Ask The Fitness Dude » Health

Healthy Eating Tips For a College Student

FitnessDude — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 00:13:19 +0000

Going to college is exciting and scary at the same time. For the most part, you are finally out of your parents house and living on your own, or with a roommate. Odds are you are probably like most college students, you have to find cheap food. So that means you will be ordering pizza a lot and eating fast food, and lets not forget about all the drinking you probably will be doing too. Here’s a fun fact, an estimated 2 billion hamburgers are consumed by U.S. college students each year. That is enough burgers to circle the earth nearly 5 times. Many college students gain weight in their 4+ years at their school, but how can you not become one of the statistics of college students who gain weight? What are some cheap and healthy ways for you to not lose your high school figure?

Here are 10 tips to help you stay lean or leaner:

Tip #1 – Obviously you do not have a lot of time, so that means you are usually eating on the run, probably at fast food restaurants. How can you eat healthy on the run? Ask for a nutritional guide of all their food items, this will help educate you on which foods are healthy and which foods are not. May Fast food places offer salads, try to eat those instead of hamburgers all the time. Beware of taco salads and cobb salads, they are pretty high in fat.

Tip #2 – Do not upgrade your meal! Try to keep your portion smaller, you do not need a super size meal. All that does is add extra calories and fat to your meal.

Tip #3 – Do not drink your calories. Many people forget how much calories are in soda, beer, and energy drink. Try to limit yourself with the soda pop, that carbonation and sugar is not good for you. Try to stay stick to light beer, or no beer…it’s a waist of money, and definitely try to get yourself off of energy drink…they are really not good for you. Drink water!

Tip #4 – Do not shop for food when you are hungry. You will make bad decisions on food if you are hungry. You cannot trust yourself to make good decision with food, when your gut is ruling your mind.

Tip #5 – Shop at grocery stores that have good deals, there are a lot of places like Safeway and QFC, who are just to expensive. Try to find a Winco, or if you can order in bulk go to a Costco to help you save money and buy healthy food.

Tip #6 – When cooking your food make sure to drain the grease. You do not need the grease and fat in your meal, so try to drain it or pat it dry.

Tip #7 – Find fruits to eat that you love. Many times when you have a sweet tooth, there is nothing better to crave it than some grapes, or some other delicious fruit.

Tip #8 – Try to eat smaller meals, around 5 per day. Carry around a few snacks in your backpack so you are not always starving by the end of the day.

Tip #9 – Try to extend your meal into a couple days. When I go to a restaurant, I try only to eat half of my meal, I take the rest home and eat it the next day. You can save money, plus your are not eating all those calories in one sitting.

Tip #10 – Stick with whole grains and whole wheats. Bread is cheap, and sandwiches are easy to make. Make sure you sty away from white breads, they will go straight to your hips. Whole wheat breads and pastas are way better for your health.

Are You Working Out To Much?

FitnessDude — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:07:11 +0000

We all know that working out is incredible for your body, but when does working out become dangerous for your body. This might come as a shock to the average person, but there are some people out there who actually over work their bodies. How do you know that you are one of these people? Well read on to find out.

Besides people who are ignorant with their workouts and do the same routine everyday, people who over-exercise are often people who have in addiction to exercising. They are never satisfied with their bodies, and they are constantly at the gym working out the major areas of their bodies. These people workout everyday, never giving their body anytime to rest. Some of them do cardio everyday, and some of these people do weightlifting everyday. The reason why this is dangerous for their bodies is because they are not allowing their muscles to re-cooperate from the previous workout. Over time obsessive exercising can actually cause your muscles not to grow…I repeat..NOT to grow, over-exercising will also make it easier for you to get injured.

