A growing epidemic

Over half of American women between the ages of 20 - 39 are overweight or obese, while 2 out of every 3 Americans are overweight. When did this become a problem to Americans? Childhood obesity has more than tripled since 1980, and affects nearly 15% of children here in the United States.

What are we doing to try to combat this? Schools are increasing the amount of physical fitness education students must receive, companies are offering workout programs and gym memberships in benefits packages, and even TV shows have been created focusing on the weight loss of overweight people in hopes of encouraging a healthy lifestyle and a normal body weight.

Is this enough to combat this growing epidemic in the United States? Though it is know that this is a problem, we must encourage those who have this problem to take control of it. The media is not enough encouragement for those who are overweight, and motivation is the essential in fixing personal problems.

For more information about this topic, check out www.shape.com/eatright/7900

Grant takes 3rd in the Louisville Marathon

Holly Grant, a Bellarmine University sophomore, participated in the Louisville Marathon last weekend and placed 3rd overall in the female divison. She additionally won her age group with a time of 3:35:49. With an average pace of 8 minutes and 14 seconds, Holly sailed through the finish line.

Grant came to Bellarmine to play field hockey after turning down a school in NC to run track. After her first year of playing field hockey, Grant put down the stick to pursue her goal of running a marathon. She started running whenever she had time, but she seriously trained three months prior to the marathon.

Grant states, "The best advice I could give for someone starting to run would be to mix it up, go with friends, and have a goal in mind (whether just to run 3 miles a day, or to run the mini marathon)."

This race qualified Grant to participate in the 2007 Boston Marathon. She plans on participating in the Derby minimarathon, which is one of her favorite races.

How To Stay Fit Over Thanksgiving Break

As many of you know, Thanksgiving break is right around the corner. Many of us will go out of town or stay right here in Louisville to catch up with friends and family over a huge, fattening and delicious home cooked meal. While eating all the good food that has been cooked before us, we don't think about how many calories we are taking in and weight we will later gain.
Don't fret, I'm here to help with a few suggestions and exercise tips you can keep in mind while you're gone over the holiday break.

In the middle of all your holiday preparations and errands, allot some time to de-stress and exercise. In order to do this, you must have a routine , by doing that, you have a daily habit to follow. In the end, you will get the best results.

Here's a ten minute work out to help you get started:

:00-1:00 - Warm up with a brisk walk (outside or around the house)
1:00-2:00 - Jumping jacks
2:00-3:00 - Jump rope (pretend if you don't have a rope)
3:00-4:00 - Run as fast as you can for 1 minute (in place or outside)
4:00-5:00 - Ski hops: Stand with feet together, bend knees and jump a few feet to the right and then left, landing with bent knees.
5:00-6:00 - Jumping jacks
6:00-7:00 - Walk as fast as you can for 1 minute
7:00-8:00 - Jump rope
8:00-9:00 - Jumping jacks
9:00-10:00 - Walk around and catch your breath
(Taken from: http://holidays.about.com/od/healthsafety/a/stayfit_holiday.htm)


The more you get into a routine, the easier the habit becomes. Sooner than later your friends and family will recognize how great you look and will want to join in. By making this a "public" affair, it will become more than just a workout. It will give you an opportunity to relax, have some fun and also help each other look and feel great with the people you love.

When it comes time to go over to your family's house for Thanksgiving, try to eat something small before you go. By doing this, you will eat less and you wont force yourself to eat more than your stomach can handle.
Although if you haven't eaten and your hungry, control what you eat and how much of it that you want to consume.
When it comes to eating dessert, only choose one cookie, brownie or piece of pie and stay away from the ice cream or whipped cream. It's unnecessary and extra calories that you really don't need.
For those of you who will drink alcohol before, during or after your meal, stay away from mixed or fruity drinks because they have the most calories. Also, if you can, drink one glass of water for every glass of wine or bottle of beer you drink.


I hope you will take these tips into consideration over your Thanksgiving break so you can be safe, stay healthy and keep off the pounds. Have fun and don't stop yourself from enjoying the foods and drinks you love, just do it in moderation so you can stay fit!

Shed Pounds With Pears

Pears, known as the sweet autumn treat can help you stay slim. Pears are packed with fiber and other nutrients, and currently are in season. On medium pear has 100 calories and is a good source of Vitamin C. The nutrient in pears which help you stay trim is the fiber. Pears have about grams of fiber, which s about 25 percent of your daily recommended amount. A recent Trufts University study linked fiber to preventing weight gain in women. Fiber helps to create a sense of fullness. You will be less likely to eat as much if you consume more fiber. When getting ready to indulge in a pear leave the skin on, the skin offers more fiber and nutritional benefits.

Here are four different pears to choose from for four different meal ideas. First, the red bartlett pear is best in salads. Add sliced pears into a green salad, and add walnuts and gorgonzola crumbles. Dress with a light raspberry vinaigrette. Second, the comice pear which is best for a snack. Pears with peanut butter are a great alternative to celery or apples and peanut butter. Third, the forelle pear is best with cheese. Try thin slices of manchego and Gruyere cheeses with pear wedges. Lastly, d'anjou pears are best poached. Make a simple dessert by placing the pear halves in water with fresh lemon juice, white wine, a vanilla bean, a little sugar, and a dash of nutmeg and cinnamon.

During the Fall season remember to pick up some pears at the grocery, they make a great snack as well as good additions to some meal ideas.

Exercises you can do in two minutes!!

Brisk Walk:
It helps your heart if you pick up the pace by ten percent every 30 seconds. Repeat up to five times a day. If you are unable to walk, jump rope, climb stairs or do jumping jacks.

Squats:
Stand with feet hip width apart and put your hands on your hips. Next, bend your knees and continue to get lower until your thighs become parallel with the floor. Stand back up and don't lock your knees. Do atleast 8-15 repetitions.

Step Ups:
Stand up in front of a stair with your arms bent at your sides. Put right foot up on step, then follow with your left foot. Step right foot down on the floor, then follow with your left foot next. Continue for 60 seconds.

Role Ups:
Start by lying down on your back with legs pressed together, arms fully straightened behind your head. Curl up slowly off of the floor in a forward position, extend arms above chest and curl your chin to your chest. Peal up from the floor, one vertabrae at a time. When you make it to the top of the movement, extend arms, lengthen spine and slowly curl down. Repeat a few times.

Tummy Tucks:
Lie on your back and put your legs in the air with your heals touching a chair or large exercise ball. Begin by curling your head and neck with your shoulders up in a forward position off of the floor with arms extended towards your toes. While staying off the floor, lift up slowly and lift back down. Do several short repetitions and try not to touch the floor.

10 Smart Shopping Tips

Here are some quick and easy ways to save money, time, and calories when at the grocery store.

1. Make a list: "Studies show that having a shopping list saves at least 10 percent by helping avoid impulse buys," says food-marketing cosultant Phil Lampert. Also you should organize the list to follow the layout of the store to save time.

2. Do not go hungry: "When you are hungry, everything looks good," says Christine Palumbo, RD. That is why groceries have bakeries and delis. Also if you are in a bad mood or having a bad day, shop later. When you are in a better mood you will be less vunerable to impulse buys.

3. Shop solo: If you sho with kids or other people you will spend 10 to 40 percent more. Without others you are less likely to to buy junk food.

4. Do not turn up your nose at frozen produce: Frozen produce can be cheaper than fresh and will not end up in the trash before you can eat it.

5. Cruise the perimeter: Foods in their most natural and least processed form are at the perimeter.

6. Check labels: Keep an eye out for partially hydrogenated oils, saturated fat, cholesterol, and excess sodium and sugar.

7. Go generic: Store labels often rival pricey brand name goods in quality. In many cases the only difference is the packaging an price.

8. Clip coupons: Besides the newspaper, check manufacturers' websites, at sites such as www.coupons.com or www.coolsavings.com. Organize your coupons so you can find them quickly.

9. Stock up when things are on sale: If your favorite brand of nonperishable food is on sale, buy as many as you can get. Your bill will be higher this time, but you will save big in the long run.

10. Get carded: If the grocery store offers a membership card then join. You will get lots of deals, like price cuts, and special member only offers.

Next time you go to the grocery take these 10 tips with you and hopefully it will make grocery shopping more beneficial and enjoyable. Happy shopping!

Ten Must Haves for Your Gym Bag

1. Laminated membership card

2. Picture ID

3. Water bottle

4. Workout towel to wipe off sweat

5. Large towel for a shower

6. Proper workout attire

7. Plastic bag for wet clothes

8. Toiletries

9. Shower sandals

10. Nutrition bar or drink for after your workout.

www.24hourfitness.com

Dieting Gone Too Far

The pressure to be thin from Hollywood and media along with dangerously thin models is causing major talk and controversy. Viewers see overly thin people who most likely are unhealthy, anorexic, or bulimic and think that is what they should look like.

Spain has recently banned extremely thin models from the runway during Fashion Week. Hopefully people noticing and taking action will cause models to become healthier.

Nataliya is a model that is 5"11 and a size 2. She is causing the most controversy in the model world with her stick thin figure. Nataliya's representatives claim that she does not have an eating disorder and she does eat. Her protruding ribs and chest bones do not help people belive the representatives. Here is a photo of Nataliya!



People are hoping that pictures of models like Nataliya will cause others with eating or health problems to realize they have a problem and need help. Paula Abdule, who used to have an eating disorder thinks that some people need to be exposed to pictures like this to allow them to realize they need help.

Awareness about eating disorders and unhealthy body images will hopefully help the problem of unhealthy body weights. Although I think there will always be pressure from Hollywood to be thin, hopefully bans like Spain took will help people to become healthier.

Things You Should Do To Keep You Healthy!

1. Drink lots of Milk (4 cups daily) It will give you strong bones and teeth.
2. Water (atleast 8 glasses daily)
3. Eat things like carrots, celery, or a small salad between big meals instead of junk food.
4. Drink Soft drinks without caffeine and stay away from empty calories.
5. When eating sweets, eat it in moderation instead of eating twice as much as you really need. Eating it in moderation is healthier then trying to binge.
6. Eat three healthy meals a day that make you feel full faster. It's better for you than skipping meals, you will eat less than you would if you felt hungry because you skipped meals.
7.Don't use artificial sugar.
8. Always take your vitamins (preferably multi-vitamins) followed by healthy eating or dieting.
9. When you are choosing something off of a fast food menu, choose something thats nutritious for you. Stay away from the fries, cokes, ice cream and hamburgers.

Too Much of a Good Thing

Regular exercise is a good thing, but more is not always better, compulsive exercise can be just as dangerous as eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Over exercising is another tool people use to purge their body of calories, much like a bulimic, who will binge and purge.
Exercise bulimia is relatively new and extremely hard to diagnose. The fact that exercise is something that people push as healthy makes it difficult to say people are unhealthy who exercise too much. Knowing when exercise is a good thing and when it has becoming a bad thing has a very fine line. If someone starts using exercise to purge or compensate for eating binges (or just regular eating), the person could be suffering from exercise bulimia. A CNN story about exercise bulimia talked with one woman who ate a rice cake in the morning and punished herself by exercising an extra hour, on top of her regular two hour workout, that night. When you hear something like that you know these people have a real problem.
Compulsive exercisers will often schedule their lives around exercise just as those with eating disorders schedule their lives around eating (or not eating). Other symptoms include missing work, parties or other appointments in order to workout, working out with an injury or while sick, becoming seriously depressed if you can't get a workout in, working out for hours at a time each day, and not taking any rest or recovery days.
Numerous injuries can also arise, such as stress fractures, strains and sprains, low body fat which may sound good but, for women, it can cause some serious problems. Exercising too much can also cause a woman's period to stop which can cause bone loss, fatigue, dehydration, and osteoporosis.
This disorder is like any eating disorder for the fact that the sick person wants control over their body, but really the disorder takes over there lives. For more information on this topic or for help, go online to http://mail.bellarmine.edu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.renfrewcenter.com/.

