"The New and Healthier You"
Has the summer break left you feeling
un-productive and anxious to begin the new school year with a strong game plan for
success?
The new calendar year is not the only time
deciding to make a lifestyle change can be made, the new school year is an
excellent opportunity to become a "New and Healthier You." Eating healthy, exercising often, and staying on
top of your studies is difficult to balance. Here are some tips and tools
to help you overcome common back-to-school challenges and become the
healthiest, most active, and successful student you've ever been!
Challenge 1: Making healthy food choices.
- Do Your Research.
- When eating at the cafeteria, reference nutritional information placards as well as the SFA Dining (sfasu.campusdish.com) website for nutritional information for all menu items that day.
- Try new things.
- Your taste buds change every 6 years, therefore, foods you had an aversion to as a child, you make actually enjoy now as an adult!
- Limit the excess calories.
- Replace sugary soft drinks and juices with water and low-fat or skim milk. Keep in mind that most soft drinks on average contain 180 calories and 44 grams of sugar. Replacing this with water everyday can cut a significant amount of empty calories over time.
Challenge 2: Finding the time and energy for exercise.
Rules of thumb:
- Sleep.
- Make sure to get at least 7 hours of sleep each night
to ensure you remain alert and energized throughout the day.
- Fuel your Body.
- Eat a well balanced snack or meal 1 hour before
exercise (examples: apple and peanut butter, peanut butter toast,
oatmeal, etc.)
- Consume a 3:1 ratio of carbs to protein within 45
minutes following exercise (examples: chocolate milk, fruit and protein
supplement, chicken and rice, tuna sandwich, oatmeal and eggs, etc.)
- Exercise in the morning.
- You will find yourself more alert in class and with
more time for homework and social activities later in the day.
- Ease back in.
- If you have just taken the entire summer off from
exercise, make sure to ease back in to prevent you from
getting burn out and reduce muscle soreness that can jeopardize future
workouts.
- Keep it balanced.
- To prevent weight gain, make sure you're not taking in
more calories than you're expending in exercise. We all have slip ups in
our diet, just make sure to get back on track with eating healthy the
next day. There are great tools available to count calories consumed and
calories burned during exercise, use them to your advantage!
Challenge 3: Making the adjustment.
Some of you may be an
incoming freshman living in a residence hall after living under your parent's
roof your entire life. Others of you may be living off campus after living in a
residence hall for the last two years. Either way, the adjustment is not easy
and can heavily impact your day's scheduling and your time for exercise and eating
healthy.
Tips for Success:
- Plan ahead.
- Pack snacks and have meals ready to eat when
busy.
- Use a planner.
- Based on your class schedule, find time in your day to
plan your workout and to cook your meals.
- Do your research.
- The school cafeteria, as well as many restaurants in
town provide nutrition information online and on site for your access.
Research healthy options before eating out or even after enjoying your
meal to help plan the rest of your meals for the day.
- Stay hydrated.
- Be sure to consume at least half your body weight in
fluid ounces of water. This is especially important for optimal brain
activity as well as exercise performance and weight management.
- Get in the know.
- Become educated on health and nutrition by joining campus organizations like the Student Association
of Nutrition and Dietetics. You can even set up a dietary consult with Sarah Drake, the campus
dietitian, as well as attend the healthy and
free seminars sponsored by Aramark, when available.
References:
https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=soft+drinkcalories
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