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As the end of the first month of 2011 approaches, how many people are sticking to their New Year’s resolutions? How many of these resolutions are actually safe and healthy for those involved?
“Get fit” and “lose weight” are numbers four and five on the “Top ten most common New Years resolutions in America for 2011,” according to www.usa.gov. Healthy dieting includes high-fiber foods, fruits and vegetables, limiting sugar intake, maintaining a small portion size, and eating a variety of foods; however, when people hear the term “diet”, they often believe it is necessary to avoid fats and carbohydrates all together.
“I don’t like to call it a diet,” said Raveka Avitan ‘13, “I like to call it healthy eating because I think people should eat healthy overall.”
Rigid versus flexible dieting has revealed that while rigid dieting, constantly monitoring food intake, leads to problems with eating and weight control and flexible dieting, eating healthy and desired food in moderation, is more successful in losing and maintaining a healthy weight.
“Nutrition experts insist that many fad diets are not really diets at all but bizarre and temporary ways of depriving the subject of adequate nutrition,” according to Time.com. Diets should only be temporary, as a way of improving food intake.
Fad diets often fail because many people cannot maintain the eating pattern. Fortunately, the lack of commitment to fad diets allows people to terminate their diet before physical damage can occur.
“It’s working so far, just eating healthy,” said Escarlin Ramirez ‘14. She predicts that her new habits will last until summertime. Jesus Nunez ‘14 told a harrowing tale of a friend from home whose nutritionist prescribed hormone pills to help with a diet that resulted in a false positive pregnancy test.
While people assume that dieting is the best way to lose weight, “more than 80 percent of people who do lose weight by dieting tend to gain it back within a year,” reported the article from Time.
About 2,000 calories per day is the recommended number of calories for females to maintain weight. Males require about 2,500 calories per day because they tend to have a leaner body composition than females. These numbers are simply averages and vary among people depending on height, weight, gender, age, and activity levels.
The minimum calorie intake is 1,200 calories per day for females and 1,800 calories per day for males according to the American College of Sports Medicine. The number of daily calories should not drop below these numbers or it can result in problems with certain bodily functions.
As college students, dieting may be detrimental to learning because students do not know which foods to avoid and which foods are required. Students tend to incorporate the wrong foods into their eating habits and receive a negative result from their diet. For example, alcohol and certain drugs directly kill brain cells. Nicotine constricts capillaries, which restricts blood flow to the brain and reduces necessities to the brain, such as glucose and oxygen.
Sugar products such as artificial colorings and flavorings as well as high-sugar drinks, frostings, and corn syrup inflict unhealthy fluctuations in blood sugar levels. These fluctuations can cause the release of adrenal hormones, which results in irritability, inattentiveness, and sleepiness.
Certain foods help brain activity and are beneficial for students in the classroom. Among the best are complex carbohydrates, which provide a steady source of energy. Some ideas of healthy food choices include fruits, cereals and grains, vegetables and legumes, and dairy products.
When sticking to New Year’s resolutions, students should remember that they are attempting to improve their way of living. Sometimes this desire requires a certain amount of learning to assure that the New Year’s resolution is being implemented in the most effective manner. Before dieting, learn about a personal required calorie intake, specific food groups that should be incorporated more than others, as well as ideas for rest and exercise.
It’s easy for young dieters to be attracted to “get quick” schemes in the dieting world with the celebrity endorsements, among the latest “Jersey Shore’s” Ronnie who is the new face of Xenadrin. Consumers bought $1.67 billion worth of weight-loss supplements in 2007 alone according to Teen Vogue.
“Buying them is a waste of money. They don’t work, because they don’t change what you eat and whether you get active.” Daniel Kirschenbaum, Ph.D., a professor at Northwestern University Medical School, said in the same article.
Programs that have a tracking points system like Weight Watchers are appealing for young dieters looking to make a life change. “I know Weight Watchers works really well but it takes a lot of patience,” said Emily Ryan ‘11.
Learning how to track your intake of certain foods and adding exercise to your daily routine is a safe way to ensure that a resolution is fulfilled without damaging your health, say experts. On Monday night 66 people had swiped into the RecPlex in 24 minutes according to employee Brianna Kouri’11.
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