Staying Healthy in College

Sometimes college students have trouble keeping themselves healthy. The “freshman fifteen” is just one of the many health problems that can become prevalent in college students. Many other less obvious problems can become trouble in the future, but there are ways to keep yourself healthy throughout your college experience.

Eating: The first and most obvious step is to avoid junk food. “But pizza is quick and cheap!” Sure, but so are a lot of other things that are a lot healthier for you. Check the grocery store for frozen meals. Some of these meals can cost you only $2.00, but they are much healthier than the pizza you may be tempted to eat. Lean Cuisine even offers a line of individual pizzas that are filling, flavorful, and cheap. Trying alternative foods like this can help you to avoid the freshman 15, and maybe even help you to lose a little extra weight and feel more energy.

Partying: The occasional party is fine, but sometimes the constant partying may be tempting. Choose to go to a party once a month, and do not drink yourself into a stupor. For one thing, alcohol is high in calories and will pack the weight on you extremely fast. Plus, partying all the time will zap your energy and possibly lower your grades. If you treat yourself every once in a while, instead of constantly, you’ll have more fun.

Exercise: It may seem hard to exercise in your small door room, but a few moves are easy to accomplish and can keep you toned in little time. Try hooking your feet under a shelf or your bed and do sit-ups. Also, lay on your side and do leg lifts. If you walk around your campus on top of this, you can feel very healthy and look healthy too.

Sleeping: Don’t stay up late every night, especially during the semester. If you make sure to get rest, you’ll have more energy to do the things that you need to do. You’ll also have the energy to do the things you WANT to do. Without that rest, you’ll slowly deteriorate and lose the energy that you need to survive college.

All in all, a few simple changes can keep you healthy and make your college experience much more enjoyable. Don’t take yourself for granted, and make sure to take your studies seriously too. Your brain is just another part of your health, so your shouldn’t take it for granted either.

Weight Watchers and The Zone Diet

I will review Weight Watchers and The Zone Diet today, wrapping up my coverage of some of the more popular diets (based on several website rankings) in use today. The final installment, part 4, will compare the reviewed diets. I consider these two diets to be more do-it-yourself type of diets, where food selection and preparation is largely left to the individual.

Do-It-Yourself Dieting

Weight Watchers is large enough, and has been around probably the longest (over 40 years), so that products in grocery stores and even meals in restaurants will show exchanges for the points system that this program employs. I know several people who have successfully lost weight on this program and kept it off for years. Of those diets I’ve reviewed, this one relies the most on foods available at the store, and has placed their own brand in the grocery aisle.

Criteria Comparison for Weight Watchers

The program meets 4 out of 5 of my criteria: #1, food variety (since you choose them yourself), #3, easy to follow (the points system is simple), #4, not too expensive (just buying regular foods) and #5, a maintenance plan (it appears they consider the program a way of life, not just a diet, so it becomes its own maintenance plan). Though it costs money to participate fully in Weight Watchers, either online or through a local group, I did not include that cost in determining if it met criteria number 4. Online membership runs $5/week, or roughly $250/year.

The one criteria not met is #2, preparation time. For me, that’s big.

Critical Note 1: When evaluating diet plans, eating and exercise regimens, please take the time to list what things are important to you. Then evaluate the program against your criteria, as it may be different than mine.

The Zone Diet, developed by Dr. Barry Sears (many of these have been doctor-developed), is another one that gives you complete freedom to choose what to eat. This program uses a simple 1/3 of a plate lean protein, 2/3 fruits and vegetables, plus a bit of fat (good, of course). Limited grains (oats and barley) are included in the 2/3 portion.

The Zone also sells supplements, specifically for omega-3 fatty acids, plus snack and meal replacements, but I think you can follow it without going the full way of adding the supplements. This program utilizes 3 meals and 2 snacks each day, expecting the meals to be filling enough to last 5 hours and the snacks 3 hours.

