As everyone goes home for the holiday break, dodge the uncomfortable feeling of eating and celebrating with little physical activity.  Ask your parents for a gym pass for the month.  Continue to work out over the break.  You will feel much better coming back to school.

And if you can’t wait for the new wellness center to open.  Ask for a student membership to the YMCA or other type of gym here in Winona.  Go around to different places and find one you are comfortable with and has the facilities you need.

Here is a few places I know of in Winona:

-  YMCA

-  Snap Fitness

-  WSU Wellness Center

-  Post any more you know of!

The key to doing this is washing your hands correctly and often.  Wash your hands anytime after using the bathroom, before and after eating, preparing food, touching your face, coughing, sneezing or contact with public places.

Wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds!  Try singing the alphabet or happy birthday twice.  Be sure to dry your hands and either push the door with your arm or use a paper towel to open the door.  Some studies show that a bathroom door handle can have as many germs as a toilet seat.

image source: www.betterhealthcaremanagement.com

For more flu info and prevention tips check out Marshfield Clinic.

-  Skip on the holiday sweets.  Choose your one day to splurge then say “no” or bring a healthy alternative for all those  parties and office treats leading up to the big day.

-  Try and bake as much as your holiday food as possible.  Avoid fried or candied.  Go light on the sauces.

-  Watch out for portion sizes.  Stop eating when you are full and share your desert.

-  Go for a walk as a family activity

-  The key is to keep the splurging to one or a couple days.  Not the whole season!

Check out WebMD for their top 10 tips!

On my wishlist this week is a real juicer.  I want to be able to throw a whole apple or other fruits and veggies.  My blender is just not cutting it anymore.  Literally.

image source: feelhomeimprovement.com

Fruits and veggies are crucial to being healthy and 2-3 servings a day just isn’t enough. So my advice is buy some frozen fruit, a blender and get creative!

Potassium is key to water balance in the body but it’s neat because potassium is shown to lower blood pressure.

Some of your best sources of potassium include:

• bananas

• potatoes

• tomatoes

• most fruit and veggies

• here is an article about sources of K

So grab an extra banana when you’re at the caf and get some K!

It’s possible if you take care of yourself.  Managing things like diet, exercise and risky behavior can enhance your quality and QUANTITY of life.

There is a way you can measure this, take the quiz called my RealAge and find out how old your body really is.  It takes 10-15 minutes to finish but I feel it does a pretty comprehensive anaysis.  After your done taking the quiz it will tell you what your bodies age is, what you’re doing right and what you need to work on.  From there it gives you several resources and ideas on how to improve your quality and quantity of life.

After I took the quiz I was surprised to find my RealAge is 14.5!

Give it a try here!

First of all, once the snow and ice is here, it’s time to put away the road bike, skinny tires and break the cross, mountain or junker bike.  I make sure I got some nice knobby tires on and deflate them to about half or 3/4 of what the tire says is the maximum.  This will give you a nice cushy ride but also one that really grips into the snow.

Which leads me to ice and my wishlist! item.  A set of studded mountain bike tires.  I would throw these on in a heartbeat once the snow is packed or their is ice on the roads.  Like a car’s tire, you can buy winter tires but they fail once your on ice.  But once you buy studded tires (knobby tires with hardened steel cleats) you get little ice picks to prevent slipping as you ride merrily to class during a blizzard.  Everyone driving their cars slipping and sliding will be jealous.

image source: hucknroll.com

Not!

Basically it’s a vitamin.  Sure the vitamin is useful and promotes health.  But it’s water soluble which means that once you absorb your limit it just leaves your body through urination.  Basically you are throwing your money in the toilet.  You get essential nutrients through your normal diet and probably don’t have to supplement it with expensive tablets.

Here is an article that goes more in-depth.

Seven days to cross Iowa by bike.

Oldest, longest and largest bicycle touring event in the world.

I am doing it, and so is 10,000 other cyclists.

I will be riding with Team Livestrong.

I will try and update you through my blog how fundraising is going.

Sound interesting, check it out yourself!

What’s great about swimming is it’s a low-impact sport.  So your joints and muscles will be thanking you.

You can go swimming at the Winona Family Y or the pools on campus.