Warrior Recreation 1/4/2016 12:03:00 PM

Warrior Habits

Warrior Habits are designed to keep you active, healthy and happy. They are all about giving you balance in your everyday life on campus. Read through some or all of the habits to improve your well being today.

NEWEST HABIT

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List of Previous Warrior Habits

Goal Setting
Motivation
The Stress Response
Self Compassion
Spend time in Nature
Eat a protein at every meal
Strength train twice a week
Eat a Vegetable at Every Meal
Perform Cardio training twice per week
Time Management Skills
Learn Portion Sizes
Sleep is Key
Eat breakfast every morning
Drink two litres of water on a daily basis
Physical Activity

Goal Setting

SMART goals. This acronym has been driven into our heads repeatedly, over and over and over again. Perhaps every term or month or even week you review your goals and you make a set of SMART goals. And every term, month or week you may find yourself writing out the exact same goals because you have not achieved what you set out to achieve in a SMART, MEASURABLE, ACHIEVABLE, REALISITIC and TIME-BASED way. Is this the wrong way to set goals? Absolutely not! It is composed of all the components that good goal setting should be made of. It is just missing one little piece; we write these OUTCOME goals down, tuck them away and forget about them. We know where we want to go, and that's certainly a bonus. But what is pathway to get there? We forget what we need to do day in and day out and we get lost along the way. Consistency and planning is the ultimate road to success, so how can we set our goals to help us achieve this?

Most of us set goals based upon the ultimate, big finale finish. These are called OUTCOME goals. For example, "I want to lose 20lbs by the end of the term" or perhaps "in first year I want to maintain my incoming weight." Perhaps your goal is to be on the dean's honour list this year or to get into the grad school you have your eyes set on. Maybe your goal is to be a leader in your student group or on your athletic team. These goals are a great place to start and we need to articulate these. But here is the deal - we set a goal in September and come November or December we look back and have not achieved the goal. We set this long term goal, very realistic, measureable and timely, but fast forward and once again, it hasn't been achieved. We tend to forget what happens between the day we set the goal and the day we check in to see if we have achieved it. Our outcome based goals are often beyond our control so we need to focus on what we need to do day-in and day-out to ensure 3, 4 or 5 months down the road we are on our way to achieving them.

Let's say your goal is to lose 20lbs, you can set behaviour goals that may be something like:

I will get my 10,000 steps per day
I will exercise or move 3x/week
I will eat veggies at 2 meals per day

If your goal is to be a dean's honour list student your goal may look like this:

I will have 100% attendance in class
I will dedicate every day from 4-8pm studying (with appropriate breaks of course).
I will get extra help and insight from the TA.

These are what we call BEHAVIOUR goals. Every day wake up and ask yourself "what do I have to do TODAY to ensure I achieve my goal." Overtime, BAM, goal is achieved. Creating habits creates consistency and consistency is what allows us to achieve our goals. If we have a bad day here and there, no worries, it is an easy reset. We wake up the next day and are still on track, still knowing what we need to do to attain our goals.

A few other things that ideas that might help is to grab a buddy, if you have similar goals you can set some behaviour goals together and be accountable to each other. If you are not sure of anyone who has the same goal, then at least tell someone about your goal. Accountability for the win EVERY. SINGLE. TIME!

Happy goal setting Warriors!

Motivation

Motivation is defined as "the reasons one has for behaving in a particular way," or "the general desire or willingness of someone to do something." Retrieved from www.dictionary.com. In life, we are on this ever repeating cycle of trying to get motivated. We try to get motivated to exercise, to study, to save money, to eat healthy yadda yadda yadda. There is likely a constant battle in your head, like a quality tennis match, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. What SHOULD you do and what do you WANT to do. For some it appears, from the outside looking in, that motivation comes really easy: that person you know who never misses a class and diligently spends x number of hours studying, or the person who wakes up at 5:30am just to get a workout in. You may get a little envious of these people and wonder, "MAN, how do they do that? They must have an awesome work ethic and tons of self-control. I wish I was more like that."

Here is a curve ball for you: motivation is crap, self-control -garbage! If you choose to rely completely on these things to build habits and improve your life, it is not going to work. There ARE, however, some strategies that can help you:

1. Know your why.

You really need to know why you want to change and I mean that deep down rooted feeling of why. It is not enough to say "I want to work out because I want to be healthy", or "I want to get good grades because my parents will be disappointed if I don't". Dig a little deeper with the 5 Why's exercise. Pick a habit you want to change and then ask (and answer) why to that habit 5 times. Here is an example:

I want to move more.

Why?

Because I want to be healthier.

Why?

Because I feel tired all the time.

Why?

Well, I don't know, I guess my schedule sucks with work and school.

Why?

I have a very demanding course load but I have to work to pay for rent. It is very stressful and I am starting to burn out.

There is so much progress in this statement. It shifts from this ambiguous "need to get healthier," which will not be enough to sustain motivation over time, to a more powerful statement; "I want to exercise so I can have the energy to get through this stressful term." It sounds different, it feels different, and there will be more drive behind it.

