Personal Reflection Paper
Ashley Merritt
HEALTH 640: Principles of Nutrition
Dr. Annette Florence
Due: August 30, 2020
Growing up, family gatherings were not just a get-together but more like an event. You
knew walking into the party that there was going to be so much food that you would be stuffed
before the dinner portion arrived. Preparing the food, though, took hours, and clean up took just
as long. So the food I was consuming wasn't terrible. When going out with friends, though, social
factors took a large portion of the way I would consume food. Our friend group would not
choose the best places always to eat. Currently, I eat a lot of healthier foods, then I did when I
was younger and have a great eating pattern, a healthy weight, and my health status is fantastic. I
do not come from a family that is overweight but come from a family full of health issues. These
health issues vary from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, thyroid problems, heart disease,
and cancer.
Before knowing what was good and bad for my body, I would eat anything I wanted.
With being a three-sport athlete most of my life, my metabolism was fast, and I could eat
anything. I wasn't the healthiest of eaters like I should have been. After finishing my athletic
years, the weight caught up to me a little bit. With weight gain comes emotions and more eating
with those emotions. Knowing what I do now about nutrition and being an athlete, I should have
been eating very healthy rather than just eating whatever I wanted. I currently watch what I eat
and the amount of food I consume because of the way I ate when I was younger. Also, I had a
significant surgery, and during the recovery stage, I was depressed and ate everything. Having
unhealthy eating habits during surgery, caused me to gain a substantial amount of weight.
Finally, I decided I'm not too fond of how I looked and was not happy with myself. I looked in
the mirror and said I need this to change. I followed a lot of different influencers on Instagram
and Facebook to find fun and healthy ways to consume the required food. After finding foods I
enjoyed, I would find new ways to use those foods and create different types of meals out of
those foods. Finally, when I was fully recovered from surgery, I was able to add in more exercise.
Finding accountability partners has also helped with being committed to nutrition and exercise.
Even with some bumps in the road, I was able to push myself hard enough to lose 30 pounds in
total.
Looking back, I wasn’t a picky eater, and I would say I still am not. I eat foods that I
know are good for me with an occasional oops meal. I eat by the texture, which has gotten better
as I have gotten older. I enjoy most foods except for mushrooms and fish. These couple foods are
only a couple of foods I will not eat. I do not think my eating habits are any different, then they
were when I was younger. My family forced us to try anything and everything. My mom and dad
use to tell us everything was chicken so that we would eat it. Maybe this is a significant
contribution to why I don't have issues with eating any food. To this day, my favorite meal of all-
time would-be pizza. Knowing how unhealthy it is, I try to find ways to make it healthy when I
want it. I find eating healthy is not a hard thing to do but it is more of a mental game you play
with yourself when choosing what to eat.
My past could be a contributing factor in how I will perceive the public I will be working
around. I want to help individuals who are struggling like me, get to where they need or want to
be. I do not want to watch people struggle with weight gain and have a hard time losing weight
like when I started. I want to share my success story, so they can have a more substantial
connection when working with them. I will be able to empathize and sympathize with their
experiences because of the trials of weight gain and weight loss I have endured. 1 Peter 5:10 says
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal
glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. God is there to push
you through all the good and bad in your life.
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