I have been an athlete all my life and physical fitness is a very important thing to me. Additionally, I have been a picky eater ever since I was a baby and have never really tried to expand my palate. I wanted my project to incorporate both of these aspects of my identity, while teaching others how to stay fit. The essential questions I want to explore are:

How does living a healthy lifestyle affect someone athletically, and additionally affect other parts of their life?

Is redefining one’s habits in such a quick time even possible?

How does changing a diet strengthen the connection with one’s body?

For my senior project, I want to experiment with different diets, such as an all vegetarian diet, a plant based diet, etc, and see how these diets affect my life and discover what is the optimal diet for an athlete and just for the ordinary person. Depending how many weeks I have for the project, and after choosing what diets would be best for my project, I will create a daily spreadsheet with many categories such as: weightlifting, cardio, overall wellbeing, sleep, changes in my body (acne, being dehydrated, etc) and more categories to judge each diet, and determine how they affect my life in different parts. This project would be focused on the diet, but I would explore all types of fitness and see how my diet impacts being fit. 

For the research part of my project, I have much to learn about dieting and what would be the optimal diet for my goals. I would research different types of diets, and see their benefits, drawbacks and by the end of the project, I hope to be able to create the best diet that takes the benefits from all of these diets. Also, I would research workout routines, spits, and make the most ideal one for my body.

Once the experimental portion begins, I would be going to the gym to lift weights around 5-6 times a week, I would be playing basketball daily, or doing some other type of cardio, and do yoga or some type of stretching every morning. I will also do additional things like biking, to keep myself in great shape. For my diet, I will have the normal three meals from whatever diet I am taking, and I will attempt to have my food at the same times daily so my body sees familiarity and builds routine.

I’m seeking to do this project because of the personal wellbeing it will have on me and the educational research for others. As I said, I have been very picky all my life and with quarantine, I have started to get sick of the very few foods I will eat. This project will help me learn more about my body and fitness, which is something I care about deeply and could even see myself in a career surrounding fitness when I am older. Additionally, this project would help me and my goals of being fit, but my project will also offer resources and information that can help anyone who is looking to take fitness seriously. My project would determine what is the best diet for living fit, which is an answer to a question many people want to know.

From a resources standpoint, everything I need for my diet and weightlifting will not be a problem. For my diet, I am planning on purchasing some type of meal plan (which I am still researching the specifics,) where you buy the plan, and they ship pre-made food to your home. Additionally, my mom is a chef and if the meal plan somehow does not work,  I can use her help to make me food, or teach me how to cook specific recipes. For weightlifting and gym access, I have a gym membership, so going to a place to get fit would also not be a problem. If we somehow go back into lockdown due to COVID, I have a home gym and will be able to do the exact same project from home.

This project is a topic that I really care about, and it would challenge myself to be uncomfortable. I would be changing the entire way I live my life, and getting rid of my bad habits to better myself as a person.