Criteria Comparison for The Zone Diet

The zone meets all the criteria if you choose to use their pre-packaged meals and snacks (which can be auto-shipped the same as Take Shape For Life). If you choose to make the meals yourself, then I would say it doesn’t meet criteria #2, preparation time. The one question I had about their plate was, what size? A 10 inch dinner plate? 8 inch? (Or is it 12 and 10? I’m not going to measure my plates!)

Warning: When looking at websites that rank or judge diets, be careful. They may not reveal their bias, or their affiliation with a specific program.

Disclaimer: I do not have an affiliation or arrangement with any program, but I am using the Take Shape for Life program. In the first 2 months I’ve lost 29 pounds.

Stay tuned next week for a side-by-side comparison of the diets reviewed.

Diet Plans

Diet plans! Atkins, Body for Life, Nutri-System, Take Shape for Life, Weight Watchers, The Zone–just a few of the many programs to help you lose weight. How can you possibly decide which one is right for you? How can you determine their value?

Disclaimer 1: As you’ll read with any plan, consult your physician before beginning any diet or exercise program.

Corollary to Disclaimer 1: Get a physician.

Does your weight yo-yo up and down when you go on and come off plans? I will take some in-depth views of the different plans and give you the pros and cons of them, from my perspective. I have battled weight issues for over 20 years, lost 40 pounds on one plan almost 10 years ago, only to see 30 of them return!

The first plan I will look at is called Take Shape for Life, and uses the Medifast products.

Disclaimer 2: I am currently using this plan, which is why I’ve chosen it to lead off the discussion. I know people who have been successful with several other plans, so I am striving to be as objective as possible, and when it sounds like I’m getting into a sales pitch, I’ll mention that and make my best attempt to back off!

If you are interested, I am currently blogging about my life on this plan here. After 48 days on the plan I lost 25 pounds!

What is the Take Shape for Life plan and what is it good for? The plan is a low-calorie, low-carb, high-protein diet for those who want to lose 25 pounds or more, in a short time, and keep it off. It is designed for those who don’t want to think about what they are going to eat and either aren’t cooks or don’t want to spend a lot of time preparing food. In other words, it fit all of my requirements!

Not all, actually. I also look for a plan that has balance, that isn’t focused on one ingredient or one food to reverse bad eating habits that I would continue to follow. In a discussion with an uncle of mine, he mentioned that one author said the problem with America was that the people wanted to continue unhealthy and self-destructive habits and just add a pill or supplement to counteract them and keep them out of trouble. I thought, yeah, we want to have our cake, and eat it too!

My top 5 criteria in choosing a plan:

1. Must have a variety of foods to choose from, with balanced nutrition

2. Preparation time should be minimal (whether I choose the foods or they supply them)

3. Must be easy to follow (there’s my cake!)

4. Should not be too expensive (I can’t afford a private nutritionist!)

5. Should have a plan for maintenance after my weight-loss goal has been achieved.

I will use these criteria in reviewing the different plans.

Other factors that influence me:

I’ve read The China Study and have tried to follow Vegan diets in the past. I don’t eat red meat intentionally, though I’ve had a slice of pepperoni pizza once or twice a year. I don’t eat much meat either, though chicken is awfully difficult to give up. I would say I eat meat maybe twice a week, on average.

Are You Getting Enough Of These Valuable Superfoods In Your Diet?

Everyone knows the importance of diet and exercise in the overall health of our bodies.  What many people are just learning about are the positive benefits of certain superfoods.  With increased research and technology scientists have discovered that there are a group of foods called “superfoods” that are rich in certain nutrients, having high levels of antioxidants that help your body fight damage from free radicals.  If you are not familiar with the basic superfoods and how they can benefit your health take a few minutes to go over the following list to see how eating a diet rich in these foods may help reduce the risk of cancer while promoting good cardiovascular health.  Remember that to truly gain the most benefit you must be sure to eat a balanced diet and follow the advice of a medical professional before making changes to you exercise routine or adopting a new diet. Read more