Hannah Reinhart

Christmas break is soon approaching and for most of us, it is a needed time off. With all of the stress of finals and the lack of sleep, it is necessary for us to have our 5 weeks of relaxing and catching up on our rest. However, this does not mean we shouldn’t still keep up with our exercise.  Since our Christmas break is a full 5 weeks, it is important to still maintain our physical activity, here’s how:

1.     Keep Moving

It’s easy to take long periods of relaxation with all the stress of holiday preparations and Christmas shopping. However, the more you move the better you’ll feel. Even if you can’t keep your usual routine, it’s okay if you change up your physical activity. The more you stay active the easier it’ll be to maintain your fitness level over the holidays.

2.     Strength Training

In order to maintain your muscle mass make sure you do compound, multi-joint movements that will help you get the most of out your workout. Lifting weights burns a lot of calories and helps you gain muscle, which can be beneficial during the holidays. Also try doing core work to vary your exercises.

3.     Exercise Wherever You Are

Even if one day you can’t make to the gym, you still have options. Do workout videos in your family room, core work on the floor of your room, or simply go for a walk outside. If you spend a day holiday shopping, park your car far away from the door to get a further walk in. Or if you are in a mall all day, take the stairs not the escalators. Simple physical activities such as these can make all the difference.

4.     Control Your Eating

With the holiday season coming up, many of us will face negative body image thoughts. During the holidays we tend to feel bad about how much we eat or feel less motivated to work out due to the cold weather. However, we cannot let this time of year get us down! Here are some little things you can do to stay healthy and happy throughout the most joyful time of the year.

Accept your body. There will always be something you wish you could change, but instead of focusing on the negatives, think about the things you do like about yourself. Take pride in your physique. Find things about your personality that you enjoy. The more positive you are, the better you will feel about your body and wellbeing. 

To gain confidence, exercise with some of your friends. Find a physical activity that is fun and works well with your schedule. Whether it be going to climb the rock wall at the KU Recreation Center, or swimming some laps with your friends, finding any way you can to exercise in a fun way will help you gain a more healthy mental attitude toward your body. With finals and tons of holiday food on the horizon, it is very important to exercise as frequently as you can throughout the week in order to keep a positive, healthy mindset.

With winter soon approaching, we all know what that means – illness season. From common colds to the flu, it is that time of year where everyone gets sick at some point. However, there are ways to prevent this, and here’s how:

1.     Wash your hands

We have all heard this one before, but it’s true – the best thing you can do to fight illness is to frequently wash your hands and have good hygiene. You never know what germs other people could be carrying that could possibly make you sick. Thus the best thing to do is to wash your hands as frequently as possible throughout your day. You can also keep a small hand sanitizer in your backpack to conveniently fight off germs.

2.     Sleep on sleep on sleep

Another common tip, but for college students is sometimes hard to do. When doctors, or even our parents, tell us to get some rest, we never really take them that  seriously, especiallywith finals fast approaching. We always tend to think school or friends come before sleep. However, getting a good night’s rest can make a world of a difference with our physical health. Lack of sleep suppresses your body’s natural abilities to fight off illness. Not only that, but getting more can rest energizes us keeping us active and healthy helping to ward off illness.

3.     Get your shots

When you go out, you don’t typically think about the amount of calories you are consuming with each drink you enjoy. However, it is something that you might want be aware of. Did you know that each shot you take or each beer you drink is close to, if not more than, a 100 calories? Not to mention the possible mixed drinks and/or the different kinds of beer you might consume all in one night. Here are less calorie concentrated alcoholic beverage options, as well as the types of drinks you should stay away from.

Fewer calorie mixed drinks Drinks such as vodka water, a vodka tonic, or vodka/rum with a diet soda are going to be your best choice for mixed drinks. When it comes to vodka or rum with soda, make sure it is diet instead of regular. A mixed drink of vodka and regular Coke can top as much as 300 calories in just one drink. In comparison, one mixed drink of Bacardi with Diet Coke only has 66 calories.

Stay away from vodka with energy drinks Even if you drink vodka with the sugar free energy drinks, the amount of calories is still higher than you may think . In just one vodka with Red Bull you consume 366 calories, in addition to the high amounts of sugar. Even if you drink a vodka with sugar free Red Bull, you still consume 268 calories. 

Do not use soda as a chaser When you chase any shot with soda, you are consuming a lot of empty calories. The best option is some sort of 100% real fruit juice. At least you will consume some vitamins and antioxidants instead of completely empty calories. If you must use soda as a chaser, try to have at least have diet soda or lemon-lime soda to keep the calories in check.