http://exercise.about.com/cs/exercisehealth/a/exercisebulimia.htm
http://www.cnn.com

How to stay healthy without "Crash Dieting"

I’m back to talk to you about one of the most important issues that’s happening through out society today and that is, Crash Dieting. Most of the women who crash diet are trying to loose weight to look good for beauty pageants. There is also a growing epidemic of models wanting to loose a few more pounds to fit into an outfit for a photo shoot, when it all reality they already look like skeletons. The question we need to ask ourselves is, is this a healthy way to loose weight? Definitely not!

Most people who crash diet think they have found the trick that will allow their bodies to quickly loose calories and drop the pounds without eating. This just allows the body to cope with starvation which then teaches the body to store fat, conserve calories and slow down their metabolism.

In the end, the body stops crash dieting and starts binge eating. This causes major health such as, dehydration, stress, depression, kidney problems and heart disease.

The best way to keep off the pounds and stay fit is by exercising and cutting back on the amount of food you eat such as junk food while still getting the essential nutrients your body needs in order to stay healthy!

In the end you will find yourself feeling more energetic, you will have a stronger immune system, you won’t have mood swings and you will be able to have an active lifestyle while maintaining a certain body weight that you are satisfied with.

Easy ways to be fitter on campus

There are many ways to increase your amount of exercise that many Bellarmine students opt out of. Here are a few:

1. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
2. Walk to Koster's or to the SuRF instead of driving.
3. Play golf on the course or participate in intramurals.
4. Run in near by Joe Creason Park or Seneca Park.
5. Particpate in the Bellarmine Activities Council's Recreation Mondays.

All of these activities can increase your activity, and some of them do that without you even realizing it. You must take the initiative to be fit and healthy.

Alternating your routine

Finding a good workout routine is important, but you must also alternate. First off you must alternate between aerobic workout and weight training. Designate days for each type of workout. Make sure that you provide yourself with a rest day.

When running be sure to alternate your route. This is important for two reasons: your health and your safety. Alternate your route to change the intensity of your run. Run different distances to provide rest and challenge. Alternate routes based on the difference in surfaces: treadmill, sidewalk, and trail. By alternating routes, there will be no way for anyone to realize your daily schedule.

If you aren't into aerobic workouts, try walking twenty minutes briskly either in the morning or after eating. Jump roping is a great form of aerobic workout. For simple weight training try push-ups.

Remember to Alternate!

Ways to Motivate Your Fitness and Nutrition Buddy

There are many ways to motivate people. After working with your buddy for a few weeks you might know what motivates them, but here are five easy way to keep each other motivated, to help you shed that extra weight.

1. Weigh in on Friday and Monday. Seeing your weight can help motivate you to eat sensibly over the weekend.

2. Create new goals. Set up a time to make short-term goals for the next two or three weeks. A changing body needs changing goals.

3. Keep rewards coming. Studies show that even if you have stopping loosing you can be doing things right in your weight lose program. So to keep from getting frustrated, by rewarding yourself for keeping up with the program.

4. Focus on progress, not poundage. Weight lose will partially depend on your metabolism, so you and your buddy might not loose at exactly the same time. Keep your goals and your partner's goals in mind. Remember you need support, not competition.

5. Say the magic phrase. "It was just one meal." This is what a partner needs to say if the other eats, say three cheeseburgers. Then ask, "How can I help you get back on track?"

