With the fall semester coming to a close, many students are anxious about going home to families who may have not seen them since the semester began.
The reality is that some of these students are not the same as they were four months ago. Many of them are a few pounds heavier, and with the holidays just around the corner, gaining even more weight may seem inevitable.
Facing the sudden weight gain, many students may resort to trend diets such as low carb, low fat and now the “Twinkie Diet.”
A recent article on CNN.com brought the Twinkie Diet into the spotlight, when a nutrition professor at Kansas State University lost 27 pounds on the diet in two months by eating junk food for two-thirds of his daily 1,800 calories. Mark Haub lost the weight by eating Doritos, Oreos and Little Debbie snacks every three hours instead of meals. The diet also consisted of vegetables, a multivitamin and a protein shake daily.
This diet might be appealing to college students simply because it is convenient, quick and delicious. However, Sheena Quizon, Assistant Director of Health at UA, pointed out that this diet was not the best way to lose weight. It has been the target of much criticism from health experts.
“You have to remember that this diet worked because Haub ate junk food instead of meals,” Quizon said. “Most people eat junk food in addition to meals.”
Quizon also pointed out that this diet was successful because Haub kept his metabolism up by eating every three hours.
Mary Payton Noah, a sophomore majoring in nursing, said that she has successfully maintained her weight throughout her college career using this strategy.
“I try not to eat three large meals during the day,” Noah said. “I eat small snacks all day instead.”
Quizon and her shadowers assist students who are facing issues with weight gain. Quizon’s student shadowers are in the Coordinated Program in Dietetics through the College of Human Environmental Sciences.
Claire King, a junior majoring in nutrition, said making exercise a part of your routine is a great place to start. King said that during times of stress, like finals week, exercise can make a huge difference in your well-being. King also suggested finding a way to make exercise fun, such as a workout class. Aerobics, Zumba and spin classes are a good place to start.
“Spin classes can burn up to between 600-800 calories,” Quizon’s student shadower Elizabeth Wilson said. Wilson is studying for her master’s degree in exercise physiology.
Wilson encouraged women not to be intimidated by weight training. She said that most women avoid weight training because they don’t know what to do, think it will make them bulky, or are embarrassed to lift weights in front of men.
“Just give them the death look,” Wilson said. “Let your look say ‘This is my bench, and I’m staying here.’”
Quizon said that one of the worst things to do is to skip meals. She explained that your body goes into starvation mode because it does not know when it will receive its next meal.
“Make health a priority,” Quizon said. “Breakfast is important because our body doesn’t get energy while we sleep. Breakfast is like our lighter fluid for the day.”
King said that there is always going to be a new trend diet, but anything in moderation is the key to weight loss.
“People enjoy eating during the holidays, so I think that it’s okay to eat those things you want but just in small portions,” she said. “You might as well reward yourself a little or you will binge later. Life’s no fun without good food.”