The Importance of Rest

Resting your body between works is key to your success. It is recommend to at least workout 3 times a week, but you can workout 5-6 times a week and be golden. Just because you are working everyday does not mean your are over-exercising. You need to switch up your routine, even if you are lifting weights you should not do upper-body workouts constantly. Every other day you should be working out a different part of your body. For example, Upper Back, Biceps and Abs on Monday…Cardio on Tuesday…Chest, Shoulders and Abs on Wednesday…Interval Training on Thursday…Lower back, Legs and Abs on Friday. Really, it is just important that you do not repeat your workouts in consecutive days. Allowing rest for your muscles will help them grow and stay healthy. Make sure to add some stretching into your workouts too, so you do not become a stiff board. The more muscle you have the more your muscles want to tighten up, so make sure to add some great stretches in your routine to stay flexible.

Food For Health

FitnessDude — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:43:36 +0000

Food…it is probably one of the greatest things about being human, we get to eat incredible tasting food. The our bodies desire food, and how are bodies need food, is the best thing ever! I like many people, absolutely love eating good meals. I am a huge fan of meat, and there is nothing better than a nice big juicy steak on my plate. But although food is a good thing, to much of a good thing can be a bad thing. Our body needs the nutrients and vitamins from food to operate correctly, but when we eat the wrong types of food, or mass amounts of food, then that is where we make a good thing bad.

You hear about all these diets…Atkins, South Beach, Weight Watchers…how you need to deprive yourself of certain foods. In a way through these diets, foods can be seen as a bad thing. But they are not!! Foods are a great thing and do not let anyone tell you otherwise! It is not a horrible sin to have some ice cream once in a while, or a piece of cake. These delicious treats have been given a bad rap, but that is because people do not know when to stop…they have no self discipline. People need to learn how to have a small treat, or eat smaller portions of food. It is called…get ready…this might shock you…a balanced diet.

A balanced diet! Who would have thought of that! Most people think that eating a balanced diet means that you are eating cardboard. When in fact, a balanced diet means that you are getting part of every food group into your diet, but in a proper and healthy way. Do you know that you can lose weight by changing your eating habits? Do you know that you might be sabotaging your workout plan because you are eating terribly? Implementing a balanced diet into your life will help you change your health quickly. If you do not know the proper way to change your life, then go to www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx.

What Are HCG Injections?

FitnessDude — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 00:36:06 +0000

I recently was made aware of this drug called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) when I heard that one of my friends was using it to lose weight. My friend has always been a larger person, not fat, but built pretty well. However, In the last couple years this person started to gain weight because of some unfortunate circumstances in their life. There are many people who go through rough times that try to cope with their situations by eating.

This friend made the choice to buy these HCG Injections and has already lost a ton of weight. Before I knew anything about the drug, I asked my friend about it and he told me that you have to inject it. Of course I was totally thrown off and completely cautious when I heard that my friend was injecting himself with a drug for weight lose. I have never been a believer in taking pills, or injections for weight loss…in fact, I am strongly against it. I immediately went home and started researching this drug called HCG. Here is what I’ve found:

Human chorionic gonadotropin, or HCG, is a hormone produced during pregnancy, found in the blood and excreted through urine. HCG injections are prescribed to treat infertility by causing ovulation in women and increasing sperm count in men. Recently, people started to use it to help with losing weight, but there has been no research supporting the theory that HCG injections are good for this purpose. When you are on the HCG injections, you are supposed to be on a 500 calorie per day diet. Most people credit the weight loss to the diet plan.

There are many effects on the body that can occur from taking HCG injections. Here are some of those effects…pelvic pain, abdominal swelling, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, swelling of the hands or legs, weight gain, difficulty breathing and urinating less than normal, blood clotting, welling, warmth, redness, and numb or tingling sensations in an arm or leg.

The problem with taking HCG Injections, is that you will actually gain weight once you get off of it, and probably a lot more weight then when you first started.

A Look into the Atkins Diet

Levels of Physical Activity

FitnessDude — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 20:44:31 +0000

This is a cool little chart that shows the intensity of various activities that you might do away from the gym. This information is sourced from the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.
Less Vigorous,
More time
>Washing and waxing a car for 45-60 minutes
>Playing volleyball for 45 minutes
>Wheeling self in wheelchair for 30-40 minutes
>Walking 1 3/4 miles in 35 minutes (20 min/mile)
>Bicycling 5 miles in 30 minutes
>Raking Leaves for 30 minutes
>Walking 2 miles in 30 minutes (15 min/mile)
>Swimming laps for 20 minutes
>Wheelchair basketball for 20 minutes
>Basketball (playing a game) for 15-20 minutes
>Bicycling 4 miles in 15 minutes
>Running 1 1/2 miles in 15 minutes (10 min/mile)
>Shoveling snow for 15 minutes
>Stairwalking for 15 minutes
More Vigorous,
Less times

A moderate amount of physical activity is roughly equivalent to physical activity that uses about 150 calories of energy per day, or 1,000 calories per week. Some activities can be performed at various intensities; the suggested durations correspond to expected intensity effort.

Reasons To Live a Healthy Lifestyle

FitnessDude — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:55:10 +0000

It’s weird to me that I have to write about reasons why it is important to stay healthy, but people need to know. So many people do not take care of their bodies and because of that they are experiencing many health issues. Issues like obesity, heart disease, and diabetes are infecting people like it is an epidemic, and many people do nothing about it. We need to understand that our choices are not just affecting our own lives, but they are also affecting friends and family around us. Especially parents! The way we live our lives is going to reflect and influence our children’s lives. If we teach them bad eating habits or teach them no workout habits, it is possible that when they grow up they too will also struggle with obesity, heart disease or diabetes.

Besides family and friends, here are some other reasons to live a healthy lifestyle:

You get one life! - This is not some type of game that you can hit the reset button on and start over. Your life is valuable, you get one chance to live this life. When we live unhealthy lives, we not only limit our lifespans but we also limit the fun things we can do in this world.

Save money! – Everyone is trying to save money. Do you know that you can be saving yourself thousands of dollars if you live a healthy lifestyle. Being healthy will help you stay out of the hospital, and help you fight off diseases, reduce injuries that can land you expensive bills. Plus as you get older, your life insurance will be cheaper too.

Self-confidence – The feeling of looking yourself in the mirror and not liking what you see can be very depressing. When you start to make healthy choices and begin to look better it can help your self-confidence and help reduce depression. I know it sounds kind of vain, but it is true.

Strength – Being strong might not appeal to you, but it is absolutely amazing what you can do when you become strong and have stamina. Getting on a healthy and livable diet and teaming that with a great workout routine, can give you strength and stamina to do thing you were not able to do before.

So those are just a few reasons why it is important for us to live healthy lifestyles.

Happy MLK Jr. Day

FitnessDude — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 23:02:19 +0000

This is a very important day in our history, it is one that recognizes someone who fought for what he believed in and demonstrated the belief with honor and integrity. I hope everyone has an incredible Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Quick weight loss side effects

FitnessDude — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 22:48:11 +0000

Do not worry!! The side effects I am talking about are because people have either been starving themselves, taking diet pills, or have had some type of surgery. Remember, the best way to lose weight is naturally with a healthy diet and a workout routine that can meet the demands of your body. If you are starving yourself, taking diet pills, or had surgery, then you can worry.

Rebounding the Weight

It is completely unnatural for your body to loss weight quickly in a short period of time. When you take diet pills it can alter the chemistry of your body, which will actually cause a weight gain, and you will be worse off then before. Rebound weight gain is probably the most common side effect that people experience with unhealthy weight loss programs.

This can frustrate anyone trying to lose weight. It is easier to keep off weight that has been properly lost, than weight that has been lost in some sort of diet pill or unhealthy weight loss program.

Baggy Skin

This is a common side effect that occurs for people who get gastric bypass surgery or liposuction surgery. If you only have a few pounds to lose, then you really do not need to worry about this side effect.

The reason this side effect happens to people who have surgeries, is because they lose their weight so quickly…Overnight! There is no way for the body to recover from a surgery like that. The skin has no time to adjust to all the fat that has been lost. The only way to reduce loose skin, is to get another surgical procedure, which is just another way to cough over your money.

