My Development
Physical Changes
Once body structures reach maximum capacity and efficiency, biological aging or senescence being—genetically influenced declines in the function of organs and systems that are universal in all members of our species.
Height: Max Heigh is reached around 18 years old
Normative Weight Gain: Typically happens in the 20lbs and is approximately 15 pouds of gain.
From 19-26 organs attain greatest potential.
After about age 26, senescence (biological aging and declines in organ system functioning) begins
(Berk, 2013, p. 343-348)
On September 1st, 2014 I turned 26-years old, which marks a time that biological aging truly begins which is a scary thought. There are many goals that I still have for myself physically that I have been putting off due to school and lack of time, and learning that I’m right at that turning point and haven’t been treating my body well is a scary thought.
Height: 5’3”. I reached my max height around my freshman or sophomore year of high school.
Weight Gain: Upon graduating from high school I weighed approximately 120 pounds. Although my weight when up and down throughout college, it stayed within 10 pounds of that weight until I entered graduate school when I shot up approximately 30 pounds due to stress and lack of time to exercise. Although the “freshman 15” doesn’t apply to me, the typical weight gain that happens in our 20s certainly did. I have noticed that gaining weight has become easier and losing weight has become harder over time.
Nutrition: Nutrition has suffered immensely in my life over the past 4-5 years. Upon graduating from undergrad and living on campus all four years, it was a struggle getting used to shopping for my own food. I was very fortunate throughout college to have many healthy options so I was able to maintain a fairly even weight. However, upon graduation, I began working at Subway full time and although Subway is known for their health options, I wasn’t that healthy. My nutritional habits weren’t great my first year out of college, however when I started grad school, it became a time where I would grab what would taste good and was easy to get. I rarely if ever cook meals for myself and just recently I have started working on porition sizes. I realize now that food has been a comfort and stress relief for me during this busy time (working 45 hours a week plus taking 12 credit hours of coursework). I have slowly made changes in my life (prepping my food for the week) which I have seen help, however, I look forward to graduation (or even next semester) when I have more time to plan my meals and make better choice.
Overweight: Just recently I went over the threshold between “normal” and “overweight” according to my BMI. This past summer I had a lot of time to exercise and had more time to plan my emails and ended up losing close to 15 pounds which got me to my lowest weight since starting grad school in 2011. However, this semester, one of the busiest of my school career, I gained all that weight and then some, tipping my BMI to be considered “overweight”. Although I know I can easily lose the weight, the label is overwhelming and discouraging. I try to remind myself that BMI and weight are just a number and it’s whether I feel good and I’m treating myself well that counts. Although could be doing better, I’m not doing horrible either.
Exercise: As an individual who grew up as a dancer, cheerleader, and tennis player, exercise has always been an enjoyable part of my life. My freshman year of college I did a good job keeping up on exercise and worked out approximately 3-4 times. However, when I was hired as a Resident Advisor and still held my 18 credit hours semesters, the time I devoted to exercise dwindled. My junior and senior year I took a “jogging” course, which helped me get from running 2 laps before I had to walk (8 laps =1 mile) to being able to run a 5k without walking. Although running is horrible on my knees and back (heredity and scoliosis), it’s motivating because I’m competing against myself. 2 years ago, I registered for a 5k that I completed without walking and won a 3rd place trophy for my age group. I also really enjoy a workout called “Turbo Kick” which is offered at local gym, unfortunately, I haven’t had time to attend those classes since starting graduate school, something I really miss doing. Although I try to exercise several times a week, I currently average between 1-2 days a week (some weeks every day, others not at all). I try to remind myself that I exercise more than many… and I always try to take the stairs and park farther away so I can get extra exercise in throughout the day.
Nutrition: Adults find it increasingly difficult to make wise dietary decisions. An abundance of food, combined with a heavily scheduled life means that most Americans eat because they feel like it or because it is time to do so rather than to maintain the body’s functions.
Overweight: Among adults, a body mass index of 25 to 29 constitutes being overweight. Heredity makes some people more vulnerable to obesity than others but environmental pressures underlie the rising rate of obesity. Adding weight between 25 and 50 is a normal part of aging because basal metabolic rate gradually declines
Exercise: Besides reduced body fat and building muscles, exercise fosters resistance to disease. Frequent bouts of moderate intensity exercise enhances immune response, lowering the risks for cold and flu and promoting faster recovery from these illnesses. Exercise is also shown to have mental health benefits.
(Berk, 2013, p. 349-351)
My Development
Physical Development
My Development
Psychological stress, measured in terms of adverse social conditions, traumatic experience, negative life events, or daily hassles is related to a wide variety of unfavorable health outcomes—both unhealthy behavior and clean physical consequences.
(Berk, 2013, p. 356)
Psychological stress has been one of the biggest difficulties I have faced thus far as an early adult, specifically after graduating college. Upon graduation, I hadn’t gotten into the graduate school programs that I wanted (clinical psychology) and I ended up working at Subway for a year before entering the CSP (Colege Student Personell) program at BGSU. During that year I felt that I had lost a huge part of my identity because being a student if who I was and who I always wanted to be. During that year I learned what it was like to live on my own for the first time, to save up money, and to take carse of myself mentally and physically.
Throughout my (almost) 4 years of graduate school, the stress of working, holding an internship, and attending school full time has also been difficulty to manage. The most psychologically stressful years have been as a part of the counseling program at UT, specifically because of the graduate assistantship I held last year in addition to planning a wedding and finding an internship site. As this semester comes to a close, I hope that next semester will by my last extremely busy time before I start a full-time job. Although I have never held a full time job, over the past 4 years I have worked approximately 45 hours a wek while also attending school full-time. I look forward to the free to so that I can spend it researching my areas of interest as a counselor. and become more involved in counseling organizations (through presenting and attending conferences).
Health & Fitness
Psychological Stress
