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Don’t forget your skis and skates!
The annual Ski UND/Late Night Skate event is approaching fast, beginning in the New Year
Every year the University of North Dakota holds the Ski UND/Late Night Skate program for students, faculty, and staff throughout the campus. The two events are approaching fast, beginning mid-January.
Ski UND kicks off with the “Ski with the Kelley’s” event on January 14 and will go every weekend until March 9 or when the snow melts. Late Night Skate will start January 13 and will go every weekend until the ice melts. There will also be an outdoor hockey tournament taking place on January 20-21. Anyone can sign up for the tournament, but there will be a maximum of 16 teams, each competing 4 v 4 on the ice.
Most importantly, don’t forget your gear! This is a good time to remind everyone going home for the holidays to bring their skis and skates back to UND before the spring semester begins again in early January.
Ski UND and Late Night Skate are sponsored by UND Student Government, Wellness Center, UND Alumni Association, SWAC, Ski & Bike Shop, UND Facilities, Night Life @ UND, Grand Forks Park District, and Hockey World.
Be REAL.
To weigh or not to weigh… that is the question.
Studies show that weighing yourself will likely produce better results in not only losing weight, but keeping it off; in my opinion experience, it’s a fine line.
The more I write these blogs, the more I want to divulge every in and out of my weight loss journey. There are so many layers. And I want to share each one. Sometimes for the simple fact that I feel it may help you. Sometimes because I sincerely hope you never make the same mistakes that I have.
This is one of those “honest-to-goodness” blogs that make me own up to one of my many stumbles.
As my weight loss progressed, people said things like: “I can’t even imagine you being that big.” or “You are such an inspiration.” or “I want to be just like you.”
Zoiks. That’s A LOT of pressure, people!
I guess it’s also good accountability, though.
Anyway, I’ve written a bit about how we measure “success.” It’s important that you don’t get SO wrapped up and reliant on the scale and the numbers pop up after those few seconds that take forever. Yes, it is important that you aim for a certain weight (aka your BMI), but it’s also important that you are building/maintaining muscle, drinking enough fluids, and not becoming so driven by the numbers that you become irrational (aka stop taking care of yourself).
In college, I bought a scale to “keep me in check.” It kept me a lot more than just “in check;” because of that dang scale, I was a slave to time, clothing, eating, and working out.
Please, dear friend:
Do your best to be at peace with the scale.
First things first. Remember that it took you some time to get to your current weight. And getting angry and depressed will not make change the number. Use it as motivation- healthy motivation– to keep trying rather than a torture device.
At one point in college… (gulp, here comes the raw honesty)… I was weighing myself 3 times a day at least, wearing the exact same outfit (I had to change a lot), having eaten the same thing, after exercising nearly the same amount.
I was a robot. I was trapped. It was awful.
Sometimes I would beat myself up for fluctuating- even 0.2 pounds. Let’s put this into perspective using a fewinteresting points: If you drank one liter of pop it would add about 0.10 pound if you didn’t burn it off. It would add over 2 pounds with just the “liquid weight.” After using a bathroom, you might to down 1-1.5 pounds.
So let’s be real here. Big picture.
Concentrate on eating right and exercising, and staying within your healthy caloric range. If weighing yourself is a “must” to keep you on track, do it only one time a day, in the morning after using the bathroom and without clothes on. Remember that slight fluctuations are no need for panic. Just so the numbers keep generally and gradually heading a downward direction. I guarantee that freaking out isn’t going to change the scale.
And we all know that it’s important to include weight resistance in your workout routine, right? So important that you implement it, yes? True, building muscle may slow/halt the scale temporarily, but in the long run you are better off, as your body will burn more calories and operate more efficiently. (And your new found strength will make you feel more like a rockstar/superhero.)
No matter where you are in your weight loss/healthy living journey, consider each day a gift. You have the chance to start over or begin again today. You have the chance to overcome the negativity in your life that brings you down. Not only chances, but strength.
Believe in yourself and make it happen… one healthy step at a time.
And know that I’m with you… every step of the way!
Don’t forget your skis and skates!
The annual Ski UND/Late Night Skate event is approaching fast, beginning in the New Year
Every year the University of North Dakota holds the Ski UND/Late Night Skate program for students, faculty, and staff throughout the campus. The two events are approaching fast, beginning mid-January.
Ski UND kicks off with the “Ski with the Kelley’s” event on January 14 and will go every weekend until March 9 or when the snow melts. Late Night Skate will start January 13 and will go every weekend until the ice melts. There will also be an outdoor hockey tournament taking place on January 20-21. Anyone can sign up for the tournament, but there will be a maximum of 16 teams, each competing 4 v 4 on the ice.
Most importantly, don’t forget your gear! This is a good time to remind everyone going home for the holidays to bring their skis and skates back to UND before the spring semester begins again in early January.
Ski UND and Late Night Skate are sponsored by UND Student Government, Wellness Center, UND Alumni Association, SWAC, Ski & Bike Shop, UND Facilities, Night Life @ UND, Grand Forks Park District, and Hockey World.
It’s your TURN! Get ready to play Pursuit of Wellness!
Pursuit of Wellness is coming to the UND Campus for the Spring 2012 Semester. Students that play Pursuit of Wellness will have an opportunity to win a variety of prizes including a Grand Prize (TBA).
What is Pursuit of Wellness?
Pursuit of Wellness is a 7-week game designed for all UND students to learn firsthand the correlation between wellness and academic success. Students will be encouraged to participate in a variety of existing campus activities, all of which connect to at least one of the 7 Dimensions. The official game play starts on January 16th. The first task that students will need to do is complete a game entry survey. Students can continue to play the game at their own pace by picking what days and what activities they want to participate in.
Incentives will be placed throughout the game for encouraged participation among UND students. At each activity, students will receive a Wristband of Wellness, referred to as a WOW, indicating that they fulfilled one of their 7 Dimensions (e.g. Red WOW = Physical; Yellow WOW= Intellectual; Green WOW = Environmental; Indigo WOW = Social; Purple WOW = Spiritual; Blue WOW = Occupational; Orange WOW = Emotional). There will be several chances to earn a WOW from each of the 7 Dimensions, featuring an activity from a different dimension every day, of each week. Students that complete the game entry and game completion surveys will be entered into drawings for a variety of prizes.
Students that Collect all 7 WOW’s during the 7 week game can play the Ultimate Pursuit of Wellness and be entered into the Grand Prize drawing. Winners will be announced at the Wellness Expo at the UND Student Wellness Center on March 7-8.
If you would like to add an activity to the Game Board, visit the Pursuit of Wellness webpage (http://und.edu/health-wellness/pursuit/) and fill out the submit your activity form.
UND Students – are you ready to play Pursuit of Wellness???
Brick Wall Reminders
Finals are just around the corner, and even though I’ve graduated from college already, I still have nightmares of the last push to Christmas break occasionally.
The truth is, no matter what stage of life we find ourselves in, it’s important to remember that we have limits, and we must act accordingly.
Remember when I told you that I recently moved back for a new job and new adventure? I still love being back in Grand Forks. And I still love what I get to do at my job every day… but I recently learned that there are moments when I might fall off Cloud 9.
For the most part, my job keeps me very, very busy. And because I love what I do, I think about it… almost all of the time. And because I’m a very “do it now and get it done” kind of person, I catch myself even sending emails in my sleep. The truth is, it doesn’t bother me… or so I thought.
Ever since my accident, I’ve started a downhill-spiral-caught-in-a-snowball-toward-a-tree kind of thing. It wasn’t necessarily that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad things kept happening to me, I was just extra sensitive to the every day things that just sort of “happen.” Because I was busy reacting, my head was in a fog, and I started to just numbly coast toward Thanksgiving.
I was working out last Monday. A meeting went later than expected, so I missed a class I wanted to attend (another layer on the snowball). I decided to do some running/walking around the track… and the running part felt so good: I was FREE! Eventually I finished and started stretching. When I stopped, my racing mind caught up with me, and… so did the tears. Luckily I was sweating enough that the tears weren’t too noticeable (at least in my own mind). But as soon as I went outside into the fresh air it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I’m not sure what “it” was, but it made breathing difficult. So I did what every daughter in distress does: call home. I talked to my dad about the Sing-Off, the weather, the upcoming vacation, and just about anything else that he could think of to distract me. Eventually that suffocating feeling passed, but sleep was the furthest thing from my mind.
I made it to the long weekend, and “home.” I slept 2-3 times longer than I had in weeks, turned off my phone, and laughed with loved ones. I ate good food (but not until I was sick), made sure I snuck in physical activity at least once a day, helped Christmas puke all over our house come alive through decorations, and enjoyed the simplicity of life for a few days.
As I was driving back at the end of the long weekend, I started to think about what led me to those tears while I was stretching. The truth is, I was trying to do too much. The lack of focus resulted from trying to think of too many things. I was so busy trying to be one step ahead I was tripping over the imaginary hurdles right in front of me. I hit my brick wall of reality.
WORKINGSPIRIT wrote about the importance of slowing down a few weeks ago, and I just have to say “ditto.” After a few days of slowing down, I feel refreshed and ready for the week ahead- finally.
