Adolescents in America fight a battle of extremes: the obesity epidemic continues to rise, yet girls are faced with airbrushed and photoshopped girls from all angles, along with a steady influx of pressure from the media to exemplify the “ideal body.” Today for many girls, this means starving in a world where a cup of pasta becomes equated with failure. Social blog sites- Tumblr’s infamous “thinspo” blogs, for instance, perpetuate these unhealthy perceptions by promoting images of underweight or starving girls and posting their goals of starving throughout the day. Many of these blogs advertise themselves as “pro-ana” or “pro-mia,” or supporting anorexic and bulimic lifestyles. Surrounded with so few healthy alternatives, it is easy to feel lost and helpless about something that should be entirely in your control.
The first step to resolution is balance. The most important aspect of leading a healthy lifestyle is earning how to take care of yourself in the most basic ways possible. There are simple steps that can keep you looking and feeling healthy and whole.
• Get sleep: this is the easiest and most straightforward. The average teenager needs at least eight hours of sleep a night; those who get more sleep lose weight more than those who don’t. Looking at this logically, if you are sleeping, there is no way you are eating. The average person burns over 400 calories for every eight hours of sleep a night.
• Calorie counters: there are multiple apps and online resources available for tracking food and exercise intake. Keep a calorie budget and stick to it. This prevents you from eating either too much or too little. When you know your limits, you will have a lesser chance of going too far in either extreme.
• Be mindful of M & Cs: late at night, when your metabolism drops, the extra cookie or brownie can house the extra calories which you are looking to remove.
• Take fruit from the dining halls: it’s free, encouraged, and the Snickers and Pop-Tarts in the vending machines around campus will seem much less tempting.
• Do your research: the Mount Holyoke website not only keeps the menus for all dining halls, but posts the calorie counts for all food items! Utilise the nutrition facts on the website to help keep track of how you are eating throughout the day.
• Take the stairs: you don’t need to be on the elliptical three hours every day to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Legs are made for walking; you don’t need the elevator to get to the top floor of Kendall every day. You will feel better both physically and emotionally, knowing that you are helping to save the environment.
• Be mindful of portions: it’s easy to see the buffet-style dining at most halls and pile your plate with a mountain of food. Keep an eye on how much you’re eating. Half your plate should be full of vegetables; the other with servings – not mountains- of protein and carbohydrates.
• Kendall: the most obvious change of all can sometimes be the hardest to start. A seven-minute walk from the centre of campus, the prospect of going to the gym can be daunting. Once you get there, it’s easy to hop on a treadmill or bicycle for an hour. Exercising in the mornings can help you get energised for the day- also, your body’s metabolism is higher in the morning, so you will burn more calories.
• Use the salad bars: at Mount Holyoke, the salad bars are plentiful and high quality. Supplement your meal with lots of greens! You will be fuller by the time you start your entrée and won’t feel the need to pile your plate high with sneakily caloric foods.
With these ideas in mind, you should be able to step away from stress and begin a journey towards a more sane and healthy lifestyle.