Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle

This morning in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel I read an article called "Big Man on Campus". This article is all about the dreaded "Freshman 15". Staying healthy when coming to college is a challenge. I'm sure that majority of college students would agree with me. The problem isn't that UWM lacks resources to stay healthy, it's figuring out how to fit it into your life and maintain that lifestyle.

According to the American Journal of Health Behavior the main reason incoming Freshman gain weight is, " Students entering college may be making independent decisions about their diet, activity, and television viewing behaviors for the first time. New environmental and social factors may emerge during this time period to have a greater influence on their behavior." The freedom of moving to college and making your own choices can sometimes have a negative impact on your health.

When I started school I was lucky enough not to gain the Freshman 15, but I did gain the Sophomore 10 (I'm not sure if that is a thing, but we'll go with it). My junior year I decided to get in shape. UWM and University Housing had a lot of options that helped me out. I'm down 20 pounds from a year ago.

The best thing to do when first moving to school is get into a routine that involves eating healthy, exercising, and practicing healthy lifestyle habits. UWM has a lot of different resources that can be utilized to maintain a positive lifestyle. I'll blog more in depth about all of these different resources but here is a preview of what I'm going to write about:

• Klotsche Fitness Center
•  Klotsche Gym offers everything you could need to stay in shape: swimming pool, weight room, track, basketball and volleyball courts, exercise classes, personal trainers, and nutritionists. If you are a full time student, Klotsche is a free resource and is conveniently located on campus.
• Healthy eating options on campus
• Wherever food is offered on campus (Sandburg, Cambridge Commons, RiverView, the Union, and the North West Quadrant of campus) healthy eating options are available. UWM offers vegetarian, vegan, and organic options at all of the restaurant facilities.
• Healthy eating options off campus
• Sport and Rec Classes
• The College of Health Sciences offers one and two credit courses that are focused on maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Some examples of classes are: Rock Climbing, Ballroom Dance, Belly Dance,  Meditation, and Healthy Cooking Classes.
• Norris Health Center 
• Norris is the main health resource on campus. There are full time doctors, nurses, therapists, and pharmacists to help with any health concerns you might have. 
• How University Housing supports a healthy lifestyle  

Let me know if you have any questions or blog topic ideas about Health. It's the field I'm going into, so I would love to write more about this topic.

Campus Resources

Throughout the semester, we are going to go over a lot of resources on campus.  On your PAWs account, you may have noticed  Student Segregated Fees on your statement.  Student Segregated Fees are assessed to all students and pays for all the services you can utilize on campus.  There are many different services, but here are a few I utilize often...

Norris Health Center

Location:   Between Klotsche and Enderis

Norris Health Center offers free/low cost healthcare to students.  It's the perfect place to go for your run-of-the-mill ailments.  Norris also offers a pharmacy that sells prescription and over-the-counter medications at cost.  You can also get various testing and counselling at Norris.  

Women's Resource Center

Location:  By Union Station on the Street Level in the Union

www.facebook.com/UWM-Womens-Resource-Center The Women's Resource Center "enhances awareness and understanding at UWM of the diversity of women's lives and experiences, and the role gender plays in everyone's life."  The WRC sponsors many events throughout the year, one of which is their presentation of The Vagina Monologues.    The WRC also offers employment and internship opportunities, information and referrals, and student support and advocacy.

Note:  No, the WRC isn't just for women!  Men are welcome to visit the WRC at anytime.  If you've ever interacted with a woman, you are eligable to use this resource!

LGBT Resource Center

Location:   By Union Station on the Street Level in the Union

www.facebook.com/UWM.LGBTRC 

The LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) Resource Center offers education, support, and networking for all students.  One of the LGBT Resource Center's most notable initiative on campus is the Safe Space Program.  In the program, students and faculty learn more about the LGBT community and ally development.  The program is focus on creating a safe and comfortable experience for everybody on campus.  An ally is someone who supports, is aware, and advocates for the LGBT community.  The LGBT Resource Center also offers many educational and social events, such as the Annual UWM Drag Show.  

Note:  You don't have to identify as any specific sexuality or gender to visit the LGBT center.  The LGBT Resource Center is all about diversity and creating a safe space!

We will spotlight more campus resources in weeks to come.  :) 

Chasing after carrots...

Trying to get all of your homework done is like dangling a carrot in front of bugs bunny on a treadmill... Unless you're lucky it's never going to happen.

I've been sick for almost 2 weeks now. A couple days ago I wandered over to Norris Health Center where I was diagnosed with bronchitis. The medicine I needed, and some cough drops, totaled $11... And I'm lucky, I could be much sicker right now, a girl on the floor below me is coughing up blood as of recently.

I'm still not feeling any better. I spend most of the night hacking crud up from my lungs, and I felt bad for the 90 or so people in my stats class yesterday; I coughed through a good 10 minutes of lecture and I'm not sure anyone could hear anything.

In happier news I landed me job interview! Super exicted for that!! I'll let you guys know more about it when I land it. Yes, "when I land it," I plan on getting it. :-D

Oh and according to the lady at the health center I'm 5'7", which is pretty awesome seeing as I've been 5'5.5" for as long as I can remember. Yay for random unshrinking!!... Hopefully she didn't measure wrong, but I'm not going to entertain that thought as I'm too pleased with my new height. :-)

Turns out my italiano tutor studied at the university of bologna in italy (the italian equivalent of uw-madison), which is where I'm thinking of studying abroad at next year. Italiano has been overwhelming, to say the least, but I'm still enjoying it, most of the time. (Bologna is located where my pen's tip is pointing)

It's weird for me being around so many guys. Rochester, MN, where I'm from, is nursing city so virtually anyone who hangs around after high school is female. It seems much more 50/50 here. Even in Eau Claire there weren't this many guys, it was something like 60-70% female, I think because they have so many "girly majors" (nursing, comm dis, education...) and no programs in engineering. It seemed like most guys there were music, business, or science. UWM seems like the complete opposite, there is a ton of engineering and research-based programs.

& I saw a girl in a hot pink sticky-outy tutu in the library today, it was pretty random and adorable. She definitely wasn't straight from ballet class or anything, it was just her outfit. To be honest, I want one.... I love that people wear whatever they want here. In Eau Claire there would have been a lot of stares and whispers.

...Usher just started playing on my ipod. I feel like dancing... Must resist!

Back to studying and avoiding doing my laundry!

Arrivederci!

Tina