Healthy students

By Adriana Hunstad

Students start each semester motivated to exercise and stay healthy. However, as workloads intensify, maintaining this mind set may be difficult. Late nights studying in the library can result in countless trips to the vending machine and less time to keep fit.

Common excuses include not having the time or motivation to exercise, but the road to good health can start with changing what you eat.

"I suggest that every time students sit to have a meal, they should have all the food groups represented: carbohydrates, protein and a good source of fat," said Canadian Sports Centre Calgary and Olympic Oval strength consultant Matt Jordan. "Whole grains and vegetables are a good source of carbs."

Jordan suggested students can eat balanced meals on campus, available through Food Services operations.

"Some places that are good are Baron’s Court, where a tuna sandwich on whole wheat bread is a good choice," he said. "Pastel’s also has good choices, like wraps. Obvious to avoid are the high fat foods and any meals that are one dimensional, like rice."

Jordan said the two big ways of staying healthy are by exercising and getting good nutrition. The best way to exercise is to find something enjoyable and to participate in it regularly. In addition, having a workout partner and learning time management skills makes things easier when it comes to exercising.

Third-year History major Jeff Wang also tries to maintain his health with exercise and good eating habits. He enjoys carbohydrate and protein-rich foods but has difficulty finding healthy choices in MacEwan Students’ Centre.

"To be honest, there is not a place you can find healthy food in the food court," he said. "It’s all burgers, ice cream, coffee and really expensive sandwiches. It’s not a good diet for athletes. It’s not very good if you want to eat healthy everyday, just if you want to have something."

Campus Recreation offers numerous activities for students to maintain their health and facility use is covered in the Campus Recreation fee.The Fitness and Lifestyle Centre is a good place to lift weights, use cardio machines or sign up for fitness classes. It also offers nutritional assessments and personal training.

The Olympic Oval is the place to go running or skating. For aquatic athletes, the swimming pool offers public usage times. The Racquet Centre is great to play squash or racquet ball, and the Climbing Centre is nice to practice rock climbing.