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Can we suggest a food basket to the consumers that is at the same time promoting your health, will suit even a low budget and that contains only products that we like to eat? This tricky question has thrilled the mind of Danish and foreign researchers involved in a new study at Metropolitan University College.

Module 13 Internship

The Internship time has come again. The second Internship will be about food and food prices. The main goal is to create a National Food Basket for Slovakia.Stay tuned for more information and details about the behind scenes.

Professional Study Issues or Research Questions

There are two topics that I can think of right now to be interesting for further work.

First of them is what I have mentioned already and that is the issue of the "bosses" looking down at their workers. It might not really be a research question but I could imagine doing some kind of workshops for people about communication skills and such.

The other topic relates to people who exercise a lot and restrict the body of nutrition because they want to have "beautiful" muscles and prove something to themselves. I talked to one of these people a lot during my internship and it was interesting to see how tired and hungry he was but would not give his body what it was crying for. Rather he kept being on the program and told me he can not wait until he can eat anything and everything after the championship.

#study issues/research questions

Tasks & Survival Tips for Others

It is quite hard for me to provide a survival tip list due to the fact I was in my home country and probably was not aware of many "dangerous situations".

People are very judgmental around there. Be aware of this and do not get discouraged in any case. Be strong!

Your "boss" thinks he/she is a better, more important person than you are. They think they have some power over you and often do not handle communication very well. I was very aware of this phenomenon not only in my internship setting but outside of it as well. Do not believe in this phenomenon and do not take it personal!

I will try to come up with other tips and post later. As I said earlier, it is not an easy task for me to do.

#survival tips

Relevance and Professionalism

Since I am a student of the Lifestyle and Health Education specialization, the gym internship was a great place to start the experience. There is an individual approach with the gym visitors and I have learned that I really like this. I like to communicate with individuals rather than with a bigger group of people. I see that when I speak to a single person, I am more confident, I can explain any specific issue better. I feel calm and competent.

However, when I am placed into a setting of speaking in front of more people, the trouble begins :) During my internship I was asked whether I might like to give a presentation about health, lifestyle, maybe the idea of raw food, but unfortunately, I ended up not doing it due to my fears of being unprofessional and scared of being judged. This is something I really want to work on. I want to become more competent in speaking to groups of people because this way I can reach more people in a shorter time period which is in today´s world very necessary, especially when it comes to health.

On the other hand, I can see that having a plenty of group work done in classroom made me a professional team worker ;) It was easy to get along with my coworkers and in fact, although I was there for quite a short time, they were all sad when I was leaving. This might have been due to my openness and friendliness which I have always possessed. I was always willing to change a shift, come earlier, and just to help whenever needed. I am a big believer in the idea of what you give, you receive back. Give good, receive good. Give friendship, receive friendship. Give love, receive love. You get the picture, right? But I think I got carried away a little bit :)

How to apply classroom knowledge to internship

It is for sure nice to bring learned concepts into practice.

The classroom knowledge which I was the most aware of using was the one from coaching classes with Janne: asking "the right kind" of questions. I used it not only in the gym setting but in everyday conversation with people like my friends and family. I wanted to make people think, to reflect upon their actions and behavior. Sometimes it was challenging but I can see that the kinds of questions I am asking people nowadays are more "critical" in comparison with the ones I would ask some years or even months ago.

This brings me to another knowledge I realized I have gained and have been using it: being critical. It is very helpful to be critical and objective. When I read or hear some information, I do not follow it right away without first learning more about it and figuring out where the truth might lay.

Conducting a small questionnaire during my internship was yet another knowledge application. This was due to learning about it and making a questionnaire before. If I have not learned the theory behind making a questionnaire, I would have not conducted one.

The communication skills we have learned about came in very handy during my internship. I am very happy about the fact I am more aware of differences among people. I understand that it is interesting and even helpful to be different from others. We learn from each other so much. However, this can be a challenge for people who do not want to see the differences as being positive and judge everything which is different from them or their views.

A specific challenge

The biggest challenge of all was probably that I was in my home country and perceived many things and situations as usual although a person from abroad might see them in a different light. It could have been interesting to have someone non-Slovakian with me and see how she/he would perceive the life in one of the Slovakian cities. What I take for granted and do not pay a lot of attention to would a non-Slovakian person approach completely differently. Therefore, I think I "missed" some important and interesting facts about life in Slovakia.

Another challenge was that SLYOFIT's visitors did not take a chance on having mental coaching sessions. Although I posted a leaflet on the notice board and the information also appeared on the gym's webpage, people did not contact the mental coach. I really wanted to get as much experience as possible in coaching but without coachees it was not that easy ;) I now know that I could have been more "outspoken" about the mental coaching and introduce it to people in person and even ask them for being my guinea pigs :)

I was thinking about doing a presentation in the gym about nutrition but I had a block. I have had a hard time speaking in front of a group of people and I would love to break that block. I know that through the practice I could break it but I ended up not holding the presentation. This is something I would like to work on. For now, I know I work best with individuals.

#a specific challenge

A typical day "at the office" starts either at 6 AM or 2 PM. When I start working at 6, I wake up at 5:30, pack the food and go :) It seemed to be early when I did it for the first time but more often I did it, the easier it became. I come to "the office", start the computer, cash register, and check the early birds in ;) Sometimes I have people ask me about some machines and how to use them. English speaking students visited SLYOFIT while I was there and it was so helpful to be fluent in English. My colleagues were happy I was there and not them :) At 2 PM I "give" my morning shift to one of my colleagues but before that I make sure the amount of money displayed on the cash register's receipt correspond with the money I have physically there. Then I am done ;)

If I start at 2 PM, I "receive" the morning shift and do the same tasks as during the morning. I finish at 9:30 PM then. After the afternoon shift I produce a report about the daily revenue and the number of the visitors. Also, I make sure the weights and other exercise equipment are where they are supposed to be. I lock everything and off I go.

Often I talk about my studies and the degree I am studying. People are curious and ask me who I am and what I am doing. They all think it is exciting what I am doing :) Phew! :)

#a typical day at the office

Learning objectives

First Learning Objective: Explain what the mental coaching is and its benefits to the target group.

I communicated mental coaching during the internship interview for the first time. I explained what it is and how it can be beneficial for people. I was concerned about people not being interested in it but I still wanted to offer it. I have been talking about mental coaching a lot. Many people have been curious and wanted to hear more about this, for them, peculiar topic. Although people have wanted to know what it is, they have not wanted to become my coachees.

Sometimes it was hard to pinpoint key characteristics of mental coaching. The challenge consisted of two aspects. First, I learned that explaining mental coaching to someone is much harder than to actually use it in practice. Second, communicating mental coaching in my native language seems much more complicated than explaining it in English.

I encountered some challenge while producing a leaflet explaining the mental coaching. What do I say so people understand it? How do I let people know it is for everybody and not only for athletes? I wanted it to be short and catchy but it ended up being with a lot of text and uninteresting. People do not like to read I learned :) My supervisor advised me to redo it in a way it catches people's attention. So I did, but my second leaflet was about something different than mental coaching. It was about the "good" nutrition blended with exercise being a path to a "healthy body".

Second Learning Objective: Apply the mental coaching skills on the target group.

Initially, the target group was supposed to consist of the SLYOFIT's visitors. However, my three coachees I had during the internship were not the gym-goers.

My very first coachee was a girl I have known for a long time but we have never been close friends. She wanted to try it out and so we agreed on weekly meetings. When we met for the first time, she told me at the end of the session that she felt 50 per cent better than in the beginning of it. Wow, I thought :) All our meetings were nice and I feel like we both learned from each other.

My second coachee was my friend who has wanted to better her eating habits. This coaching was more of a health coaching than mental coaching but mental coaching's techniques were used. This friend was in Australia while I was in Slovakia and so we had our sessions via Skype. It was another kind of experience but a good one.

I realized that I really like to communicate food and how it can affect the body and the mind. I called myself a health coach and it just sounded right ;)

My coachee number three was yet another friend. It was a male friend this time and he became my coachee very spontaneously while dining together. What a perfect time to talk nutrition! ;) I explained some nutritional facts to him and he was eager to try out some of my advices for better digestion and overall feeling. After some time he even joined SLYOFIT and I was his gym coach during first couple of visits. I felt capable, but at the same time I realized I could learn more about specific exercises for specific muscle groups and the combination of exercises for the best effect.

I often found myself using the mental coaching skills during conversations with my parents or my friends.

Third Learning Objective: Communicate nutrition and physical activity with the gym- goers.

When I placed my second leaflet on the gym's notice board, I offered nutritional advice. One day a girl contacted me asking for help. We met right away and we talked about food and exercise. We talked about ourselves as well and she was very curious about my bachelor's degree. I told her a lot about Metropol and she said she might consider studying there. Few days later she called me asking about the application procedure. She decided to apply for the global nutrition and health program. However, she missed the deadline. Maybe next year she tries again..

I communicated nutrition and physical activity with people in the gym quite often because people would ask me what I do and I would tell them about my degree and the conversation just unfolded.

Fourth Learning Objective: Compose an advisory report on nutrition and physical activity for the target group.

I have not composed an advisory report on nutrition and physical activity. I know it would be something people could benefit from but somehow I seemed to be busy enough without doing this work. However, I might work on it outside of the internship time.

#learning objectives

Another issue that is present in Slovakia is the salt overconsumption. Although the WHO recommends the maximum of 6g of salt per day, an average Slovakian consumes between 15 and 20g of salt per day, at least that is what some studies show. I believe this information is not far from truth because traditional Slovakian meals consist of salty ingredients or salt itself.

A few days ago I thought spring was almost here...

I have done some research on how Slovakians eat their fruits and veggies and I found some disturbing information. Unfortunately, an average person living in Slovakia eats 1 apple a day when it comes to fruit consumption. Although there is a recommendation of 5 a day or at least 400 grams of produce a day, people do not follow it. Every tenth Slovakian does not eat any fruit at all according to one study.

The view after a small hike was priceless. What do you think?

Spring is coming!!!!! :)

Both pictures were taken at around 5:50 AM but there is almost one month time in between.

English teaching

When I started meeting the employees of SLYOFIT, I talked about myself, what I do, what I like to do, where and what I study, and so on. I mentioned to one of them that I could teach English and he told me that his daughter might appreciate some additional English lessons besides the school ones. I soon met with her for our first lesson and now we meet twice a week.

One day while working in the gym I heard one of the personal trainers talking about his attempts to learn English. I asked him to tell me more about it and he said he had been an intermediate beginner in English for a while. I offered him some teachings and he said yes! I am now giving some English lessons to him and his girlfriend.

These are my working settings. The day on which the pictures were taken was so sunny and beautiful. It was quite the challenge to stay inside but I made it! ;)

The tough gym visitor ;)

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