The Commonwealth Times; February 1, 2016; Wellness Section

health & wellness

A S P E C I A L A D V E R T I S I N G S E C T I O N O F T H E C O M M O N W E A LT H T I M E S

Places to Use

Dining Dollars & Swipes Monroe Park Campus: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Bleecker St. Cary Street Market & Deli Chick-fil-A Chili’s Croutons, Salads & Wraps Einstein Bros. Bagels- Shafer Court Dining Center Harris Hall Convenience IHOP Express Market 810 Market 810-2-Go Nao & Zen Panda Express Pizza Hut Express POD Market Raising Cane’s Starbucks Coffee at Cabell Library Starbucks Coffee at Cary & Belvidere Subway Taco Bell

MCV Campus:

ILLUSTRATIONS BY ERIN BUSHNELL

• Einstein Bros. Bagels • Jonah’s- a culinary emporium • Starbucks Coffee at Jonah L. Larrick Student Center • Wendy’s Source: VCU Dining

Use your resources to eat well on campus.

HANNAH COLLINS Everyone on campus has heard of the fabled “freshman 15.” Living a healthy lifestyle in college may seem impossible, but the health and dining services staff at VCU are happy to help guide students you use your swipes and dining dollars wisely.

“My mantra is, ‘proactive eating rather than reactive eating,’” said Denise Cochran, a registered dietitian nutritionist at University Student Health Services.

Many students do not eat all day due to being too busy, causing them to overeat at the end of the day, Cochran explained. Being a proactive eater means eating when you are hungry, generally every three to four hours.

“Your body is like a car,” Cochran said. “When you burn off fuel, you have to refill it.”

Students tend to gravitate toward low-calorie items, but be cautioned: It matters what is in the calories. Include both macronutrients (carbs, proteins, and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals).

When choosing a meal, it is beneficial to keep in mind the USDA’s MyPlate. MyPlate illustrates recommended serving sizes of needed food groups: fruits, grains, protein, vegetables and dairy.

Especially dangerous to students, Cochran noted, are calories from sugar-sweetened beverages. Sodas and energy drinks are full of empty calories and can contribute to the “freshman 15.” Other causes include the new variety of foods available at buffets, late-night snacking while studying, overeating at the end of the day, and being less active than when in high school, Cochran added.

That includes alcoholic drinks. Alcohol provides empty calories, and consuming alcohol leads to the consumption of more food.

Students can keep track of their nutrition and consumption with free mobile apps such as MyFitnessPal as well as the Super Tracker website from the USDA (www.supertracker.usda. gov). If you do choose to log

your food using an app, Cochran advised, do so as you eat. “Don’t wait and try to put it in at the end of the day.”

Students can schedule a free appointment with Cochran at University Student Health Services online through the Student Health Web Portal (www. students.vcu.edu/health/webportal) or by phone — (804) 828-8828 for the Monroe Park Campus Clinic and (804) 8289220 for the VCU Medical Center Campus Clinic. She can discuss options for a nutritious lifestyle including plans for losing weight, gaining muscle mass, trying vegan or vegetarian diets, and more.

VCU Dining Services provides a number of tools for eating healthy on campus. One is CampusDish (www.vcu.campusdish.com), which provides menus and nutrition information for Market 810 at the Shafer Dining Court and Jonah’s at MCV’s Larrick Student Center, among other dining locations. Aramark’s Healthy for Life program also connects with the USDA’s

products used are local, defining local as “from Virginia.” Food all over the campus is locally sourced as much as possible.

Through the program Fresh From the Farm, farmers come into Shafer once a month and offer anyone the opportunity to learn more about their produce, said Tamara Highsmith, dining manager for VCU Dining Services. “We also have the Guest Restaurant program that employs

ethnic and local restaurants in the Fanfare section.” This program has hosted restaurants such as Jamaica House, Mama’s Kitchen and Elephant Thai.

Martin and Goss recommend using CampusDish, which contains valuable nutritional information students can use to make smart decisions.

“Know yourself,” added Highsmith. “Know what defines health for you.”

Dietary Guidelines Vegetables Eat more red, orange, and dark-green veggies like tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and broccoli in main dishes.

Add beans or peas to salads (kidney or chickpeas), soups (split peas or lentils), and side dishes (pinto or baked beans), or serve as a main dish.

Fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables all count. Choose “reduced sodium” or “no-salt-added” canned veggies.

Fruits Use fruits as snacks, salads, and desserts.

At breakfast, top your cereal with bananas or strawberries; add blueberries to pancakes.

Buy fruits that are dried, frozen, and canned (in water or 100% juice), as well as fresh fruits.

Select 100% fruit juice when choosing juices.

Grains Substitute wholegrain choices for refined-grain breads, bagels, rolls, breakfast cereals, crackers, rice, and pasta.

Check the ingredients list on product labels for the words “whole” or “whole grain” before the grain ingredient name.

Choose products that name a whole grain first on the ingredients list.

Dairy

Protein Foods

Choose skim (fatfree) or 1% (low-fat) milk. They have the same amount of calcium and other essential nutrients as whole milk, but less fat and calories.

Eat a variety of foods from the protein food group each week, such as seafood, beans and peas, and nuts as well as lean meats, poultry, and eggs.

Top fruit salads and baked potatoes with low-fat yogurt.

Twice a week, make seafood the protein on your plate.

Look out for salt (sodium) in fo you buy. Compare sodium in fo and choose those with a lower number.

If you are lactose intolerant, try lactose-free milk or fortified soymilk (soy beverage).

Choose lean meats and ground beef that are at least 90% lean.

Drink water instead of sugary d Eat sugary desserts less often.

Trim or drain fat from meat and remove skin from poultry to cut fat and calories.

Make foods that are high in sol fats—such as cakes, cookies, ic cream, pizza, cheese, sausages hot dogs—occasional choices, every day foods.

For a 2,000-calorie daily food plan, you need the amounts below from each food group.

To find amounts personalized for you, go to ChooseMyPlate.gov.

Eat 2½ cups every day

Eat 2 cups every day

Eat 6 ounces every day

Get 3 cups every day

Eat 5½ ounces every day

What counts as a cup?

1 cup of raw or cooked vegetables or vegetable juice; 2 cups of leafy salad greens

What counts as a cup?

1 cup of raw or cooked fruit or 100% fruit juice; ½ cup dried fruit

What counts as an ounce?

1 slice of bread; ½ cup of cooked rice, cereal, or pasta; 1 ounce of ready-toeat cereal

What counts as a cup?

1 cup of milk, yogurt, or fortified soymilk; 1½ ounces natural or 2 ounces processed cheese

What counts as an ounce?

1 ounce of lean meat, poultry, or fish; 1 egg; 1 Tbsp peanut butter; ½ ounce nuts or seeds; ¼ cup beans or peas

U.S. Department of Agriculture • Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion August 2011 CNPP-25 USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Cut back on sodiu and empty calorie from solid fats an added sugars

Limit empty calories to less tha 260 per day, based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

SOURCE: CHOOSEMYPLATE.GOV

Smart Food

MyPlate directly.

Market 810 builds a menu for the semester in a four-week cycle that rotates three times per semester, said Hamilton Goss, district executive chef for Aramark.

There are always plenty of vegan and vegetarian options available, he added, as well as seasonal and local produce if possible.

Michael Martin, resident district manager for Aramark, noted that 20-25 percent of the

Be physically acti your way

Pick activities you like and do each for at least 10 minutes at time. Every bit adds up, and he benefits increase as you spend time being active.

Children and adolescents: get 60 minutes or more a day.

Adults: get 2 hours and 30 min or more a week of activity that requires moderate effort, such brisk walking.

Love and Tenderness

Tips from an expert on building strong, healthy relationships in college.

SARAH METZEL Let’s face it: Twenty years from now, you are probably not going to remember that literary analysis you pulled three all-nighters to finish, or those organic-chemistry problem sets that (temporarily) ruined your life. In 20 years, when most of us have children, day jobs, and completely different lives, we are going to remember our time at VCU by our relationships.

That is why it is so important to establish strong, healthy relationships in college. These serve not only as a support system during our college years, but they also help us establish successful, happy lives in the years after graduation.

“I love relationships that form in college because they are so exhilarating,” clinical psychologist Miki Skinner said. “It’s another avenue to get know ourselves through getting to know another person. We’re really developing this solid identity for ourselves.”

Skinner, a staff psychologist with University Counseling Services (UCS), has counseled many students and couples through problems with romantic partners.

First, let’s talk about sex. It might not be the most important topic on your list of “relationship goals” -- it might not have made it onto your list at all. Regardless, it’s something that everyone talks about, making the topic of

sex in relationships important to address.

“We see a lot of really strong relationships that form in college, but there is a lot of buzz around the hookup culture,” Skinner said. “There’s this fear that we’re easily dismissible in a hookup culture.”

Before coming to college, most of us had probably heard stories or seen movies that perpetuate the stereotype of casual college hook-ups. So it might surprise you that hook-up culture is not rampant on college campuses.

Skinner added that the hookup culture in college does exist, but it is not wide-spread. According to the American College Health Association, only 9.2 percent of students will have four or more sexual partners in a year.

The same survey shows that

“

almost one-third of the college students polled reported no sexual partners in the prior 12 months. Another 45 percent reported one partner. That means that 74 percent -- three out of four -- had one or fewer partners in the past year.

“I would think that it’s more prevalent for people to be committed in serious relationships than non-serious relationships.

The poll data is a pretty strong indication of that,” Skinner said.

Now that we’ve discussed the sexual side of college relationships, let’s talk about all their other unique qualities. When thinking about your romantic encounters in college, it is important to recognize that these relationships will differ from others throughout life.

“Sometimes there is less sta-

bility in relationships that form in college. Your partner may have a totally different life than you. Which, in some ways, can be an amazing thing because it expands who you are -- you can be introduced to all these new interests and activities, maybe even a new major,” Skinner said.

“But, it also means that you can’t necessarily expect them to completely understand your world.

You probably have to make more of an effort to bring them into your world and your experience.”

The UCS counselors help a lot of students who have questions about relationships. They impart information about what works and what doesn’t. It is important to be able to differentiate a healthy relationship from an unhealthy one.

“Healthy relationships help you grow as an individual; unhealthy relationships often really stifle us,” Skinner said. “One of the things we talk about is balance -- not losing yourself in a relationship. A good relationship should expand who you are as a person, not contract it.”

The people around us, especially those as close as our significant others, affect all aspects of our lives. An unhealthy romantic relationship can set off a domino effect of negative implications.

“Unhealthy relationships often make you feel like you have to have your partner in order to be yourself,” Skinner said. “For example, if you’re with a partner who controls who you are able to have contact with, that’s always bad. High levels of jealousy in a relationship are not healthy and you need to figure out where that’s coming from.”

Of course, the best thing you can do for your relationship is talk to your partner.

“Communication, communication, communication -- that is the core of a healthy relationship: talking to each other. That means having the tough conversations sometimes. [What’s important is] being really intentional about ‘What do I want to have happen.’

That could mean setting a date night once a week that is just for you and your partner.”

Some other aspects of a healthy relationship include having other external friendships,

being happy together without using alcohol or drugs, and accepting changes in the relationship.

“We have to think of healthy relationships as organic beings.

They grow and form on their own, and they will develop and change over time,” Skinner said.

“So you can’t expect your relationship to be the same at your one-month anniversary as it is at your six-month anniversary.”

“A good relationship should expand who you are as a person.”

You might meet the love of your life during college. You might meet them 10 years down the road. What is important is learning how to build and maintain a healthy relationship, so that when you do meet the right person, you are able to make the most of your time together. Being in a healthy relationship is one of the best ways to become a happier person.

“One of the ways of staying healthy in college is to have strong, healthy relationships. Romantic relationships are a really special way of getting that need met because you have someone there who you can be more vulnerable with, and there is power in vulnerability,” Skinner said.

“There’s power in having someone who you can feel safe with and connected to.”

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Communication that is the core of a healthy relationship: talking to each other.”

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