Getting Fit at Pitt

I recently stumbled upon a study done in early March, 2008 that ranks Pittsburgh 4th in the nation’s least “heart-friendly” cities for women.

The study was conducted by Sperling’s Best Places for the American Heart Association ranked the  10 most friendly as well as the  10 least friendly U.S. cities for women. It looked at 22 factors including smoking, cardiac mortality, regular exercise among women, and obesity.

I realize that this captures the “big picture,” so-to-speak, focusing on women as a group rather than the individual, but each and every one of us, women, living in Pittsburgh are contributing to this shocking discovery. We are so quick to blame other factors, like the weather, the topography, proximity to a gym, or whatever the excuse may be, that we forget: we are in charge of our bodies and more often than not, we are in charge of where we live.

For more information on the article:

http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/stories/2008/05/19/daily3.html?q=pittsburgh%20obesity

I came across this article while I was searching for some more resources to add on my site, and I have a bone to pick with it. The author makes the bold claim that the cafeterias on campus are the reason why we are gaining weight in college. It is statements like these that give my blog and my issue a purpose. Yes, cafeterias offer All-You-Can-Eat Buffets, a dessert stand that always looks oh-so-tempting, and portion sizes that make the whopper look like an appetizer, but the point I’m trying to make in picking this topic is IT IS UP TO YOU TO MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE. Show some constraint, go for the healthier choice. Cafeterias offer such a wide variety of foods because no one on a college campus has exactly the same taste, and this is the best way to cater to everyone’s needs. It’s upsets me to see that so many people, like this author, look everywhere else to place the blame, but look no further than yourself. If you choose the right path, you will lose the weight.

To check out the article:

http://www.sideroad.com/College_and_University/college-weight-gain-weight.html

For most of the semester, my focus has been primarily on the health habits at Pitt. But lately, with the newsletter assignment, I’ve had to narrow my focus and I chose to work with the Freshman 15. I’m overwhelmed at how much information and real life stories I have come across, thinking that the “Freshman 15″ has almost been a fable of sorts and I thought I would share one with you.

This story seems to be the most common, but there are a few I have found where people have gained up to fort-five pounds during their college years total and 20 of them were in their freshman year. He remains anonymous:

“All my life I was the skinny guy in the family. Everyone wanted my metabolism and my appetite.

Jr. year of high school I gained a little but not much weight, but nothing to write home about.

When I entered college I was about 135 and 6 ft 1 ish so pretty skinny. I pretty much let myself go during the fall semester, drinking occasionally and eating whatever I felt like. I gained about 10 lbs by thanksgiving. Another 5 by christmas, and another 10 by spring. It was incredibly embarrassing going home and having your family notice the weight gain. I had gained a belly and I had to suck in to try to hide it.

I’m now into my sophmore year and I’ve already gained another 5 pounds. Being incredibly busy its hard to keep track of what I’m eating. I’m now 165 pounds and if I don’t make a change, i’m probably gonna keep gaining. Hopefully i’ll learn my lesson.”

 Last night, for the first time ever, I watched The Biggest Loser and was appalled to say the least. Coinciding with last week’s post, I feel this show is just another way for the economy to profit on our nation’s problems and our nation’s crisis.

For those who have never seen the show, the contestants featured are of a certain age, and are most importantly of a certain weight. They are divided into teams that ultimately challenege each other as well as themselves in the hopes of losing the most and reaching their “goal weight,” hence the name “The Biggest Loser.” On the surface, this show appears to be like every other reality TV show that exploits the lives of everyday people, but underneath, lies nothing more than the constant manipulation and exposure of real people facing a real problem in America’s society today.

I know I appear skeptical about the situation, and I’m not one to deny the real, visible results and lifestyle changes that occur on the show, nor do I deny the efforts made to help people change and better their health, but I just find it hard to see past Television Networks’ ability to turn someone’s insecurities with something so personal into a primetime reality series. I feel like, much like last week’s post, viewers are actively participating, promoting, and consuming the economy’s effort to stay afloat and ultimately reach its “goal weight.”

