Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Final Weekly Review & Overall Project Reflection

1. My SMART goal was to eat 2 cups of green vegetables 4 times per week for the next 8 weeks. I still did exceptionally well in my goal because I tried to diversify the vegetables I was eating. Doing this really helped me enjoy my goal because I wasn't getting sick of eating the same things over and over and was still eating things that were good for me.
2. My successes were being able to not only achieve my goal but also had a few extra servings of vegetables without even thinking about it. The strategies that helped me to be successful were pairing the vegetables with my dinners and eating different vegetables each time. The challenges I faced were mostly not eating vegetables while I was at work. The biggest problem is still forcing myself to pack a lunch, I remembered one day but then forgot the next. Its really not a tough task but when I get into a hurry or forget to pack one the night before its always just easier to order something at work. This will be something I'll need to further work on. Maybe next time I go to the grocery store I will just grab some pre-made meals that I can quickly throw in a cooler and go.
3. The feelings I felt during this weeks goal was just overall being more awake and more productive because I wasn't so full of greasy fatty foods. I felt this usually right after I was done eating.
4. This week I learned I need to work extra hard on remembering to bring my healthier lunches to work with me so I can continue my goal without interruptions of fast food.
5. My plans for next week are to basically keep the same goal but to increase my intake and broaden which vegetables I eat by taking away the green part. So my goal for next week will be to eat 2 cups of vegetables 5 times per week for the next 7 weeks.

Review the entire process:

1. My SMART goal was to eat 2 cups of green vegetables 4 times per week for the 10 weeks. It didn't change a whole lot throughout the project except increasing my intake or changing which specific vegetable or vegetables I was eating.
2. The things that helped me to be successful was to keep reminding myself in the beginning that these foods are good for me and I do like them I just need to remember to eat them. The things that got in my way were not eating as healthy while I was at work or school and being in a hurry and not having time to prepare healthier choices when fast food was much quicker.
3. I benefited from this project because now eating vegetables isn't so much a chore now as much as it is something I just do with most meals. I learned that I can eat healthier foods and actually enjoy them. What I learned about behavior change is that it can be done you just need to get yourself into the routine of accomplishing your goal each week and adjusting it to make it more attainable or more challenging to fit your needs.
4. The environment benefited from me changing my behavior because I was going out less and eating less meats and more vegetables.
5. I will definitely be continuing this behavior, now its more just a habit than something I have to remember to do each day. I like to eat many of the vegetables I've been including in my goal so its not too difficult for me.
6. I would recommend to others to start out smaller in the beginning because you can always modify it later. Choose something that is really important to you also because otherwise you wont have as much ambition to keep up with it. 

 Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

1. My SMART goal was to eat 2 cups of green vegetables 4 times per week for the next 9 weeks. I did very well in achieving my goal. I made sure to switch things up and eat salads some days, broccoli another, and also added in green beans on other days.
2. What I was successful with this past week was changing up the vegetables I chose to fulfill my goal. I made sure to use a variety so I wasn't getting sick of the same thing every time. I didn't really face any challenges this week, I thought Thanksgiving might have made it difficult but there were plenty of vegetables to make sure I stayed on track.
3. The feelings I experienced in the last week were that I was feeling more awake than usual. I think getting more foods that were good for me helped me to focus and not be so full on greasy foods I would have otherwise filled up on.
4. This week I learned that making my diet healthier isn't as hard as I figured it would be. Adding in more green vegetables slowly with each week seemed to help really well to build up a routine.
5. My plans for next week are to continue with this goal. I'm working a lot more this upcoming week so I want to make sure I can keep up with my goal even with a busier schedule than usual. So I will stay with 2 cups of green vegetables 4 times per week for the next 8 weeks.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain

Eye Opener: Photo Essay

For my photo essay I chose environmentally friendly eating. I kept track of all the things I ate this past week and my results were so so. While I was keeping track of my meals I noticed I tended to eat more foods that were less environmentally friendly when I was eating at school or when I was at work. While at school I drank more beverages from bottles because they were the most convenient. (Don't worry, no bottled water!) While at work I ate more fast food mostly because I either forgot to pack a lunch for the day or simply forgot.

Before school I tended to eat more quick things like cheerios, yogurt, and toast. I recycled the containers from the yogurt, and the boxes from the cheerios so I tried to be as environmentally friendly as possible when eating packaged foods. 

