Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Weekly Update and Overview

What was your SMART goal? How did you do in achieving your SMART goal?
I will eat 2 servings of vegetables (serving= 1/2 cup) and 2 servings of fruit (servings= 1/2 cup) 4 days a week, for the next 4 weeks.
Address successes and challenges. What strategies helped you to be successful?
I had a lot of success this week. Each day last week I brought fruits and vegetables with me to school. I brought things that were easy to snack on in between class such as carrots and celery. I also brought apples and had bananas. It also helped when I set my food together before school. Then when I woke up.. No matter how late it was I had no excuse not to bring them.

What challenges did you face? How did you deal with them?
I didn’t face to many challenges this week. I almost think that I should have made my challenge a bit harder. My only challenge that I had was eating fruits and veggies on the weekend. For some reason its just so hard for me. I think I just need to treat it more like a weekday. Maybe if I went to the library that would help.

What feelings did you experience? When did you feel them?
I felt great this week after eating so healthy. I had a lot more energy until the weekend came around. I was also very proud of myself that I met my goal this week. However I was kind of upset how easy it was.

What did you learn this week?
This past week I learned that being more prepared makes attaining your goal very easy. I also learned that I would like to continue my goal, but be more creative when eating fruits and vegetables. I want to learn some new vegetarian recipes.

What are your plans for next week?
Next week I plan to continue my goal, but modify it just a bit. I want to try to start eating organic fruits and vegetables, and up my servings of them. Im not exactly sure to how much. I have to plan out my budget first.

What was your SMART goal?
I will eat 2 servings of vegetables (serving= 1/2 cup) and 2 servings of fruit (servings= 1/2 cup) 4 days a week, for the next 4 weeks.


Did it change at all during the project? 
I did not change my behavior at all during our time in class. However I do think that I am going to modify my behavior, when I continue it on my own. I want to increase the servings of fruits and vegetables that I eat daily.

What helped you be successful?
It helped me to be successful when I was more prepared the night before. Also it helped me to see how great me peers were doing in reaching their goals, and that motivated me to my best that I could.

What things got in your way? How can you address these in the future?
One of the biggest things that got in my way was Thanksgiving. Its important for me to remember that I cant stop being healthy just because it is a special occasion. Its ok to tweak things here and there, but not to totally forget about it. Also having low finances also created some issues for me. Some weeks I had more money than others. Buying expensive things when your broke is tough.

How did you benefit from this project? 
I benefited from this project because I am now eating much healthier than I was before. I feel alot better and I am doing great things for the environment.


What did you learn about yourself? 
I learned that I can achieve things that may seem hard to do with time constraints and low funds.  I am happy that I was able to follow through with this.

How did others and/or the environment benefit from you changing this behavior?
The environment and local economy benefited from me eating more fruits and veggies because it is more Eco friendly. It has lower impact on the earth because a lot less water is used to produce vegetables than is used to produce meet. Others may have benefited because I am in a much better mood when I am eating right.

Will you continue this behavior?
I plan to continue this behavior and hopefully keep using it throughout my life. I want to try to continually increase my fruit and vegetable intake.

What recommendations do you have for others about making a lifestyle change?
My biggest recommendation to anyone trying to make a lifestyle change is to remember just that. It is a lifestyle change. Its something that you have to do everyday, and it had to be become routine in your life. So many people just do things temporarily, that makes it important to remember that a lifestyle change is not just temporary. Also I think its very important for people to start small. You can always make your goal harder and tweak things here and there. It might seem to overwhelming if you start with a goal that is to large, and you may give up easier. I also suggest that everyone try to make a lifestyle change. It is very rewarding when you achieve it.

"Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain."

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

My smart goal is:

I will eat 2 servings of vegetables (serving= 1/2 cup) and 2 servings of fruit (servings= 1/2 cup) 4 days a week, for the next 4 weeks.


I have to admit, that I definitely did not meet my smart goal this past week. I really did try , but it was just to hard for me to do it when I was on the road so much. A lot of it was poor planning on my part. I should have thought ahead and went to the store and brought me own fruits and vegetables.


One of the biggest challenges this week was being tempted by all of the bad food that was offered to me this weekend. Also I went out to eat at restaurants a lot so I didn’t really have much of a choice. One good thing, was that I did eat a lot of veggies and fruit, but the bad thing was that they were not in their whole form. They were in pies or hot dishes, so they don't really count.


One thing that I noticed this week was how crappy that I felt over the weekend. Eating bad foods really does take a toll on my body. I noticed that I had much less energy, and got a lot of headaches. Its crazy how food can do that.


One of the biggest things that I learned this week is to remember to plan ahead, and that you cant rely that you will do it when you get there. Its hard when your in a new place to do that, but in the long run I think that it will really help out.


This week I will meet my goal, and I am going to try and surpass it by eating my goal all seven days this week. I know that I can do it, but I just have to get to the grocery store :) I am excited to see how the week turns out.


Blogged for the Eco-Chic lifestyle change Week 4 Hosted by Amy@Amy in the rain

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update

My smart goal is:

I will eat 2 servings of vegetables (serving= 1/2 cup) and 2 servings of fruit (servings= 1/2 cup) 4 days a week, for the next 4 weeks.

