Column: Food for thought

I arrived at the Student Recreational Sports Center this morning and wondered why the line for the treadmill looked like the day after the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
After logging in time on the track, I realized the start of the new year meant the season for New Year’s Resolutions had once again arrived.

While any dietetics major would agree that resolving to eat healthier and workout more is a smart decision, the resolutions made by individuals to starve themselves and over-exercise are never endorsed.

A better resolution individuals can make this year is to improve their relationship with food and create positive eating habits that will last not only a week, but a lifetime.
From a psychological standpoint, denying certain foods only makes one crave that item more and often break down and binge-eat.

In order to achieve optimal health, it is important to view food as energy that fuels your body, but also as something that can be pleasurable.

Having a negative relationship with food can consume a person’s life, especially in college, where students are given full control of their diet for the first time.

This does not have to be the case, however, and instead of obsessing over every morsel eaten, this newfound freedom can be used to explore new cuisine and eat healthier than ever before.

When it comes to eating well, enjoying everything in moderation and consuming a wide variety of fresh foods makes for an nutritious diet. Super restrictive eating plans often end in failure and are deficient in sufficient calories, vitamins and minerals.

One of my resolutions this spring is to master cooking more types of seafood, because there is a multitude of health benefits to eating this protein and omega-3 rich fare.

Also, it’s an area of cooking I am less confident about preparing. During the last two years, cooking has become one of my favorite hobbies and eating food I know that I made makes it taste that much better.

So this year make a resolution you can actually keep and resolve to savor every bite!

Keeping resolutions?

It’s been more than three weeks since New Year’s Day, and according to the ProActiv Research Institute, 34 percent of American adults have already broken their resolutions. What was your resolution, and how is it going? 

Brady Gerber, freshman
“To let things I can’t control play out, to only worry about what I can control. I think I’ve done a pretty good job — I have some quotes on my computer I try to remember like, ‘Life is too important to take seriously.’”

Tyanna Miller, freshman
“To eat healthier — not as much fast food like chips or vending machine food. Being a freshman, there’s tons of opportunities to sit around and eat junk food, so I try and watch what I eat. I also live at home, so budget-wise I’m not pressured.”

Jenny Blackey, freshman
“Not to eat cookies, especially Snickerdoodles because I eat them all the time, and being more healthy. So far, it’s been so good. I don’t go to places like Crimson Creamery where there are many cookies.”