Health and Wellness Behavior Change - Brooke Farkas

Behavior Change Journals (2 Weeks of Entries) Entry #1 - 11/15/18 I woke up today at around 10 am, and I still feel like garbage; I’m super sick at the moment with a viral infection, but it seems to be getting worse. It hurts to swallow any food or other liquids. I drank about 4 bottles of water today, which is more than I would find myself drinking on the regular. I went to the bathroom more than usual as well, but feeling hydrated is making me feel less like garbage. Starting the behavior change at the moment seems like it might be a challenge, but I hope that drinking more water will help with some of my symptoms and help to flush this out of my system. My goal is to be able to drink about 5-6 water bottles a day by the end of this (16 oz. bottles), hopefully this works out! Entry #2 - 11/16/18 The second I woke up this morning I had to go to the bathroom - that normally never happens. Also, the more I drank water today, my migraine/headaches seemed to become a little bit relieved. I still had to go to the bathroom a lot more than I would have before this, which got a bit annoying and distracted me from completing my work. My sinuses are also getting better with the pressure, but my throat still hurts. I have to keep doing the salt-water gargling, then drink water in moderation, but still end up getting the 4-5 bottles in. I almost forgot to keep drinking water because my body felt fine, but I reminded myself that I still could be dehydrated and not know it. I ended up drinking an extra half bottle of water today. Entry #3 - 11/17/18 I woke up myself 5 minutes before my alarm today, which is shocking to me since I normally oversleep or wake up to my alarm. I felt really energized and not that tired, and I didn’t think it was going to last the day. Since I go home on the weekends, my dad sometimes forgets to buy water bottles - but I let him know to keep buying them - and will buy milk, or juice for my younger sister. He was at his fiance's house today, and didn’t end up buying water bottles yet, so all we had was cranberry juice. Throughout the day, I felt pretty good (energy-wise) and it kept up with me while I was doing homework. I found it difficult to keep reminding myself to go downstairs and fill up a glass of water, but I drank about 7 ½ almost 8 cups of water today. Entry #4 - 11/18/18 My throat hurt really bad when I woke up and my mouth was super dry. It felt like Day #1. I don’t know if this will pass, or if the last of this infection is getting out, but I really felt like trash. I had the same amount of energy as I had the other day, but I felt fatigued just from the coughing and my chest/throat being sore. I have been drinking green tea with honey too, and it’s helping to keep me hydrated - I am also making sure I am drinking enough water! I think that if - for a few days until I feel better - I substitute a bottle/glass of water with green tea and honey, I might get better quicker, but still stay just as hydrated. I hope this really is the last of the infection getting out. Entry #5 - 11/19/18 There are only two days until break, and I am super excited. I went home a day early (today) because I don’t have any classes tomorrow. I was in a rush and forgot to bring water with me to classes, but luckily my friend Jess had an extra bottle. I know that with the rush of the holidays and everything I might forget to drink extra water and possibly go back to how it was before this. I don’t want to relapse, so I might set up reminders on my phone. I drank only 4 bottles of water today, and I am a little disappointed in myself because I forgot about my goal to drink 5-6 a day. Tomorrow is a new day. Entry #6 - 11/20/18 I felt a little tired waking up today, and a bit hesitant to get out of bed; however, my migraines/headaches are gone, and my body feels a lot better (no more sore throat!). Today I had to go grocery shopping for Thanksgiving because my dad is away on a business trip. Along with this, I had to take care of everything around the house, which had me feeling drained and rushed. Luckily, the extra work I put in made me thirstier and I actually ended up drinking a lot more water than my goal was. I went to the bathroom the same amount of times, but I definitely need to pay more attention to my body when I am thirsty. The only thing that is on my mind now is Thanksgiving day, and the drinks (juice, wine, etc.) that will be provided; I know that every other year I would actually drink other beverages, but I hope I remember to stick to my goal. I got about 8 bottles of water down today. Entry #7 - 11/21/18 I’m halfway to completing this behavior change and I felt pretty good today. I still feel sick, which sucks, but I can tell that I am getting - and feeling - much, much better than I did when I started. My throat hurts a little bit, today more than it has been, which is weird. Although I did manage to get down 5, almost 5 ½ bottles today, but I was full. I’ve gotten into a routine with going to the bathroom more regularly, so that way it’s not unexpected. My body still feels good, but I don’t know why my throat hurts a little bit. Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I need to keep reminding myself not to indulge in beverages that could make me feel sick. I feel like I have been doing pretty good with remembering to actually drink water, especially over juice. Entry #8 - 11/22/18 I woke up early and helped my dad and his fiance cook everything for Thanksgiving. It was fun, and I basically had a food coma by the end of it. I didn’t get as full as quickly though because I drank in moderation and ate in moderation too. I made sure that as I ate to actually drink water to avoid feeling over-filled or “too stuffed” to function. Admittedly I didn’t get down as much water as I would have hoped too, but I got down about 4 ½ to 5 bottles today. Tomorrow morning I am going Black Friday shopping and I don’t really want to carry around a bottle of water with me, but I’ll probably keep one in my car - just in case. Entry #9 - 11/23/18 Today was exhausting and fun. The Bridgewater mall was insane and people are crazy, but it was a good day. I felt good waking up, reasonably tired - given it was 5:30 am - but had energy the whole day. I did bring two bottles of water with me in my car, and ended up taking one in and keeping it in one of the shopping bags as I walked. I got about 5 bottles down today. As I was trying on a few outfits too, I noticed I lost a bit of weight. I don’t know how to describe it, but I know that I definitely slimmed down a bit. I’m feeling really confident about this behavior change because it’s actually helping me in a lot of ways I wouldn’t have expected. The project is almost up, but I honestly don’t feel an urge to stop the progress I’ve made. Entry #10 - 11/24/18 I’m pretty sure I’m not sick anymore and I feel back to myself. I have been reminding myself lately to keep drinking water through the “reminders” app on my iphone, and it’s been helpful. I faced a little challenge today at Dansbury: I almost forgot that I had brought my water bottle with me and almost got pink lemonade. Since I’ve been drinking more water, I haven’t felt the need to drink juice, or those sugary-carbonated drinks like soda or pink lemonade. The substitute of water has seriously helped me. I felt really good today and have also found myself to be getting into a better sleep schedule. Overall, I had about 6 ½ water bottles today. Entry #11 - 11/25/18 Again, I woke up feeling pretty energized and went to classes, finished all of my work, etc. I have gotten into a good routine of remembering to keep drinking water and have actually found myself feeling more confident. I feel more confident with my weight and more energetic, finding that I am able to complete homework and stay focused on it. Also going to the bathroom frequently isn’t as much of a problem, it only was when I first started. All in all, I am feeling really good about myself, and my lifestyle. Overall, I drank 6 ½ bottles of water today. Entry #12 - 11/26/18 Not much has changed, still. I still feel really good/confident and energized. I have been keeping up with my homework, and my sleep routine. Sidenote: I haven’t been eating as much, but haven’t been overeating. I have been eating to the point where I feel content, and full but not overly full. Only two days are left for this project, but I am really happy of the changes that I have actually contributed to making. A lot of them are visible too, and it makes me hopeful that if I were to try this in the future for anything else that it will work! I drank a total of 7 bottles of water today. Entry #13 - 11/27/18 I have been doing good in reminding myself - before my reminder app tells me - to drink water, or to grab a bottle to go. My body has been pretty good in telling me that I am thirsty - but not dehydrated - and when to drink. My energy and mood has been up since the start of this, and I have seen a lot of good changes. I drank enough water today, about 6 bottles, but I make sure to stay in that range of 5-6 bottles or more - if needed. Still, nothing much has changed but I have noticed a lot of positive progress and I am happy and proud of the outcomes due to this simple behavior change. I never really thought that something as simple as drinking more water could change my lifestyle this much, but I don’t regret any of it. Entry #14 - 11/28/18 Last day of this project, and ultimately I am really happy and confident in the ways drinking more water regularly has actually helped me. I’m really not as tired/fatigued as I used to be and I can see a little bit of weight loss along with a stronger immune system. I got better really quickly after starting this, and I don’t think I have ever really been that sick. I also feel a lot happier and more in-tune with my body (again it sounds weird, but I feel really good). I have been waking up - actually waking up, instead of falling back to sleep - and find myself having a lot more energy. Today I drank about 6 ½ bottles of water. Before starting this project, I felt like it wouldn’t work at all or I wouldn’t do that well with keeping up with it, and I definitely surprised myself. I feel that if I tried this same little project on my own with another behavioral issue of mine (sleeping, or getting a little bit more exercise), I might be just as successful.