Healthy but good drinks

It is crucial to drink a lot during the day but it is true that sometimes drinking plane water is just boring and not very tasty... However, you shouldn't go for soft drinks when you're thirsty and don't wanna go for water. They are plenty of other options that are better for you :

-tea in the morning: any kind of tea is very healthy and keep you hydrated. Everyone can find a tea they like. Some tea have caffeine and therefore is convenient when you didn't get the longest night of sleep and tea is healthier than coffee. Some teas like green tea have other benefits such as providing anti-oxydants to your body which prevents cancer if you drink it regularly. It also makes you feel full and is good for your skin. Some other teas like oolong tea, helps your digestive system.

-you can also squeeze a lime and put it in hot water with honey in the morning, it will detoxify your body, provide vitamin C and make you feel full.

-if you are craving something sweet, I would advise you to go for a fruit juice instead of a soft drink but try to get natural fresh fruit juice without any sugar added. However, eating the actual fruit is better, but we're talking about drinks here.

-you can get smoothies if you want but be careful not to get fruit milkshakes.

A few daily tips

Here are a few small things you can easily do that will help you keep healthy:

-never forget to have breakfast, it is the most important meal of the day and without it you won't be as efficient in class!

-drink a loooot of water, at least 1L bottle a day

-don't snack too much: you can have a snack in the morning and one in the afternoon but it is important to let your stomach rest and space your meal correctly so that you're actually hungry when you eat
-try not to eat before you go to sleep because these are calories that you will not use and therefore will transform into fat
-drink a glass of water before your meal, it'll help you not to overeat and know when you're full.
-you can eat a piece of whole bread before a meal so that you feel full faster and not overeat
-take one tablespon od cod liver oil every morning to keep your skin and hair gorgeous (you can mix it with orange juice)

Snacks that are OK (you should sill be reasonable)

Hi,

I know that when you're a student, you don't always have time to sit at the caf and take your time to eat. You often are running to class because you didn't wake up or you just wanna hava a snack in your room. This is normal and you are allowed to snack as long as it's not all day long. However, you should still be careful about what snacks you eat, especially if you're gonna eat it regularly. Below are some healthy snacks ideas:

-oatmeal: you can add slices of apple, banana or any fruit you like or have in your room - you can also put some honey to make it sweet or spices like cinnamon. Any dry fruits like raisins can be added but these are usually very concentrated with sugar so you shouldn't put too much.
-whole grain granola bar (with less than 150 calories and no added sugar)
-all types of cereals that are contain a lot of fiber (which help with digesting): all-bran, granola, mueslix, special K etc.
-bagels (multigrain, oatmeal, or plain): just don't cover the whole thing with cream cheese and you'll be fine
-crackers: plain
-melba toast
-yoghourt
-and of course FRUITS!! this should be your first choice as often as possible. If you're very hungry, bananas can do a pretty good job at filling you up and apples are cheap and easy to get/eat.

Now, here's a list of snacks that are largely available in a student environment but are not healthy:

-chips
-cookies
-doughnuts
-pastries
-brownies
-sweet soft drinks: prefer fresh fruit juices if you really wanna drink something sweet.

Eat a bit of EVERYTHING!

Hi,

     So the first advice I would like to give to maintain a healthy lifestyle is NOT to do a diet. This is the worst way of putting on weight. You might have heard about the Yoyo theory which refers to when women deprive themselves to loose weight but after a certain time they can't do it anymore and start eating all the food that they were deprived of and gain even more weight than they had lost. Then they feel bad and start the diet again and the whole vicious cycle starts again.
     Therefore, what you need to do is to eat a bit of everything. By everything I do not mean eat everything offered in the caf, I mean every different kind of  nutrients your body needs. What follows is how much you should eat of what:

     -complex carbs: 3 servings
     -fruits/veggies: 5-8 servings
     -dairy: 2 servings
     -protein: 3 servings
     -GOOD fats: 2 servings
     -2 servings of red meat weekly is enough

     This should help you have an approximate idea of how to balance what you eat  during the day: if you had meat for lunch don't get it for dinner, if you had a lot of rice for lunch don't go crazy on carbs for dinner etc.

source: "the dorm room diet" daphne oz

Why does the freshman 15 happen?

Hi!