This past week I feel was a little more difficult for me in trying to stick to my goal. Im not really sure why I think maybe just because its the second week of things and it gets old. One of the bigger challenges I had this week was that I did not go grocery shopping this week, so I had to eat a lot of frozen vegetables, which I feel get old fast. I also learned that broccoli gets really old fast as well. Other than that it went pretty well I reached my goal again pretty easily.

One cool thing that I learned this week is some new recipes that include lots of fruits and vegetables. One of my favorites is a smoothie recipe that includes a lot of different varieties of them. I can’t wait to try it.

I might have to modify it next week, and make it a little bit harder. I know that I could, and should eat more, especially on the weekends. Also this coming week, because it is Thanksgiving and I will be doing a lot of traveling I will have to make sure that I am prepared and pack my fruits and vegetables before hand. Also I have to be sure to plan ahead what I will choose to eat at Thanksgiving, and when I am home with my family. Overall I think that this is a good challenge and I am excited to see what next week brings.

Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2: Weekly Update

Last week my SMART goal was:


 I will eat 2 servings of vegetables (serving= 1/2 cup) and 2 servings of fruit (servings= 1/2 cup) 4 days a week, for the next 4 weeks.


The last week has offered some success for me in trying to use my SMART goal.  I went grocery shopping last week and stocked up on fresh fruits and vegetables so it was easier to eat them, because I had lots of them around.  Another tactic that I used to remember to eat the fruits and vegetables was packing them up the night before.  This helps me to see what I will eat and what I still have to eat.  I have always tried to include a lot of healthy foods in my diet so I knew that it wouldn't be to hard, but eating all of these servings some times can be very challenging for me.  Some of the challenges that I face include:

• eating healthy on the weekends
• the money that it can cost to buy these foods
• time that we all seem not to have

I know that on days that I do reach my SMART goal I feel better all around.  I feel better knowing that I accomplished something that I set my mind to.  I also feel a lot better physically because my body is getting good foods in it.  It helps me to feel more energetic.  I learned that trying to achieve your goal is not always as easy as writing it down on paper.  But with a little effort its really not to be.  I look forward to what the next week will bring.  I plan to cook more meals that include fruits and veggies in them to try to get my servings in more creative ways.  I plan to keep my goal where it is , at least for this next week.  Im very close to meeting it and I am determined that this week I will be able to do it.


"Blogged for the Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2 hosted by Amy@Amy in the rain."

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1: My SMART Goal

I will eat 2 servings of vegetables (serving= 1/2 cup) and 2 servings of fruit (servings= 1/2 cup) 4 days a week, for the next 4 weeks.


This smart goal would be eco-chic for a variety of reasons including:

• eating more fruits and vegetables is good for the environment
• they are bio-degreadable
• the do not require plastic or other utensils to eat them
• it is healthier for my body
• if I eat locally grown or organic fruits and vegetables it helps to support farmers and their crops

I  chose this goal because I know the importance of eating these things not only for me, but for the environment.  I think that it will also help me feel more energized during the day and help me with some personal fitness goals that I am trying to achieve.  Plus I will be eating less animal products so that will be a good thing as well. I hope that it goes well when trying to implement it and I am going to try my hardest.

Welcome to Sustainability With Sam

Hi my name is Samantha Jenson and I am a Senior Health Education Major. I love being around people and being able to strike up conversations with complete strangers. I think that getting to know people is very important in life so you can better understand who they are. I also enjoy going outside, enjoying nature, listening to music, and living an active lifestyle. I love to exercise and I love enjoying the outdoors. I just learned how to blog this year, but I am getting very excited be able to do it on a regular basis now. In this class my blog will be about why its important to sustain the environment and the resources that we have as well as many other important issues regarding nature, recycling, and environmentally friendly lifestyles.

There are 6 possible types of posts on my blog. They include:

1. Advocacy Project
2. Eye Openers
3. Reflections
4. Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change
5. Read "n" Seed
6. Share and Voice

If you notice at the bottom of this post, the categories will be listed as labels. This post is has been labeled with all five kinds of posts. You will also see the number of each kind of post in my Labels Gadget at the top of the page. All post titles from now on will begin with one of the categories above.

The members of my web group are:

1. Brenda@Bare Foot in the Backyard With Brenda
2. Dane@ Dane's Trail of Health
3. JD@ Earth and Me With JD 
4. Alicia@ Out and About With Alicia
5. Matt@ Matt's Smoke Free Zone
6. Molly@ Molly's Rico Eco

You can subscribe to my blog by clicking the subscribe gadget in the gadget column. You can also follow my blog by clicking "Follow this Blog" in the gadget column. I am subscribed to all the blogs in my blog list gadget. You can see my complete profile and all the blogs I am following by clicking on "See Complete Profile."


Overall I think that this will be a very good experience learning how to blog this semester.

I look forward to reading every body's blog posts and others reactions to them. I think that it will be a great and new way for our class to interact together and look forward to the results.