Setting Goals

We have all heard people go on and on about setting goals, heard the spiel about how without goals, we are nothing. Well, I'm here to tell you the same, less extreme version of that. In terms of what? Health and Fitness, of course!

Without fitness goals, there is no motivation to improve. At least, that is my opinion. Setting a goal for something you want to accomplish gives that motivation. I, myself, hiked Havasupai this past summer. While this isn't the easiest of backpacking trips, it doesn't require experience in backpacking. I have two hikes that I wish to do every summer now, and my goal for the rest of the year is to stay in shape so I can accomplish these hikes without much hassle. The first is a 16 mile round trip hike up Mount Baldy in Arizona, and the other is a 30 mile cumulative hike to Havasupai Falls in Arizona. 

By having these goals, I allow myself to have a reason to stay not only superficially in shape, but actually keep up my strength and stamina. 

So, what's your goal going to be?

Weight Management, Establishing Good Habits Early On

When I'm completely healthy, and not being pumped full of drugs for some reason or other, weight management is something that I have no problem with. This, however, is because of the active lifestyle I had growing up. I was always outdoors, hiking, camping, whatever was on the agenda for that day. And when I wasn't out in the wilderness, I was at swim team practice or ballet. These activities instilled in me a love to be active in my life.

Weight, however, came into play when I was diagnosed with Leukemia as a teenager. This brought along many complications, the main one being part of the treatment plan included steroids (not to mention dietary restrictions). Needless to say, I blew up like a balloon during treatment. However, when I was feeling good, I still had the urge to be active. When my blood levels were high enough, I was still out hiking and camping. Because these habits were kept up throughout my treatment, once I was out of the woods and off of treatment, I was able to pick up a real schedule of exercise easily. Not to mention, being restricted from vegetables actually made me want to eat the more once I could.

I started swimming again, and in a couple months, I was nearing where I was when I went into treatment. The transformation was great, and it felt great. To this day, I still try to keep up with hiking and the such, when I can find time away from ASU.

The moral of this story? When you have children, teach them to love being outside. Technology is taking so much of that away, we aren't being as friendly as we used to. We aren't as inclined to go outside and enjoy the outdoors - which usually involves physical activity. So, as much as the child might hate it at first, go hiking. Eventually they will find an activity or a sport that they love. And this will influence them and help them out greatly in the long run.

Making Recipes Healthier

One of the questions I receive most as a Nutrition major is how to make recipes healthier. Well, let me tell you, altering recipes is not something that is particularly focused on here at Arizona State University. I have, however, done some experimentation on my own - as I obviously love to bake and cook.

The substitution I'm going to suggest here is whole wheat flour, however for most recipes you do not wish to completely omit the All Purpose flour. I've found that in most cases (pizza dough, cookies, etc) you can substitute up to half of the original amount with whole wheat flour and not miss out on the taste or the texture. Remember though, if you do more than half you usually end up with something that is far too glutenous to cook nicely with the original amounts of the other ingredients.

Don't believe it? Go try a half and half pizza dough, and see how you like it. I personally have never been a fan of the taste of whole wheat - so when something gets my approval, it cannot taste ALL that healthy.