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Lose the Freshman 15: Getting exercise and saving babies

I usually don’t look forward to my alarm waking me up at 6:30 a.m., especially on a Saturday. 

But today was different. I was excited and ready to get out of bed because I was going to walk for a good cause. This morning I walked 8.6 miles for babies in the March of Dimes, which supports research for premature babies and promotes full-term pregnancies. 

Not only did I feel good about walking for the babies, but I also felt good about myself physically. 

I didn’t run the 8.6 miles because I wanted to be able to interact with the premature survivors and the families. However, I made a point to power walk so I would still get a cardio workout. 

Although I was burning calories, there were still many diet obstacles throughout my walk. Scattered among the walk were sponsor stations with free food. And trust me, it was by no means healthy. I was tempted by ice cream, chips and chocolate. However, I also had healthy options, including smoothies, apples and bananas. But when you put the two options next to each other, it’s hard to say no to ice cream and chocolate. 

I’m happy to say I controlled myself. Yes, I had a couple bite-size Snickers bars, but I said no to the ice cream and sampled a smoothie. And after the long walk, I treated myself to burrito from Moe’s Southwest Grill. 

No, it wasn’t my healthiest day, but it could have been much worse. And that’s good enough for me. 

I am a junior journalism student at the University of Florida. I am very passionate about health and fitness and hope to be a health writer or editor one day. Currently, I intern for Giggle, which is a family and parenting magazine that serves the Gainesville community. Outside of journalism I enjoy running, playing and coaching soccer, and socializing with my friends.