The freshman fifteen can sneak up quickly with the irresistible hot cookie bar and French fries in the dining halls. And it’s not just freshman. Being healthy is an undertaking at any age. We collegiettes™ think skipping a meal or simply running on the treadmill might help keep off that extra college weight. Sometimes that isn’t enough. Ladies, look no further. The Searle Health Center at Northwestern University offers free nutrition consultations for students.
I made an appointment with registered nutritionist, Theresa Laurenz. Laurenz received a Masters degree in human nutrition and her experience includes working as a personal trainer. She said she received great feedback from student clients in her group presentations and free one-on-one consultations.
“Most of the time people know what food is the healthiest for them, “Laurenz said. “So they don’t need to count calories. That is a waste of time.”
Laurenz developed a quick, easy technique for her clients to control their portions, using just the palm of their hand. Her technique is adapted from diabetic “exchanges”, which is used to help diabetics control how many carbohydrates they take in.
Laurenz showed me the technique to control portions using my hand. For instance, she said to think of a serving of vegetables as one handful. For carbohydrates, one serving amounts to your fist. One serving of protein should be the size of your palm. And one serving of fruit is the size of a baseball. Laurenz said if I stick to my hand as a visual aid, I could control my portions.
Laurenz considered many aspects of my daily life: current weight, resting metabolic rate, how often I exercise, where I am eating, who I am eating with, how often I eat and how much I sleep.
“At college, food is often an emotional and social outlet,” Laurenz said. “The college age is when you develop your life-long eating habits, so it’s important to make healthy choices now.”
Laurenz then gave me a daily meal guide. It included room for healthy snacks, like yogurt or string cheese. In a given day, I should stick to 6 portions of carbs, 5 portions of vegetables, 2 portions of fruit and 3 portions of dairy.
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Realistically, no one can discipline themselves to eat right all the time. Laurenz knows that. I told her that I have a sweet tooth. Her meal plan didn’t restrict me from all dessert. In fact, she said that cookies and candy count as one portion of carbs. She also said if I knew I would be going out to dinner or a party where I would potentially eat more portions, I could cut back the day before.
Likewise, if I planned to lose weight, Laurenz said I should cut back on two portions of carbs, one portion of protein and keep everything else the same.
Following my personalized plan, I have started to notice my poor eating habits. I consume far too many carbs! Every day in the dining halls they offer pizza, pasta, and cookies, all of which I am happy to eat. I also realized that I need to eat more vegetables. While cooked veggies may not be my favorite food, I know I can always rely on the salad bar to satisfy my daily amount. I use Laurenz’s hand model to manage my portions, and it works! Having a better sense of how much I should be eating, I don’t feel like I’m endlessly eating junk. I know I’m eating the best that I can.
Get more info at http://www.nucuisine.com/nutrition/consultation.html