Freshman 15

It is the end of the school year and many of my friends are leaving to college in the next few months. Those going for summer session are leaving within the next few weeks and some are leaving towards the end of July and beginning of August. We have all heard about the "Freshman 15," but is that actually true? Do you really gain 15 pounds your first year in college? Well I thought about it and did some research. Most studies say that males gain about 3.5 pounds and females 4 pounds their freshman year, but I also saw studies saying that both males and females gain an average of 4 pounds their first 12 months of college life. So it is not statistically proven that the average freshman gains 15 pounds. Weight gain in college can be from eating fast, unhealthy foods, not exercising, and large amounts of alcohol consumption. So when you go to college make sure you continue eating a healthy diet and exercise!

Spinning

Spinning is a great cardiovascular exercise class. It is a motivating, fast pace class. It forces you to workout for the allotted timed class, usually an hour. Spinning is done on a stationary bike and you use a knob to change the resistance. During the class there is loud music and an instructor that tells you to turn up the resistance to levels one through ten. You control your workout; if you are unable to do it then you can take off resistance, but remember the more it hurts the better it is for your muscles. It strengthens your core and legs. There are positions one through three, one being sitting on the seat, two standing, and three on an incline with your arms further out. Spinning is an intense workout, but at the end you feel great and feel like you have accomplished something, a great workout.

Insomnia

More things effect sleep then you might think. Eating later may keep you up late at night and keep you from sleeping straight through the night. Going to sleep and waking up at the same times every day could also affect how you sleep at night along with exercising regularly. It is also said that only sleeping in your bed will help you sleep better. Keeping your room dark and at a cool temperature could improve your night sleep. There are plenty of factors that you would not think of that help you get a better night's sleep. More and more people suffer from insomnia because their daily schedules mess up their sleeping habits. You can never make up sleep so it is always good to get a full night of sleep each night. For more information on sleep better click here.

Power Balance

Last Sunday, May 9th I went to the beach for the day. We ended up going to Hollywood Beach to meet some family friends for the day. We always go to a certain area on the beach where my cousins own a motel. When we arrived it seemed overly crowded, so we all assumed it was just because it was Mother's Day, but it was actually because of a tournament that was going on. On the beach there were volleyball nets set up with people playing at them. They were playing volleyball but not allowed to use their hands, I am not exactly sure of the name of the game. There were people from all different countries playing and the playoffs were later that day. But other then just the tournament there were booths set up along the boardwalk selling different things. One was selling these Power Balance bands, we each ended up getting one. They are bands you wear on your wrist that have holograms that interact with your body's magnetic fields, blocking out the negative energy. They are worn by athletes and are suppose to help with your balance and flexibility. They performed balance tests and they bands seem to actually work. Its hard to believe because I never believe things like this, but they seem pretty cool. You can check them out right here.

The Array of Diets

These days there are hundreds of different diets out there, some more promising then others. Every diet "promises" or "guarantees" you will loose 15 pounds in 15 weeks or some catchy numbers that make people think it will work for EVERYONE, which is not always true. There is the Special K Challenge, which has a selection of plans where you go and buy your own Special K products to eat everyday for 4 meals. There is also the South Beach Diet, the Cookie Diet, Atkins Diet, and tons of other diets. (Click here for a list of popular diets) Different diets work for different people. Some people begin to believe that no diet will work for them and often end up using a diet pill, which is horrible for your body. If you think you need to loose weight then you should go with the natural route and eat healthy and get a sufficient amount of exercise and sleep daily.
Click here to design your own Special K plan

Obesity

Obesity has been a growing problem not only in American, but around the world. Americans are growing fatter and fatter each year because of lousy diets. With the economy in such a bad place more people are living in poverty. Many Americans are unable to make but ends meat to support their family and put food on the table. It is often easier and cheaper for a family to go through McDonald's drive thru. At the grocery store you can buy on average two pears for $3 or $4, but you can go through the drive through and order three or four items on the Dollar Menu, which logically would make you, feel fuller then two pears. It is cheaper to buy fast food rather then go to the grocery store and buy healthy food. More and more families are also working tighter schedules and do not have the time to make a healthy meal even if they had the money to buy the healthier foods. Fast foods use cheaper and let healthy foods to mass-produce all the food they make on a daily basis for such an inexpensive price. American companies only make it easier for Americans to eat greasy, fatty, unhealthy foods causing America to become obese.

Healthy Pantry

Most Americans go grocery shopping without a list, with just a few necessities in mind. Only a few people go into a store knowing what they want. They just pick up the easiest things, like pre-made frozen foods. With easily accessible foods it makes it harder for people to go to the store and buy healthier ingredients. Here is a website that give you a good list to bring along with you while shopping for groceries next time...
"The Healthy Pantry"