Dehydration

This side effect often happens with people who are involved in a sport that requires weight limits, like wrestling. This is a very serious side effect because if you dehydrate yourself to much it can actually resolve in death. This is a mistake that many people make when trying to lose weight quickly.

There are people who can lose up to 10 pounds by depriving themselves of fluids, but it is just water weight, which will be put back on easily. Plus, it is just to risky to dehydrate yourself because you can encounter some serious health issues, and you can hurt your metabolism in the process.

5 Weight Loss Tips

FitnessDude — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 06:31:17 +0000

So what are some ways besides exercising that we can promote weight loss. I am not talking about unhealthy ways to lose weight, but I am talking about some easy and practical ways you can loss fat. First, before I begin…most of these tips will involve breaking bad habits and beginning new good habits. So although they might seem easy to follow, you might find it difficult to create a healthy habit for yourself, because of the bad habits you have been living by most of your life.

Weight Loss Tip #1: EAT BREAKFAST – I am not talking about a breakfast that is ordered at McDonalds or a breakfast that is unhealthy for you. I am talking about a good healthy breakfast that will help you start your day off right. Eating a breakfast helps to prevent overeating later on in the day. Plus, if you start your day off with a healthy breakfast, you are more able to keep on eating healthy the rest of your day.

Weight Loss Tip #2: DRINK WATER – Sometimes its not food that our bodies need, but a nice drink of water. Water replenish and hydrates your body, it can also help you feel full. If you do not like water, tr squeezing some lemon into it.

Weight Loss Tip #3: AVOID EATING WHEN BORED – This is a struggle for many people, eating is not only good, it is fun! When we get bored we tend to eat, because eating feels like an event.

Weight Loss Tip #4: NO EATING AND NAPPING – If you sleep after a meal, your body does not process your food correctly. Many people gain weight because they eat before they go to bed. Avoid eating and then sleeping…Sumo wrestlers take naps after every meal so that can get fatter…do not do what the Sumos do!

Weight Loss Tip #5: MORE MEALS, BUT SMALLER - To keep your metabolism running at a consistent rate, you should not pound down three big meals. Instead you should eat 5 to 6 smaller meals. This will keep your metabolism running at a healthy rate.

I hope you can apply these weight loss tips to your life, remember to exercise with a healthy diet.

Psychological Benefits of Exercise

FitnessDude — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 20:01:18 +0000

Okay…so we all know how exercise benefits our physical bodies. We know that exercise is good for our lungs, heart, and our overall physical health. There are plenty of studies and evidence what exercise can do for the physical body, but there are few studies that have been done to see what type of effects exercise has on the psychological. How does exercise affect your anxiety disorders, depression, and other moods?

Most studies that have been performed on how exercise effects the psychological have been mostly done with aerobic exercising (cycling, running, etc.). But recent studies have been more focused on how non-aerobic exercise (yoga, Pilates, weight training) can help you psychological functioning.

A new study has been determined by the National Institutes of Health, they state: “The majority of studies have found beneficial effects of exercise on psychosocial functioning. Exercise can help reduce depression and anxiety, as well as give individuals an improved sense of well-being.” 1. Although there have been few studies, it is amazing to think of all the benefits your body gets when you exercise, both physically and psychologically.

Exercise can be used as a step in the treatment for some depression and anxiety. It is still to early to tell if exercise can help people who suffer with a more severe depression. Always listen to your doctors when dealing with depression, all though exercise can help, do not think it trumps anything your doctor has prescribed to you.

But if you are feeling a little sad, if you are singing the blues, exercise can help to get you out of that crazy funk. Just exercising 3 times a week can help you physically and psychologically, whether it is aerobic or non-aerobic.

1. Psychological Benefits of Exercise, S. Tziporah Cohen, BA and Alan M. Jacobson, M.D., The Health Professionals Guide to Diabetes and Exercise