     You must all wonder why is it that when you leave home and start college, the general tendency is to gain weight... Well, there are many reasons for that and when you'll read them you'll think: "Oh right, I kinda do that myself". That happens because your environment completely changes, your daily routine is different and of course, mommy and daddy are not there anymore to tell you what to do. 
     Remember, at home you used to eat at regular times the food that your parents prepared for you. Of course this food was healthy, varied, and  cooked with love. You didn't have a mini-fridge in your room and all the food was kept in the kitchen. Obviously, mom and dad didn't allow you to drink alcohol and you had a reasonable curfew when going out.
     Now, what's new/different in college? Everything! and because mom and dad aren't there to stop you, this is what students tend to do:


          -eat unhealthy cafeteria food (pizza, fries, burgers, pastas, soda...)

          -keep unhealthy snacks in dorm rooms and nibble between meals (cookies, cereals, peanut butter sandwich, chips, sweats...)

          -eat late at night (I'm talking pizzas and burgers at 2:00 am when your heading back from the club...)

          -lack physical exercise

          -drink too much alcohol (you'd be surprised to know how much calories alcohol can contain!!!)

          -emotional eating (when you eat not because you're hungry but because you're sad/happy/bored...)

These are the main reasons why the freshman 15 happens. My goal with this blog is to give you as much advices as possible to help you deal with these and keep a healthy life style while having the best time of your life in college!

Where do you stand?

Hi!


The followings are a few indicators of how healthy you are and what are your daily needs in terms of energy. It will help you identify what do you have to work on and how to regulate your food.


1. The BMI (Body Mass Index) is an index of weight-for-height that is used to determine if you're underweight, normal, overweight or obese:

The BMI table:

Source: AdaptedfromClinicalGuidelinesontheIdentification,Evaluation,andTreatmentofOverweightandObesityinAdults:TheEvidenceReport.

The BMI graph:

Calculate it yourself:

Now, what does your BMI means for you:

-severely underweight: <16

-underweight: 16 - 18.5

-normal: 18.5 - 25

-overweight: 25 - 30

-obese class I: 30 - 35

-obese class II: 35 - 40

-obese class III: >40

source: wikipedia

2. The BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) indicates the number of calories your body burns daily without you having to do anything (so you wanna try to raise it).

The BMR depends on:

     -gender: men have a higher BMR than women (which is why they eat more and consumer more calories)

     -genes: I know it's unfair but some people naturally have a faster metabolism and burn calories more easily...

     -age: BMR declines with age

     -exercise: it raises your muscle volume -> raises your BMR (those who regularly exercise burn calories when they do but in addition, eliminate calories more easily in general)

     -body fat percentage: the lower your body fat percentage the higher your BMR

     -diet: it will reduce your BMR because your body detects that you are eating less calories and reacts by holding on the the calories you eat and stores them as fat...

Calculate your BMR: the Harris-Benedict Formula

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 * weight in kg) + (5 * height in cm) - (6.8 * age in years)

 = 66 + (6.23 * weight in pounds) + (12.7 * height in inches) - (6.8 * age in years)

 Women = 655 + (9.6 * weight in kg) + (1.8 * height in cm) - (4.7 * age in years)

= 655 + (4.35 * weight in pounds) + (4.7 * height in inches) - (4.7 * age in years)

Now this is what your body needs without you having to do anything, and it does not equal what you should eat daily, because it doesn't take into consideration what you actually do. But the TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) does. It tells your the total number of calories your body expends daily including all activities = the number of calories you should eat daily.

Calculate your TDEE (activity multiplier):

-sedentary = BMR  * 1.2

-lightly active = BMR * 1.375

-moderately active = BMR * 1.55

-very active = BMR * 1.725

-extremely active = BMR * 1.9

source: http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html

"the dorm room diet" Daphne Oz

Fresh start in life: make it a positive one!

Hi freshies!


     I'm gonna start with a quick presentation. I'm a freshman at McGill university!! I grew up in a little suburban town near Paris, my mom is japanese and my father's french. They're both great cooks and I was raised eating very healthy and tasty home-cooked meals. But this year, I moved to Canada for college and I'm living in rez and eating in caf, far from home... (which so far has been great!!) 
     However, I was really worried about the freshman 15 phenomenon I had heard about.... When I moved here, I discovered that I wasn't the only one! We would often talk about it with my girlfriends, share books on the topic and help each others resist the temptations. I wanted to share some tips about staying healthy I had learned from books, online and from friends to try and do my best to help you girls out there! I just want you to be happy about who you are!
     I hope this will be useful to someone! 

 Enjoy your college first year people! I'm sure you will.

Love