Assignment #22 My plan for the semester is...

So, the cafeteria awaits you…now what?  A friend needs nutritional help--an athlete, a friend that is on some freakish starvation plan, whatever...

Your choices are as follows:

1.  Stay the same as always

2.  Make poorer food choices (you know, that entire bowl of ranch dressing…)

3.  Apply what you have learned.

MAKE A PLAN.  It doesn’t matter if the plan is for you or to help someone you know.  However, you’ll learn more if the plan can help you do something better!  Let’s face it: fat isn’t healthy, and twig skinny weakness isn’t either.  We need to change our way of thinking:  it’s the lean-to-fat ratio that matters.

How much weight do we lose in LEAN tissue when we diet without exercise?  REAL Research reports state around 45%.  HOLY COW!  Do we want to lose bone and muscle and other “good” tissues so that the number on the sale goes down?  As much as it seems like a no-brainer, I’ve recently discovered a family member (who was already sedentary and weak) that has lost more than 40 pounds.  How?  By eating ice chips.  I am NOT kidding.  How healthy or fit do you think this person is?  What would have happened to bone density? Muscle and other lean tissues? (person is around 45).

At some point, we all need to develop a healthy life plan.  If you don’t, well, you’ll look like most of those adults you see around you.  Or, you will get trapped in the horrifically scary, never-ending magazine and internet fad diets. 

How healthy are these options?  Maybe you have good role models (Dr. Hull comes to mind for me…) or, perhaps it’s difficult at home. 

For all of you, the cafeteria is a challenge.  Having a healthy plan includes developing your own plan and, if you wish, working with me to work with the cafeteria.  THEY DO CARE! Did you know there was an advisory board for the cafeteria?  Attending these meetings can really make a difference—but only if you get involved and assist the cafeteria.  The task of feeding you guys isn’t easy, and those of you shadowing there will figure that out quickly!

The assignment by email:

#1.  What will happen to my family member on the ice-chip diet when she returns to eating somewhat normal foods?  [hint…think about what happened to her lean-fat ratio and what will happen when calorie consumption goes up after that]

#2.  MAKE A PLAN.  The plan can be for you or someone you know (teammate, roommate, etc).  You need to provide a weekly plan and an overall monthly plan.  Of course, if at all possible, physical activity needs to be part of the picture. 

Send via email as this assignment may contain personal information.