Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 5: Final Weekly Review & Overall Project Reflection

Week 5 Overview

1. I will drink 40 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 7 days a week.
2. I was finally successful with my goal.  Even though I traveled out of town for a conference, I brought my reusable bottle with me.  This strategy allowed me to maintain my goal of drinking water while using a reusable bottle because I provided it myself.  Going out of town for three days was my greatest challenge, but I was prepared to overcome that.
3. Excitement, confidence, happy.  These are just a few of the feelings I experienced this week.  I am proud that I finally accomplished my goal because I have been striving for it this whole time.  I really believe that I can continue this lifestyle change.
4. I learned that with hard work and preparation you can accomplish your goals.  And now they don't even seem hard.  If you work at something long enough, it just becomes part of your daily routine.

Reflection

1. My initial SMART goal was to drink 8 oz of water out of my reusuable stainless steel water bottle 6 days a week.  Throughout the process, I modified it to be more challenging.  Which led it to become: I will drink 40 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 7 days a week.  In the beginning, the goal was far too easy.  It was not my intention to make it that easy, but challenging myself was definitely a good thing. 

2. Be prepared was probably the biggest thing that led to my success.  Always having my bottle with me and knowing where I could fill it up at, or the times that I could really helped.  Making my water bottle easily accessible was a huge advantage.  Traveling, meetings, and events got in the way of my goal and led to me not always being successful.  But as I have mentioned, if I am prepared and remember to take my bottle with me to these locations, then I should be able to address these issues in the future with a positive view.

3. I benefitted from this project in multiple ways.  First, my health.  I was not drinking nearly as much water a day, this definitely is a good thing to be putting more fluids into my body.  My change also benefitted the environment by not using or purchasing plastic water bottles.  This in turn benefits me because I live in this environment. It was also a good learning experience for me.  Challenging myself with a goal and being successful is always a great thing to accomplish.  I learned that changing lifestyle habits can be difficult at first but eventually you catch on and it becomes the "norm" in your life.  I also learned that I am able to challenge myself maybe a little more than I would originally intended.  Difficult tasks can be fun to work on.  Behavior change is possible, especially with support from others.

4.  The environment benefitted because I used to purchase a case of water every month and now I have not for awhile, plus I am not drinking out of these bottles creating waste.  Others can benefit by seeing the challenges and successes I had and build off of them.  They can be successful sooner than I was just by learning what worked and what didn't work.

5. I will definitely continue this behavior because it really will not be that hard to maintain at this point.  I just have to keep bringing my reusable bottle with me and it will just be a part of my life.  By chance, I could try to increase the water intake, but for now I will just contine with the same goal.

6.  If others make a lifestyle change similar to mine I would say for sure have a few reusable water bottles and carry them with you everything.  Even if you don't think you'll need it, keep one in your car or purse.  Try to eliminate going through areas that will tempt you to purchase bottled water.  If you are not around bottled water you won't think twice about buying one.  And lastly, just be confident.  You can be successful in making lifestyle changes.  Sometimes they just take work, create a partner support group so someone can hold you accountable.  Anything is possible, the sky is the limit so Good Luck :) !!

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

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4: Weekly Update

1. My SMART goal was I will drink 40 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 7 days a week.  I would say that I was fairly successful with this goal.  I was able to achieve it 6 days last week, Thanksgiving being the slacking day.
2. I was only able to be home the night before and the day of Thanksgiving, which for this goal, was a blessing in disguise.  We live off bottled water at my home because our water goes through softeners and the well and has a lot of minerals in it.  (My dogs can't even drink it because it gives them kidney and gallbladder stones.)  So we do not drink it.  What we typically do though is bring jugs to my grandma's house, who lives in the actually city, and fill them up.  But my point is, is that it was very difficult to stick with my goal while at home.  Thanksgiving was a bit of challenge for that reason.  Being at work allows me to be successful because we have those really big jugs you can fill from and I love it.  I usually fill it once when I get there, midway through the day, and then again before I leave at night.
3. I wouldn't say I had any specific feelings this weak.  A little disappointment at the end of the week from not being able to achieve my goal again, but I was so close that I was also filled with excitement.  This is because I really think next week I will achieve this goal.  Throughout this last week I had a real positive attitude for my goal because I knew I was doing well.
4. I learned that drinking tap water can be a challenging thing for everyone, but if you really try to make it your lifestyle, it is not that difficult.  It is more difficult when I am at home but I know there are ways to get around it.  
5. For next week, I intend to keep my goal the same because I really think I can achieve it.  It has obviously been challenging since I have struggled over the last few weeks to actually complete it 100%.  I am very hopeful for what next week will bring.  My goal for next week is: I will drink 40 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 7 days a week.

Blogged for Eco Chic Lifestyle Change Week 4 Hosted by Amy@Amy in the rain

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 3: Weekly Update

My smart goal for this week was: I will drink 40 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 7 days a week.    This week was not very good for me.  I did not reach my goal but I am optimistic that I can achieve it later on.  I changed it from my initial goal therefore it became more difficult, yet I intend to keep it.  Even though it will challenging, I will leave this as my goal.

This last week I definitely faced some challenges.  I did not have my typically schedule, thus I was out and about and not at work or school.  On Wednesday and Thursday I was at events at Fon du Lac Tribal Community College and the College of St. Scholastica.  I didn't even think about drinking water that day, I simply did not stay hydrated without realizing it because I was so busy.  I did bring my water bottle with (Step 1!) I just did not refill it.  So I met part of my goal.  Then comes Friday, in which I was at a four hour meeting where lunch was served.  I was so hungry that I just grabbed the set up and starting eating and drinking.  Uh oh! I started drinking out of a plastic water bottle.  I was half way through before I even realized it, I was so disappointed in myself.  Luckily, all the rest of my days were successful and I did meet my goals. 

