Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Self Assessment
I chose to complete the self assessment for preventive practices. According to the assessment I am fair in my practices, and I agree with that. I could be much healthier than I am, but I try. I take supplements and drink a wonderful fruit supplement that gives me 13 servings per day. Some of the questions in the assessment might not apply to everyone either. The question about condom is not relevant to me. Yes, I know that just because I am married does not mean that my husband won't cheat on me, but I trust him and am confident that STI's are not a risk for me at this time in my life. I was surprised that there was no question regarding weight on the assessment. The best thing that I could do for my health would be to lose weight. I am considered to be morbidly obese with a high BMI. I understand that the health risks of being over-weight are many including heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, joint problems, and the list goes on. Understanding that you are unhealthy is easy, changing habits and lifestyles to become healthier is not. I am also a former smoker, and stopping was not easy. I was not able to stop without the use of medications, even though I really wanted to for the health of my child. I also try to avoid the over use of medications, especially antibiotics. Working in the health care field I have found that if one just practices universal precautions, good hand washing techniques along with common sense while working with people who are sick, you can stay pretty healthy. In the 12 years that I have been working in nursing homes I cannot remember a time that I got sick with something that my patients had. I believe that we should be careful and try to stay as healthy as possible as we can, but at the same time I know that healthy living is not easy and does not come naturally for most people.
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Bravo to you Carlee for stopping smoking!! I am not a smoker, except the experimental stuff as a teenager, but not really ever. But both of my parents were smokers so I have seen first hand the difficulties with quitting. My Dad had two heart attacks and heart surgery, stopped smoking for a year or so and smoked until the day he died of another heart attack. My Mom still smokes, although she denies it which is the funniest part. She will cough and cough, use her inhaler, then have another cigarette. We all complain to her, but she still denies it. If tobacco was today like it was 50 years ago when people rolled their own cigarettes from just tobacco everything would probably be different with the addiction part of it. All the additives the tobacco company's add is scary. You have beat one of the most difficult addictions there is. Keep up the good work!! Julie Diaz
ReplyDeleteCarlee, it sounds like you have a good grasp on your health needs. I just want to say congrats for quitting smoking. That will do wonders for your health. I do not smoke but have grown up around it and have seen the lasting effects that smoking causes. I commend you for taking steps in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteI also did the health assessment and same like you I used to smoke socially but I quit because research continues to find the harm of smoking and it definitely harms our bodies in every way…. So congrats to you as well. Regarding the condom question like you I’m also married; however, the best prevention is visiting the doctor once a year for a Pap smear. I guess the hard part for the majority of Americans is eating healthy and stay in shape but the best advice is try to eat healthy and get used to it because being on and off diets just doesn’t work.
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteI think trying to get control of weight is a great way to get healthy. But you are right, easier said than done. The only thing that worked for me was signing up for a program in which I had a partner and we both needed to show up to all of the workout sessions. I think the reason why it worked was, unfortunately, is that I would show up for the other person but if it was just for me I probably would skip it. We humans are weird right! We would have to write down and report everything we ate. No more than 987 calories, 30 grams fat, 60 grams carbs, it was tough but it worked. I went through carb withdrawal for about two weeks. Oh and the plus was we were allowed one "cheat meal" per week, anything we wanted in one sitting. It was something you could look forward to every week!