My product

I have learned a lot from my 20% project. One thing I found interesting and one of my classmates pointed out to me while I was showing them my product, was how the whole fit lifestyle through the eyes of social media has really kicked off in the past year. In the past year and a half, I believe that the promotion of workouts, clean eating, and the benefits of a healthy life has really hit the charts in many ways that one. I see now more than ever an ample amount of social media icons and "Insta-famous" people that have millions of followers just by being known for their workouts and motivational posts. The whole lifestyle of detoxing and juicing has also hit the shelves just recently. I could not recall two years ago seeing the number of organic products in super markets. It is really amazing how this whole fit lifestyle and clean eating has become a fad of our generation. It is actually really relieving and provides hope that as a society, we can go from being known as the most over-weight society and fast-food loving humans to healthy, clean organic eating individuals that live in the gym during their free time. I think that this has a lot to do with social media and technology of our day because it really helps promotion of this lifestyle and it is so easy to access information on how to convert to being more healthy. 

I made a glogster titled, The beginning of a new fit life. In my glogster I added twitter and Instagram names that I follow and believe to be the most beneficiary. My first video is of @fitmencook where Kevin makes 16 second Instagram videos of different, creative, low calorie foods. This video seemed to be the biggest hit amongst my audience. I also included 3 tweets of my favorite fitness motivational accounts on twitter as an example of how these tweets can motivate you throughout the day and keep you focused and determined. I added a picture of a fitness pinterest board, which are verryyyy popular. You can repin healthy recipes, workouts, detoxes and motivational pictures and quotes. The bottom three pictures are examples of what one could pin on Pinterest. Lastly, I added a second video of my favorite "insta-famous" workout guru Brittany Renner. She has a twitter, Instagram and youtube account with all her workouts and it really encourages one to make the transition like she did. 

I did not have many difficulties in my findings for my 20% project. The only thing I would say I had trouble with was what should I focus on the most to showcase on glogster. There were so many options of what videos, links, and pictures I could have added, but I made sure I included something from the three major social media networks, Instagram, twitter, and youtube. I wanted to add a few apps you can download onto your phone that are fitness related but I did not have enough room for that.

The audience really liked my 20% project  because there were many different things to look at. The video of @fitmencook was the most popular amongst my audience and about 3 audience members decided they should follow him on instagram to get new ideas!

What i've learned so far is that social media has made it very easy to motivate and prepare viewers on various fitness and life-changing manners. If you seek the information, there are ample amounts of sources that will guide you. The three social media networks I focus on in my project are Instagram, twitter, and Pinterest. Because our generation has become so technology savvy, it is only practical to target audiences in this matter. The targeted audience is anyone and everyone that is willing and ready to make a life changing plan for the benefit of their health. These people have to be motivated and willing to undergo daily alteration of activities and meals in order to do so. I found it easiest to find all my sources through social media so that is the way I want to communicate with my audience! I will focus on a handful of accounts that I found beneficial through my "fit life" process on Pinterest, Twitter, and most importantly Instagram. I think that the update on Instagram and the ability to now post videos along with pictures has been very beneficial because not only are there pictures to motivate one of what they could look like if they commit to the lifestyle and pictures of healthy foods, you can now post workouts and a small clip that shows how the workout is performed, along with one of my favorites, a snippet of the process of meal prep and cooking a variety of healthy low carb and caloric foods! 

Instagram: Motivation

I've been researching how Instagram can play a role in being a fitness motivator. Three major Instagram accounts that have contributed to my motivation when it comes to working out and eating healthy! My favorite favorite Instagram account that has quite actually changed my life is @FitMenCook !! Kevin (the account holder) is a fitness guru and has amazing 10 second videos of how to make healthy meals. All the meals are so practical and sooo easy to cook and it has actually inspired some of my dinners this past month! He has done an amazing job on creating fun videos that make your mouth water, and they're all so healthy. A fitness motivator account is @Mankofit. She is a celbrity train-fittness Model- Competitor Athlete and has many different videos and pictures of the meal preps she makes, work outs she does, and pictures of her amazinly fit self! It really motivates me to thrive to do my best when it comes to working out and eating clean. Lastly, @BundleofBrittany (Her instagram and twitter name) is a great motivational Instgram page. She used to play semi-pro soccer and has dedicated her life to fitness and motiving others to do the same. She also has videos of her workout routine and her meals/ products she uses to keep her body fueled and energized! Really, these 3 Instagrams are so easy to follow and motivate on to change their lives. I love how technology allows motivation to be at the tips of your finger.

Research

For the research part of my 20% project, I decided to look up four common websites that I use as motivation and for tips on workouts and nutrition. Pinterest is always my go to when it comes to getting new ideas. First, the "Eat Clean" movement has really taken off and there are an ample amount of new research and different cooking methods that motivate and illustrate a better way to eat more organically and nutritious. This Pinterest board is like my "go-to" when I need anything, from a easily accessible grocery list to take with me to the store to assure me that I am picking out healthy foods that will allow me to continue on my path to eating green and clean, or a list or workouts I can do at home or at the gym that targets my desired body party. There are examples that allow you do go ahead and plan for the week using "meal prep" ideas. This is helpful for those who are easily tempted to eat out because they do not have time to get home and cook. Using meal prep methods allows one to continue eating healthy and provides an easily accessible nutritious meal that is already cooked and just needs to be heated up! This second Pinterest board focuses on motivation and work out routines that different users have suggested. There are pictures that motivate one to get that desired body along with quotes. I believe that looking at pictures of fit people motivate one to work out and eat right because they will be one step closer to loving their body and achieving the body that they desire.

Twitter accounts such as @Fitness and @BeFitMotivation are daily motivators for me. There are always posting work outs or pictures of what foods one should substitute to head towards a better body. I am on twitter the most out of any website/ app I have and the constant posts from these two accounts really zeros in on me and allows me to be motivated throughout the day and stay focused. They also post pictures of "dream summer bodies" or example which reminds me that that time of the year is approaching and I better start today rather than tomorrow. I believe that one should use apps that they can easily access or websites/apps that they most frequently use in the day in order to stay motivated and be sure to see what new trends are occurring or new tips/ workouts they should consider.

Okay, okay now I should probably get to the research part of this Blog. Wordpress as allowed me to view the ideas and opinions of others, and the awesome thing is that I found a ton of blogs that pertained to my topic of being motivated, eating clean, and getting fit. Here I found Clean and Lean with Lisa, where she posts workouts, twitter accounts, and recipes! What caught my eye at first was her "meatless monday" recent post which I liked the most. I use to do meatless mondays my freshman year with a friend and I found it to be very rewarding. It stems from the idea "if every person that eats  meat went 1 day a week without consuming any type of meat, how many animals would we save in a year". This is also a health tip to eat clean because it forces you to eat more greens and more organic and natural foods. It challenges you to become creative with what you decide to eat each day and it also adds more color to your plate. She incorporates yoga and work out tips which I love and highly recommend as well.

This Eating Clean blog also caught my eye because of the story in the beginning. A couple from Texas decided to document their journey of improving their lives and the way they eat. They post daily meals and suggestions for their viewers to follow along on their journey. They started in July 2012 and continued to post until February 2013! Here is another family's journey to eating clean. My favorite post in this blog was her grocery list options that she gives to her children, Whitney, James, and Denise, that gives her a limited option of what breakfast, lunch, and morning and afternoon snack she wants.


This related to the article I read "Why do kids eat healthful food? Percieved benefits of and barriers to healthful eating nd physical activity among children and adolescents" By Jennifer A. O'Dea a faculty member of the University of Sydney, Australia.The goal was to have children and adolescents identify and rank the major perceived benefits of and barriers to healthful eating and physical activity and to suggest strategies for overcoming barriers. Semistructured, in-depth focus groups were undertaken using standardized questions and prompts. Students in grades 2 through 11(ages 7 through 17) from 34 randomly selected schools participated in 38 focus groups. Major benefits of healthful eating included improvements to cognitive and physical performance, fitness, endurance, psychological benefits, physical sensation (feeling good physically), and production of energy. Barriers included convenience, taste, and social factors. Benefits of physical activity included social benefits, enhancement of psychological status, physical sensation, and sports performance. Barriers included a preference for indoor activities, lack of energy and motivation, time constraints, and social factors. Suggested strategies for overcoming barriers included support from parents and school staff, better planning, time management, self-motivation, education, restructuring the physical environment, and greater variety of physical activities

Driving Question Thoughts

My interests:

1. working out/ being active
2. helping people
3. eating/ cooking

If I did not have to go to class or had a work and volunteer schedule, I would spend most of my day sleeping and eating. I love cooking and I love how if you put in the right food you will see your body change drastically. A few years back I was influenced by my friend Sarah and her family to transform the way I eat. It started off with her brother changing his lifestyle to eating more wheat instead of white bread/ pasta and a lot more veggies and fruit. No more snacking around the house on junk food, but instead of healthy feel good snacks. I decided to make my change at home to help my mother and sister who have recently been battling with weight loss struggle. My mom has hyperthyroidism and my sister has never really been very active. I decided that changing every aspect of the way we cook and eat, positive transformations will conclude. I have played soccer all my life and lacrosse and track and recently, I have had 2 ACL knee surgeries within a year and It made me realize I cannot take for granted being active because many do not get the chance.

Audience:

1. people looking for assistance/ guide
2. motivated people that want to better themselves
3. people that are willing to change their lifestyle

It's strange because these were all things I thought about that would fit my topic and my interest, but it also pertains to my future endeavors. I want to be a public defendant lawyer, and this is an audience I would have in my future. They will be people that are being accused of a crime and whether or not they did it, I need to represent them, motivate them to change their lifestyle or learn from the mistakes they have made in the past. However, this also pertains to my 20% topic idea. I want my audience to be someone looking for assistance and already have the motivation to improve their lifestyle. I want to show the people that really want to change and become more healthy find apps, social media outlets, and other technology based products and guides to assist them in their journey.

Technology:

1. social media such as twitter/ Instagram/ Pinterest
2. phone apps 
3. websites

Social media has influenced me to change my lifestyle. I see the celebrities with amazing bodies and everywhere i look there are work out magazines, or something about changing your life to be fit. Instagram, twitter, and Pinterest are the social media programs that I use the most. On IG i follow over 20 workout profiles with people that live a "gym rat" lifestyle. I also follow about 5 IG pages that are about eating clean that show videos or pictures of healthy food options. Pinterest also assists me in finding new work outs and finding healthy meals and tips. Other websites give you tips on what super foods you can correlate into your meals. Phone apps are important because there are many apps that give you work out ideas from head to toe, and there are also apps to track what food you eat, caloric intake, and pedometer. 

Driving Question:

How Does Technology (social media and other internet based tools) influence and motivate anyone to transform their life to a healthier and more fit lifestyle?