Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Assignment #2 Experiences Scavenger Hunt - Extra Things

Day 4

I was on the internet during work and was on Amazon.Com and I am not sure why I ended up on the page I did but I came across a section of the site that offered vitamin supplements so I decided to take a look at a couple of them and came across one that peaked my interest. I liked the look of the package as it was colorful and had some good information on it.

I believe this product would be good for me as it is a natural product and would give me some extra energy that I have been struggling with lately.

My emotions made me feel happy and excited that I could get a product that would help me with my energy needs. Also the helpful info on the label made me feel confident that it would be a product that was safe as well as one that was natural and good for me.

The old way would leave me with less energy and make me feel down and sometimes depressed that I was tired and could not keep up with my work load. I am sure this product would help me with all of the above but especially help me with my energy needs throughout the day and help me work on a more productive level.


                                     

I am moving to a new place next week and I was packing up my kitchen when I came across a product that I had used in the past and had forgotten about. It was some energy packets that you pour into a glass of fluid. I always put it in orange juice and this always tasted nice. I am actually surprised I have not used these more often, I put them in the cupboard and forgot about them.

This product helped me with my energy needs in the morning and helped me get through a long commute to DC as well as get me through to lunch time when I could eat and gain more energy. The package also looks great as it is colorful and also lists lots of great health benefits on the package.

It made me feel happy and more upbeat about my day knowing that I would be less tired. It also gave me hope that I would be able to get through the day at a better pace as well.

The old way would leave me tired in the morning and not alert on the morning commute. It would also leave me slowing down in the morning during work. The new way of taking these certainly helped me to get through my day even better.


That is it for Day 4!


Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Assignment #2 Experiences Scavenger Hunt

Day 2

A few weeks ago I noticed that some brand new water coolers had been brought into the workplace as an alternative to the soda machines. The water coolers had been brought in as alternatives to keep the work force in our office hydrated but also give an alternative to healthy products that were not sodas and also a way to save money buying sodas and having free water that was not out of a tap but a branded type of water that was a natural produce. (Deer Park)

This product has now enhanced my work production by keeping me hydrated and drinking something that has natural nutrients in it in the form a spring water. The taste of it is very cold and cool and tastes natural and makes me feel hydrated and feel refreshed and keeps my mind awake during work.

My emotions made me feel good and refreshed as I made my body feel much more relaxed and alert. Mentally it made me feel better and more productive at work and physically I can feel that my skin is feeling and looking better after partaking in drinking more water and that my kidneys are feeling better as water is being replaced by unnatural products. It also made me feel better socially as people could see that I was drinking in a more healthy way and looking after my body.

The old way of not having water coolers at work has already improved my day by giving me more energy and keeping me more alert and hydrated, By buying and drinking sodas I have been more energized and also saved money by using the free water coolers. This way of using this product certainly has helped me in my work style and it has been important to give me the chance to change the way I look after my body during work times and keep me focused during the day.


I was talking to a friend at work and we were talking about our own bowl movements and health issues related to it, especially since I suffer from hemorrhoids. He pulled out a bag of pills and told me that one of these a day would improve my colon health and enable me to go to the toilet on a more frequent basis. I asked him what the pills were and he told me they were probiotics - pills that were full of good bacteria to counter the bad bacteria in my colon.

Curious I tried one today and by the end of the day I was feeling better and the food I had eaten had made my stomach and digestive system improve during the day (and the next day as well)

This made my emotions feel much better and happy. There was nothing worse then going around the office and being in the car or metro and feeling heavy or having an upset stomach or just feeling bad down there. The pill certainly made me feel better even after a short time and made me feel happier.

The old way was not getting enough fibre or good bacteria into my diet and the new added probiotic pills made me feel much better during the day. It also made me more aware of my diet and to make an improvement into my intake of fibre and general diet during the day.





Day 3

I was reading a men's magazine and noticed a recipe and article for home cooking at the back of the magazine. The article talked about how good the benefits of cooking at home from scratch and eating healthy meals were. I took a look at the recipe and thought to myself that this would be a great time to try this out and see how beneficial cooking a healthy homemade meal would be. I have not tried it yet but I believe looking at the healthy ingredients that this will enhance my meal time. I also read an interesting article on how healthy and good kiwi fruits were, I should try this someday soon.

Reading the product has not enhanced me yet as I have not tried it but it has inspired me to go home and try to cook a meal from scratch and follow the easy to read instructions. It also made me think about other fruits that might be good for me but that are not as common to see in supermarkets.

The article made me feel good about trying to cook something from scratch. It made me feel inspired to attempt to try something and I believe by walking around the supermarket I will also see other items to add or try that would be healthy and improve my diet.

The old way of life would have seen me eat a fast food meal and not try something new and different and healthy. I am sure there will be trials and errors in cooking a brand new meal using ingredients that I have never used but I am sure that this will be a good thing. I also believe that by not reading this article I would not have looked and tried for new fruits like the kiwi fruit.


I was in another part of our office today and I noticed one of my colleagues was snacking on some kind of seed snack. I asked her about it and she told me that it was good healthy snacks for anyone to eat as it was high in nutrients and also gluten free, as she suffered from gluten allergies. I asked if it was OK if I took a picture of both packets and also asked her how it made her feel and also if I could try it.

The product was a little dry to eat but still tasted nice. It made me feel good about myself when I tried it as it was healthy and was different from the candy jar that I had in my office. I asked her how it made her feel and she told me that it was good that she was trying to maintain her hunger and weight through sensible healthy snacking as well as making sure she kept away from gluten so she could not feel sick.

I believe if I tried this product and replaced it with my candy snacks that it would improve my health and my diet. Snacking on candy throughout the office period is never a good idea and just does not improve my health, so by using a healthier product I could keep my mind and body alert and in good shape and make sure my appetite was not ruined for the next meal time. I do not have a gluten allergy but this product certainly would help anyone who has these issues and would replace a damaging product with one that sustained someone with gluten allergies health.


On my way home I dropped into Starbucks. I looked around hoping there was going to be some kind of advertising for healthier drinks or snacks but could not find any sadly. However I was drawn to the notice board and saw an advert for Zumba classes. I had heard of these classes but never knew much about it and as I read the advert it seemed that this type of exercise would be good for the mind, body and spirit in general, making me a fitter person.

I could see this product making me more fitter and healthier, and would also be good for my joints. I have knee issues and this did not seem that too much of an intense workout but one based on a lot of stretching, something that I have had issues with in the past.

I believe this would make me a lot more happy and healthy by taking part in these classes. Not only would it be good for my physical health, but I could see that it might be good socially to be around like minded people who are trying to lose weight and keep in shape.

I believe replacing this with not exercising would obviously be a good thing for my health. Also replacing or enhancing it with some of the more vigorous sports I play would be good for my knees and joints and would improve my overall body mass index and health. As I get older I need to find more exercise classes that will allow me to not be so physical and also improve my body and mind as well.







Sunday, February 23, 2014

Me, Myself and I


1. Hello!

My name is Matt and I live in Fredericksburg VA and work in Washington DC as a Music teacher, musician and theater and film actor. I moved to the US 7 years ago from the UK . I love working with kids in music and theater and also love teaching kids how to act and be part of films. I love sports and play and watch soccer in my spare time. Church is also important to me and I love being a part of my congregation and teaching our kids about the bible through interactive dramas.

Here I am leading praise and worship at church

Here I am playing a character and teaching children about the bible at camp.

2. Life Philosophy

My life is based on the teachings of Jesus and I like to help those who are in need and those who are poor. I also treat others the way I would want to be treated just as the bible says "Treat each other as you would want to be treated yourself" Luke 6:31. 

I also like to take each day as a new day and not to waste a single minute of it and take advantage of every situation that is presented to me - "Seize the day!"

3.Healthy Living

I grew up as a child being fed on good healthy food. My father grew vegetables and fruits from the garden and my mother cooked them each day. I would say growing up I was given a very healthy start with nutrition and lifestyle. We took walked every weekend and exercised on a regular basis at school to keep in shape.

Today Life has changed since I moved to America. The convenience of fast food and a faster lifestyle, or slower when it comes to DC traffic, has forced me to eat unhealthy at times. Being unable to grow my own food hampers me as well as I have to shop around for good deals that are healthy and not too expensive. I attempt each day to eat healthy and to make time to cook food from scratch as well as supplement my diet with vitamins and other nutritional snacks. I understand the importance of eating healthy and balancing my diet so I can keep in shape and stay away from the doctor.

4. Healthy Choices

Some of the easier choices are cooking my own food or cooking it and freezing it for days so that I can eat food that has been made rather than just visit a fast food joint. I used a crock pot quite a bit as well as continuing to cook traditional meals from England such as the roast dinner. (see below)

Traditional Roast Dinner, Vegetables are steamed and roasted to keep goodness in.

The hardest choices is to exercise on a regular basis. Working in DC means 3-4 hours a day are sat in a car and when I get home I am tired and not interested in getting out to the gym. During the summer this becomes easier as I work at a summer camp and stay active with the kids. However then the diet becomes worse as we rely on our chefs at camp to provide mass food production which is not healthy. We did change this so that a salad bar was introduced and we could eat better alongside the other meals and have a choice.

Our salad bar at camp

5. Balancing good goals for my health is hard when I am constantly on the go or working for a few months at a summer camp., However it does feel good when I do not eat out and cook. It is nice to see myself save money on cooking at home and it is nice to feel good about myself when I pass on greasy food at camp. I have had some health issues regarding my intestines and have had to add more fibre into my diet and since I have done this I have felt much better about myself in general. I have also added more water into my diet and cut out sugary drinks which makes you feel less dehydrated. Another thing that I have to be careful of is working on film sets there is so much food and loads of snacks and I have to be careful of what I eat whilst waiting for hours just to get on set. One thing I am glad is I do not smoke or drink alcohol which is a big help. I used to when I was younger and the fun aspect of it was great but seeing my body and mind get worse because of it was not good and so giving it up was a great decision and one I do not regret.




I hope you have enjoyed day 1 of my blog.