Personal Health Project Notes

Personal Health Project

Overview

  • Two personal health projects during the course.
  • Goal: Improve your health by addressing deficiencies in diet or exercise.
  • Assignment: Healthy Lifestyles Goal.
  • Based on statistics, it takes approximately 21 days to establish a new habit.

Goal Setting

  • Set a health goal and work on it for three weeks to make it a habit.
  • The goal should align with recommendations for a healthy lifestyle or diet.
  • Examples:
    • Types and amounts of food.
    • Timing of meals.
    • Location of meals.
    • Increasing activity or strength training.
    • Lifestyle adjustments like more sleep or reducing internet/screen time.
    • Quitting smoking or reducing alcohol consumption.

Goal Statement

  • The goal statement needs to be narrow and focus on one specific change.
    • Example: "I will eat more vegetables" instead of "I will be healthier."
  • Identify one small change to work towards for three weeks.
  • First Step: Download the form, save it with a descriptive name (e.g., "Health Goal 1 - [Your Name]").

Examples of Goal Statements and Small Changes

  • Goal Statement: I will increase my intake of fresh vegetables.
    • Small Change: I will have a salad or fresh vegetables with lunch every day.
  • Goal Statement: I'm going to have more dairy.
    • Small Change: I will have a glass of milk with breakfast.
  • Submit the goal statement and small change in week one.

Weekly Evaluation

  • After setting the goal, attempt the small change for the next seven days.
  • Week Evaluation:
    • Date.
    • How often the change was carried out during the week (e.g., 4 out of 7 days).
    • Barriers: What prevented you from carrying out the change?
      • Examples: Being away, lack of accessible options, not having items at home, work through lunch break.
    • Solutions: How to overcome the barriers.
      • Example: If the barrier was not having vegetables at home, the solution would be to purchase vegetables during the weekly shopping trip.
  • Submit the week one evaluation in the designated dropbox on the second week (one week after setting the goal).
  • Continue the same process for the next two weeks.

Three-Week Cycle

  • Week 2: Evaluate progress, identify barriers, and develop solutions.
  • Week 3: Evaluate progress, identify barriers, and develop solutions.
  • Submit the goal statement in the first week.
  • Submit week evaluations after one, two, and three weeks respectively.

Submission Schedule

  • Goal Submission: First week (or first day).
  • Week 1 Evaluation: One week after the goal submission.
  • Week 2 Evaluation: Fourteen days (two weeks) after the beginning.
  • Week 3 Evaluation: Twenty-one days (three weeks) from the start.

Grading

  • Goal Submission: 20 points.
  • Each weekly evaluation: 10 points each.
  • Total Project Value: 50 points.
  • Time commitment: Primarily focused on incorporating the goal into your lifestyle, with minimal time required for typing the evaluations.
  • The goal is to make the health activity a sustainable habit, such as consistently including a salad or raw vegetables at lunch.

Second Health Goal

  • A second health goal will be set later in the semester.
  • The second goal must be different from the first goal.
  • Exception: If the first goal was to quit smoking, and progress was made (e.g., cutting down five cigarettes a day), the same goal can be continued.
  • The aim is to promote a healthier lifestyle through these projects.