 

For some of my lunch meals, at work and at school, included some fast food items such as Domino's marinara pasta bowls, ( they are soo delicious!)  taco johns, and a cheeseburger and fries from the burger hub. Most reasons I was eating this foods is simply because of convenience. I only eat at school Monday's on my long days and with all my books and computer I already drag along its really discouraging to also bring along a packed lunchbox. Looking back I want to start eating more salads or soups on my long Monday's. 

However, while I was at home for lunch or had more time I chose my healthier, environmentally friendly choices. Such as leftover ham from thanksgiving, fresh salads, and vegetables. I made sandwiches out of the ham we had left over, so even though eating meat still isn't as good for the environment I made sure we were not wasting it by eating the leftovers.

For some of my dinner meals I had spaghetti, beef stew, vegetables, macaroni and cheese, and of course for thanksgiving ham. I noticed many of my meals included meat which I was a little disappointed because I never really paid attention to how much meat I consume. I would like to reduce this in the future because its not very environmentally friendly. However, I did consume quit a bit of vegetables, mostly due to my SMART goal, but this made my meals a little more friendly for the environment.

Overall, by keeping track of my diet I realized I really need to start watching what I'm eating. I need to start setting aside time to pack lunches for work or even pack them the night before because that's where I seem to do most of my unhealthy eating. Many other people order lunches while were there so its usually the most convenient. Also, my SMART goal has really been helping me to increase my vegetable intake so I hope to keep up with that.

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update

My SMART goal was to eat 2 cups of green vegetables 3 times per week for the next 10 weeks. The past week I did exceptionally well in achieving this goal.  I've made a salad with pretty much all of my meals besides one or two which included lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, a little vinegar and oil and lemon pepper. I love salad so it made it easy to keep up with my goal. My successes were being able to quite easily achieve my goal by eating things I really liked that fit into the "green" vegetable category. I didn't really face any challenges this week unlike last week simply because I actually looked forward to adding salad to my meals because sounded so good. I was actually craving salad before I had figured out what I was even eating for dinner. The feelings I experienced was being really happy with myself that not only did I achieve my goal but I did a little extra also. This week I learned that it is possible for me to increase my vegetable intake and eat veggies I like and still get the benefits of eating them. For next week I want to up my consumption to 4 times per week rather than 3 simply because I overachieved so much this week. However, I plan to keep it to all green vegetables and 2 cups per serving. Hopefully it will go just as well!

blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2: Weekly Update

1. My SMART goal was to eat 2 servings (2 cups) of broccoli per day 3 times per week for the next 10 weeks. I did pretty well at achieving this goal, except that I was starting to get sick of broccoli after a few days. Although I do love broccoli eating it 3 times per week wasn't exactly working for me.
2. The successes for this goal were that it wasn't too difficult to accomplish. I ate the 2 servings with my dinner each night which made it easier to accomplish by planning it with my meals.  So my strategy was to eat the 2 cups all at once at dinner time. The challenges were, like I stated above, that eating the same vegetable gets a little old. I dealt with this by eating it with different meals each time so that I was at least changing one thing but still getting my goal of 2 cups with my meal 3 times per week.
3. The feelings I experienced towards this goal was that I do like broccoli but not enough to eat it quite so much. I started feeling this after the third time eating 2 cups of broccoli with dinner.
4. This week I learned that instead of trying to eat the same type of vegetable each time, maybe switching it up but still getting the same amount will be easier and more beneficial. I don't want to hate broccoli after this activity.
5. For next week I will modify my goal to eating at least 2 cups of green vegetables 3 times per week for the next 10 weeks. 

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1: My SMART Goal

1. I will eat 2 servings (2 cups) of broccoli per day 3 times per week for the next 10 weeks. 
2. This lifestyle is eco-chic because it is a healthy choice to make sure I am getting the recommended amount of calcium per day. Women are recommended to have about 1,000 mg of calcium each day and this will help me to be on a good track to get there. Each serving of broccoli is about 178 mg of calcium.
3. I chose this particular goal because looking at my diet and not only do I not eat enough calcium rich foods but definitely not enough green vegetables. Also, the last time I was at the doctor one of the tests said that my calcium was lower than usual, so to fix this I'm trying to increase my intake of calcium from broccoli. 
4. Today after work I went to the grocery store and bought fresh broccoli to get started on my goal. I decided to plan meals that I could either incorporate broccoli into or that broccoli would go well as a side. Luckily, I like broccoli so this goal will be attainable. 

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain.