Importance of Education of What You Consume, to Have an Exercise Routine, and Maintain Your New Lifestyle

Many people in today’s society are faced with countless health issues because of their lack of exercise and healthy lifestyle choices. In fact, genetics also play a big role in your health problems. My family health history has a variety of health problems. The problems that are most prevalent include obesity, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. Obesity is a building block towards the risk of developing health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. As stated by the Obesity Society, people who have obesity or who are overweight have added pressure on their body’s ability to use insulin to properly control blood sugar levels, an are therefore more likely to develop type 2 diabetes.

Since the body cannot properly control blood sugar, high blood pressure or hypertension occurs. Hypertension, also known as the “silent killer,” is when your blood pressure is higher than the average 120/80 mm Hg with little to no symptoms. Additionally, high blood pressure can cause hardening, and thickening of the arteries, called atherosclerosis, which can lead to a heart attack or a stroke. According to a statement from the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, if you have a family history of diabetes, you are more likely to have prediabetes and develop diabetes. Type 2 diabetes is particularly due to lifestyle choices or genetic susceptibility. In reference to the American Diabetes Association, they stated that studies in twins show that genetics play a very strong role in the development of type 2 diabetes.

In fact, families tend to have a similar eating and exercise habits. With a family like mine, that have lifestyle choices of a variety of bad habits including buying, cooking, and eating foods that are high in fats, calories, and carbohydrates; it is a challenge to make healthy eating choices. I have family members with uncontrolled diabetes that has caused diabetic neuropathy, or nerve damage throughout their body that eventually leads to the risk of amputation because of a development of an unseen ulcer causing an infection and leading to tissue death, or gangrene. For example, my mother had developed and ulcer on the bottom of her foot near her fourth and fifth toe and the sore developed an infection that went to her bones in her toes. Luckily, my mother did not have to amputate her whole toes, but only the bones inside them. Unlike many of my family members, I do not have any of the health problems they have. Although I do not have diabetes or high blood pressure, I do suffer from arthritis in my right ankle. Exactly three years ago, I was in a car accident and I ended up getting a pilon fracture, or a fracture to my right ankle joint.

Since then it has been hard to keep moving around and staying busy without being in pain. I honestly do not have the best eating habits and with my past injury, it has caused me to gain some weight. The convenience of having and eating processed, frozen, and fast foods has only lead me down the path towards obesity. “Obesity occurs when you take in more calories than you burn through exercise and normal daily activities. Your body stores these excess calories as fat,” as stated by MayoClinic. Because of my ankle injury, I have become very inactive and as a result I do not burn as much calories as I take in. MedLinePlus notes that obesity increases your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis and some cancers. In order to reduce my weight and overcome obesity, I must first exercise my ankle osteoarthritis and make changes in my lifestyle choices.

The possible causes of obesity are inactivity, unhealthy diet and eating habits, genetics, family lifestyle, medical problems, certain medications, social and economic issues, pregnancy, and lack of sleep. Because both my parents and most of my family members have type 2 diabetes, I have a high chance of getting the disease. Although change can be difficult, changing my habits would mean I should become aware of what patterns in my behavior that triggers the unhealthy habits I want to change such as eating too much portions of food in one sitting, sitting and watching TV for long periods of time and eating unhealthy snacks like potato chips. To disrupt these bad habits and create new ones I can serve myself smaller portions and only eat one serving, I can cut how much time I spend in front of a television and find a different activity to do, and I can find myself healthy snacks that include fruits or vegetables. The most important start of living a healthier life is to educate yourself on what foods you consume.

The best way of knowing if the foods you are eating are healthy and have the right nutrients for your body reading the nutrition label. Eating right is only half the battle of beginning to living a healthy lifestyle; exercise benefits every part of the body. Even if you are just starting out, small things can count as exercise. When you exercise it does not have to be boring, painful, or time consuming. According to Mayo Clinic, the general goal is to aim for at least 30 minutes of activity everyday, however, if you want to lose weight you may have to at least exercise 60 minutes or more. My plan is to make small but yet reasonable goals in order to fulfill my main goal of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and losing some weight. I need to remove any foods that would make me fall into temptation and stock up on healthy wholesome foods that have nutritional value. I will portion my meal portions, eat plenty of colorful, healthy foods, eat more whole grains, and cut down on fats.

I plan to have friends and family involved to help support me and help me stay on track. I plan to take time out of the day to do physical therapy exercises for my ankle throughout the day and begin doing at least 30 minutes worth of exercise such as going for a walk and doing cardio exercises. I plan to gradually build my endurance enough to increase the intensity and length of time for my workouts to see more of a result for my health and body composition. According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, treatment for overweight and obesity depends on the cause and severity of your condition and possible treatments include healthy lifestyle changes, behavioral weight-loss treatment programs, medicines, and possibly surgery. In order to obtain a healthy life with a long life expectancy, you must maintain consistent healthy eating habits and exercise.

You need to be educated on what you consume, have an exercise routine, and maintain your new lifestyle. Although type 2 diabetes runs in my family and my whole life I have learned all the bad habits such as eating poorly; I must make adjustments to my lifestyle. I would like to make major changes in my health choices for a long and happy life for both myself and my children.