Fitness and Nutrition Tips to Get the Year Off and Running
By Steven Krager, Medical Student, Creighton University
Considering all the demands of beginning a new school year, nutrition and fitness can easily be pushed aside. But making time for these healthy habits can contribute to a better academic performance, giving you more energy and clarity of thought. And these habits can stay with you throughout your life.
Don’t kid yourself into thinking that students are immune to health problems: Almost one-third of college students are obese or overweight, according to 2006 data from the American College Health Association, and recent research reported in Medicine & Science in Sports and Exercise showed that nearly a third of college students in that study had high LDL cholesterol (“bad cholesterol”) levels, which can lead to heart disease.
Opportunities for exercise abound, whether through clubs, classes, intramurals, or at workout facilities on campus. Many universities have nutritionists on staff who will offer individual counselling. So what are the barriers that keep students from eating right and exercising? If you ask a group of students, you’ll likely hear a common refrain: money and time, and Vanessa Beerda, a fourth-year student at Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta, is no different. “Eating healthy food usually costs more money,” she says. “It takes time to plan meals ahead and cook your own food. It takes time to exercise – time that could be spent on homework, hanging out with friends, or relaxing.”
Other barriers students have mentioned include lack of accessibility to healthy foods, limited kitchen facilities, and difficult schedules. With these concerns in mind, here is a look at exercise and nutrition tips that fit in with the college lifestyle.
Exercise: What Works For You?
The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology recommends that adults should accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, in bouts of 10 minutes or more. What does this mean? Moderate-intensity aerobic exercises include brisk walking, cycling in areas with few hills, or even pushing a lawn mower. Your heart rate elevates and you should break a sweat. Vigorous-intensity exercises include playing basketball, going for a run, or playing tennis. You can mix and match vigorous and moderate exercise. For example, if your goal is two and a half hours of moderate exercise, a half hour of vigorous-intensity exercise would count as an hour of moderate exercise.
Jessica Fozia Ali, a fourth-year student at The University of Western Ontario in London, points out that working out between classes means carrying around extra things in an another bag and having to have enough time to get back and forth – something that is not always easy with bus schedules or the amount of time it takes to walk to and from the gym. So how can you fit this amount of exercise into a busy college schedule? It may be easier than you think.
Take walking to class for example. If you spend 20 minutes walking briskly to class every day for five days, that adds up to 1 hour and 40 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise. That leaves only 10 minutes of moderate exercise to achieve the minimum recommendations.
Here are a few more tips:
• Do something you enjoy. Exercise does not seem like work when you are having fun. Also, check if your school offers exercise classes that may earn you credit.
• Make exercise a social event. Find an exercise buddy or buddies and try to do an activity on a regular basis. Join a club that focuses on an activity that interests you (martial arts, cycling, yoga, etc.) or informally meet with a friend to work work out. “I like to listen to music when I exercise,” says Fozia Ali. “Doing [an activity] with a friend can make it a lot of fun.”
• Take short exercise breaks from studying. A 15-minute brisk walk not only brings the benefits of some exercise but will clear your head and make you feel more energized to continue studying.
Nutrition: What to Eat, When to Eat
College meal plans and cafeterias can make healthy food choices daunting. For those not on a meal plan, finding time to prepare and eat meals is often a struggle. Late-night studying can lead to mindless snacking and overeating. How can college students overcome these challenges?
One of the biggest challenges facing a busy student is determining schedules and prioritizing time for healthy meals and snacks.
With these thoughts in mind, here are some nutrition tips to help start the year off right:
• Schedule time in your day to eat meals. Rushed eating can lead to unhealthy food choices. It can also cause overeating as the brain needs time to process that the stomach is full.
• Avoid mindless snacking. For a late-night study session, don’t feel guilty about eating after 7 p.m., but rather plan a healthy snack if you know you are going to be awake. These could be dried fruit and nuts, raisins and peanut butter on celery, carrots and hummus, or another combination of protein, a healthy fat, and some sort of fruit or vegetable.
• Incorporate whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein into every meal. For proteins, try foods such as fish, skinless chicken/turkey breast, tofu, beans, eggs, lean meat, low-fat milk, yogurt, or cottage cheese. For vegetables and fruits the Canada Food Guide recommends you choose at least one orange and one dark green vegetable each day. To learn more, CLICK HERE.
• Don’t forget hydration. The Institute of Medicine recommends about 2.8 quarts of fluid per day for women and almost a gallon of fluid per day for men. A 16-ounce glass of water is half a quart. Replacing sugary drinks with water is an easy way to cut down calories.
Staying physically fit can help you maintain positive mental health, concentrate on studies, and avoid diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Make exercise and nutrition a priority this school year and start the year off right.
STEVEN KRAGER IS A MEDICAL STUDENT AT CREIGHTON UNIVERSITY IN OMAHA, NEBRASKA. HE OFFERS GUIDANCE TO PRE-MED STUDENTS ON HIS WEBSITE, MDJOURNEY.COM.
Find Out More
Click for more fitness and exercise tips from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CESP) and ParticipACTION.
Click for more healthy eating tips from the Dieticians of Canada.
Click for more great health and wellness tips from Health Canada.