Keep these tips in mind when you are with your buddy. Make sure you stay together and keep working towards your goals.

Shape June 2005

Finding a Fitness and Nutrition Buddy

Finding the right person to workout and change eating habits with can make a huge difference between success and disaster. Having the perfect buddy can help you shed those pounds you have been putting off loosing.

1. Look for someone that can give you support, NOT COMPETITION.

2. Choose someone with similar weight lose goals.

3. Avoid chronic dieters, someone who is always “on a diet” or “off a diet.”

4. Think twice before enlisting your man. Conflicts over diet and exercise can spill over into other areas of the relationship. Plus, alive-in buddy can lead you both to feel policed.

5. Go for some sort of proximity. You need someone who is physically there for you.

6. Strongly consider a co-worker. You see that person daily, he or she is in easy access incase you get a craving you might want to combat, and you may be able to find a workout area close for both your convenience.

Good luck. Your goals are in reach, you just might find someone to help get you there.

Shape, June 2005

Being thin and being fit

Is there a difference between being thin and being fit?

Yes, there is a huge difference between the two. More than eighty percent of women do not feel comfortable with their body. Why exactly is that? Being fit means that your in good health. Today's debates over how thin actresses and models have become over the past thirty years increases the question of whether or not thin equals fit. Being fit means having good muscle tone, eating a balanced diet, maintaining a good weight, and exercising regularly. Thinness is not always attributed being fit.

According to the Eating Disorders Coaltion for Research, Policy, and Action, millions of Americans are diagnoised annually with an eating disorder. Most of these people are teenage - young adult women. Research has proven that media greatly molds young minds with eighty percent of first - third graders stated that they have tried dieting.

Spain started a new trend with banning thin models from the fashion runway. Will the United States be next? Probably not, because in the United States thin is in. Many celebrities have graced the covers of magazines lately with headlines such as "Too Thin?" and "Body Obessed." Where are the average-sized fit models you might ask. Well clothing designers prefer bodies where the clothes can just hang off of models.

What to Drink Each Day!

The average women drinks 860 calores a day. There are many options to choose from when you are thirsty. Not all drinks are the best or right choices for you. I am going to give you eight drinks that are common and let you know if they are good for you, and how much you should consume of them each day.

Diet Soda:
Max of 4 servings (32.oz)
Total Calories: Zero
Tip: Diet soda may help you lose weight, if you don't add calories elsewhere.

Coffee:
Max of 4 cups (32 oz.)
Total Calories: Unsweetened, negligible; with half-and-half and sugar 220
Tip: Might reduce type 2 diabetes risk, but caffeine may cause jitters.

Nonfat or low-fat milk:
Max of 2 cups (16 oz.)
Total calories: 250-300
Tip: milk is a source of calcium and vitamin D

Sports drinks, fruit juie, or whole milk:
Max 1 serving (4-8 oz.) total, not one of each
Total Calories: 90-160
Tip: Eat fruit instead of fiber

Sweet tea or regular soda:
Max of 1 serving (8 oz.)
Total Calories: 60-100
Tip: Make it an occasional treat; your teath will appreciate that.

Hot tea:
Max of 8 cups (64 oz.) unsweetened
Total calories: Unsweetened, 0; with 2 teaspoons of half and half and a teaspoon of sugar, 440
Tip: May boost energy

Water:
Max: None, but have at least 4 servings or 32 oz. total
Total Calories: 0
Tip: Drink all you want!

Wine:
Max 1 glass (5 oz.)
Total Calories: 115
Tip: Vino has heart benefits, but calories add up quickly, so go easy on the appetizers.

Also, if you really have to have a smoothie or frappuccino you can have it, but that is all your calories for the day and you will need to only drink water the rest of that day and for the next two days following. Hopefully these tips will help you choose better next time you need to quinch your thirst and not consume a whopping 860 calories in liquid.