Commentary: My first New Year’s resolution

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Commentary: My first New Year’s resolution

01-15-2013 12:59 AM

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Eating habits
Healthy



Commentary: My first New Year’s resolution


by: Senior Airman Ethan Morgan
100th Air Refueling Wing PAO
published: January 15, 2013

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RAF MILDENHALL, England* -- Every year people talk about their New Year's resolutions, yet I have never set one myself until this year. My resolution is to start eating healthier. This has a lot to do with my current medical issues which prevent me from doing anything more than minor exercise.

At 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 170 pounds and only 23 years old, I should be at my prime. Yet my back keeps me from participating in extreme activities and occasionally simplistic ones as well. Without my ability to exercise and play sports as I would like, I have to find alternative ways to ensure I remain healthy, this is in fact what led me to my resolution.

Though I generally like fruits, vegetables and most healthy foods, I tend to forget to eat them rather than avoid them. I am a very visual eater. If I don't see something, I tend to not eat it. Unfortunately this makes eating healthy quite troublesome as I have to consciously withhold myself from grabbing the first thing I see.

Working in Public Affairs, I have written several articles on health. Due to this, I have come across websites that I have used as references in my stories. I frequently rely on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, www.cdc.gov, the most. While doing other research in the past, I learned that the CDC website touches on most general health topics. If you are looking for information about health this website would be a great place to start.

Although most of my research on their site results in finding information I already knew, I did learn that making sudden, radical changes to eating habits are neither healthy nor a good idea. When I learned that making such drastic attempts is generally unsuccessful in the long run, I started looking for the steps I would need to guarantee my success. The five steps I found to get me started on achieving my New Year's resolution are:

1. Create a list of your eating habits.
2. Highlight the unhealthy eating habits.
3. Assess the unhealthy eating habits.
4. Replace unhealthy habits with new/healthy ones.
5. Reinforce your new/healthy habits and be patient with yourself.

Although I found the first four easy enough to follow, the fifth seemed a little out there. What is the point in reinforcing something that you have already decided to do, and how can you go about it anyway? I found myself at a standstill with my progress because most of the advice online revolves around losing weight. As for myself, finding tips on how to enforce a healthy eating plan not built with weight-loss as the primary focus proved more challenging than expected. After wasting time searching without success, I had to step away from my online sources and seek another form of assistance.

I ended up turning to the RAF Mildenhall Health and Wellness Center for more information and education on how I can improve my chances of success. I spoke with Staff Sgt. Dequalin Rogers, 48th Aerospace Medicine Squadron HAWC nutrition counselor. He informed me to not only take baby steps, but to work on changing one category of my diet at a time rather than trying to change it all at once. By using this more effective process, I have already been able to incorporate fruit into my normal diet. I also started eating more green vegetables.

Rogers also advised me to allow myself "cheat days" where I allow myself to eat donuts, chips, cake and all the other delicious, yet unhealthy foods that overwhelm society today. This is a device that gives me a way to reward myself while also keeping me from getting discouraged.

The final advice that I was given before leaving the HAWC was to look into the website www.choosemyplate.gov. Exploring the website I learned that MyPlate was established by the United States Department of Agriculture to replace the Food Pyramid. It not only broke down the daily food group proportions but literally gives a visual on how each meal should look.

This website makes building your meals with the correct daily servings fail-proof. Not only does it show you how to eat properly, it also incorporates how exercise can benefit your health as well. At first, I almost ignored the exercise advice because of my current condition, but I decided to look into it anyway. The first thing I saw was that the site considers all types of physical activity, not just exercise. Meaning, simple things such as walking can be measured and matched into my diet so that I can still receive the best advantages from a healthy diet.

It's not only frustrating when you get stuck with an injury that prevents you from doing your normal routine, but it's hard to stay healthy as well. It took a conscious decision to refuse to let my medical setbacks become my excuse to roll down hill. Instead, I decided that I am going to exhaust every avenue possible to ensure my health remains intact. The first step for me is to succeed in my resolution to eat healthy.


