Dining Hall

Dining Halls are a health challenge unique to college students. Younger people’s eating habits are largely dictated by what they’re parents eat, and graduates have the opportunity to shop for themselves. So, you can view the dining hall as an opportunity to break from any unhealthy habits that your family may have or a chance to eat well without directly footing the bill yourself. Dining halls are notorious for the unlimited availability of high calorie foods; dragging college students toward the Freshman 15. Here are some tips on how to eat healthily in the dining hall.

Drop the tray. One of my friends taught me about this in February of my freshman year and I wish I’d learned it sooner. Having a tray makes it easy to load up on food as you wander your way through the dining hall. It is easy to end up with more than you’d ever consider eating. Having one, decently sized plate makes you watch your portions and be more conscious of the food you’re picking up. According to the New York Times, already "scores of colleges and universities across the country are shelving the trays in hopes of conserving water, cutting food waste, softening the ambience and saving money. Some even believe trayless cafeterias could help avoid the dreaded “freshman 15” — the number of pounds supposedly gained in the first year on campus (and on all-you-can-eat meal plans)." (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/29/nyregion/29tray.html?scp=2&sq=Without%20Cafeteria%20Trays,%20Colleges%20Cut%20Water%20Use%20and%20Calories&st=cs

Plan your meals. Many universities post weekly and monthly menus in advance. While you’re cruising the Internet in your before lunch class, look at your dining halls offerings for that day. If you’ve decided on what to eat before hand, you’re less likely to pick up something unhealthy on impulse.

Think about your choices. All dining halls have some basic offerings on a day-to-day basis. Create a chart of Healthy, Moderately Healthy, Moderately Unhealthy, and I Risk a Heart Attack by Simply Consuming This. I would recommend having two-thirds of each meal be from the Healthy, and one-third from the Moderately Healthy. On days where I’ve done my government suggested 30 minutes of cardio, I can reward myself with one or two small items from the Moderately Unhealthy column. And, try to eat sparingly, if ever, from the truly Unhealthy column.

HEALTHY	MODERATELY HEALTY	MODERATELY UNHEALTY	UNHEALTHY
Grilled Chicken Steamed Broccoli Yogurt Cottage Cheese Carrot sticks Sweet Potatoes Sliced Turkey Salad	Whole grain pasta Scrambled Eggs Roast Beef Rice Taco Meat Spinach bake Breaded Fish Sandwich Bread	Tuna Salad French Fries Hamburgers Hash Browns Chicken Strips Frozen Yogurt Pizza Oatmeal cookies	Mozzarella Sticks Creamy Pastas Cake Chicken Pot Pie Mashed Potatoes Fruit Loops Pancakes Bread sticks

Watch your portions. If you’re using a plate instead of a tray, this should be easier. Still, try to limit yourself to one carbohydrate each meal, but feel free to eat as many green vegetables as you like. Ideally your plate should look something like this

Goal Setting: How and Why

Like all other things fitness, goal setting has it share of controversy. To me, there are three different types of goals: weight, fitness, and intrinsic.

Weight

Weight goals aim at things like losing a certain number pounds or getting down to an ideal weight. There are two basics approaches to weight goals. The first is to shun the scale entirely, and the second is to use the scale carefully as a way of measuring progress. I prefer the second. Those who urge you to shun the scale will tell you that weight is just a number, that it is not an overall indicator of fitness, and that relying on a scale to create your self esteem is no way to live life. They’re right. HOWEVER, such thinking also implies that you are unable to interpret the meaning of fluctuations in your weight correctly. I believe that by using weekly weigh-ins can both be a useful tool and a motivator. The key to this is thought is “weekly”. Weighing yourself on a daily, or even more often, is counter productive and down right depressing. Pick a day of the week, and weigh yourself first thing in the morning. This time best reflects your actual body weight because you haven’t eaten anything for several hours. Just remember, do not fear the scale! It is a tool, and challenging yourself to improve your weight by just a little every week is extremely motivating.

Fitness

Fitness goals can vary greatly, and include things like being able to do a pull-up, running in a marathon, or being able to compete in your dorm’s soccer league. As anyone who has been at college for a year, fitness runs abound. They’re great fund raisers, and many groups on campus will hold anything from fun runs to full on marathons. Also, there are many different levels of sport in dorm leagues which cater to students transferring from high school varsity sports or beginners.

Fitness goals are very subjective, but also probably the most important goal type because improved fitness is what everyone should be aiming for. The key to choosing a good fitness goal is to know yourself, don’t bite off more than you can chew. More fitness goals can always be added as you achieve. For instance, if you only give yourself one month to train for a marathon, it is unlikely that you will finish. Give yourself enough time so that you will be able to succeed in your goals.

Intrinsic

These goals, in my opinion are the most fun. It means rewarding yourself for the effort you put in. It could be something small like putting in an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill so you can treat yourself to a scoop of ice cream after dinner. Or it could be something like buying yourself an nice pair of jeans in the next size down to reward yourself when you can fit into them! Or maybe it’s just feeling good when you’re the bridesmaid at your cousin’s wedding. The point is, intrinsic goals are about rewarding yourself for working hard. Now, BEWARE! Real, healthy weight loss is a sustained effort. Don’t undo the good of your workout by feeling justified in a pig-out.

What should your goals be?

I think a combination of all three types of goals is the best system. If you’re training for a marathon, you are just as surely losing weight, and eventually that weight loss will get you into your new pair of jeans. That said, if weight loss is your primary goal, most physicians recommend reducing your body weight by 10%. So, if you weigh 140, the maximum you should be aiming to lose at this time is 14 lbs. Once you have achieved that goal, or whatever your weight loss goal is, you can pat yourself on the back and re-evaluate. Second, make sure you set a realistic timetable for your goals. Believe it or not, losing weight is not easy. If you are a size 10 becoming a size 4 will not happen overnight. Many goals can take a year or longer to achieve. So, celebrate what you do achieve, build your self-esteem, and keep working at it. Having weekly or monthly goals to achieve can help break up the time. Third, have goals that you want. If you hate running, do not make running a marathon your goal. It will be a death march. So your three guidelines for goal setting are

1. Make it healthy

2. Make it realistic

3. Do it for you

My Goals

Okay, you might have noticed, I’m particularly enthusiastic about marathons and new jeans. Those are going to be my main goals. Training for the marathon (actually just a ½ marathon--baby steps!) will be the how, the jeans will be the why, and weight a happy side consequence. The marathon is Notre Dame’s Finish at the Fifty, which is held in April. There are many smaller runs around campus throughout the year which I will use a progress markers. The jeans are J.Crew size 2. They are nice jeans, a size smaller than what I normally wear in that store. Weight, I’d like to get to under 130, but I’m not overly concerned about it. If I get fit, the weight will follow!

Welcome!

Welcome to UniversityFitness! My name is Kate. So everybody has heard of the dreaded Freshman 15, right? When considering the triple threats of drinking, dining halls and dorm life, weight gain seems almost seem unavoidable. BUT, I finished freshman year at the same weight I entered, and now I want to build on that foundation and get in the best shape of my life. College is not only filled with challenges to fitness, but also unprecedented opportunities. Now, many colleges give students access to nutritional counseling in addition to workout facilities. What I hope UniversityFitness will provide is access to information that will make eating healthily in dining halls, staying active, and avoiding the beer gut easier. This blog will follow my progress as I follow these tips and work toward my goals.