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Jacob Sparkes

Mrs. Debock

English IV Honors

February 23, 2017

Essential Question: What are the benefits of a healthy diet paired with weightlifting as the

primary exercise type?

Working Thesis: Lifting weights regularly paired with healthy eating habits will keep people

healthy.

Refined Thesis: Lifting weights on a weekly basis accompanied with a diet consisting of

healthier unprocessed foods will make people feel better while improving their health for the

short and long term.

Annotated Bibliography

Ciencin Henriquez, Jessica. "Vegan Strong." Teen Vogue, vol. 16, no. 2, Mar. 2016, p.

108.EBSCOhost

This web article shows how olympic level athletes have decided to shift their diets

away from eating meat and animal products to simply eating a vegan diet. A vegan diet is

a very strict plant based diet consisting of many vegetables, grains, and nuts. These foods

are incredibly nutrient dense but not as calorically dense as traditional food. This requires

them to eat large amounts of food multiple times a day. With this diet change they vastly

improved at their sports and felt more energetic for longer periods of time. Many vegans

claim to sleep better than their meat eating counterparts. The average person eating a
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plant based diet weighs significantly less than a person eating a diet including meat. This

is relevant to my topic because veganism is often not thought of as a healthy diet for a

weight lifter however the olympic athletes in this article seem to recommend it.

Emery, Lindsey. "Don't Fear the Weight Room." Health, vol. 28, no. 8, Oct. 2014, pp. 41-44.

EBSCOhost

This web article seems to be more geared toward women who have an interest in lifting

weights. This article focuses on the misconception that if a woman lifts weights she becomes big

or bulky. Weight lifting generally tones muscles improving physique. This article works to

destroy the myth that cardio is the only way to lose fat. Lifting weights is a very effective way to

shed off the pounds because if you are constantly destroying your muscles by challenging them

in ways they have never been challenged before. Then afterwards they must work to constantly

repair themselves. This requires constant energy and speeds up your metabolism drastically. This

article is relevant to my topic because it is geared toward women who are supported by my thesis

that lifting weights is good for the body.

Hines II, Dwayne. "Good Things Come to Those Who Weight." American Fitness, vol. 19, no.

6,Nov/Dec2000,p.48.EBSCOhost

This web article seems like it is based for an audience with an interest in health. This

emphasizes how weight training takes many athletes to the next level by increasing size and
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strength. As an added bonus it is shown to reduce blood pressure and LDL cholesterol while

encouraging HDL cholesterol. It has also been shown that weightlifting advances the way the

body uses sugar after its consumption which points to helping diabetics by stabilizing blood

pressure. The article also notes how effective weight lifting can be in helping with fat loss.

Lifting weights destroys your muscles which burns fat and your body must help recover these

muscles (using fat) then the built muscle requires energy(fat) to keep itself in existence. This is

relevant to my topic because it discusses several ways lifting weights can keep people healthy

and help them lose fat.

Oaklander, Mandy. "The New Science of Exercise. (Cover Story)." Time, vol. 188, no. 10/11, 12

Sept.2016,p.=54.EBSCOhost.

In this web article the benefits behind exercise are revealed by a scientist. Exercise keeps

your body healthy and functioning properly. Lifting weights makes muscles grow and

encourages bone density to increase. Exercise in general improves blood flow, keeps people

young, mobile, and prevents problems associated with a sedentary lifestyle. People who exercise

less are at a higher risk for cancer, alzheimer's, depression, back pain, and anxiety. Regular

attendees of the gym will see the positive impacts in the short and long term. Improved mood

and concentration are other benefits that come from simply moving your body more than usual.

This is relevant to my topic because it shows several reasons why weightlifting is beneficial for

health.
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Purdy, Elizabeth Rholetter, PhD. "Mediterranean Diet." Salem Press Encyclopedia, September.

EBSCOhost

This web article talks primarily about the mediterranean diet and its benefits. As the name

might make one assume, the mediterranean diet comes from areas surrounding the mediterranean

sea in Southern Europe and Northern Africa. People of these regions eat high fat, high protein

diets paired with many fresh vegetables. The fats eaten in this diet generally come from plants

and the meat eaten is fairly lean. Herbs and spices are used as flavoring leaving less of a need for

excessive use of fat, sugar, or salt. This diet is really more of a guideline than a diet but the

people who eat like this regularly lead long, healthy lives. This is relevant because people who

eat the mediterranean diet are extremely healthy which contributes to my topic on health.

Stiefel, Steven. "Live and Let Diet." Muscle & Fitness, vol. 77, no. 5, May 2016, p. 140.

EBSCOhost

This web article covers three diets that are capable of being paired with weightlifting. The

first of these diets is one called a paleolithic diet. Eating like this consists of animal products

such as meat and eggs paired with a select amount of very healthy fruits and vegetables. The idea

behind this diet is to eat how humans ate before we domesticated our food. The next diet

discussed is a ketogenic diet or a diet consisting of primarily fat with much less protein and very

few carbs. This diet tricks your body into thinking it is starving and burns off excess stored fat in

your body. The third diet in this article explains something called carb rotating. To participate in

this diet you eat whatever you want limiting or exceeding your carbohydrate intake to keep your
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metabolic rate high. This is relevant to my topic because it discusses several diet ideas that could

be beneficial to health.