2. Design an environment that supports success.

This concept works really well with nutrition but can be easily adapted. My friends (and their kids) joke about how my house sucks because I only have healthy snacks. My poor kids are doomed!! But let me tell you what I know about myself- if I have foods in my house, like ice cream or cookies, they will be gone in the blink of an eye. I know this about myself so I design an environment that will help me to be successful. This means not putting ice cream or cookies in my house. If I want those foods badly enough, I have to make the effort to go out and get them. If that is the case, then I have thought about it and not made an impulse decision. It means I really want that food and I am comfortable with it., In fact, science proves it will taste much better. (Kidding, but you get the idea.)

How else can we alter our environment?

If you are (or want to be), an early morning exerciser. You can place your alarm away from your bed so you have to get up to turn it off. Always be sure to pack your bag or set out your clothes the night before!
If you want to study more, book a time in your calendar and treat it like any other appointment. Commit to sitting down and focusing for that amount of time.
If you want to have increased focus, put your electronics away and turn off the notifications on your computer while you are studying/working. Work on doing one thing at a time.
If you want to eat healthier, fill your kitchen/bag with only healthy options.

As we work to design our environment, our habits become easier and easier and eventually it is like riding a bike or even as simple as walking. It becomes natural. That, my friends, is the key!!

3. Find a friend

Accountability goes a very long way in getting AND keeping yourself motivated. We are conditioned to make others happy before ourselves. We are also conditioned to easily justify anything to ourselves; our brains are powerful tools and can convince us of just about anything. If we miss the mark on a new habit, we can sweep it under the rug and ignore it, we can justify it with whatever excuse we have that day, it is easy. However, when we are accountable to someone, they will ask the difficult questions. They will keep positive pressure on us and that might just be the driving force that gets us out of bed or makes us turn off our electronics. Below are some simple strategies for accountability:

Find a friend. To exercise with, to study with, a roommate who wants to get on the healthy eating train. When one person is feeling less motivated the other can tug or even drag that person along!
Tell someone what you are doing. We all have that someone who will asks us the questions we don't want asked. It may be a love/hate with these relationships, but always in the end its love. Tell this person what you are doing and that you need help being accountable. Check in with them every day or week or whatever frequency you need.
Find a mentor/coach. If you can afford it, a personal trainer could do you wonders or perhaps just a friend who has your back. Go see the Student Success Office and see how they can help with your academic habits. Find leaders and mentors on campus, reach out to your RA or your TA or even an upper year student.

Hopefully these tips will help you to get your feet wet with building and maintaining your new habits! Make us a deal though and stop saying you are not motivated or driven, and start designing the life you strive for!

The Stress Response

We often hear that we need to manage our stress for optimal health, we need to be more present, meditate more often, exercise more, we need to not sweat the small stuff and on and on and ON. Most of us are not hitting the mark, probably because it is stressful adding tasks to your to-do list that will help to decrease stress. Man, what a viscous cycle. All the "tasks" we should be doing to achieve less stress gets pushed aside because, well - there is a massive to-do list that is much more productive then going uuhhmmmm every day for a few minutes.

Let's cover some basic science on what stress does to our bodies. We have what is called the HPA axis. The HPA axis is made up of the hypothalamus, the pituitary gland and the adrenals.

Let's say you see a tiger running at you, your body is damn smart and is automatically going to use your HPA system. It will just decide on its own and has two responses to choose from; flight or fight.

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In flight, a nerve signal is sent that tells your adrenal medulla to release epinephrine. Epinephrine is the thrill seekers drug, heart rate and blood flow increase, your alertness is in full throttle mode, your adrenalin is pumping. Makes sense right? You have to run away from a tiger.

In fight, your hypothalamus release ACTH, which tells the adrenal cortex to release cortisol. This reaction is a little slower, hopefully if a tiger is actually chasing you your flight response kicks in first! The fight response and the release of cortisol helps to keep us in full throttle mode, it keeps us on high alert. When the threat is gone, the throttle is released and cortisol levels fall down again.

This stress response is a very positive thing, it helps you to meet any life challenges that arise; your bank account is too low, your car broke down, you have a final paper due tomorrow and haven't started it... you get the idea!! We need these responses to keep us energized and alert during stressful situations. Take a look at our very scientific graph from Precision Nutrition.

That being said, we can only handle so much load. Similar to being in the weight room, you may want to squat a specific amount of weight. You're jacked up, get mentally prepared, un-rack the bar, get to the bottom of your squat and you cannot get back up again; you are stuck. You have hit your allostatic load. The weight on that bar is the accumulation of all your emotional, physical and mental stress. We need to remove some of that stress (or plates on the bar) so we can get back up. This is finding our stress sweet spot. This stress sweet spot is what society has termed as balance. How much can we handle; being able to get up from the bottom of our squat but at the same time continuing to drive forward to achieve our goals?

