For my CAS Project, I have decided to start a Music Magazine for students in FDR in order to showcase and promote music culture. As a member of the Music Honor Society (Tri-M),
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During the Summer Break, I worked in the Sales and Marketing department in the Swissotel Chicago for 10 days, and in the Swissotel Lima for 10 more days. This was an enabling experience in terms of learning to work well with others in real work environments. Being a part of an enterprise, having my Innovation Academy background felt like a smoother transition, yet it was still challenging in terms of catching up and adapting to their specific business "lingo".
We live in a society that enables unhealthy people to feel confident with their bodies. The creation of movements such as #FatIsNotAFeeling make it feel like its “ok” to carry on with an unhealthy lifestyle that could be detrimental to one's wellbeing -when in my opinion, it's not. In the United States alone, over ⅔ of population are overweight, and ⅓ of them are obese; meaning that 3 in 4 men are considered to be overweight or obese. According to WebMD, the following diseases are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to negative repercussions due to obesity: Heart disease and stroke High blood pressure Diabetes Some cancers Gallbladder disease and gallstones Osteoarthritis Gout Breathing problems After living in the United States for over a month, I realized my eating habits were becoming more like an average american. Drinking a soda with every meal, eating microwaveable meals or any/every fast food restaurant on a frequent basis. I realized I was feeling tired more frequently, getting more pimples, and my settling for a sedentary life. Once I read the purpose of our summer work, I realized that this was a great opportunity to do something about my newly formed bad habits. I’ve decided to write a journal entry every Friday to keep up on my goals and progress throughout the week, and most importantly to reflect on what’s working and what isn't. In this journal I will go through a detailed plan on how I’m changing my habits and what the results are. By the end of february I plan on lowering my bodyfat % to 12 or less. Week 1 (January 20): Upon my arrival to lima, I decided that it was time to plan a new training/nutritionary regimen that I would then show to a former bodybuilder (in order to receive feedback) for optimal results. The fastest/hardest way - in my experience- to lose weight is through fasted cardio and a keto-diet. The logic behind doing cardio whilst fasting is due to the fact that you're body is still in a catabolic state, thus the energy you are using for the cardio comes from the fat reserves rather than using energy from your last meal. As for the Keto diet (briefly explained in this 5 minute video), in essence it is to not eat carbohydrates, and eat more fat and protein, in order to teach your body to use other forms of energy instead of relying on carbs as its primary source of energy. Week 2(January 27): The thing about not eating carbs is, the first day you're feeling fine, day two you're feeling very anxious and start craving those pop tarts you asked your mom to hide from you for those first 4 days; by day three all these cravings start to decay but you begin to feel a little more drowsy. Finally, by day four all of these ‘symptoms’ go away, and by the end of week once you eat any carbs again, you will feel an euphoric rush of ecstasy through your whole body, off of a piece of toast. After going through this hell-week I really tested my patience and self control. The only thing that was confronting and kept pushing me was the fact that I could start seeing results before my eyes. I went from weight 89kg to 87kg from Monday to Thursday. Although these numbers might seem like a big deal for 4 days, it's also imperative to keep in mind that carbs tend to retain water weight, therefore when you stop eating carbs, you stop retaining liquids, thus you lose weight faster. I’ve also decided that since it's summer time in Perú, and my friends and I tend to go out more, I’ve realized I can't keep up this routine at Mcdonalds at 3 A.M. Making this realization pushed me to restructure my plan so it was a 4 day split, where the 3 days off were just to maintain a ‘healthy’ lifestyle (going for a jog, sparring, and some taichi here and there.) with a ‘balanced’ diet. Next week i’ll try to focus on being consistent on my morning cardio, since I’ve slept in a day or two instead of heading to the gym. I’ll also work towards having an elevated motivation level, since I know the first few days can be tough, so i'll live by the good ol’ saying, fake it (my enthusiasm) ‘till ‘ya make it . I will also be writing notes on my progress on my phone to monitor my activities . Week 3 (February 4): Although throughout this week, my motivation following the diet stayed elevated, my willingness to wake up in the morning to go for a run, then go to the gym in the afternoon to lift weights decayed drastically. Many factors led to this lazy behaviour; my dad's birthday for starters, friends inviting me over to their house, and lastly netflix. Although I did not manage to gain any weight, nor lose it, I did start to look more fit, yet my muscle mass began to atrophy. Although this is a natural process of being in a caloric deficit, I realized it was also important to keep muscle mass whilst losing fat, so the next step in terms of training and my diet is to eat more protein and be more consistent with my weight lifting habits. On a more positive note, I did not feel any of the ‘symptoms’ that come with a keto-diet (mentioned on last week's log). Whether it was due to the fact that I've been telling myself that this week was going to be a breeze and that I would not feel tired, or it was really my body becoming accustomed to the lack of carbs; regardless, it worked.
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