Categories
dieting exercise free trials weight loss

Looking and Feeling Healthy in College

The notorious freshmen fifteen isn’t just limited to freshmen, and it doesn’t always stop at fifteen. Healthy foods tend to be more expensive than junk food. To be honest, there are a lot of advantages to eating junk food. It’s a lot easier and faster to throw a couple hot dogs in the microwave than it is to prepare pasta, soup, and a salad. Unfortunately, although many of these meals are cheap and tasty, they aren’t very nutritious.

The point of these suggestions isn’t to give you ripped abs. Instead they are to help to feel more healthy. And it isn’t just about diet: it’s about lifestyle.

Decide to be Healthy: It’s hard to be healthy with four midterms throughout the week. Being healthy is more than simply doing healthy things. You must make a conscious decision to do healthy, eat healthy, think healthy, and be healthy. Your effort to be healthy should be comparable to your efforts to do well in school or to learn a musical instrument. You’ll have to set aside a little time to cook, a little more time to exercise, and some time to relax. The trick isn’t getting the desire to do it, but scheduling your time so that you can complete your goals.

Diet: I know I said that being healthy isn’t about a good diet, but I lied. At least I’m correcting myself pretty quickly. Many students know the path between their bed and the library much better than the path between their bed and the fridge. Instead of a good breakfast, they eat a bag of Mike and Ike. For lunch they snag a Pepsi from the vending machine. Students frequently go all out for dinner, buying a whole hamburger and fries. Keeping an eye on what goes into your body is a great way to be healthier. Eating foods like yogurt or eggs are often good for increasing your energy levels throughout the day. Keep a healthy balance of grains, fruits, vegetables, and produce in your life.

Physical Activity: Note I didn’t say exercise (although a good workout works wonders). Incorporating physical activity doesn’t always mean going to the gym or running a few laps around the track. It may mean leaving your car keys home and walking to school in the morning. Try taking the stairs instead of the elevator. This has helped me a lot in semesters past. This semester, however, I wanted to try to work in some actual exercise into my routine. I took a .5-credit jogging class. Every day I went to class and the TA set us loose to jog. It gave me a set hour where all I had to do was jog. I haven’t noticed a tremendous difference in my physical appearance, but I certainly feel healthier now throughout the day. For next semester I added beginning weight training to my classes.

Meditation: Part of being healthy involves having time to think. In many eastern religions, meditation is used extensively to help people organize their thoughts and relax their minds. Sometimes mediation is combined with exercises such as yoga or T’ai chi ch’uan. Other people like to study sacred texts like the Bible, Torah, Book of Mormon, Śruti, or Qur’an. Whether your “you” time means performing some ancient form of meditative exercise or reading the teachings of Laozi (Taoism), the time you take can often help you sort out and feel at peace with life.

About the Writer

Derek Gurr is a student intern for MyCollegesandCareers.com. My Colleges and Careers has helped people of all ages determine if an online education is right for them and helps them choose online courses that will help them reach their goals. The site even helps students find online MBA programs to fit their needs.

Categories
weight loss

8 Effective Natural Remedies for Stress

Stress.  It’s a little word that no one likes to deal with. Unfortunately, stress is a real part of life.  Everyone, regardless of who they are, endures stress at some point in their lives.  Long periods of exposure to stress can cause you to age quicker and die younger as it is linked to many of the diseases that are common killers in society today.  Are you looking to relieve some of the stress you are feeling?  The following are 8 effective natural remedies that can help you relax a little.

  • ExerciseYou already knew this one was coming.  Exercising is a part of a healthy lifestyle. Not only does it help fight diseases, give you more energy, and make you feel better, it also helps relieve stress that builds up throughout the day. If you are feeling weighed down by stress, go for a long brisk walk to release some of it.  The more you exercise throughout the week, the better you will feel.
  • Utilize Your Support System. There are people in life who are willing to be a shoulder for you to lean on. Whether it’s your spouse, your children, parents, or a close friend, it is good to have a support system during the times when the stress accumulates. Have weekly venting sessions with a friend or some time alone with your spouse to help reduce your stress level. They can often offer advice for you on whatever it is that you are going through. More importantly, you will feel like you aren’t going through it alone.
  • Find ways to have a little fun.  Relieving stress is forgetting about it. Find a party to attend, go to a movie, or go out to eat with friends and have a little fun.  If you find ways to get the stress off your mind, you can have a little peace if only for a little while.
  • Eat a healthy diet. A healthy diet is the key to a healthy lifestyle.  There are certain foods that you can eat to help you overcome stress. Celery, cherries, and lettuce are all foods that are associated with relieving stress.  These fruits and veggies acts as sedatives that can help relax you.  Fill up your fridge with food that can make you feel good.
  • Bubble baths really do work. Soothe you stress away in a big bathtub full of warm water and bubbles.  Spend some time doing absolutely nothing!  Light some candles and play some soft music for an added touch.  Put a do not disturb sign outside your door so that your kids know that you are having some much needed time to yourself.
  • Remind yourself of your life goals and purpose.  What’s your purpose in life? Have you met your life goals yet?  You can reduce some of the stress by reminding yourself that there is more to life than just your problems.  What you are going through now will pass.  Remind yourself of this frequently and hang on until it passes.
  • Talk with you pastor or mentor in life.  If you attend church, there may be someone that you can ask advice and help you pray through the stress.  Many people find peace by praying to God that the situation will be quickly resolved.  Praying gives a peace and relaxing that works wonderfully for relieving stress.
  • Are there things in your life that you can eliminate?  If you are a parent and are stressed out, you are among the many that have day to day duties that add to it.  Look for ways to eliminate stress through daily activities.  Perhaps your child can choose to play only one sport rather than being involved in all of them.  The extracurricular activities of your children can be a major cause of stress. What can you eliminate?

Life is full of ups and downs. There will be times when you have to find ways to deal with stress. Tuning to doctors is not the only option for reducing the level of stress in your life.  Use the tips above as natural remedies to help you get rid of the stress.

Alex Higgins is a freelance writer working for self hypnosis resource center where you can easily download nlp training programs, binaural beats, subliminal messages and lot more.