New Years Resolutions!

HAPPY NEW YEARS SIGDELT! 

I hope you had an amazing Holiday season. As sad as we may be to see our small break fade away faster than we would like, it is exciting to think of the new possibilities that 2012 has in store… apart from the impending apocalypse. 

And with the New Year comes resolution! I’ll be the first to sound cliché when I say my New Years resolution is to lose those last twenty pounds to my goal weight. I have steered clear of scales since I got home, so I’m not sure how far my progress has fallen. With all those delicious meals and desserts, parties and celebratory champagne the holidays are always rough on diets – we’re constantly reminded by every diet commercial out there. 

Now, as I said my resolution is rather cliché, so that leads me to believe at least some of you have the same ideas. So, let’s get started on how to healthily (mentally and physically) set a weight loss goal!

First, I want you to really consider if you need to lose weight and why. If you want to lose weight to feel great in a bikini, that’s not an unhealthy goal, but it’s also not a strong one. There’s a difference between starving yourself to look great in revealing clothing only a name away from being considered lingerie, and losing the weight because you’ve decided to be healthy. Also, I have it on good authority that looking like a prepubescent boy in a bra (also known as a stick figure, or Twiggy) is really not that attractive. Remember, skipping meals actually sends your body into starvation mode, which makes it store the food you eventually give it, turning all the nutrition into fat.

Really? That's attractive?

Second, how much do you want to lose? It’s not really a numbers game, it’s about what you’d like to look like. To calculate how much you’d need to lose, here’s a link to the Body Mass Index calculator, which tells you where you are health wise based off your current weight and height. It also gives you the range your number should be in, and what’s overweight and underweight for you. 

Set realistic goals! Losing 20 pounds in a month is not only unrealistic, but if you’re really determined it could be detrimental to your health. Try something small, like a pound a week. And remember, you body fluctuates anywhere between 3lbs a day! Also, once you’ve set your goals, write them down and put them somewhere you can see it! That way you’ll be reminded when that pint of Ben & Jerry’s is starting to look pretty good.

Third, know your hip to weight ratio. “Knowing your waist-to-hip ratio is one way to determine your risk of heart disease and obesity-related illnesses and conditions.” (about.com…I know, I’m actually siting my sources.) To do this, measure your waist around the narrowest point between your ribs and hips. Measure after you’ve exhaled. Next, measure your hips around the fullest part of your bootay, while standing with your heels together. It helps to look in the mirror while you’re doing this. Divide the waist measurement by the hip measurement. “For women, a healthy waist-to-hip ratio should be somewhere around .86. If you’d like to measure your abdomen as well, it should be somewhere around 35. 

When you lose weight, this becomes a double edged sword of frustration!

It’s smarter to think about inches than weight loss. The number on the scale could be weighing anything – bones, the amount of water in your system, etc. By the way, I’m sure you are highly aware of the fact that you can lose fat, but watch the scale climb up. That just means your muscle, which weighs more than fat, is getting stronger. Use the measuring tape, not the scale!

Now you want to figure out the kind of exercise you’re willing to do. If you live in the house and walk slowly (3mph) you’re about 20 minutes from the center of campus. You burn about 78 calories! How did I find that out? Well, here’s the link just type in what you plan on doing that day, whether it’s just walking, biking, going to the gym, etc. and how long you plan on doing it. This calculator will tell you how many calories you burn! The ideal is to burn more calories than you consume, but frankly it’s hard to burn over 1200 calories a day. Just work up to it. You didn’t put it on in a day, it won’t disappear in a day. Take your time and work up to it.

Make a plan! So, you’ve calculated your BMI, you know how many inches you want to lose, and now how many calories you burn a day. For example, to lose 10 pounds in 12 weeks you would (generally) need to cut 300-500 calories from your meals a day. Not every day, I’m not saying, “You started at eating 2,000 calories a day. Tomorrow eat 1500, and the next day eat 1000.” Because by that logic you would literally be starving. If you start at 2,000 calories a day, try gradually decreasing that. Try maybe 1800 one day, 1700 if it feels comfortable, and suddenly your goal becomes 1500… DO NOT EVER GO BELOW 1200! Then your body goes into starvation mode, remember what I said earlier?

Break down your goal into simple steps. For example, cutting calories:

“Replace my morning Egg McMuffin (300 calories) with a bowl of oatmeal (about 180 calories).
Replace one Coke (150 calories) with Fresca (0 calories).
Walk for at least 30 minutes at 3.5-4.0 mph 3 days a week (approx. 180-240 calories burned).
Strength train 2 days a week for 30 minutes (approx. 140-280 calories burned)
Total Calories burned each day: 270 - 550 (depending on whether I exercise).” (about.com)

By breaking it down it’s easier to get through the day without feeling bogged down by all this weight loss mumbo jumbo.

Honestly, try not to count calories. It becomes obsessive when you do so, and then you feel bad about going over your limit. Just think of it this way – you know what’s good for you, you know what’s bad. Fruits, veggies, and almost everything green will fill you up when you’re feeling low and the natural sugars will boost your energy throughout the day. Carry fruits and veggies with you for midday snacks. You should be eating something small every 2-3 hours, stopping about 3 hours before bedtime. 

It's sad but true, some girls just have faster metabolisms. Drink Green Tea and take your B Vitamins to boost your own.

Finally, adjust your goals as needed. In the beginning you will see results faster, but as time goes on those results will become slower to attain and harder to see. I know, it’s not what you want to hear, but it’s a fact that your body plateaus after the initial burn. It’s crucial to maintain where you are and not fall back on bad habits just because you’re unhappy with the slowed results. Just keep at it, and change it up! Don’t let yourself get into a rut of the same routine, that will only make you plateau faster.

I hope these ideas have helped, and good luck with your New Years Resolutions! Looking forward to seeing you girls next week.  

Yep. So excited. :D

UP ALL NIGHT

It’s crunch time at USC! Finals are making up crazy! This means today’s Helpful Healthy Hint is all about staying healthy during these next few weeks, how to keep yourself energized, and yes, how to pull an all-nighter as comfortably as you can.

First and foremost you must SLEEP! 

Sleep is obviously the number one necessity for keeping stress at bay – but at times like this even catching 6 hours seems a luxury. So make sure you’re loading up on Vitamin C! Victor provides us with orange juice every week day morning, but let’s be honest, we all know about the massive amounts of sugar in every 8oz cup of OJ. It’s much easier just to take a Vitamin C – get the kind you can chew (not Chewables, just the kind you can grind up in your mouth.) 

Second, you must DRINK WATER!

It’s easier than you think to get dehydrated. Since we’re 70% water, our body’s performance levels drop when we’re dehydrated by only 2%! And when you’re dehydrated, your body’s energy is forced to focus on keeping you alive, so your brain stops working properly; you get groggy, slow, start to feel out of it… You’ll also start to think you’re hungry and start binging on anything in site. That late night pizza then gets stored as fat because your metabolism has slowed to conserve energy.

Then, obviously, EXERCISE! 

Are you feelin' it? The tension, the frustration... the anger? Remember what Elle said, "Exercise gives you endorphins, endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands." It's true. Exercise also gives you energy. So when you're feeling those eyes start to droop, stand up and do 10 jumping jacks. It'll give your body an extra jolt to keep you going. Plus you can burn off some of those late night Starbucks calories.

So, those are the obvious ones; get some sleep, drink water, exercise, the classics. It’s not exactly what you’re looking for. You want the tricks! So here you are: 

THE MIRACLE OF DRUGS ... what?

Don’t try to deny that you haven’t at least been intrigued by the affects of Adderall – the intense focus and calming factor that it provides is tempting, even for those who aren’t ADHD. But don’t turn to your student psychiatrist – or Adderall dealing friend (they’re out there!) - to start giving you those expensive little pills. Instead, try these: 

B-12

This little vitamin is not only AMAZING, but also essential for women our age. It balances your emotions, gives you energy and increases brain cell function and health. It also clears your mind and allows you to focus, not to mention boosting your memory. This is a great vitamin to take while studying and you can find it at CVS. Take it either two hours before you eat, or three hours after so that it doesn’t get dissolved during digestion. 

L-TYROSINE

This is a harder to find vitamin, but works wonders with the B12. It can’t be found at your normal pharmacies like CVS or Ralphs, so  you usually have to go to a vitamin shop for it. But if you’re willing to take the time, L – Tyrosine increases alertness, focus, and mood.  It also contains dopamine, which is the chemical that provides motivation in your brain.

OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS

Don’t let the “fatty acids” bit scare you, it means they’re important “fat molecules” that enhance memory and brain function. You should actually take these 3 times every day (depending on what brand you use. I take the CVS brand.) Omega 3 is also found in fish oil supplements, walnuts, and flaxseed oil.   

 CAFFEINE

It makes a huge difference what kind of caffeine you put in your body.

A late night trip to Starbucks is fine, but coffee will leave you feeling jittery. We’ve all experienced that shaky feeling we get toward 3am, when we’re on our second cup of coffee and our bodies are begging for the comforts of those Tempurpedic mattresses. But you press on, keeping those fingers firmly pressed on that keyboard as the paper gets harder and harder to write.

Then you feel that sharp pain in your stomach, the one that starts permeating up your spine. Your eyes start to hurt, even when you close them, and your head just won’t stop banging. That’s your body saying, “Oh God no more caffeine!”

Simply put, the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee is supposed to be enough to last you 6-8 hours. Many of us have grown immune and need that extra boost, but coffee is NOT what you need. It dehydrates you – and remember what I said about drinking water?

So, instead, turn to tea. Two cups of tea may only equal a half a cup of coffee, but it will actually sustain you better throughout the night. Why? Because you can keep drinking it! Each up of tea will give a dose of caffeine that will perk you up without giving you that jittery feeling, those stomach cramps, and that awful withdrawal headache. It will also keep you hydrated throughout the night, allowing your mind to stay focused.

So, I hope all this helps a bit. We're almost done, kids. Home stretch. Just remember: