bodybuilding.com/store/index.html, has cheap but reliable supplements that you can purchase.  It also has discussion sections for each product where you can learn information about every supplement.

A Solid Core

     A six-pack of abs, which tends to be the most popular muscle group, has a few myths about it.  Myth one, just working the core out will give you a six-pack.  Myth two, only actually core exercises can strengthen your abdomin.  And finally myth three, you have to exercise the abs to have the muscle group.  I'm sure most have heard these statements at one point in time or another, but they are all myths.
     For myth one, most people think that doing core exercises all the time will lead to a six-pack.  While that is true, the most important part of gaining a six-pack is a clean diet and cardio exercises.  To also answer myth three, the human body comes complete with the abdominal muscle group.  To see that that muscle group, one needs to strip the layers of fat around it.  It's like any other body part.  A clean diet alone can lead to a six-pack, but if you have a hard time eating clean all the time, cardio is the perfect solution to that.  Myth one does have some truth to it though.  You do need to work the core out for the best possible results.  Myth two tends to be the most popular.  While core exercises "hit" the muscle group the best, almost any movement can benefit the core.  Daily walking can even be a good core workout.  The key thing to remember is to focus and isolate that muscle group each time you lift your knee up. 
     A clean diet, cardio, and focussing on everyday movement can lead to the stomach you have always wanted.