Food Journal
Reflection
By keeping a
food and activity journal the last two weeks I was able to record goals I set
for myself in early June. Since Spring
quarter ended and weather has improved I had hoped to be more active on days
off or in the evenings. My first week
demonstrated that I have been more active than I realized. Hiking, evening walks in the park, playing
Kinect and even dancing at a friend’s wedding kept me active every day. In my eating habits, I had hoped to keep
myself from getting too hungry, and therefore tired, between classes. Rather than waiting six hours to eat between
lunch and dinner, I brought granola bars to eat in the afternoon the first week. A new goal I want to set would be to eat more
fruit at break as I did during Spring quarter.
The second
week I caught a bad head cold. This
prevented me from being as active as I was the first week. However, I did manage to walk up the big hill
at UW Bothell two days out of three. I
even lifted weights Wednesday. Unfortunately
I was more forgetful about bringing a snack for the afternoon class; I was not
clear headed enough to plan ahead. I
learned that keeping a goal in mind pushed me to pursue it even though I was
not feeling well. If I were to
incorporate this exercise in a classroom I would use myself as an example. The food journal is not a diet; its purpose
is to set a goal that is challenging but attainable. While I was disappointed I had not increased
my activity level the second week, I realized that I should not be too hard on
myself. I think this is an important
message for children. If the journal
becomes a point of stress, they will not want to participate.
Our class
discussed yesterday how Kindergarten teachers may remind students to get plenty
of sleep and food. I would like to use
the food journal in a similar fashion.
By combining the exercise with a morning daily journal, students could
write about the amount of sleep and activity they obtained the night before as
well as what they ate. Long term goals
could be set monthly and achieved at school or home. For example: “This week I’ll buy regular milk
instead of chocolate and run one lap at recess with my friends”. These entries are private and may be used in
accordance with lessons on nutrition and stress. In short, I can use their own habits as a
basis to make connections to the human body.
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