While it is difficult to determine who the biggest winner is in this particular situation, seeing as how both the contestants and the viewers benefit in some ways, it is even more difficult to determine who the biggest loser is: Is it the contestants who drop the pounds and lose the weight? Or is it the viewers who lose their time and their sensibility by fueling the benefit of the economy?

“I am fat. Sixty pounds too hefty, in my doctor’s opinion. Probably 80 pounds, in my fiancee’s view.

Being fat makes me a lot of things — a top contender for type II diabetes, for instance, or a heart attack, or stroke, maybe even a replacement knee or hip. My girth also puts me in familiar company, with about two-thirds of the U.S. population now considered overweight.

But in many ways, my being fat also makes me pretty good for the economy.

You’ve read the headlines: America’s problem with bulging waistlines has reached pandemic proportions, according to federal health officials, who warn that obesity is becoming society’s No. 1 killer. But as doctors wrestle with the problem, economists have been pondering which corporations and industries benefit, and the role that changes in the overall economy have played in making us fat to begin with.”

This is just the introduction to a rather startling article on our national crisis and how it is fueling not only our hunger, but our economy. This disturbing, yet eye-opening article was written by Michael S. Rosenwald of the Washington Post and published in 2006. Rosenwald goes on to discuss how living in the American fast food industry has benefited and created our fast-paced American lifestyles. Businesses and Corporations have created changes in food technology, labor, and women’s role in the workforce, allowing them “to cheaply and efficiently meet the demands of our busy lives.”

I thought his article was really insightful, and it also brings to the table an interesting counterpoint to my entire issue. If you would like to read the rest of the article, and I suggest that you do please visit the site http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/21/AR2006012100180.html.

Are you currently a fitness skeptic who finds working out to be dull and lackluster? I know the feeling….or at least I did until I was introduced to ZUMBA. Zumba fuses hypnotic latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a fun, dynamic workout that will make you sweat. I began attending this class at my gym thinking it would be fun and relaxing; fun it most definitely was, but relaxing…far from it. This class is a high calorie-burning, heart-racing, muscle-pumping fusion of dance moves that engaged and challenged me every time. Not to mention the fact that I have never seen actual results from taking an aerobics class…EVER, until this class.
If you think you won’t move, think again.

If you think you won’t sweat, think again.

If you think you won’t dance, think again!

This class is for people of all ages and surprisingly…genders. The guys who take this class absolutely love it and get really into it. While they have become light on their feet, they admit to becoming tired on their feet after an hour of this class.

I really think this would be something interesting and appealing to college students because it’s something unconventional and definitely a workout where you don’t really think you’re working out because you’re too busy having fun.

For more information and locations near the University of Pittsburgh…or anywhere please visit the Zumba website in my blogroll!

I strolled into Club One fitness center a little earlier than usual on Monday afternoon, and I stumbled upon two of my friends working out next to each other. Since part of my job requires me to network and make myself available to anyone and everyone that needs help at the gym, I walked up to them on their ellipticals and joined in on the conversation. It turns out they were talking about two things which “go together like a horse and carriage”: girls and competition.

I joined the discussion at a critical point, literally. My two friends, who have an age gap of about 10 years between each other, were talking about the array of women they come in contact with at the gym. They were sizing them up much like men do, critiquing their outfits, their workouts, and their overall appearance. While I did actively participate in listening in and laughing, I really had nothing to say in particular about the women. However, after they left I started thinking about and noticing more the way we women “size” each other up.

And it got me thinking about all women’s insecurities and how we appear to others, especially, other girls, and concluded that going to the gym and working out can bring out the worst in us women, and men too. I know I get competitive when the 40-something year old woman running next to me on the treadmill is rounding out her 7th mile and going strong while I’m huffing and puffing as I arrive at my 4^th.  And I especially know how intimidating it can be working out at the Pete, with all of the machines lined up right next to each other, and all of those people, mostly around our age, working harder, running faster, and sometimes looking better than we do….you almost have to ask yourself: is it worth it?

