Happy Healthy Halloween!

The spooky holiday has arrived and what better way to celebrate then by getting a healthy snack! It's a favored tradition by many to carve pumpkins this season, but don't throw out those seeds..Save them and enjoy them as a tasty treat! A whole cup of whole, roasted pumpkin seeds with salt added (for flavor of course, just not too much) is about 250 calories. They're also packed with magnesium and zinc while having no sugar and no carbohydrates. Plus, you'll get about 25 percent of your daily value of protein! It's really simple to cook too! All you have to do is:

1.  Rinse pumpkin seeds under cold water and pick out the pulp and strings. (This is easiest just after you've removed the seeds from the pumpkin, before the pulp has dried.)

2.  Place the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on an oiled baking sheet, or if you prefer to omit the oil simply use non-tick cooking spray! (That's what I like to do)

3.  Sprinkle with salt and bake at 325 degrees F until toasted, about 25 minutes, checking and stirring after 10 minutes.

And there you have it! A simple and healthy snack that's all treat and no trick this Halloween season!

Taking a break to relax the mind

I recently attended a stress management workshop which provided me with several tips and techniques for "balancing" your life and managing stress. Here was one of my favorite tips that has worked for me..

Taking breaks throughout your busy days can actually help with relieving stress you may be experiecing! Your body can actually experience high and low work efficiency periods so in the long run, it's more effective to take short breaks throughout the day. With a short break every 90-120 minutes, you'll help rejuvenate the mind and body! Just remember to not let your break go too long or you may find your schedule backed up and more stress!

Here are those other great tips!

     1.  Prioritize: Identify the tasks that are more pressing and the initial steps you need to take to make progress towards completing them. Acknowledge the steps you have completed too!

    

     2.  Develop a Time Management Plan: Include classes, work, friends/family, study time, sleep, daily living tasks, and leisure activities in this plan!

     3.  SLEEP! Chronic stress tends to lead to fatigue, which makes it more difficult to cope well with stress. Allow your body the rest it needs. Normally when you have a lot of stuff to do, you tend to cut on sleep so make sure to get the hours of rest you need!

     4.  Moderate Caffeine Intake: Caffeine is a stimulant that actually generates a stress reaction in you body. So cutting back can help you feel less anxious and more centered. If you must have caffeine though, try not to have it past 5pm or you may be missing on the sleep step above.

     5.  Exercise Regularly: Because stress evokes the "fight or flight" mechanism in your body and you usually cannot do wither of these in stressful situations, exercise helps dissipate excess energy and stress.

     6.  Relax/Meditate: Just as you are capable of mounting and sustaining a stress reaction, you also have the ability to put your body into a deep state of relaxation which is good for both chronic and acute stress management.

     7.  Develop Realistic Expectations: If you are functioning out of unrealistic expectations for yourself or others, you will tend to be continually frustrated and dissatisfied. Identify your expectations and have a friend "reality check" them with you.

     8.  Reframe: Consider the glass half full instead of half empty. When you find yourself being negative and critical, try to shift you perspective to a more neutral, if not, positive outlook.

     9.  Develop a support system: Humans are social beings that benefit from each other's support. Build and draw on healthy relationships and avoid toxin ones!

     10.  Seek out Humor: Laughing is a great medicine! Allow yourself time and space to experience humor. This can be found either in yourself, situations, or through entertainment.

Now it takes 21 days to make things a habit, so these tips won't instantly squash out stress but will certainly start to diminish it! That's why I've found taking breaks now on then to greatly benefit me. So use a few of these and hopefully in three short weeks you'll be incredibly more stress free!

Beauty and Style Trends For Fall

Created by Kelsey Hodgin and Kiriana Wilton

Beating the cold without beating the excercise!

Cold weather doesn't mean putting excercise on the ice! Weather can frustrate even the most motivated fitness guru's and if you don't have a plan now, you may find yourself packing your exercise gear away with you summer clothes for the next few seasons. Keeping your exercise routine going through fall and winter can be very rewarding though.

Wii Fit Plus:

You can do everything from areobics to twister!! This is the luxury of being able to work out in your PJ's and in the comfort of your home!

Ice Skating:

It's easy on the joints and a great way to improve your balance!

Yoga:

Helps with flexibility, anxiety, posture, stress, mood, and more. Pop in a Yoga dvd or go to a class @ the WSU rec!

Ab-friendly foods!

Lose stomach fat and build ab muscles with these foods. This is the ultimate eaters cheat sheet that will help you get that flat belly. Among the items listed you will find nutrient-dense, but flavor-packed, foods that are ab-friendly and will both help you fight fat and build lean muscle.

Almonds & Other Nuts ( With skins intact )

Benefits: Superpowers Build muscle, reduces cravings

Fights: Obesity, heart disease, muscle loss, wrinkles, cancer, high blood pressure

Beans & Legumes

Benefits: Superpowers build muscle, help burn fat, regulate digestion

Fights: Obesity, colon cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure

Spinach & Other Green Vegetables

Benefits: Superpowers neutralize free radicals (molecules that accelerate the aging process)

Fights: Cancer, heart disease, stroke, obesity, osteoporosis

Start getting active this week!

Well it's half way through the semester and hopefully you're finding time in your schedule to getting some fitness in. So here's what's going on this week at UREC:

MON 10.4.10

Fitness Session II Registration Opens today. For class information and the chance to register, visist urec.wsu.edu

TUES 10.5.10

Slow your Roll: Stress Management from 5:00pm-6:00pm

Relaxtion Workshop 5:00pm-6:00pm

WED 10.6.10

Mindful eating workshop 5:30pm-6:30pm

THURS 10.7.10

Conflict resolution workshop 12:10pm-1:00pm

FREE Body Composition Testing  5:30pm-7:00pm

SUN 10.10.10

Belaying and Climbing Clinic registration deadline

Dad's Weekend Kamiak Butte Hike registration deadline

ALSO COMING UP:

Intermurals are upon us! Entries will be taken for Basketball and Coed Indoor soccer leagues on October 13th will play starting October 17th. Entry fee inlcudes $39 per team.

To stay connnected with UREC, follow on twitter at WAZZUREC or become a fan of University Recreation on Facebook. Have fun staying active!

Less is More

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Now that summer is over, and the cold weather is approaching, the battle between cuddling up with your favorite comfort food and staying in shape begins. This winter try eating less food more often while balancing it with exercising regularly. By sticking to a 1500 calorie a day diet, your body will feel full without being bloated. Having five, 300 calorie meals a day will help to speed up your metabolism while causing your body to look forward to the next meal and staying full between meals. Planning ahead is key in staying healthy. A good way to include all your meals is to write down a list and figure out what times you will be able to eat based on your schedule. Depending on your lifestyle an easy schedule to follow is by having a meal at 8 a.m., 11 a.m.,2 p.m., 5 p.m. and 8 p.m., which averages out to be every three hours. Although this may seem strict, it does not mean you have to give up eating out in order to stay in shape.

If all your friends are going out to eat at your favorite restaurant, go! Most restaurants are now required to have a menu with a calorie count for each meal listed, so ask for it in order to help you order. If you have been craving a juicy cheeseburger, then get it, but only eat 300 calories worth. Allowing yourself to splurge every once in a while is fine, as long as it doesn’t become a habit. If you want chips eat 300 calories worth of chips, but keep in mind how you will feel after consuming those calories. If you will still be hungry, then save your calories for something tasty and filling.

Most importantly, pay attention to labels. Before you purchase something check to see the serving size and how many calories are in each serving. This will help you to choose food that is good for you and will give you the largest serving size with the least amount of calories. Keep in mind less is more!