Being Healthy in College

"Heathy" is probably one of the last words I would use to describe myself. I can count the number of times I've been to a gym on one hand and I've been known to eat entire boxes of Ritz crackers in one sitting. I'm lucky - I was blessed with a fast metabolism and have always eaten what I wanted to without worrying about gaining weight. Sure, I have problem areas (looking at you birthing hips), but fixing that was never on my top to-do list.

Fast forward to the beginning of this summer. I noticed I had gained about ten pounds over the course of the year. I didn't think I looked different, so I didn't think much of it. Then, by accident, I came across fitness accounts on Instagram and various fitness subreddits on Reddit. It was incredible; hearing people's fitness journeys and both their struggles and successes proved to me that if they can do it, I can get off my butt and do it too. I downloaded a fitness tracker app for my phone, calculated my daily calorie goal, and started caring about serving sizes and getting my macros (protein, carbs, and fat). I'm a little over a month in of tracking my food and I feel incredible. I have more energy, I'm sleeping better, and I don't get that heavy feeling at the end of the day anymore. My next two goals: getting over my fear of the gym and keeping this up in college.

I have a few strategies I'm hoping will help keep me on track once school starts.

1. Meal Planning: This is super new for me, so it's going to be a lot of trial and error. I'm going to be living in an apartment for the first time next year, which means cooking and grocery shopping. I'm hoping to keep on track with my diet by planning out meals for the week keeping in mind my macro goals. I want to sit down on Saturday and plan out my weekly meals and then go shopping on Sunday. If I don't have unhealthy food in the kitchen, I won't eat unhealthy food. 
2. Packing Lunch Instead of Buying It: I think this is going to be a big one for me. Since I'm no longer on a meal plan, either through the university or through my sorority, I'm going to be responsible for every meal. I have a tendency to be lazy, and because of that, I usually find myself in the student center getting something less than healthy for lunch or dinner. Armed with my new monogrammed lunch box, I'm hoping to integrate meal planning into my busy schedule and make sure I have healthy snacks and meals with me even if I can't make it home in time for a meal. 
3. Having a Gym Buddy: The gym is a really scary place. I never go and when I do it's for a spin class once a year. As intimidating as it is, the way to tone and build muscle is through lifting weights and similar exercises. I have found a gym buddy who lives close by and has promised to keep me accountable by forcing me to go to the gym with him. He also offered to teach me proper form and technique so I can hopefully build confidence through knowledge. If you can't find a gym buddy, I would suggest looking to see if your campus gym or a nearby one offers personal trainers or beginner sessions that focus on teaching technique. 
4. Committing to a Schedule: Being a full-time student usually means I convince myself I don't have time to go to the gym because I need to be studying or working on a project instead. Since I have my class schedule, I sat down with the previously mentioned gym buddy and figured out a time three times a week to go to the gym together. My school gym also offers classes and has that schedule up already, so I've also made sure to mark when spin class with my favorite instructor is offered so I can do cardio once a week. As a girl who loves schedules, I'm hoping that by committing to a routine it will make going to the gym less of a chore. 
5. Holding Myself Accountable: I'm lazy and I'm the first to admit that. I'm writing this post mainly as an attempt to hold myself accountable - if I commit to sharing my journey, I'll feel obligated to actually follow through with what I'm saying here. This is also why I have a gym buddy - someone who will remind me why I'm doing this and that I can actually do it. I think that once I start building confidence it will get easier, but until then I still view myself as the girl who never goes to the gym.

This is the first article in what I'm hoping to be a monthly series. I want to be able to share my successes and my failures and really explain my journey in hopes of helping someone else start their own. I'm back down to the same weight as last summer and I'm ready to take the next steps to reaching my goals.

Phi Sig Does Yoga

Inhale, and exhale.

Before Leadership Conference kicked off for the weekend, Phi Sigma Sigma staff members and volunteers had the opportunity to do some late night yoga.

Even though it was my first time doing yoga, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The stretches pulled on muscles I didn't even know existed, and the breathing exercises calmed my thoughts.

The yoga instructor, Suzanne Lovern Burns, carefully explained each step as we went. She shared ways to push further if the stretch was not intense enough and ways to make it easier if the stretch was too much of a strain.

As the yoga lesson progressed, the exercises were more demanding. Phi Sig sisters rose to the challenge every time and impressed themselves with their flexibility and stamina.

By the time the class ended, everyone was exhausted but delighted to have the experience. Trying out a yoga class with the Supreme Council, Headquarters staff, and other lovely Phi Sigma Sigma members and volunteers was a blast. Once my travels are done as a consultant, I hope to take more yoga classes and learn more.

What It's Like Going to the Gym for the First Time in a Year

I have a confession to make: I don't exercise. Unless you consider dancing to Taylor Swift while singing into a can of hairspray a workout, because then I exercise like four times a day.

I knew working out was important, but I never had the motivation (AKA was too lazy) to go to a gym because I didn't know what to do in one. I took Zumba classes, but I didn't do regular workouts. Was embarrassing myself staring at the odd metal machines worth the trip? It didn't seem as rewarding as going to the cafeteria and eating three cookies.

Last week I decided to start making an effort and go 'gymming' with a sorority sister. She can help me understand what to do to make the most of the gym on campus. I decided to go because I had read an article about how unhealthy food isn't only bad for your body, but it also can cause acne. I have had trouble with my skin throughout my life, so I thought, "if how I handle my health can make that much change, I should take better care of myself."

For some reason, that one article did it to me.

So I whipped out my workout clothes that I thought would have motivated me sooner to go to a gym and headed out early with my sorority sister, Jamie. She said we would start out with 15 minutes on the bicycles first. I think I was on a basic level, but it seemed right to be on that level in order to get through the full 15 minutes. I watched a TV show with the subtitles, which really distracted me from the minutes I was pedaling.

Once Jamie stopped, we cleaned the equipment and went to another floor to continue the workout. I felt somewhat accomplished, but ready for more.

On the next floor were these obscure structures that I knew were for abs and legs and arms, but I was not sure how. Being with a friend in my mind meant it was okay to be a little embarrassing, so I messed around with a couple of available machines to see if I knew how to use them. I didn't. So I let Jamie show me what to do.

Eventually we settled at a bench for sit-ups. (After a Google search I discovered that this is called a sit-up bench. K.) Jamie handed me a medicine ball and positioned herself on the bench. After we each did three rounds of passing the ball back and forth ten times while doing sit-ups, I was surprisingly ready to keep going.

The last workouts we did were for our inner and outer thighs. Looking at the labels, I read that they are called hip adductor and hip abductor machines. I learned some new words that day.

Jamie and I had fun on these machines while singing along to the songs playing in the gym. On my third and final round at the machine, I managed to make it through all ten reps. 

Since we had other things to do, we left after that. After about a half hour of exercise, I felt pretty good.

Then the soreness came in.

Days later I still felt the pain in my abs and inner thighs. Save me.

I had no idea that the soreness would last multiple days, which apparently is super embarrassing to not know. "It's good. It means it worked and it was a good workout," my more in-shape sisters would say. I used to think people were just bragging when they said how they were sore, but this was like cramps throughout the body. This was also the moment where I discovered why people have "leg day" and "arm day" to alternate the focus of pain. I'm telling you I really didn't know this stuff.

Anyway, a little less than a week later and I can now reflect on this experience. There was a quote on a mirrored wall at the gym that really resonated with me: "The difference between try and triumph is just a little umph!" Putting in that extra effort to do something good for myself was rewarding, and I definitely want to do it again. I will admit, however, that I may need the motivation of going with a friend to push me in the beginning. Because that soreness, like, WOW.