Cauldron

Issue date: 1/29/08 Section: A & E

Media Credit: Danielle Stillman

The holidays have come and gone, leaving your physique a little less than desirable for your upcoming spring break extravaganza. But do not fear, there is hope for you yet. The simple fact of the matter is that living a healthy lifestyle is not all that hard.

Perhaps the most important aspect of living healthy is controlling what you eat. The double cheeseburger from McDonalds might only cost 99 cents, but it contains 440 calories, 11 grams of saturated fat and 1.5 grams of Trans fat. While this meal is convenient on a college student's budget and a quick option between classes, it is definitely not the best choice when trying to trim down the belly.

Matt Weik, a bodybuilder and personal trainer with a degree in kinesiology, writes on his bodybuilding.com blog that he recommends cooking at home as opposed to going out to eat. By cooking at home, fried foods can be completely replaced with more healthy options like steamed vegetables and grilled chicken. Weik also highly recommends a diet high in proteins such as chicken, fish and eggs and low in carbohydrates.

John Defendis has been a personal trainer for over 26 years. Also a member of bodybuilding.com, he says that cooking meals at home is highly beneficial. Defendis recommends boiling four to six eggs at night before bed and keeping them in the refrigerator to snack on during the day instead of chips or cookies. He says that the protein source satiates hunger better than a sugary alternative and is far healthier. Defendis also recommends eating several small meals a day, five or six instead of three large meals. This, he says, helps to maintain a higher metabolism. Also, eating small meals every three to four hours will ensure that less is consumed throughout the day. Waiting six hours between meals can trick one into consuming more food than necessary.

However, there can be such a thing as healthy fast food. The website healthchecksystems.com/food.htm offers a list of the healthiest available drive-thru options. Burger King's BK Broiler Chicken Sandwich has only 267 calories, eight grams of fat and 22 grams of protein, and KFC's Tender Roast Sandwich without the sauce has 270 calories, five grams of fat and 31 grams of protein. Subway's menu offers eight sandwiches with six grams of fat or less. Almost all of the sandwiches are less than 300 calories and all but the veggie sandwich offer around 30 grams of protein.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools