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Hey, how’s your Saturday going? This is Saturdays with Shal, where I will be talking about calorie consumption today. But before I do, I wanted to make an announcement… THIS WEEK STARTING ON MONDAY IS DESTRESSOR WEEK! That’s right, the week of March 20th to 24th is Destressor Week where we have lots of fun and destressing events planned for you! Now… back to calories!
I feel this is fitting since restaurants in Ontario have recently displayed calories on their menus. Under the Healthy Menu Choices Act, “new Ontario regulations require any restaurant with more than 20 locations to include calorie counts for all food and drinks” (Ontario Government). But how many calories do you need? Males ages 17-18 should be getting anywhere between 2450-3300 calories a day depending on a sedentary vs. active lifestyle. Ages 19-30 are between 2500-3000. For females ages 17-18, it is 1750-2400. And lastly, ages 19-30 is between 1900-2350. So now you have the number of calories you should be intaking per day, you have access to how many calories are in majority restaurants. But how do you keep track of your calories? My favourite app to use is called MyFitnessPal, available for iPhone and Android (https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/calorie-counter-diet-tracker-by-myfitnesspal/id341232718?mt=8). Owned by Under Armour, it’s an incredible app for calorie and exercise tracking. You can search by food if you went to a restaurant, or each ingredient if you cooked at home. If your phone has a pedometer in it, this app will even use your exercise taken from that and adjust how many calories you’ll need accordingly. Not only is this a good food tracker, but it also helps you lose weight, maintain weight, or gain weight. It takes your personal info and uses it to help you reach whatever weight goal you are reaching for. I strongly suggest downloading it and giving it a try if you own a cellphone. That is all for this week, Daniels, hope I see you in studio on Monday for Colouring & Jigsaw Puzzles during the day, and it’s Board Games Night starting at 7! Keep it classy out there. https://www.ontario.ca/page/revealing-facts-about-calories-menus http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/basics-base/1_1_1-eng.php This is a sad day for Saturdays with Shal. Because in two days, it’s the end of Reading Week and back to the grind that is Daniels. But chin up everyone, this also means we are at the halfway point of the semester! To get you prepared for the final half of semester, I wanted to help you out with food locations around U of T that are handy for when you’re spending long hours at campus throughout the week. This can all be found here, https://ueat.utoronto.ca/campus-locations/ . If you find yourself always buying food at campus, I also recommend getting a meal plan (info on that is also on the website). U of T offers 57 locations throughout St. George campus to enjoy a meal. Luckily, most of these are close to the studios and 230 College. My biggest encouragement would be to prepare and pack a healthy lunch and snacks, but I’d rather have you buy meals then skip them altogether. From the Government of Canada’s website, here are some tips on healthy choices when eating out:
- Choose a healthier cooking style. Cut down on fat by choosing foods that are baked, broiled, poached, or grilled instead of breaded or deep-fried. - Enjoy a colourful meal. Try steamed vegetables, vegetable soups, fresh fruit or vegetable salads, and berries with yogurt. - Order healthier salads. Dark green salads are usually healthier for you than higher fat Caesar, taco, potato, or pasta salads. - Ask for sauce and dressing "on the side." Get gravy, sauce, and salad dressing on the side and use a small amount. - Limit sodium. Ask for your meal to be cooked without salt or MSG (monosodium glutamate), a seasoning that is very high in sodium. For Asian-style foods, ask for half the soy sauce. - Pick a better pasta sauce. Order tomato-based pasta sauces instead of alfredo or cheese sauces. - Choose whole grains. Order sandwiches, subs, or wraps with whole grain bread, buns, or tortillas. Choose one spread instead of two (for example, mayonnaise or margarine, not both). - Limit cakes, cookies, and rich desserts. Get a smaller size or share with someone. - Drink smart. Choose water, milk (skim, 1%, or 2%), fortified soy beverage, or 100% juice instead of soft drinks or sweetened beverages. I have provided their website if you want more info. That’s it for this week Daniels, I’ll see you Wednesday for the final Wellness Month post. Stay classy out there. https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/tips-healthy-eating/eating-well-when-eating-out.html#a1 Wow, we made it to the weekend! Welcome to this edition of Saturdays with Shal. Have fun and be safe to all those that are travelling for the break. And for all those that are landlocked like me, here are some things to do around Toronto during the break. We are being blessed with some great weather, so get out and do something productive. Firstly, to honour Black History Month, Toronto has a film festival until the 19th, go check it out! Some outdoor activities to do around Toronto include:
http://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2016/01/the_top_20_toboggan_hills_in_toronto_by_neighbourhood/ Hello and welcome to Saturday with your Health & Wellness Director Shal, for Saturdays with Shal. Last week I talked about the cons of drinking a lot of caffeine and I wanted to build upon that this week with some tips for drinking water. I know drinking water sounds like the most boring habit to get into (or, if you’re about that pun life, the most dry habit to get into...tehe). But it’s also one of the most beneficial. University of Illinois professor Ruopeng An found that people who increased their consumption of plain water by 1% decreased the number of calories they consumed, as well as the amounts of sugar, sodium, fat and cholesterol they took in daily. And this also applies to us as university students. Chris Pawson of University of East London (just one study among many conducted) found that students who bring water into an exam did on average 5% better. First-year students bringing water in did upwards of 10% better than their peers! That’s nuts! You might be asking why, and though it cannot be narrowed down to one answer, researchers attribute drinking water to alleviating any anxiety or nerves of exams and keeping the brain flowing (Pawson, 2012) (don’t forget the brain is made up of about 75% water!). "The amount of water intake you should have per day is 3 litres for men (so about 13 cups) and 2.2 litres for women (9 cups)" (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Note: This is total water liquid, which you get some from the foods you eat. If you avoid drinking water because of it’s bland taste, try adding some healthy foods. AllRecipes.com says food like cucumbers, citrus fruits, melons, and mint flavour the water immediately. Apples, cinnamon, fresh ginger root, and rosemary need an overnight soak in the fridge. That’s it for this week, Daniels, I hope I see more of you with water bottles rather than coffee mugs. Keep it classy out there.
https://news.illinois.edu/blog/view/6367/333584 www.cdc.gov/healthywater/drinking/nutrition/ http://dish.allrecipes.com/fresh-ideas-for-making-infused-water/ Hey! It’s your pal Shal with Saturdays with Shal. Do you drink a lot of coffee or energy drinks? I can honestly say I personally don’t, but If you do I thought I would give you nutrition facts on caffeine. I think this topic is important because as University students and specifically as Art-itecture students we have a high demand to be alert and stimulated at all times. Most students then turn to coffee and caffeinated beverages as a way of keeping up. But sometimes they may not consider the negative effects this has on their body (I still can’t figure out how affect and effect work so don’t kill me if it’s wrong). According to our own U of T Nutritional Sciences Prof Ahmed El-Sohemy, caffeine is becoming increasingly popular for youth, but also a dangerous popularity (I suggest reading the article attached below). "The majority of users consumed energy drinks for insufficient sleep (67%), to increase energy (65%), and to drink with alcohol while partying (54%)” (El-Sohemy, 2007). Michele L. Pettit, a researcher with University of Wisconsin wrote a research paper on Perceived Stress, Energy Drink Consumption, and Academic Performance Among College Students. Pettit found that positive correlations existed between participants’ perceived stress and energy drink consumption, and energy drink consumption and academic performance were negatively correlated. This means that students who had perceived stress were more likely to be drinking energy drinks and people who drank energy drinks were more likely to have lower grades. The side effects of caffeine according to Government Health Canada includes anxiety, sleep difficulties, irritability, shakiness and headaches.
Now, I certainly cannot tell you what to do. My job here is to provide you health information for topics such as this. I also look to encourage you to reflect upon your own caffeine drinking habits. Is drinking a cup of coffee a day going to kill you? No, but if you’re going above that limit I would be careful. Maybe it’s actually hurting you more than helping you. Try trading that coffee mug for a water bottle. U of T has a large number of water filling stations across campus (no comment on 665). That’s it today for SWS, have a good rest of your weekend. Stay classy! http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07448481.2010.510163 https://www.utoronto.ca/news/dangers-caffeine-drinks Hey everyone! If you don’t know me already, my name is Shalice, but you can call me Shal (since its way easier lets be real). I am your AVSSU Health & Wellness Director, and as such I am beginning a new segment I like to call “Saturdays with Shal” (then I smile and they cue the little flash and ding sound). This is where I’ll be posting all things Health & Wellness, whether its a good recipe or food tip, nagging you to get better sleep, or other events going on around U of T such as yoga classes. Today I’ll be talking about turkey since its Thanksgiving weekend and what better theme to begin the year off with?! Annnnd action: Its officially midterm season as you rushed to finish those last minute details for tomorrow morning’s critique (or, you know, just starting the entire project) while still trying to stay on top of your other classes’ midterms and essays. But thankfully, the weekend couldn’t have got here sooner and now you’re hopefully enjoying a nice break with family or your roommates. If you’re like me you’re the latter, and you want to enjoy that turkey dinner you miss so much but since you have no idea how to cook a turkey, you settle for McDonald’s chicken nuggets instead. But I am here to help! Instead of posting all the steps, I have provided a direct link to Canadian Living of a play by play on how to cook a turkey. For my herbivore friends, I have also provided a recipe for a delicious Quinoa Stuffing. If you’re not like me and you are home watching the grown-ups cook for you, why not impress them and offer to cook the turkey this year?! Thats all for this week, I’ll see you next Saturday. Keep it classy, Daniels. http://www.canadianliving.com/…/article/how-to-cook-a-turkey http://www.foodnetwork.ca/…/savoury-quinoa-stuffing-…/15072/  |
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