Hope Kumor

While most of us grab fast food before heading to a class to avoid the ever embarrassing stomach growl in a quiet lecture setting, we don’t stop to think whether our meal is doing any good for our bodies. But how are we expected to decipher the healthy from the unhealthy options when we have so many other school related woes on our plates?

To solve all this good vs. bad food ordeal, I spoke with Julie Rhule, a Registered Dietitian on campus and asked her what her best recommendations for healthy food options are.

“Fruits and vegetables are not only a great source of vitamins and minerals, but fiber as well. Whole grains are a great source of fiber and carbohydrate, lean protein such as beans, chicken, turkey and fish maintain muscle in our body, healthy fats omega-3s and water for proper hydration,” Rhule says.

We all like to believe that we eat healthy by devouring an apple from time to time. But that whole “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” thing might just be true if we apply it to all types of healthy options – veggies included.

Unsure of what foods to avoid or, at the very least, keep in moderation? Rhule gives us some simple dietary no-nos.

“Sugar, fried foods, bad fats, soda, red meat in excess, fast foods, foods containing a lot of preservatives and highly processed [are bad for you]. Sometimes for certain individual’s, dairy can fall in this mix,” Rhule says.

Every New Year's you hear that D-word coming out of everyone's mouth. They try to commit to it, but somehow, it falls short. You know, diet? Noelia Blanco, Social work major would know, after all, she’s tried it. And, this year, dieting is one of her resolutions.

“I do want to get toned and cut back on sweets,” Blanco says.

For a while, her and her brother followed a diet book that supplied recipes, but gave up because they had to purchase the food.

“We had to cook certain foods.” Blanco says. “It was [just] more difficult to cook meals.”

Now-a-days, there are all types of fad diets such as the Jell-o diet which according to livestrong.com, dieters claim that you can lose up to 20 lbs. in 20 days by eating only Jell-O. I mean, that sounds like an ideal diet to me, only consuming this dessert, but where’s your protein and the fat that you need to make your body full? You need to eat some fat in order to burn it off!

.Instead of listening to that current list of quirky diets to lose those few stubborn pounds, try these tips on for size.

1. Drink more cold water. There are no calories in water and instead of choosing that lemonade, which is mostly made up of sugar, substitute it for water. Throughout the day, sip on cold water to fill yourself up.

2.When you go to Fresh Grocer, always check the food labels. Otherwise, you’ll have no idea how many calories are in that bag of chips you buy on a regular basis.

It was only a couple years ago, at the ripe age of 15, that chemistry major Cassandra Benner consumed her first green tea weight loss pill. But why?

“Whenever I looked in the mirror, I thought I looked disgusting,” Benner says.

Lets be honest, losing weight is no picnic. And while Benner’s had first-hand experience with this product, she declares that she didn’t notice anything different after a month of taking the pills.

“I kinda gave up.” Benner says. “I went back and forth [whether to buy another set].”

In the end, she decided not to. She realized it was a mistake.

“It was stupid and I regret it,” Benner says.

Now-a-days, more and more females and males are turning toward weight loss pills to quickly shed pounds. You’ve seen those commercials with the Kardashian gals and their “Quick Trim” to assist with weight loss, but March of this year the gorgeous duo was sued for allegedly making “false claims” about the benefits of the product. So why would you waste money purchasing this supplement just because a celebrity is pictured on the label?

“People are so desperate to lose weight that they’ll do anything,” Benner says.

“I love you.”

You hear those words all over campus uttered by couples who stand hand and hand gazing into each other’s eyes as they say goodbye before heading off to class. The couples spend all their free time together engaged in study or making out. You just know the two are in love by looking at them. There are dozens of songs written about it and focused on it.

It’s powerful, painful, exciting, absurd, and indescribable. You just have to feel it in order to truly understand. But, when it comes to being “in love” or simply just “love,” what is the difference?

“Being in love to me means you love this person more than anyone on the planet and you would do anything for this person you are in love with,” Sarah Bracken, Elementary Education major says. “Loving something just means having a strong passion for it.”

You can love anything from food, shopping, to working out. It’s easy to “love.” But, the feelings that stem from actually having love for another person is much stronger. Along with love comes commitment, dedication, patience, caringness and comprise, amongst others.

“We are usually more general when we speak of love, but pretty specific when it comes to being in love,” Rachel Thome, Psychology major says.

Love is defined by the little things another person does for you, such as opening doors, buying cute things that made him or her think of you or sending you a caring text asking how your day is going. When it comes to girls, we don’t need a lot, just your touch.