These chapters revealed to me that I am only about half as knowledgeable on fitness, disease, and infectious conditions as I thought I was. Overall I knew the fundamentals of each chapter but there were many moments throughout the reading that I had gained new information.
Chapter 10 focused on fitness. This relating directly to my health aspect of eating better and losing weight, I of course read through this chapter with the utmost attention to detail. I knew about needing a certain time frame of intense physical activity to reach fitness goals based on your starting point of height, weight, life style, etc. However I did not know the degree to which physical activity can improve you mentally. The chapter talked about how even just 20 minutes of physical activity like jogging could improve your overall mood. I had always heard that working out was good for mental health but I did not imagine it being very effective. According to the chapter, consistently working out can actually adjust chemical balances within your brain and make you more in control of your mood.
Another part of chapter 10 that stood out to me was developing a mindful fitness plan. Not to my surprise as much of the mindful parts of each chapter seem to jump out at me. Personally I have always been the type to start working out and keep up with my friends who consistently do it, then dropping off due to losing motivation I as try to take it from zero to one hundred and can not sustain it. By starting small and slow, while gradually increasing day by day, a much more effective and sustainable workout regimen begins to form.
The last piece from chapter ten that stood out to me was attached to the previous section on mindfulness. Not only should you gradually build up your workout plan, but you should also motivate your self with mindfulness. Instead of focusing on how tired, bored, etc. it tells you to focus on the feeling of being alive after working out. The warmth on your skin, your muscles that are now alert and toned, taking in a deep breath and cooling down. By focusing on the positive effects of working out it is much easier to stay motivated.
Chapter 11 focuses on cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. Avoiding these types of conditions is more than a motivator for me to continue on with my goal of permanently changing how I eat to lose weight. Poor diet and lack of exercise can actually make you susceptible to all three of these unfortunate illness’. A diet consisting of a high amount of saturated fats is what leads to things like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and even can be linked to some forms of cancer. Knowing that something as simple as eating well and exercising could help me avoid dealing with life altering conditions is very good to know and motivates me further to stick with my plan of slowly cutting out fast food/ sweets from my diet and beginning a workout routine to replace my physical labor job within the next year.
Another part of chapter 11 that helped me was recognizing risk factors of cancer that I was unaware of. For example, the book stated that nearly 78% of people who are diagnosed with cancer are over 55, and that men are more likely than woman to have it.
Obesity also played a much larger role in cancer related deaths than I had previously thought. Yet another motivator to stay on the straight and narrow. The chapter talks about how obesity may be a key contributor to 1 in 5 cancer deaths. Studies have even linked BMI to the death rate of various forms of cancer. And on the other end of things, it has even been linked that a high BMI could make someone more likely to develop certain forms of cancer.
The final piece from chapter 11 that I found interesting was in regards to stress and psychosocial risks involved with cancer. While their is no direct link from work stress to certain types of cancer, the chapter talks about how people with depression tend to develop some form of cancer more regularly than their healthy counterparts. This is not simply because someone is depressed but rather due to the symptoms involved with depression. Poor diet, inadequate sleep, all of this weakens the immune system making it more susceptible to illness and disease. This entire chapter has shown that simply eating clean and exercising regularly to maintain physical and mental health can actually save your life if it came down to not being diagnosed with some form of cancer that resulted from improper self care.
Chapter 12 focuses on infectious conditions. The first interesting part of this chapter was in the beginning. It covers how the immune system works and ways you can keep your immune system running well. Again I discovered another perk to regular physical activity and healthy eating. Working out and raising your body temperature can actually remove and kill active pathogens within the body. While eating healthy can actually give your body the proper nutrients to combat most viruses and pathogens as well.
Another part of chapter 12 that interested me was concering vaccines. I have aways gotten my vaccines and was relieved to hear that all the panic over them causing developmental issues was false according to this book. It even said that people from autism awareness groups and research groups have openly said that vaccines are not to blame for this in any way. I have heard of people who do not vaccinate their kids due to fear of other complications surfacing as a result of them. It breaks my heart to think that some kids will possibly not grow up because of a parents ignorance on a subject. But at least this kind of information is public and can be shown to someone to change their mind.
The final part from chapter 12 that jumped out to me was related to fungal infections. It mentioned one type of fungal infection referred to as valley fever. Valley fever is a infection resulting from inhaling soil dwelling fungal spores. The symptoms often are similar to common cold or flu symptoms and therefor get overlooked. This is extremely dangerous because this infection can develop into pneumonia, meningitis, and other potentially fatal illness. To think that something as simple as being near soil that is being disrupted could potentially end with someones death is kind of scary. Being a father this kind of thing scares me but I am glad to have learned it as I will now know to keep my son away from any kind of activity involving the disruption of soil that might cause these spores to become air borne.
Progress:
I have gotten back on the wagon in regards to eating less sweets, not eating super late at night, and drinking more water. I plan to start taking jogs on the mornings I am able to and can not wait to feel and notice the difference from incorporating an extra form of physical activity to my weekly routine. While I have not been getting much sleep there is little to be done about this for now as I am a father to a 2 year old little boy. Overall I feel I am implementing up healthy habits and working towards my goal every day. This class has opened my eyes to alot of potential threats that I can now avoid and has also provided me with the knowledge that is necessary to further this life style change in an effective and healthy manner.
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