For a video with healthy eating tips from University fitness experts, click here.Even though bikini season is coming to an end, the never-ending struggle for students who want to lose weight or stay in shape continues.Services offered by Wellness Education at the Student Health Center and Healthy Lifestyles at the University Student Recreational Center are available to motivate students to develop a sound mind and body.”Any type of exercise is good exercise,” said Laura Stewart, assistant professor in the Exercise Physiology division of the Department of Kinesiology. “You don’t need to run 20 miles for a good day of activity. You can take the stairs instead of the elevator or walk instead of drive. The more you integrate daily activity, the better you’ll feel.”Stewart said students are more motivated to keep up with activities they enjoy rather than activities they feel forced to do for results.Rebecca Ellzey, Healthy Lifestyles supervisor, personal trainer and Group X instructor, said she remembers feeling overwhelmed by the UREC when she was a freshman, but said there’s nothing to be intimidated by.”You can come to a Group X class where you’re with other people, and it’s an environment that motivates you to come,” said Ellzey, dietetics senior. “[Intramural teams] make the UREC less intimidating because you come with your friends. With specialty courses, you get to know the [other students] because you’re with them every week.”Alicia Rodriguez, nutrition sciences junior, said she works out at the UREC five times a week, doing a Group X class every week day. “I like the classes because it keeps me motivated,” Rodriguez said. “I like the classes because it’s not repetitive and you see other people … I like to keep in shape.”Following the national guidelines of the American College of Sports Medicine, Amy Kokemor, Healthy Lifestyles interim coordinator, said students should do 20 to 60 minutes of cardio at a moderate intensity level for three to five days a week. Kokemor said students should also have two to three days a week of strength training. She said two or three sets of eight to 12 repetitions are generally a good amount of strength training for the average student.Many students, in their mission to lose weight or stay in shape, often try to fix the specific problem areas on their body, such as love handles or muffin tops, but Kokemor said focusing on one area is unrealistic.”We hate the term ‘problem area’ because it’s a common misconception that you can spot reduce,” Kokemor said. “You have to pair cardio to burn fat and do strength training to get the muscle in that area.”Kokemor said switching up your cardio routine is a good way to keep burning fat and calories. She also said using the free weights instead of the machines gives you a more effective workout by engaging your core and using more of your body in the performance, while the machines isolate the one muscle group per exercise.Portion control is Stewart’s second tip on fitness and health. She said because college students lose sight of the impact extra calories have because they are on their own and able to eat whatever they want whenever they want.Vanessa Richard, registered dietitian in the Wellness Education department of the Student Health Center, said students tend to gain weight in college because of lack of sleep, late-night schedules, increased alcohol consumption, a new relationship with food without mom or dad around and limited time to think about meals.”[Students should eat] general healthy balanced foods,” Richard said. “Lots of fruits and vegetables and whole grains … lean meats and low-fat dairy products … [and] limiting your processed, high sodium, high fat dining out choices, fast foods, boxed processed foods.”Richard said she teaches her students the plate method, which fills half of a dinner plate with a vegetable or plant-based food, a quarter of the plate with a lean meat and the other quarter with a whole grain or starch.”A healthy eating plan allows for all foods,” Richard said. “So if you want ice cream occasionally, a piece of chocolate occasionally or french fries every once in a while, that’s OK … It’s just everything in moderation.”Stewart’s last tip is to teach students to take control of their health and fitness.”It’s definitely an ownership issue that I see with students,” she said. “You have to teach someone to take responsibility of their health.”—-Contact Mary Walker Baus at [email protected]