We have some tips for you on how to do this, but like anything there is never a cookie cutter approach. In the world of health, diets, exercise programs and even approaches to achieving balance, it is always an "it depends" answer. Will strategy A work for me? Well it depends. Our best evidence is the anecdotal evidence. The stuff you try and feel like you have success with, are going to be the best strategies for you. The point is, be patient. Trial and error will be a part of the process.

A few tips on managing stress:

Get present, be mindful. Meditation, stillness or simply sitting in quiet has gained much popularity in the last number of years. Research is showing that it IS effective. Even if you are only doing it for a few minutes of the day. Try it out. Headspace is a great app to try and works for all levels.
Mindset matters. As mentioned above, our perceptions are what trigger our stress response. If you get a bad grade on an exam and say "I am a failure, I am going to lose my scholarship," your body will perceive that as a threat and the cortisol will be flowing! If you get a bad grade on an exam and say "I can recover from this." Your brain is not going to see this as a threat and will keep its cortisol until it really needs it. (Like, for the tiger). Mindset Matters by Carol Dweck is a great resource to help explore your growth mindset.
Notice and name. Take a few minutes to notice and name what is causing you stress. How do they make you feel? Can you reframe them? Can you get some extra help? Can you start to ease off the throttle before you crash and burn?
Big rocks first. Try to focus on one thing at a time. What are your big rocks? Academics? Health? Finances? Imagine your life is in a jar, you need to put your big rocks in first, then your stones and finally your sand. If you fill your jar with sand first, your big rocks will not fit. Identify and prioritize your big rocks and focus on them, let the smaller stones and sand fill in a little more naturally. Prioritizing may help you to feel more in control and less overwhelmed.
Recovery! Always recovery! Identify what helps you to recover. Is it exercise, playing a sport, laughing with friends, reading a book, getting out in nature, getting a massage? Experiment with this and figure out what will help you to decompress. Put some time in your schedule to do these types of activities. Check out what we have to offer at Warrior Rec

We cannot avoid life in stress and in fact, some stress really is good stress. We need it to drive us, to energize us. Life is a roller coaster, and we will not always be in optimal mode.It is best to figure out our own personal strategies for when we are heading down the roller coaster; when we are in full throttle mode, and when we need to back off a little.

Self Compassion

You may be wondering why the art/habit of self-compassion is a Warrior habit. Perhaps you are thinking that this is irrelevant to you or too cheesy. But you clicked, so stay with us, read below and I am betting you will find something helpful that will improve your health and your life just a touch. This is powerful stuff.

World renowned expert on self-compassion Dr. Kristen Neff defines self-compassion by aligning it with compassion for others. When we have compassion for others we are able to recognize when they are suffering. We are able to feel warmth for them, and we might feel a need to help that person in some way. Compassion for others means not judging harshly but instead bringing a sense of understanding when they make a mistake. Most importantly, "it means you realize that suffering, failure and imperfection is part of the shared human experience." Retrieved from http://self-compassion.org/the-three-elements-of-self-compassion-2/#3elements.

Feeling all of this for others makes you a compassionate person. The hard part is to turn the table and allow yourself the space to feel this way about your own human experience. According to Neff, "instead of mercilessly judging and criticizing yourself for carious inadequacies or shortcomings, self-compassion means you are kind and understanding when confronted with personal failings – after all, who ever said you were supposed to be perfect?"

So what does this all mean and how do we do it? Do you recognize any of these statements?

"Ugh I ate too many nachos at Bomber. I suck. I feel like a cow."
"I should have studied longer for that test. I'm so stupid. I can't believe I got a 55%."
"I am so busy with exams. I haven't seen any of my friends. I am a shitty friend. I need to try harder."
"I am so overwhelmed. I am drowning. I cannot do this."
"I cannot do anything right. I am worthless."

You get the idea. We have all uttered these words to ourselves (or some version of them). Here is the deal - according to neuroscience, the self-talk we utter to ourselves can have a profound effect on our self-identity, our attitudes and our mental health. So, in summary…. STOP!! What are we gaining from speaking to ourselves this way? Has this tough love worked to help us thrive in life? Has it helped us to become more successful? Does it make us a more relaxed and present person? How would we feel if someone talked to our family and friends this way? Take a minute to really reflect on these questions. How do they resonate?

We can all agree a little more self-compassion in the world would be a positive change. The 3 guiding principles of self- compassion, according to Dr. Kristen Neff are:

Self-kindness vs. self-judgment - Being kind to ourselves in the face of suffering, stress, failure or inadequacies
Common humanity vs. isolation - Understanding you are not the only person suffering, it is a shared human experience.
Mindfulness vs. Over-identification - Allow yourself to feel your negative thoughts but do so with balance and openness

If we take these 3 basic principles, we could change the statements above and they would feel different:

"I ate so many nachos at Bomber last night and I had a blast with my friends. Today I will welcome some more balance in my meals"
"55% on an exam, man that sucks. I am going to have to study differently or for longer next time. Maybe I can chat with my prof to get a better idea of what I am not understanding."
"I am so busy with exams but I bet all my friends are. I will make a point to catch up with them in a week when things ease up."
"I am so overwhelmed. How do others do it? I think I will reach out to some friends or people on campus to help because this does not feel good."
"Nothing is going my way right now, when it rains it pours. I am going to pick one thing to focus on improving. Maybe I will ask for some help to guide me right now."