I have to answer yes to that question, because regardless of the way we feel before we get on the machine, I can guarantee you that you’ll feel better when you get off the machine. Although I feel that when it comes to girls and competition, especially at the gym, “this I tell you brother, you can’t have one without the other.” So, the next time you’re scanning the room, sizing up the people, prowling for your machine, forget being critical and get physical!

Being the health conscious freak that I have become, meeting my friends for lunch or dinner at one of the on-campus dining halls makes me a little uneasy to say the least. Everytime I walk in the union or the cathedral cafe I feel as if I’m the next contestant on “Temptation Island.” Things catch my eye immediately, like the huge basket of bagels in the union, and things also catch my nose, like the chicken strips and sandwiches at the Chik-Filet station in the basment of the cathedral. However, all I end up settling on, more often than not, is a salad, or a veggies with hummus bowl. Tell me I don’t know how to walk on the wild side.

Of course I treat myself, from time to time, to those mouth watering waffle fries, and often times I don’t even share them with my friends, but the key is…. all in moderation. As college students, we are granted a lot of freedoms; freedoms we take advantage of too often and they end up taking a toll on our health. Case and Point: exercise and health. If we think of diet and exercise on either side of a balance scale, in order to maintain some sort of equilibrium, we need to create stability. So, for instance, if I polish off two orders of Chik-Filet waffle fries (been done before), I need to exercise if I want to avoid seeing the ramifications of not working out.

So, try to harness your health “chi,” but remember: it’s okay to take an occasional walk on the wild side

             A recent study done by myself, while walking to class, has allowed me to conclude that 9 out of 10 students were not only shuffling to their next class, but shuffling the songs on their iPods. This technological obsession seems to especially affect our generation, XL (as in extra large), and I will admit that I have fallen victim to it, seeing as how even while I’m writing this, I am listening to the music on my computer, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch if we’re being completely honest, but they’re arguably one of the greatest boy bands of all time so I’m not embarrassed.

            But that’s neither here nor there. Because even though the iPods have taken the place of everyday human communication and decency in the streets, they act as a motivator for exercise enthusiasts in our nation and on our campus. As I was walking past the Pete the other day, I had one of those “Edward Scissorhands” moments, where every house and yard looks like the same in the neighborhood when I saw every person on the treadmill running at what appeared to be the same speed, with white wires descending from their ears. And it’s at that moment that I almost forgot the role music has played in our lives and the kind of impact it has on our generation. Music today, as well as years ago, has the ability to influence us, whether it’s a political song or, in this case, a song that motivates you to get off the couch and move. I know when I hear certain songs on my device I am ready to hit the treadmill and just go.

            So, in the hopes of spreading some “Good Vibrations,” I would like to compile a list of songs that will motivate kids, students, and/or anyone to go that extra mile on the treadmill; i.e. I need your help, so post some jams for me!

          About two weeks ago, after partaking in some of the usual college life festivities, I decided to take a trip to the gym to work out and clear my head of the weekend. While cooling down from my run on the treadmill I struck up a conversation with a girl on the treadmill right next to me. After getting over the initial awkwardness of the situation, I explained to her my interest in health habits on campus and began asking her how often she worked out, how important exercise was to her, her reasons for doing so, and other extremely uncomfortable questions of the sort. She explained to me that her workout regimen is completely dependent on her social schedule, i.e. how much she drinks and how much she eats when she drinks and the occasional stressed-out days where she consumes more than her usual diet. She went on to say that she calculates the number of calories she takes in a night and makes sure to burn them off the next day at the gym, also adding in the importance of overestimation when counting calories.

            I’ll admit that I was caught off guard at first by her willingness to be completely honest with me, but then I realized: she probably thought I was there doing the same exact things she was doing on her treadmill. Now, I’ll admit that I have fallen victim to going to the gym on certain days where I feel like I’ve consumed two pints of “Half-Baked” Ben&Jerry’s (true story), but up until my conversation with this girl, I hadn’t really thought too much into the idea of counting calories and working out until I know I’ve burned them off. And after having spoken with her, it’s all I can think about when I’m on that treadmill running: am I running for the sake of being healthy or am I running because I just downed half of my pumpkin loaf birthday cake (also a true story)? And then I realize…I’m no mathematician.