The SCARY Truth! By: Amanda

Do you know what I find is the scariest thing of all on Halloween??? The WEIGHT GAIN! And Halloween is only the beginning...

Since our "Holiday Season" generally starts about the time Halloween begins, (I was in the car last night and heard Christmas music already....give me a break....) many of us find that our holiday weight gain begins here, too. Think of all the candy that's eaten on Halloween alone. It's so easy, when it's all sitting in front of us, to just keep grabbing out of the candy basket.

Did you know that the average person gains anywhere from 8-10 pounds over the holidays?? That would take me about 8-10 MONTHS to lose all that Crisco, butter, and chocolate from around my thighs! Anyway, the point that I'm getting at here is that, unless you're extremely lucky, the holidays can be a huge setback in any kind of weight management. So, since I've already caught the holiday spirit (yeah right ;) ),consider the following information my upcoming holiday gift to you:

Food for Thought:

A Typical Thanksgiving Dinner

Turkey (6 oz) = 350 calories
Stuffing (1 cup) = 340 calories
Gravy 3/4 cup) = 375 calories
Roll w/butter = 150 calories
Potatoes (1 cup) = 270 calories
Sweet Potatoes (3/4) = (are we sweating yet??) 370 calories
Pumpkin Pie (1 slice) = 400 calories
Beverage (wine, regular soda) = 250 calories

For a grand total of 2505 calories. This is just for one meal, assuming you don't have seconds!

So, the key is to concentrate on portion control, as well as using little "cheats" here and there. Here are some things I've found helpful!

-Use Parkay butter spray on your food. It's a 0 calorie alternative to butter that I've fallen in love with over the years

-Use little bits of gravy. Trust me...2 ladle fulls isn't necessary.

-Remember that Light whipped cream for pies and deserts is our friend!

-Light Pillsbury rolls are quite delicious, and I can't tell a difference between these and the regular ones.

-Try to stick to white meat. Dark meat contains about 50 more calories per serving.

-And finally...watch the alcohol consumption! You wouldn't believe it, but just a few glasses of wine can potentially add up to 400 calories, and beer can be even worse.

I'm sure by now these horrible facts have put you in such great holiday spirits that you can't wait for Thanksgiving to roll around! But it's not all that bad. See if you can get through the holidays by only gaining a pound or two, or defy the odds by not gaining any weight at all! And, if you can do this, reward yourself with a nice piece of fruitcake...only 300 calories per slice!

By: Amanda

I have realized throughout the past few years that everyone has their own story about staying healthy and managing their weight. After reading through the first three blogs of the girls who are apart of this Healthy Living blog, I can't believe how drastically different all of our stories are and there are only FIVE of us! I will continue on with my story....

Throughout my entire life up until freshman year of college, I did not have to worry about exercise or eating healthy. I didn't know it at the time but the high school dance team that I had been involved with for those four years was my unknown secret to keeping a healthy weight. Dance is something I have always LOVED to do and that took up the majority of my time outside of school back then. Practice took place for two hours each night all year long. Dancing is one of the best forms of cardio you can do so I maintained a weight between 115-120 lbs...and at that time in my life thought I was still bigger than the other girls in high school.

I was STUPID to ever consider myself bigger...I realize that today. When my freshman year of college rolled around I took up a couple of new hobbies which consisted of drinking, eating whatever I wanted (still), and never working out. Since I never stepped foot on a treadmill in high school why should I have considered trying to maintain a healthy weight in college if I was "naturally" thin? I found out I wasn't "naturally" thin when by the end of that first year I had gained 15 pounds. It's odd because I never noticed that I had gained weight until I went back home to my small town where EVERYONE knows you and will notice anything different about you. A lot of guys( never really girls) would say I sure had "filled out" since high school. Ouch.

I had never been told these hurtful things before so sophomore year of college I decided to work out...a lot. I worked out for almost two hours a day at least four times a week. I would do an hour of cardio followed by an hour of aerobics. I lost 10 pounds. It worked as long as I continued but of course when I stopped it came back. Junior year I joined the dance team here at UWO and managed to take the pounds off again by doing something I loved.

This year I have managed to find time at least three days out of the week to either go to a cycling class (they are great! Tell you more about that later) or running on the treadmills and light weight lifting. I have put a few pounds on over the summer so I would like to get back to a healthy weight by the end of the semester.

My tip to everyone is to find something you love to do and that you wouldn't normally consider to be a straining workout. Dance! Try aerobics at the wellness center. Run with a friend outside. Anything helps if you find at least three days of your week to dedicate to a half hour of cardio. Today, I can't eat what I want and not work out. It's all about portioning your food and EXERCISE.
Nothing comes easy!! Unfortunately we have to put the pizza slice down every now and then and hit the gym in order to maintain a healthy body weight...who would have thought?
That's all for now. I hope my story gives another point of view to how you can live healthy and also some hobbies to avoid while in college!

Have a great day everyone!

~Jenna~

My Journey

Hello Everyone~
First off let me start off by saying how excited I am for this collective blog! I'm already learning a lot from my co-writers, so thank you girls. Because all of our stories are somewhat different, I'll start off with a little background as to how I got where I am today.

I've always struggled with my weight and had body image issues. Ever since I can remember I'd been heavier than most of my friends. Eventually I came to terms with the fact that I was "big-boned" and would always be. Throughout middle school, high school and most of college I was silently becoming the fat girl that no one noticed.

In the middle of my sophomore year I met Brian, the man who would come to be my fiance. We clicked instantly, and I was ecstatic that I met someone who was willing to see past my outer shell and focus on my inner beauty. Early on in our relationship, the "courting" phase, Brian was constantly taking me out to dinner dates which added extra pounds. We then moved into the "comfort" stage where I didn't have to worry so much about my looks because I knew he already loved me. [Later I would realize I needed to get healthy for many more reasons than vanity.]
In the first year and a half of our relationship I gained another 15 pounds, which brought me to 220. Even though the numbers were staggering, I still didn't feel the need to change.

Then Brian's sister Cat asked me to be the maid of honor in her wedding. When dress shopping, I was mortified that I needed to try on a size 20 dress. SIZE 20?!?? How could I possibly feel beautiful in a size 20 dress?? I wanted to make Cat proud standing next to her on her big day, I wanted to make Brian proud that I was his girlfriend, but mostly I wanted to feel beautiful. Little did I know that I never truly felt that before in my life...

Along with Brian's sister-in-law Kelly (who was Cat's matron of honor and also felt chubby next to the other skinny bridesmaids)and my friend Jess (who joined a bit later; she was always unhappy with her weight)I joined L.A. Weight Loss in March 2007 weighing 223 pounds. In January 2008 I met my goal weight of 150 pounds. In 10 short months I managed to lose 73 pounds and keep it off since finishing. [I ended up wearing a size 10 bridesmaid's dress to Cat's wedding!]

It's strange because most days, I still feel like the fattest girl in the room. I think changing my outer appearance was the easy part---the hardest part is getting my inner appearance to catch up. I'm sure it will with time.

In my next post I hope to talk about where I am with my weight today and what I want to accomplish in the near future.

Until then...
*sara

Here are some before/after pics of me and my friend Jess (who has lost a ton of weight thanks to L.A.). Hopefully you can see the difference!

Hi again everyone,

To begin my contribution to our healthy living journal, I too would like to share my story with you all.

When I was a little girl, I could eat whatever I wanted and didn't have to worry about gaining a pound...up until I was about 12 years old. Then, when I reached the 7th grade, my metabolism slowed down and I began to put on weight. I was a Tomboy growing up, so I didn't think twice about my image. I remember making home videos with the neighbor kids and noticing that I was pretty chubby; much more than I thought I was. I think way in the back of my mind I didn't like what I was seeing, but just blew it off.

Then, one day, someone at school told me that another girl was making fun of me for my weight. I couldn't believe it, because this girl was at least twice my size. This was the turning point for me.

I began running on my dad's old treadmill in our basement, as well as running outside, the summer going into my Sophomore year of high school. This was probably one of the hardest things I've ever done. With each step, my body begged me to stop, but I pushed myself to go on. Although it may sound stupid, in my mind I had an image of a very cute neighbor boy, and the thought of being his girlfriend was my motivation. When beginning an exercise regimen, I highly recommend finding something that motivates you the most and keeping it in the back of your mind, as this will propel you forward.

Today, I'm still striving to be healthy. I teach aerobics four times a week to students and staff on campus while continuing to exercise on the side as much as possible, but it's not easy. Keeping the weight off will always be a battle for me. I'll never be one of the naturally skinny girls, but that's okay.

And although nothing ever happened between my neighbor guy and me, in a weird way I guess I really owe him one. I'm glad he rejected me after all, because he sure has changed-and not for the better-since high school!

Take it easy everyone, and until next time, best wishes for a healthy future!

Amanda

HOW I DID IT
-Running 1-2 miles/day, starting off slowly and pushing it a little more each day
-Doing about 10 minutes of weights and crunches after running
-Cutting out all chocolate. It was difficult at first, but soon I wasn't interested in it at all!

BEFORE


AFTER

Welcome all! I suppose I’ll start our posts off here with a little background on “my story” as it pertains to issues with diet and exercise.

(And to the upper-right you will see a lovely picture of me...just to give you a face with the story. As you'll find out, this is me a few months ago before I started with the weights again.....clearly)

Though my fascination with eating healthy and staying fit began when I was a sophomore in high school, I will pick up with how I have dealt with it through college since this lifestyle can seem less permitting of such a way of life.

My first year and a half is rather stereotypical. I met a lot of friends, went to a lot of parties, managed to eat decent considering the food provided by the school, but did manage to put on, say, the freshman 7. To be honest, hour-long aerobics classes 1-3 times a week were not enough to keep up with the heavy amount of recreational drinking I was doing.

Then….I met a boy. He wasn’t too keen on drinking and I was very keen on him, so I stopped. Entirely stopped. I spent the summer at home with my parent’s treadmill at my disposal. I ran on that 4-5 times a week for between 30-60 minutes. No alcohol, more running, and an excellent diet was a decent concoction to trigger some weight loss. And so it began…

My third year started up. School, rather than parties, was my only focus and I became obsessed. Long story short, I lived at the school library and kept so busy with studying that I managed to never find time to eat an actual meal. I spent my day living off of like 600 calories that I consumed by random snacks here and there. Over time my body mass vanished. Here I was at 5’6” weighing 103 lb without ever having to obsess over what I was eating and never working out. At first I was stoked about the whole thing because it seemed so effortless and I was thinner than I was in high school.

NEWSFLASH: If you were never overweight to begin with, that is not a good thing to be able to say.

After months of family, friends and acquaintances directly or indirectly making joking comments (though there was clear concern behind them) to me about how they never noticed how skinny I was, that I was a waif, or a concentration camp survivor, and that they needed to begin a Feed Margot Foundation, I started to realize that perhaps I could never find jeans that were long enough because people my height weren’t supposed to be a size 0 or less.

Honestly I didn’t mind being that thin, but I did want to shut people up and rid the idea that I had an eating disorder. I started using weights and eating a lot of protein to help put on healthy weight. After a while my arms, legs and torso were toned. I loved watching these muscles grow that were never there before and I began getting compliments from friends about how good I looked. I also made time for meals and soon I looked like a human being again, not a stick figure.

Since then I had stopped consistently working out for one reason or another, but managed to keep eating. I did gain a little more weight than I like to have on me so for the past few months I have been dong cardio and weights for 60 min a day, 3-5 days a week. I’ve always had a relatively good diet so that only needs to be tweaked a little bit here and there. It is hard to keep a consistent schedule with work and school. It gets too exhausting at times. But I have lost some pounds and my weight routine is toning up my muscles just where I like them to be….and maybe beyond since I have been oddly hardcore about it lately. This is my last semester of school so I am looking forward to having a less turbulent schedule that will allow for a consistent workout routine.

I am a long-winded gal so I promise my next entry won’t be nearly as long. I guess this is just a basic overview of my personal weight/health struggles over the years. Don’t fear. I have a lot of specifics and advice that will come later.

Take care,
Margot

Welcome to Healthy Living, a blog site dedicated to various aspects of living a healthy lifestyle.

 

There are many websites and/or blogs that give advice on how to live healthy lives. However, they often focus on a single aspect of how to live healthy, and not the whole picture. Here at Healthy Living, we are committed to sharing information about many different ways to maintain one’s health and improve one’s current way of living not only by exercising and eating right, but by sharing success stories and habits to improve readers’ lifestyles.

 

As five busy college girls with different routines and body types, we know the obstacles that come with trying to live healthy. That’s why we are here to help you with guidance, support, and tips along the way as you strive for a healthier you.

 

Good Luck and Good Health!

 

Amanda

Co-Creator of Healthy Living