Tags: Commentary, Eating habits, Healthy, RAF Alconbury, RAF Croughton, RAF Fairford, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Molesworth, Resolution, Base Info
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Commentary: My first New Year’s resolution


by: Senior Airman Ethan Morgan
100th Air Refueling Wing PAO
published:

Share This:


Tweet

Comments
Email
Print


RAF MILDENHALL, England* -- Every year people talk about their New Year's resolutions, yet I have never set one myself until this year. My resolution is to start eating healthier. This has a lot to do with my current medical issues which prevent me from doing anything more than minor exercise.

At 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighing 170 pounds and only 23 years old, I should be at my prime. Yet my back keeps me from participating in extreme activities and occasionally simplistic ones as well. Without my ability to exercise and play sports as I would like, I have to find alternative ways to ensure I remain healthy, this is in fact what led me to my resolution.

Though I generally like fruits, vegetables and most healthy foods, I tend to forget to eat them rather than avoid them. I am a very visual eater. If I don't see something, I tend to not eat it. Unfortunately this makes eating healthy quite troublesome as I have to consciously withhold myself from grabbing the first thing I see.

Working in Public Affairs, I have written several articles on health. Due to this, I have come across websites that I have used as references in my stories. I frequently rely on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, www.cdc.gov, the most. While doing other research in the past, I learned that the CDC website touches on most general health topics. If you are looking for information about health this website would be a great place to start.

Although most of my research on their site results in finding information I already knew, I did learn that making sudden, radical changes to eating habits are neither healthy nor a good idea. When I learned that making such drastic attempts is generally unsuccessful in the long run, I started looking for the steps I would need to guarantee my success. The five steps I found to get me started on achieving my New Year's resolution are:

1. Create a list of your eating habits.
2. Highlight the unhealthy eating habits.
3. Assess the unhealthy eating habits.
4. Replace unhealthy habits with new/healthy ones.
5. Reinforce your new/healthy habits and be patient with yourself.

Although I found the first four easy enough to follow, the fifth seemed a little out there. What is the point in reinforcing something that you have already decided to do, and how can you go about it anyway? I found myself at a standstill with my progress because most of the advice online revolves around losing weight. As for myself, finding tips on how to enforce a healthy eating plan not built with weight-loss as the primary focus proved more challenging than expected. After wasting time searching without success, I had to step away from my online sources and seek another form of assistance.

I ended up turning to the RAF Mildenhall Health and Wellness Center for more information and education on how I can improve my chances of success. I spoke with Staff Sgt. Dequalin Rogers, 48th Aerospace Medicine Squadron HAWC nutrition counselor. He informed me to not only take baby steps, but to work on changing one category of my diet at a time rather than trying to change it all at once. By using this more effective process, I have already been able to incorporate fruit into my normal diet. I also started eating more green vegetables.

Rogers also advised me to allow myself "cheat days" where I allow myself to eat donuts, chips, cake and all the other delicious, yet unhealthy foods that overwhelm society today. This is a device that gives me a way to reward myself while also keeping me from getting discouraged.

The final advice that I was given before leaving the HAWC was to look into the website www.choosemyplate.gov. Exploring the website I learned that MyPlate was established by the United States Department of Agriculture to replace the Food Pyramid. It not only broke down the daily food group proportions but literally gives a visual on how each meal should look.

This website makes building your meals with the correct daily servings fail-proof. Not only does it show you how to eat properly, it also incorporates how exercise can benefit your health as well. At first, I almost ignored the exercise advice because of my current condition, but I decided to look into it anyway. The first thing I saw was that the site considers all types of physical activity, not just exercise. Meaning, simple things such as walking can be measured and matched into my diet so that I can still receive the best advantages from a healthy diet.

It's not only frustrating when you get stuck with an injury that prevents you from doing your normal routine, but it's hard to stay healthy as well. It took a conscious decision to refuse to let my medical setbacks become my excuse to roll down hill. Instead, I decided that I am going to exhaust every avenue possible to ensure my health remains intact. The first step for me is to succeed in my resolution to eat healthy.


Tags: Commentary, Eating habits, Healthy, RAF Alconbury, RAF Croughton, RAF Fairford, RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Molesworth, Resolution, Base Info
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