These statements allow us to verbalize and identify our feelings. It does not have to be flowers and butterflies and bursting jazz hands all the time. It is perfectly reasonable to give ourselves the space to feel our negative feelings, and in fact, it is very healthy to do so. We can identify what they are and feel them but we are trying to do so without judgement. Recognizing the emotion, feeling it and then trying to find a solution will help us to grow.

We can practice self-compassion at any time and in different ways:

Headspace is a great app that will help you learn to become more mindful.
Catching ourselves when making these comments and trying to rephrase them. Try it out, make some statements out loud to yourself and sit in the space. Does your reaction, physical, mental or emotional, feel any different?
Getting some help through the resources on campus to help learn the skills for self-compassion.
Dr. Kristn Neff's website has many resources available. http://self-compassion.org

Remember this is a lifelong skill and will take some work, change will not happen overnight. A few minutes each day, however, can have a profound impact.

Spend time in Nature

Spring is in full force, making it the perfect time of year to get outside and enjoy nature. We could all use a bit of time to just enjoy the smell of the spring air and the sights of vegetation coming into bloom. There are plenty of health benefits, both physical and physiological to spending time outside. Not to mention that the outdoors provide plenty of ways to get active. If you spend most of your workouts indoors in the gym or on a treadmill you are truly missing out.

Studies have shown that getting out in nature can improves your energy and stress levels while decreasing stress hormones like cortisol. In addition to improving the feeling of wellness, nature can also have serious physical benefits. The fresh air of nature can improve both lung and heart health. People who live in areas where trees are sparse have been shown to have higher risks of lung and heart disease. Nature can even help fight cancer! NK (natural killer) cells in the body have a key role in the immune system fighting diseases like cancer. When participants went on regular natures walks they were shown to experience a 40% increase in NK cells versus the group that went on urban walks who saw no difference in NK cells ⁽¹⁾. Nature can also boost creativity levels. Creativity tests in subjects who avoided electronic devices and spent more time outside proved to be 50% higher than that of a control group. Additionally, the extra sunlight will help your body synthesize vitamin D, which has a key role in hormonal levels and mood regulation.

So we have a ton of reasons to get outside, but what exactly is there to do outside? Everything and anything. Check out some of these suggestions below to get outside and get fit at the same time!

Hiking
Hiking may seem like it doesn't involve much fitness, but over long durations it can be strenuous. It can take you right into the heart of the wilderness where you will get to see some of the best spots nature has to offer while reaping all the benefits of getting outdoors. Its also easy to turn this into a group activity that you can enjoy with your friends. If your looking for a local spot to hike near Waterloo, check out the Huron Natural Area in Kitchener or the Preservation Park in Guelph.

Kayaking/Canoeing
Kayaking and canoeing is great at building upper body strength while giving you the rush of being out on open water. This gives you the opportunity to experience nature from a completely different perspective. Renting a canoe or kayak with a friend is easy and not too expensive. If you are looking for a local canoe rental company in Waterloo, check out Canoeing the Grand.

Running
Running outdoors is a great way to burn calories and build cardiovascular fitness. Running outdoors vs running on the treadmill has been shown to be more motivating and satisfying while burning slightly more calories at any given speed. Not to mention that you get to enjoy the scenery as you go!

Mountain Biking
Mountain biking can be a great workout, building leg endurance while burning tons of calories at the same time. The Hydrocut trail system in Waterloo is great for all experience levels and has been selected as the best cross-country mountain bike trail in Ontario and Canada (http://hydrocut.ca/). Next time you decide to go on a bike ride, get your tires dirty and try the trails instead!

Pick-Up Sports
Get some friends together and start a round of your favourite sport! Sports like basketball, soccer, football, beach volleyball and baseball burn tons of calories without the feeling like work. Getting outside and playing ball for an hour is a great way to switch up your workouts or to stay active on 'rest' days.

Eat a protien at every meal

Protein is an essential building block for producing and maintaining lean tissue. Protein is not typically used during physical activity (makes up about 10% of fuel consumption during exercise) however it is vital for muscle building and repair after exercise. Nonessential amino acids cannot be produced in the human body and thus must come from a balanced diet.

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Recommendations:
    • It is recommended that men and women should have a protein intake of at least 0.8 grams per kilogram of bodyweight every day.
    • For strength and power athletes, it is recommended for them to intake 1.2-1.7 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight.
    • For endurance athletes, it is recommended for them to intake 1.2 to 1.4 grams of protein per kilogram of bodyweight.

Protein-rich Food Sources:
    • Greek yogurt
    • Cottage cheese
    • Eggs
    • Steak
    • Pork chops
    • Chicken breast
    • Turkey breast
    • Tuna
    • Halibut
    • Salmon
    • Octopus
    • Lentils
    • Peanut Butter
    • Tofu

Strength train twice a week

Discussion: Strength training is a type of physical activity that exercises a muscle or muscle group through external resistance. It is a fun and challenging way to stay fit yet many seem to overlook it in favour of more aerobic style exercises (which of course are important too). This article will outline the benefits of strength training and why you should include it in your fitness routine.

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Benefits of regular strength training:

1) Physical Health
Like most forms of exercise, strength training offers many benefits to one's health including:
        • Increased HDL - High Density Lipoprotein (good cholesterol) and decreased LDL - Low Density Lipoprotein (bad cholesterol).
        • Reduced risk of diabetes and insulin needs.
        • Lowered risk of cardiovascular disease.
        • Lowered high blood pressure.
        • Decreased or minimized risk of osteoporosis by building bone mass

2) Mental Health
Not only does strength training improve your physical health but it also offers many benefits for mental health as well. Studies have shown that strength training can help relieve stress and anxiety. It can also help you fall asleep easier at night. These are all things that are vital as a student.

3) Muscle Tone and Body Composition
Strength training results in firmer and more well-defined muscles and decreased body fat percentage. Also, an increase in muscle mass means that you will burn more calories even at rest!

4) Decreased Risk of Injury
By strengthening your muscles and better protecting your tendons and ligaments you increase the amount of stress they can handle thus decreasing your risk of injury.

5) Improvement Quality of Life
Not only does strength training boost confidence and body image but it also makes physical activities in your day-to-day life, such as carrying, lifting, or climbing stairs, easier. The only downside is you might be the person everyone comes to for help to move ;).

Resources:
There are many resources at your disposal that have exercise databases to help you get started for example: http://www.exrx.net/Lists/Directory.html

In addition, feel free to always approach a UW trainer for help with learning an exercise and developing proficient technique. You can also hire a trainer for personal training sessions to specifically target and achieve both your short-term and long-term goals. More information on personal training sessions can be found here: http://www.varsity.uwaterloo.ca/sports/2010/8/3/Personal_Training.aspx

Eat a Vegetable at Every Meal

Eat a vegetable at every meal
When preparing meals, vegetables are often neglected. However, it is imperative that we start developing healthy habits as young adults to carry with us for the rest of our lives. Eating more vegetables is one simple change to make our diets healthier. This article will help you understand why this change is so important, and give you some ideas to incorporate more vegetables into your diet each day!

Five Ways WHY we should add a vegetable to every meal:

1) High Fibre Content - The inability to digest fibre from plant-foods is how our body is able to maintain a healthy colon. One way to ensure you eat adequate fibre throughout the day is by adding veggies to your meals! Since we cannot digest plant components such as cellulose, these plant-parts make their way through the colon to clean out other substances. Eating enough fibre in the diet is especially important for preventing onset of colon cancer!

2) Nutrient Dense - Vegetables are best known for their high vitamins and minerals content. Look for veggies that are either really dark in colour or incredibly bright – indicating they are most nutrient dense. At bare minimum, try eating something dark green and orange every day!

3) Increased Satiety If you are unable to satisfy your hunger after a meal, adding veggies as a side dish is a great way to increase the satiety of your meals - especially without dramatically increasing the caloric content! Not to mention you'll benefit from their high fibre content, vitamins and minerals, as well as increase your hydration from their water content.

4) Weight MaintenanceVegetables are very low in calories due to their high water content. Eating veggies is important for maintaining (or losing) weight since they have low caloric densities. Therefore, we can eat more veggies to feel full while consuming minimal calories. This prevents overeating of other foods that are not as satisfying since they are more caloric dense (i.e. fatty foods).

5) Disease PreventionA great source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fibre! All of these components help the body prevent onset of most diseases such as heart disease, obesity and some cancers. A diet high in veggies, paired with regular exercise, is one of the best lifestyle choices we can make to stay healthy.

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Five Ways HOW we can add a vegetable to every meal:

1) Pre-cut all veggies for the week, for convenience. This is a small, but effective way of increasing your veggie consumption each week. This is best done right after grocery shopping and takes about 15 minutes! Cut and slice all the veggies you bought for the week and store them in re-usable containers in your fridge. Now you'll have fresh-cut veggies available for the whole week and are easy to grab for use at mealtime. NOTE: Do not store cut veggies past 1 week.

2) Buy frozen veggies for easy-to-make sides.There are minimal nutritional differences between fresh and frozen veggies. In fact, frozen veggies are significantly cheaper, store longer, and more convenient than fresh veggies! If taste is not your primary concern, frozen veggies are an acceptable choice for fresh veggies at mealtime.

3) Use the microwave, for convenience.For the purpose of convenience, the microwave can be used to cook veggies. There is minimal depletion of the nutritional content of vegetables, since most can be cooked in the microwave in under 2 minutes. So next time you need to cook a potato quickly before rushing to class, throw it in the microwave (with the skin on) to speed up the process!

4) Eat veggies as snacks. Rather than snacking on fast-foods, add some salt and pepper to your fresh veggies! To complete your snack, dip your veggies in hummus or salsa. Be prepared by pre-cutting your veggies for the week and bring them to school in plastic bags.