As you approach the finish line- whether it’s in the form of tests, papers, projects, meetings, tasks, or anything else that is in front of you, make sure that you take care of yourself and pay attention to what you need. Set aside one hour to hit the Wellness Center for some activity; it will leave you feeling refreshed, happier, less stressed, and and sleeping better. Even though you’re surrounded by some pretty amazing(ly rich) foods, enjoy them in moderation; healthier choices give you energy, make you feel better about yourself, and sleep better too. Sleep enough– 7 to 8 hours at least every night- that means you may have to make a schedule and stick to it. Being tired won’t help your thought process. Know that it’s OK to talk to someone if you need too (being honest with loved ones helps me tremendously).
Although You are pretty darn amazing, it’s good to know your limits and respect yourself by respecting those boundaries.
Best of luck as you enter the week (and the challenges) ahead!
For this, I am Thankful.
I have started making more of an effort to stop each morning and give my day to God, asking for help in living a life of love for others (actions, words, and thoughts). I also take a second or two to give thanks for something (or many things) as I wake up each day. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I challenge you to try to do the same.
There’s something about that silent stillness before the chaos of the day that is so peaceful, so beautiful, and so necessary to start the day off right. When you spend a few minutes thinking about the good things in your life, it’s hard to look at the day with anything other than gratitude and happiness.
I admit that there are days when it’s hard to feel thankful for anything- the times when you’ve gotten little-to-no sleep, when your alarm didn’t go off and left you late for everything, when you look out the window and see a ton of snow or pouring rain (or just cloudy skies), when you ended up getting into a fight with someone you care about, when you get news you didn’t want, when a week of hard work at the gym and healthy food choices don’t give you the results you want, setbacks, death, accidents, etc etc, etc… Things happen. That’s life.
Enter: resiliency. We all face challenges, but we get to decide how to react to what is happening. You can either complain about going to the gym or be thankful that you can physically do so. You can either be upset that “healthy food is expensive,” or learn to budget and be resourceful because your health is important to you. (By the way, it’s just as affordable to eat healthy. Trust me. I know.) You can be overcome by disappointment if you don’t get a certain job or promotion that you were hoping for, or you can appreciate your current situation and look forward to better things coming your way. It’s all about your outlook.
A funny thing happens when you look at life with gratitude instead of entitlement… the skies seem a little brighter, the challenges seem a little less daunting, and life is more of blessing and less of a curse.
Give thanks for something today. And if your day is especially challenging for some reason, write out a list of the good things in your life. Then think about those things and see how your day transforms.
Are you ready?
This question keeps ringing in my head tonight…
Think about when you might hear this question. Before getting a shot, taking a test, competing in a big event… and pretty much most other things that make me feel like I’m going to throw up from nervousness come to mind for me.
And, according to the Little Doubter, or for the sake of having some fun in this blog I’ll call her Little D, inside of me the answer is always “NO!”
Could you imagine how your life would be if you actually listened?
Today alone, Little D would’ve kept me from:
- getting out of bed
- driving in busy traffic (remember my accident?)
- making a phone call
- going to a class at the Wellness Center
- finishing a class at the Wellness Center
- I would probably be well over 400 pounds
- I wouldn’t be able to say I have been white water rafting, climbed the side of a mountain, or traveled to fun and interesting places
- going to college and making it through? HA.
- there’s no way I’d love my job SO much.
- my list of friends would be alarmingly small
- life would be… DULL.
“One does not discover new continents without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time.” ~Andre Gide
Oh… Monday.
Let me tell you about my Monday.
Well, let’s start with Sunday night. I decided that I was going to wake up and make one positive change: eat breakfast. Now, even though I’m a Registered Dietitian, I willingly admit that I’m NOT a breakfast eater unless it’s a Diet Coke and a mushy apple.
Even though I didn’t feel very hungry, I made sure to leave my apartment with a turkey sandwich with ketchup (yup… ketchup). Not long after, my patience and willpower were tested at a consistent rate. It all started when I got to work and realized that a piece of my computer equipment disappeared during a recent remodel. Then a website would not work that I needed (yay deadlines!). I decided to work on the website in a new location with a fresh mind and a different server, and ended up getting my first EVER parking ticket. Oh, and then I went to a lunch meeting and had computer issues. By that time, I needed a kickboxing class or a bag of cookies. I was on the verge of:
A)Crawling in a hole and crying.
B)Eating every last piece of pie on the dessert table. (Did I mention that one of the people in this organization knew me and decided to continuously lead me over to the pie table to “help me out?”)
During the meeting we sang the “Smile Song,” which may be my life’s soundtrack, and I decided that from then on out my day would improve.
- The presentation went really well.
- I didn’t eat all of the pie. (Wahoo!)
- I figured out how to get the ticket revoked.
- People smiled at me. And made me laugh.
getBALANCED.me 