It felt so good to actually meet my goal.  I was really proud that I was able to accomplish drinking 40 ounces these last few days.  I would much rather have a goal that is difficult then set the bar too low and make it to easy to achieve.  I also had feelings of disappointment this week when I was not able to reach my goal.  I am a perfectionist so I really intend to accomplish everything I set my mind to.

This week I learned that sometimes different things come up in your days and weeks.  You need to always be prepared for what lies ahead of you because you never really know.  I am a very structured and routine person, so when my weeks change it is a little stressful.  I should always have my water bottle with me, and make a conscious choice to find a water fountain and make sure I can refill my bottle.

As I have stated previously, I intend to keep the same goal for next week so I will drink 40 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 7 days a week.  Hopefully I can achieve it next week.  It will be a bit challenging but I think I can do it.  I intend to bring my water bottle to Thanksgiving so hopefully that won't be an issue.

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

Eco-Chic Lifestyle Change Week 2: Weekly Update

My SMART goal was: I will drink 8 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 6 days a week.  I was very successful with my goal, and even went above my 8 ounces required. 

A challenged I faced was simply old habits.  One day I did drink out of a plastic bottle, not even thinking about it because I leave one in the fridge at my work and always just refill it.  After I drank out of it, I threw it away!  No more temptation.  I have plastic bottles in random areas (my room, fridge, work) and I simply need to eliminate these and recycle them.  My successful strategies include always making sure I leave my apartment in the morning with my reusable stainless steel water bottle.  I am also conscious now of where water fountains are around me and making sure I save some time to refill my bottle. Also I feel my peers hold me accountable, because I don't want to use a plastic bottle around them either, so this is a good thing.

Every night when I got home from my day at school or work I felt proud that I had made it through the day without drinking out of a plastic container.  I honestly thought I would have a much more difficult time with this because before this week, I brought a plastic water bottle with me every day to school and only used a reusble one occaisionally.  I generally will stick to a goal that I set for myself though, I do not like failure.   I feel confident going into the next week and I am excited to continue on this journey.

I learned that lifestyle changes do not have to be as hard as you think they should be.  They can be challenging but able to be accomplished.  I also realized how easy it can be to do something better for the environment.  I always thought that to make a change in my life that would benefit the environment it would take a lot of time and a big effort.  This was something that I was able to incorporate and didn't take a lot of extra time. 

For next week, my goal will be modified.  I will stick with the same theme but my new SMART goal is:
I will drink 40 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 7 days a week.

I decided to change it to 40 ounces of water instead of 8 and that is mostly for my lack of thinking when orignially creating the goal.  I did not realize how small of an amount 8 ounces was. Woops!  I also changed it from 6 days a week to 7 days a week, just to add that extra challenge.  I am excited for next week and hope I can continue to be successful.

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

My SMART Goal is:

I will drink 8 ounces of water out of my reusable stainless steel water bottle 6 days a week.


I currently, sad to say, have a tendency to drink out of plastic water bottles.  Sometimes it is just easier or more convenient to grab a plastic water bottle.  I would like to minimize my use of bottled water by relying solely on the use of my reusable bottle.  Recently, we watched the documentary Tapped.  This gave me a whole new perspective on bottled water.  This lifestyle change is most definitely eco-chic because not only will minimizing my use of bottled water help myself to consume necessary amounts of water, it also helps the environment.  Bottles used for bottled water are not recycled properly and contain harmful chemicals like BPA.  They have a negative effect on our environment, for instance, the North Pacific Garbage Patch.  Also, not having to purchase water bottles will save me money, which as a college student is always helpful!  But it also is one small step to showing the water bottle industry that I do not support their actions. This goal is important to me because it is something I have always wanted to implement in my life, but never really had something continue to motivate me.  Making this my goal will serve as that motivational factor to keep me doing it.  I am actually really excited to put this goal into action because I think it will also encourage others around me to think twice before picking up a plastic water bottle. 

**Image is from http://www.kleankanteen.com/tapped/index.php  and they are a sponsor for Tapped: Get Off the Bottle Movie Tour.  This is also an example of the type of bottle I will be using to be successful with my goal.

Blogged for the Eco Chic Lifestyle Change Week 1 hosted by Amy@Amy in the Rain

Welcome to Kristy's Fun in the Sun Spot

Welcome to my blog.


Here is a photo of palm trees on the beach.

Hi, my name is Kristy and you have found yourself at Kristy's Fun in the Sun Spot.  I created this blog as part of my Environmental Health class.  I am a Health Education major with emphasis on Community Health.  My blog is about having fun in the sun.  I love being in the sun and the more I am in it, the happier I am.  I intend to make my blog fun and interesting, but also educational.  It is important to me to be safe in the sun.  I plan to educate on proper actions to take while being in the sun and provide tips to stay safe.

There will be 6 different types of posts on my blog.  These include the following:

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 six 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. Brier@Lovin Nature with Brier
2. Kristy@Kristy's Fun in the Sun Spot
3. Jamie@Jamie Says Jump
4. Elly@Elly Dreams Green
5. Lauren@Lauren's Pouring Rain
6. Mary@Blue Skies for Mary
7. Sarah@Take a Hike with Sarah

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."

I am really looking forward to blogging.  I am very new to this whole experience, so hopefully it goes smoothly.  It will be a new fun way to communicate with others.  Thanks for visiting my blog, I hope you come back and check it out again.