Healthy Tips from the Women’s Center

Healthy Tips from the Women’s Center

Beauty has always been an important factor in our society. Girls want to look thin, guys want to look buff, elderly people want to look young, and so on. I cannot say I support changing one’s lifestyle in order to fit these this desires (I believe the concept of “beauty” is flawed due to our culture). However, I completely support changing one’s style in order to be healthy and live longer. That being said, here are some great tips to become a healthier you.

There is no need to look like this guy when working out
. . . unless of course you want to

Don’t Just Run, Exercise

According to a lot of people, going to the gym and running on the treadmill is considered exercise. It’s nice that these people are physically active but just running is not exercise. Besides the fact that stomping on the treadmill is horrible for your knees, it also creates something called “skinny fat”.
When you work out by lifting weights, your body strains muscles. After the work out, your muscles reconstruct themselves to be stronger, which creates that burning feeling. For the next couple of days, you are still burning calories to build muscle, even while you sleep! So building muscle not only burns calories, but also uses them to grow stronger. This allows you to eat more food without gaining weight because additional calories are going to your muscles as needed. Cardio workouts, on the other hand - like running, only burn fat; they don’t build muscle. Technically you are able to eat a dozen cookies each day and feel good because you ran 10 miles afterward. But once you miss one day of running, those calories from just the one day are going to build up immediately. This is because the additional calories are not going to your muscles (because they don’t need them). Instead they go to your hips, thighs and so on. Which is why it is called “skinny fat,” you’re skinny for a week and then fat the next day.

Diet (Properly)

Your body has a set number of calories it is used to taking in each day. Changing this number drastically can cause noticeable changes. When you stop eating three meals a day and just two, you’re going to get skinny very fast. However, eventually you’re body is going to adjust to two meals a day. Once you move back to three meals, your body is going to register the third meal as extra food. Just as quickly as you lost the weight, you’re going to gain that weight right back, and usually more than you originally lost.
The best way to diet is not by starving yourself but by simply eating healthier foods. Lay off the greasy chicken nuggets and fries. Instead, eat healthier alternatives like a club sandwich with an apple. This meal will give your body a healthy tone. The best part is, you won’t be hungry while doing it.

That’s all you need to do to be healthy! No pills, no surgery, no starvation. Simply (proper) diet and exercise. Doing so will not only make you look better but also feel better about yourself.

*As a disclaimer I am not a trained professional. These are suggestions given by a student athlete who has a passion and hobby