Spring Break

Spring break is rapidly approaching and one wonders how to get the beach body in a short time. Two of the main things to consider are exercise and nutrition. A lot of people tend to think that they can lose weight strictly by dieting while in fact, that is a poor choice. Depriving the body of important nutrients and calories puts your body into starvation mode. The best way to start losing weight is becoming more active. Once accomplished you can then trim your diet and make healthier choices. If you think about it, it is easier to change the amount of time you move compared to the way you eat.
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations for physical activity is
• 150 minutes per week of moderate intensity aerobic activity
o Snow shoveling, hiking, dancing, biking (less than 10 mph), walking (about 3.5mph)…
• If this takes up too much time of your week then you can simply increase the intensity of your workout to vigorous intensity with an accumulative time of 75 minutes.
o Running, swimming laps, cross-country skiing, jumping rope…
• For those of us crunched for time, it’s okay if you need to exercise in small amounts of time. You can exercise in 10 minute bouts if it fits into your schedule. Walking would give you the greatest benefits. You can go for three 10 minute walks per day for 5 days and that will satisfy your need for aerobic physical activity.
• It is also important to include weight lifting in your schedule.
o The recommendations for that is 2 days a week getting all of the basic muscles groups with 8-12 repetitions and 1-3 sets.
o The easiest way to do this is the basic 8 routine:
 squat, leg curl, calf raise, lat pull down (one arm row), bench press, shoulder press, bicep curl, triceps extension and end with abs

Along with exercising comes the concern of fluid intake. You need to make sure you rehydrate your body with water or an electrolyte mixture (such as Gatorade) after working out and even throughout the day.

Once you become more active, the diet can follow. It is important to follow the USDA’s my food pyramid http://www.mypyramid.gov/ recommendations. This new and improved pyramid can be accustomed to your life style. Here at UB, we are lucky enough to have many choices of foods that fit into the pyramid. All across campus you can find Grab and Go salads, vegetable trays, 0 calorie beverages, light yogurt, fresh fruit, eggs, tuna, and soups. As long as you remember to stay active and eat right, you’ll be ready for the beach in no time.

By Christine (Campus Dining and Shops intern)