5) Mix with other foods.Veggies can be added to almost any food dish! Add a handful of lettuce or spinach to meat dishes, eggs, sandwiches or pastas.

A simple, High-Veggie Day Meal Plan

Breakfast: Omelette
• 2 eggs
• handful of spinach
• chopped onion, peppers, and tomatoes
• feta cheese (optional)
• salt and pepper

Lunch: Sandwiches
• 2 slices whole-wheat bread
• sliced or cut chicken breast
• sauces (minimal): mustard, mayonnaise, teriyaki sauce etc.
• toppings (as much as you want!) : tomatoes, lettuce, onion, cucumber, peppers

Dinner: Stirfry
• meat of your choice (poultry, shrimp, beef)
• unlimited handfuls of frozen veggies of your choice
• 1 tablespoon soy or teriyaki sauce
• chicken broth as needed
• spices
• 1 tablespoon butter or oil for cooking

Snack: Veggies + hummus
• unlimited fresh carrots, cucumbers, other veggies of choice
• 4 tablespoons of hummus dip
• small handful of seeds or nut

Perform cardiovascular training twice per week.

Building upon habit one (getting 300 minutes of activity in per week), the inclusion of cardiovascular-specific exercises can yield additional health benefits. The focus here is to further elevate your heart rate. In addition, there a host of different of different forms of cardiovascular activities:

• Jogging
• Swimming
• Rowing
• Cycling
• Circuit Training
• Stair Master

Benefits of cardiovascular training:
• Effective tool to enhance weight loss and improve body composition.
      - Cardiovascular training will consume fat stores in the body to provide the energy required to sustain exercise. By increasing caloric expenditure past caloric intake, gradual weight loss occurs

• Unsurprisingly, cardiovascular health will greatly improve:
      - The size and thickness of the heart will increase
      - Resting heart rate will decrease
      - Physical exertion can continue for longer without fatigue
      - Risks of heart disease is greatly reduced.

• Effective method of combating type two diabetes. Exercise reduces insulin resistance and enhances the transport of blood sugars into muscle tissue. The risks of chronically elevated blood sugar include:
      - Increased risk of strokes and heart attack
      - Increased risk of damage to blood vessels and internal organs

Method 1: Steady State Cardiovascular Training:
• Exercise is performed at a constant intensity
• In order to increase the level of difficulty, increase either the duration or intensity or both
      - Cardiovascular training can begin at 15 minutes per session and gradually increase to 40 minutes per session
        - Intensity can be measured based on machine settings or with your heart rate. You can begin training at 50% of your maximum heart rate and eventually increase to the 85% of your heart rate
      - To determine your maximum heart rate, subtract your age from 220.

High Intensity Interval Training:
• Exercise is performed at alternating heart rates with a much shorter duration
      - An example session is 30 seconds at 55% of your maximal heart rate, 30 seconds at 75% of your maximal heart rate, and repeat for 10 minutes.
• Enhances metabolism and energy expenditure for hours after the workout itself which promotes fat loss.
• Effective tool to keep your body from becoming accustomed to the workout, prevents plateaus, and enhances fatloss
• In order to increase the difficulty, you can extend the duration and also work at higher heart rate zones

Tip:
• For beginners, begin with very light intensities at shorter duration. HIIT protocols can be very taxing on the body so it is important to ease your body into the transition
• HIIT Protocols can be applied to any aspect of fitness. For example, you can alternate between different heart zones on the bike, treadmill, or rowing machine.
      - You can also implement exercises into HIIT protocols. For example, you can alternate between 30 seconds of burpees and 30 seconds of a plank to once again target different heart rate zones.

Time Management Skills

Time Management is a crucial skill for success in any field. Almost any University student would tell you that time management can make or break your success in school. Having to deal with school or work, on top of personal day-to-day tasks can make it difficult to be active or stay health. By managing your time more efficiently, you will find that you not only have enough time to exercise, but you will also have more time to yourself. Check out these time management tips to get an edge on organizing your schedule:
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Create Detailed Schedules For The Entire Term
Use an agenda or calendar to create a long term schedule. Include all dates for school or work like exams, labs, presentations and project due dates. By seeing what you have due weeks in advance, due dates are much less likely to sneak up on you.

Create Day-to-Day 'To Do' Lists
In addition to scheduling for the long-term, it's important to plan out each of your days. Make sure to include specific time goals for the tasks you need to complete. Make sure not to neglect the smaller open time blocks in your day. Even 15 minutes of extra work every day adds up in the long term.

Use Backwards Planning Techniques
Backwards Planning involves scheduling the steps leading up to a due date starting from the due date itself and working backwards. For example, knowing that you had an exam on May 25^th, you could plan to do final review for 2 hours each day from the 20^th to 24^th, then plan to do a practice exam on the 19^th, then plan to do study an hour each day from the 10^th to the 18^th. Using this strategy, you know exactly when you need to start studying, preventing yourself from procrastinating or beginning to study too early.

