For college students, summertime means beach, pool and swimwear season – and inevitably, staying-in-shape season.
Many students work hard during the spring semester to lose weight or reach their fitness goals by spring break or start of summer. However, maintaining that regime is often difficult as schedules change, access to fitness equipment may be limited, or students just don’t have the motivation once classes are out and they are free to relax.
Some students alter their diet if they feel their exercise regime is lacking. Meal replacement diets such as Slim Fast or the Special K diet are often popular among young, on-the-go students.
“For many people, Special K cereal, Slim Fast and Lean Cuisines provide a convenient way for people to get a quick meal and also be aware of how many calories they are consuming,” said Sheenan Quizon, assistant director of health education and prevention and Student Health Center dietitian. “Replacing one to two meals a day with these types of products can be safe, but I discourage my patients from solely relying on these products.”
According to Ralph Lane, health and nutrition professor at the University, meal replacements may work initially but can’t be maintained long term.
“These kinds of diets cannot be maintained for very long because they are monotonous, so the dieter returns to their regular eating habits, and the weight returns,” Lane said.
Currently, several diet pills and exercise supplements are targeted toward young people, as celebrities profess rapid weight loss or muscle gain. Both Lane and Quizon caution against the use of these pills or exercise stimulants.
“Diet products can wreak havoc on our metabolism by disrupting our electrolyte balance, GI function, and other body mechanisms in order to get our body to drop weight – usually water weight – that has been sacrificed from muscles and not actual fat tissues,” Quizon said. “Many of the products can also cause rapid heart rate, irritability, sleeplessness and other undesirable effects that can do long-term damage to our metabolism and make it more difficult in the long run to lose or manage weight.”
“There are no fad foods or pills that maintain weight loss and/or health for an extended period,” Lane said.
According to Lane, weight loss is a simple equation of burning more calories than you intake in a day. Exercise should be a part of any diet.
John Jackson, manager of fitness and research at University Recreation, said the goal of any workout program is to achieve the maximal results in the shortest amount of time.
“It all boils down to being as efficient as possible,” Jackson said. “An individual’s schedule and opportunities to work out will likely change many times throughout any given year. Be flexible and willing to change your workout plan based on the amount of time you realistically have to devote to it.”
Jackson recommends cardiovascular exercise three to five days per week for 20 to 60 minutes, strength training two to three days a week and flexibility training two to three days a week.
“Regardless of what you do, just understand that it is important to address all three of the fitness components outlined above,” he said.
For students that are careful to follow a strict diet, they need not worry that an ice cream at the beach or midnight sushi run will blow their diets, Quizon said.
“Part of maintaining a healthy diet is indulging every once in awhile but then getting back to their healthy habits at the next meal,” Quizon said. “Many people need to realize that our bodies result in weight gain or loss as a result of how we eat over the course of several days, not just one meal.”
