Fitness: Leaving college healthier than you arrived

Some people have exercised all their lives: from little league, to ballet classes as a toddler, or martial arts, or Olympic coaches?

I was never that type of child, or Elementary student, or Jr. High student, or even High School student. And now I am in college.

I am not obese, I am not tragically skinny, I am average and pudgy. Well, less pudgy than I may have been a year ago.

The worst enemies in a college setting to people like me, with a relatively inactive childhood, are:

-Dining Halls
-Late nigh foods (readily available all over)
-Energy drinks
-Lack of knowledge on how to exercise
-Time/ Sleep/ Studies
-Embarrassment

Most people who get heavier and heavier use some/all/ or other excuses as to why it’s happening. It’s hard. I know. I’ve looked the way I look all my life, no better, no worse. And that’s just not enough.

Here are some solutions that I’ve applied to my life:

Move out. Don’t go to the dining halls ever again and save money on housing. BAM.
If that’s not an option, the best way to stop stuffing your face and trying to consume the most calories per meal point is to take the food to go. Take a box and stretch that into two meals if you can. Having a mini-fridge would help here.

I’m cheap, so I’m not asking you to buy a mini-fridge if you can’t afford one. Use FreeCycle (it’s an online resource for acquiring goods, tools, miscellaneous items other people no longer need or want cluttering their home). I got a microwave this way.

No late night foods. Actually, no late nights! It’s silly saying this since I’m up at midnight right now typing these words. On most nights I go to sleep at 9-9:30pm. No, I’m not a boring, no-life prude. I’ll explain why in a sec.  Late nights come with energy drinks. Energy drinks are packed with unhealthy stuff. Although, I did read somewhere that consuming an energy drink a while before exercise can help you achieve more and get you in the right mindset. It might also kill you, so don’t quote me there. There are slightly healthier options to energy drinks, even if slightly? Think: Red Bull Total Zero, 5hr Energy isn’t as bad as a Monster (IMO), or Neuro- drinks (NeuroSun, NeuroTrim, NeuroSport, etc).

The next two points also go hand-in-hand. Lack of know-how and lack of time/sleep/ study time. Here’s what I did. In college, PE classes are not required, in fact they are barely worth any credits. Last semester I took yongmudo and it was a lot of fun, this semester I enrolled in both Military Fitness and Intro to Modern Dance. Now you may, or may not, have been wondering as to why I sleep at 9ish, well… know that Military Fitness class I just mentioned? It starts at 6:30am. Not 6:40am, no Berkeley time for us! But it’s just so amazing to have a group toiling in the darkness of the pre-sunrise with you. Since I didn’t know how to get myself in shape, I enlisted those who would know: military instructors and a strong dance instructor. And if I didn’t think I had the time to do it, I just had to make sure it became one of my commitments! Those classes amount to 3 units of my course load (9 hours of class time).

Now. The last thing: embarrassment. That one was tricky. I honestly don’t remember when I stopped being embarrassed about working out in public. I did jog often in the summer, and that was before anyone was awake. That probably helped. Get fit and feel strong and then don’t give a damn about what other people think when they see you. Actually, flaunt yourself 😉

I have surmounted those small bumps on the road. Now I’m trying to combat a chocolate addiction, but that will be easily remedied when I remind myself that I’m a broke college student.

To help me reach further goals in health and fitness, I have become a Zaggora Brand Ambassador. Sharing and spreading their awesomeness as far and wide as I can. If you haven’t seen their products or heard of who they are, I really recommend checking them out: http://zaggora.com/ (You can use my 10% discount code: MIM).

I have already ordered my first pair of HotPants. Bright yellow Viva HotPants.

I aim to join either the Triathlon club or the Boxing club at Cal next semester/ or year (if the semester gets hectic), run some 5Ks, then some 10Ks, and eventually a half-marathon, and then a full marathon. I hope none result in my demise, but if the possibility didn’t exist, it wouldn’t be as thrilling, huh?

I hope this post helps other college students find ways to reach a healthier lifestyle.

Cheers,

Melisa