Healthy lifestyle free essay sample

With the stresses of school such as, tests, time management, and deadlines, a healthy lifestyle is vital to a student. It is not easy to get a perfect score on a test, or even an A for that matter, depending on level of difficulty, and it is not easy to take on the burden of responsibility that rests on a student such as a job might interfere with a school deadline. Not only is the academic part of school stressful, but the social aspect is as well. Image is everything to a high school or middle school student and competing with academics, the social life sometimes takes precedence in a student’s life. However, there needs to be a balance in those areas. A healthy lifestyle in school is important because your habits can affect one’s school grades, attitude, and self-esteem. One unhealthy habit is not eating a nutritional breakfast. We will write a custom essay sample on Healthy lifestyle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Without the help of protein, slow carbohydrates, and fast carbohydrates, the brain is more likely to work at a slower pace rather than working at its maximum potential. This can affect a student’s memory located in the temporal lobe in the cerebrum section of the brain. Without the memory working to its full potential, a student cannot perform his/her best on an early test or quiz or even a regular homework assignment. It is always best in the mornings to eat a nutritious breakfast to alert the brain so that it performs at its highest level. Another unhealthy habit that is prevalent is lack of sleep. Students have convinced themselves they can perform under as little as 0-5 hours of sleep. While, yes, anyone can function with that little of sleep, your brain and body are not rested and recharged to perform at its fullest. This habit can create laziness in a student and cause him/her to not pay attention in class, fall asleep in class, and/or not do homework because of the direct correlation of no motivation. It is important that a student gets no less than six hours of sleep so that he/she can apply 100% in all he/she does in school and throughout the day. Most people have experienced the lack of patience one might have without food in the body. This relates back to eating a nutritional breakfast. Not only will the habit of not eating a healthy breakfast, or even eating breakfast at all, it will also influence a student’s attitude. If a student intakes a breakfast such as waffles with maple syrup, this is mostly bread and sugar. This can cause a sugar drop if the person continues to eat sugar throughout the day, and completely cancels out the breakfast that was intended to feed the brain. When a sugar drop occurs, the person is emotionally brought to a high peak where, depending on the person, they are extremely happy, then when the unexpected sugar drop happens, emotionally a person is brought down to their lowest point, and sadness can occur, or crying randomly. This is not good for a student in college who needs to perform their best with studies. Self esteem is how a person views his/her value, whether that is outward appearance, work ethic, or value compared to someone else. A person’s self-esteem is their choice, however, it can be heavily influenced by outside sources such as media and unhealthy eating habits. If a student sits around all day, every day playing video games and eating Lays Potato Chips, with no exercise, it is only fair to conclude they are going to be overweight. The body cannot handle that for a long period of time without having any effects. After this happens, the student will be unhappy about what he/she looks like and the self-esteem lowers, creating a feeling of no value, which then bleeds into every aspect of his/her life, work, school, and social life. With a balance, using video games sparingly and eating junk food sparingly, there is little chance a person will suffer from low self- esteem. Eating right such as fruits and vegetables and proteins, can make a person feel good about themselves and succeed in school and in life. Another issue that seeps into the self-esteem is the lack of exercise many students have. Exercise keeps the body in good health and the mind sharp. Though exercise is not a direct correlation with self-esteem, the effects of exercise is directly linked with self-esteem. Eating healthy and exercising work together to make the student feel good about himself/herself and boosts the self-esteem so that there are no doubts sitting in the classroom next to the girl who wears size zero, or the guy that has huge biceps, there is a self-esteem built in the student to be sure of themselves and succeed in school. With everything a student has to deal with, test grades, grades in general, and social life, it is only common sense to get all the help available. With healthy eating habits, and exercising working together, a student cannot lose in the academic and social world. A healthy lifestyle should be everyone’s goal because it will not let a person down, it only benefits them. As a student, with everyday pressures socially and academically, a healthy lifestyle will never disappoint. Healthy Lifestyle free essay sample What a person eats is a key part of managing and combating health diseases. Obesity is bad news for both body and mind. Not only can it make a person feel tired and uncomfortable it causes major health risks. Eating a well balanced diet will help keep the weight down. The best way to lose weight is to change the way we think about food, exercise and our way of life. If not presently on a healthy diet, it can be difficult to start a plan. However, healthy eating is important for maintaining bodily function and living a disease free lifestyle. Struggling with healthy eating, know that breaking the unhealthy habits can be a difficult part of the process. However, wanting to live the best lifestyle is possible, it is important to follow steps in order to start eating a more healthy diet. A good beginning step is rid the home of all foods that do not fit into the healthy categories. We will write a custom essay sample on Healthy Lifestyle or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page â€Å"Remember the food pyramid† (Home and Garden, 2005,). Keep junk foods and beverages out of the house, so that there will be no temptations to snack during the day. Get a journal and write everything down before or after eating. It is amazing what people do not eat if they have to keep a record. In the journal start at the beginning by entering your weight, size and the day you start. If worried about getting hungry, keep healthy snacks like fresh cut vegetables, fruit, yogurt or whole wheat crackers on hand. Can’t stand to toss out the sweets, try keeping something on hand like chocolate chips. Eating a few of these won’t hinder the lifestyle change; cutting down its will give a little sugary fix that we all crave. An additional step to healthy eating is when first starting the practice is to take a few moments to become skilled at what foods are the healthiest, and how they work in the body. Most people realize that fruit, vegetables and low fat means healthy and that dairy products are good, but few know why. The key is knowledge, the learning about nutrients and the right ones the body needs to get and stay healthy. When the specific nutrients are understood and the way they work in the body, the change in lifestyle will be more likely to make these healthy choices. When preparing for a new healthy diet, the individual should take into consideration to schedule a time for meals. If the person repeatedly in a hurried or at odd times of day, then the probability they are not getting the best foods possible. Plan ahead! Instead of grabbing a fast food lunch on the go, take a premade or sack lunch to work, complete with a healthy wrap and some fresh vegetables. Plan ahead for healthy meals, breakfast and dinner; as well by cooking ahead. If time is not available to fix healthy dinners, start with baby steps. Even if substituting one soda a day with a glass of water, is improving the calorie intake. If the individual eats fast food every day for lunch, try replacing that even half the time. When starting by taking small steps it does not seem like the cutting out of foods that are loved and the individual can take the time to learn about healthy foods. Obesity tends to run in families. Some people have a genetic tendency to gain weight more easily than others because they burn calories more slowly. During times when food was scarce, this was a real advantaged. But now that food is available 24/7 in most industrialized countries, an efficient metabolism that once ensured or survival now works to our disadvantage. Although genes influence body types and size, environment also plays a major role. People today may be gaining weight because of unhealthy food choices (like fast food) and family habits (like eating in front of the television instead of at the family dining table). High calorie, low nutrient snack and beverages, bigger portions, and less active lifestyles are all contributing to the obesity epidemic. With obesity come many health concerns such as, † Gallstones. An accumulation of bile that hardens in the gallbladder forms gallstones. These may be painful and require surgery. † (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"Blounts disease. Excess weight on growing bones can lead to this bone deformity of the lower legs† (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"High blood pressure. When blood pressure is high, the heart must pump harder and the arteries must carry blood thats moving under greater pressure. If the problem continues for a long time, the heart and arteries may no longer work as well as they should. High blood pressure, or hypertension, is more common in overweight or obese teens. † (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"High cholesterol. Long before getting sick, obese teens may have abnormal blood lipid levels, including high cholesterol, low HDL (good) cholesterol, and high triglyceride levels. These increase the risk of heart attack and stroke when a person gets older. † (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"Fatty liver. When fat accumulates in the liver, it can cause inflammation, scarring, and permanent liver damage. (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Girls who are overweight may miss periods — or not get their periods at all — and may have elevated testosterone (the male hormone) levels in the blood. Although it is normal for girls to have some testosterone in their blood, too much can interfere with normal ovulation and may cause excess hair growth, worsening acne, and male-type baldness. PCOS is associated with insulin resistance, a precursor to developing type 2 diabetes. Women who are overweight also might have fertility problems† (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"Insulin resistance and diabetes. When there is excess body fat, insulin is less effective at getting glucose, the bodys main source of energy, into cells. More insulin becomes needed to maintain a normal blood sugar. For some overweight teens, insulin resistance may progress to diabetes (high blood sugar)† (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"Depression. People who are obese are more likely to be depressed and have lower self-esteem. † (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"Slipped capital femoral epiphyses (SCFE). Obese children and teens are at greater risk for this painful hip problem. SCFE requires immediate attention and surgery to prevent further damage to the joint. (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"Sleep apnea. This condition (where a person temporarily stops breathing during sleep) is a serious problem for many overweight kids and adults. Not only does it interrupt sleep, sleep apnea can leave people feeling tired and affect their ability to concentrate and learn. It also may lead to heart problems. † (Mary L. G avin, 2007) â€Å"Asthma. Obesity is associated with breathing problems that can make it harder to keep up with friends, play sports, or just walk from class to class. † (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) â€Å"olycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Girls who are overweight may miss periods — or not get their periods at all — and may have elevated testosterone (the male hormone) levels in the blood. Although it is normal for girls to have some testosterone in their blood, too much can interfere with normal ovulationovulation and may cause excess hair growth, worsening acne, and male-type baldness. PCOS is associated with insulin resistance, a precursor to developing type 2 diabetes. Women who are overweight also might have fertility problems. † (Mary L. Gavin, 2007) . Most illnesses and diseases can be controlled or even eliminated by changing one’s own eating and exercise inhabits. Luckily, it is never too late to start making those changes that can effectively control weight and the health problems it causes. Those changes don’t have to be big. For a start, plan to cut back on sugary beverages, pass up the second serving, and get more exercise, even 5 – 10 minutes a day. Walk to the corner store, climb the stairs instead of taking the elevator and even park in the last row of the grocery store parking lot, small steps. Build your way up to big changes by making a series of small ones. Sometimes people turn to food for emotional reasons, such as when they feel upset, anxious, sad, stressed out, or even bored. When this happens, they often eat more than they need. When this is an issue, try to take a walk, read, or have a glass of water instead of opening the refrigerator. These steps are possible and necessary if the individual wants to achieve a healthier weight and increase their health. The individual needs to consult their physician before starting any diets and exercise program. With their physician advice, the individual will know which diet they may consider. With the benefit of Gyms, an individual can receive a personal exercise trainer to help achieve their weight and health goals. Please note; when starting a program to change your lifestyle, losing the weight and improving your health will not happen overnight. It did not happen so. With hard work, patients and determination it will happen. You will feel the difference in the way you look, feel and your energy levels within a few days. Within a few months, you will see a dramatic decrease in weight and inches.