Break Down Projects into Smaller Steps
Large projects may seem daunting at first. If you have trouble deciding where to start; try breaking your projects down into smaller achievable tasks. For example, reading a textbook could be broken into individual chapter tasks which can each be scheduled separately. Furthermore, these chapters can be broken into highlighting or skimming first followed more in-depth reading. By taking on goals one step at a time you can avoid getting side tracked.

Reward Yourself
How do you like to procrastinate? As you finish each small goal, reward yourself by allowing yourself to spend time doing whatever this is; whether its watching TV or hanging out with friends. By giving yourself small rewards and breaks between tasks you will be less tempted to push back your work.

Prioritize Important Tasks Rather Than Desirable Ones
It can be tempting to study for your favourite classes instead of spending time on the classes that you need more work on. By getting the more burdensome tasks done first, you will be less likely to procrastinate.

Don't Overwhelm Yourself!
You can't go from completely unorganized to scheduling every second of your life overnight. Gradually begin to add to components to your time management regimen. This will help keep you on track for the long term. Don't be discouraged by past failures, take control of your life now!

For additional resources, check out what the Student Success office has to offer https://uwaterloo.ca/student-success/

Learn Portion Sizes

Portion Sizes
Having the knowledge of portion sizes is very helpful in order for you to determine how much of each food group to include in your daily meals. These tips will also become very useful in a future week where we show you how to meal-prep and plan out your meals for several days in advance.
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Tips:
1. Look at your plate of food. Roughly half of your plate should be full of vegetables, one-quarter should be your protein, and the last one-quarter should be your starch.
2. Read food labels. Every one of them displays the serving size. It's usually not one entire package.

Source: http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/01/know-your-portion-sizes/

Sleep is Key

"Sleep is that golden chain that ties health and our bodies together" -Thomas Dekker

The pace of life nowadays seems to be ever increasing. With the world at our fingertips, we are able to organize our time, files and friends all on our mobiles phones. We are able to get access to food, entertainment and information on a whim with the advances of modern technology. With life moving at such a fast pace, we often forget to devote time to winding down and sleeping when the day comes to an end.

The average person needs between 7 to 9 hours of sleep to function optimally, however studies show that more and more people are getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night. Over a third of all North Americans have been shown to be sleep deprived. However; skimping out on shut-eye has real physical consequences. Sleep plays a vital role in brain health; it solidifies learning and increases alertness for the next day.

Sleep also gives the body a chance to repair itself. Most blood vessel and muscle repair occurs while we are sleeping. The next time you think about staying up an hour later to watch another episode on Netflix, consider the benefits that a full night sleep can provide.

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Clearly, getting enough sleep each night is important but it isn't only quantity of sleep but quality is important as well. If you spend half of your night lying in bed trying to fall asleep, you are missing out on many the benefits that you could be getting. If you're looking to make the most of your time sleeping, check out some of the tips below for a better night's sleep:

1. Set a Sleep Schedule
Try to go to bed and wake up at the same times every day (even on weekends!). This allows your body to adapt its sleep cycles so that you wake up feeling rejuvenated every morning.

2. Avoid Napping
Napping during the day can offset your body's natural circadian rhythm, causing issues falling asleep at night. If you must nap, aim for 30 min or less at least 8 hours before you go to sleep for the night.

3. Reserve Your Bed For Sleeping
Avoid reading, watching TV or doing homework while in bed. By reserving your bed for sleeping your brain will start to associate the bed with sleepiness. Exceptions can be made for snuggling.

4. Avoid Caffeine During the Day
Although caffeine may make you feel more energized during the day, it may wreak havoc on your sleep schedule. If you are going to consume caffeine filled foods and drinks (coffee, tea, chocolate, etc.) try to limit it to at least 8 hours before you plan on sleeping.

5. Sleep Only When You Are Tired!
Lying in bed and staring at the ceiling isn't going to do you any good. If you are having trouble falling asleep, get out of bed and do something relaxing, like reading a book or listening to calm music until you feel tired. If you spend too much time lying sleeplessly in bed, your body will begin to associate your bed with sleeplessness.

6. Create a Good Sleep Environment
Make sure that your room is dark and quiet while you are sleeping. Clear the room of any distractions that might keep you up.

Eat breakfast every morning

We've all heard the phrase: "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day" but despite this many individuals skip it commonly due to being in a rush in the mornings. Keep in mind that there is generally an 8-10 hour gap between dinner and breakfast where the body has been deprived of any input of calories and nutrients. As a result, starting your morning with a balanced, healthy breakfast can provide many benefits.

Benefits of Breakfast in the Morning:
• Replenish glucose levels, your body's primary source of energy, in order to increase your energy levels and reduce fatigue
• Increases levels of alertness, cognitive function, and memory retention
• Encourages weight loss by jumpstarting your body's rate of metabolism which stabilizes blood sugar levels. This prevents blood sugar levels crashing which induces hunger and the tendency to overeat
• A great lifestyle change to boost energy, longevity and health in both the short term and long run.

Breakfast Recipes

Overnight Oats: A great recipe that only requires very minimal preparation. All you need is to spend 5 minutes mixing the ingredients, store it in the fridge, and everything is ready to go for the morning.

To make overnight oats all you need is:
• 1/3 cup oats
• 3/4 – 1 cup milk (almond milk or any milk substitute works fine as well)
• Just mix the oats and milk together in a bowl, mug, or tupperware. You can also replace some of the milk with an equivalent portion of plain or Greek yogurt.

Jazz up your oats with healthy and delicious toppings such as:
• Fresh or frozen fruit
• Chopped nuts and/or nut butter
• Hemp seeds and/or chia seeds
• Protein powder

Eggs: Eggs are an excellent source of protein and healthy fats. They are pretty quick to cook up in the morning but to save on even more time you can boil a dozen eggs or cook up some egg cups (recipe below) ahead of time. Boiled eggs will last up to a week in the fridge in a sealed container. Egg cups will last up to 4 days sealed in the fridge and longer if kept in the freezer. Pair 2 boiled eggs or egg cups with a healthy carb such as whole grain toast or a piece of fruit. You can also add in a tablespoon of nut butter with your toast or fruit to get in some more healthy fats.

Egg Cup Recipe (makes 12 egg cups)

Ingredients:
• 12 eggs
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 – 1 ½ chopped veggies of your choice
• Optional: ½ cup shredded cheese
• Optional: ½ cup lean ground meat or chopped sliced meatAlso feel free to add in any extra spices if desired.

Egg Cup Procedure:
1) Preheat your over to 340 degrees F and lightly grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners
2) Beat eggs in a large bowl. Mix in the salt, pepper, and any other spices. Then mix in your veggies, meat, and cheese. If you include meat in your egg cups make sure it is already cooked!
3) Spoon the egg mixture into the muffin tray. About 1/3 cup of mixture per muffin tin.
4) Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes. To check if they are done, poke a knife through a muffins centre and check to see if it comes out clean.

Recipe Resources:
Pumpkin protein pancakes: http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/video-jamie-eason-pumpkin-spice-pancakes.htm
Healthy breakfast burritos: http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/quick-breakfast-burritos-0
Smoothie: http://iowagirleats.com/2012/12/10/sunrise-smoothie/
Avocado toast: http://www.californiaavocado.com/recipe-details/view/31710/california-avocado-toast-three-ways

Drink two liters of water on a daily basis

It is often mentioned that adequate water intake is paramount in maintaining optimal health, but why is it so important and how does it impact our day-day activity? Depending on our age and sex, 45-60% of our body is composed of water. Naturally, it is extremely important for everyone to continuously replenish our water reserves, especially after habit one and getting a sweat on every day.

Symptoms and Effects of Dehydration and Hydration:

Initial symptoms with short-term dehydration
    • Loss of skin elasticity
    • Muscle cramping
    • Headaches and nausea
    • Fatigue and weakness

Long-term symptoms with chronic dehydration
    • Muscle spasms
    • Severe nausea and vomiting
    • Kidney and liver failure
    • Vision failure

Benefits of regular hydration
    • Reduce high blood pressure by increasing the proportion of water in our blood
    • Improve skin quality, acne, dermatitis, and premature skin aging by purging toxins
    • Slow the aging process by keeping cells hydrated and functioning optimally
    • Assist with weight loss as water intake satiates hunger
    • Maintain a healthy digestive system with optimal waste removal from the intestinal tract

Goal: Carry a refillable bottle with you throughout the day to constantly remind yourself to achieve the 2 liter/day benchmark

Engage in physical activity four days a week

Many people who think of physical activity automatically envision people going to the gym and hoisting huge amounts of weight for hours on end. This is not the case at all. The beauty of fitness is that it is completely subjective and individualized. In other words, what fitness is to me, could be completely different to you.

Examples of various physical activities:
• Stroll around the neighbourhood
•  Hike through nature
•  Sports: swimming, basketball, tennis, volleyball, etc
•  Weightlifting session
•  Swimming
•  Yoga classes
•  Dance lessons

Essentially any activity that elevates your heart rate, enhances your metabolism and gets the body moving is a great way to start performing this habit.

Benefits of Regular Physical Activity:
•  Fall into deeper stages of sleep sooner – wake up feeling revitalized and recharged
•  Exercise-induced hormone release balances emotions, boosts self-esteem and increases the feeling of happiness
•  Reduce feelings of anxiety and alleviate stress
•  Improve cardiovascular health, burn fatty tissue, gain muscle mass and enhance bone density
•  Combat a variety of illnesses: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, type 2 diabetes

Goal: Eventually, as physical activity becomes a regular routine in your lifestyle, you should aim to achieve 300 minutes of exercise per week in order to reap maximum health benefits.

Resources: If you are eager to begin your journey of wellness but unsure of where to start, Warrior Recreation offers a wide variety of different fitness courses, shoe-tag classes, and personal training packages! This is a fantastic opportunity to meet like-minded individuals, learn about wellness and nutrition, and also take the first step in creating the strongest version of yourself today.

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