Blog 26: Senior Project Reflection

1) I am most proud of my losing 60 pounds. I never thought that I would lose that much in such a short amount of time but I have proved to myself that i have the perseverance that it takes to stick to a weight loss regimen and see results.

2)

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• I really think that I worked hard on everything that I did and everybody tells me that it shows. I started with something that knew absolutely nothing about and created my knowledge from the ground up. I took a chance by choosing this as my senior topic. I could have failed, but that was not an option for me. I dove into un-known waters with the sink or swim mentality, and I swam.

3) I really think that presenting was my favorite part of my senior project. I love being in front of people and telling them about something that I am truly passionate about. Whether it was my 10 minute, 30 minute, or 2 hour, I was excited and prepared for it and I think my presentations are something that really helps me stand out.

4) If I could go back, I would introduce exercise into my senior project from the beginning so that I would have a bigger product to show you at the end of my project. I am happy with the results but I know that I could have done so much more.

5) I have lowered my chances of heart disease, certain types of cancer, and diabetes which I think is the most amazing thing. I now have a new found confidence that I didn't have before that I also think really improved my presentation skills get to a whole new level. I am going to have this knowledge to use in college and to pass on to generations to come. I hope to never fall back to my old and un-healthy ways.

Where I will go from here

So all in all, I have lost 60 pounds and am now at a comfortable weight of 178. Am I happy with that number? Yes. Am I going to work to get down even lower on the scale? You bet ya. I am so happy with the results that I have seen so far and that is with my schedule being super crazy for the past few months. Yes, I haven't been focusing as much as I should have been, but this summer is going to be full of healthy eating and working out. I plan to go to school 20 pounds lighter than I am right now and I know that I can make that plan happen if I work hard enough. When I come back to visit, I don't want anybody to recognize me. I want to be a new person that people will be even more proud of, than they are today. I realize that I have accomplished something that not many people are able to execute and I don't plan on stopping anytime soon.

Weight Watchers review

I joined weight watchers again to get more education on healthy eating and staying active. It helped the first couple of weeks but I never had time to go to the meetings because I couldn't drive myself and my parents usually get home from work at around 7 or 8 at night. Also, I was at a huge disadvantage because I was not allowed to get the weight watchers app for my phone because I was not 18 or some reason like that. The staff was so nice and willing to help, though. I really loved the friendly environment and people actually talk to you about your weight loss even if you have never met. For me, weight watchers was a bust at this time purely because I could not commit to it due to my nunsense/improv/schoolwork schedule and I have not been back to weight watchers in three weeks. Maybe I will try again in the summer when I can really commit to going every week.

24 Hour Fitness membership

This is my 24 hour fitness. It has been really hard to actually get to the gym lately though. I have had so much on my plate with drama, mentorship, Isearch, two hour, and regular homework after that. I haven't been to the gym in about two weeks and I am so excited that now I have more time to spend there and get back on track to my healthy weight loss. At first I was really intimidated of the gym. It scared me because I am a very insecure person when I am around people that I don't know and I get really nervous but after a while there, I realized that nobody really cared what I was doing. Also, it is a great source of information because if you ever have any questions, you can just walk right up to the counter and ask and they will answer that question clearly and tell you to keep asking any questions that you have. The staff is so nice and helpful that you can't help but feel at home in the gym.

Jillian Michaels 30 day shred

This workout regimen was one that I used earlier in the year to help me get over my weight loss plateau. It helped wonders, I started losing again on the scale and in the measurements, and i could not believe it. She says in this video that the secret is the circuit training where you go back and forth between cardio exercises and weight lifting exercises and I truly believe that. They have two girls in the video along with Jillian to represent the different fitness levels. They have different posititons for each move fit for beginners and some positions that will increase the intensity of the workout for the intermediate/advanced viewers.

My weight loss idols

These women are huge advocates for healthy weight loss while understanding that there was nothing wrong with the body that you had. They always say that they lost the weight because of health reasons and for personal issues with how they looked and not because of anybody telling them otherwise. They have lost so much weight and they did it the healthy way and now they are widely a part of the get up and move movement for Michelle Obama.

Jamie Oliver- Name the Veggie

This video is a wake up call to every parent. In this video, Jamie oliver was testing to see if the kids actually had knowledge of what healthy foods were, or even what their names were. They failed miserably. This is where environment comes into play and how parents can effect how a child eats from day one. If the children don't know what those veggies are then they will think they are gross and not eat them. Maybe we should be teaching our kids about healthy veggies and fruits in schools more often.