Caroline Shaeffer
Writer

Students at the University can be as healthy or unhealthy as they want, and depending on their choice, the school can either make their decision very easy or very difficult. Being somewhat of an exercise enthusiast myself, I can’t imagine not living a “healthy” lifestyle, and the University provides me with many ways to achieve this. The facilities at the gym make it easy for anyone at any level of physical fitness to work out, and daily workout classes like Zumba or Tabata provide students with a fun and different way of gettingtheir workout in. If you want to work out at the University, you’d be hard-pressed to find an excuse as to why you could not. Still, some students have trouble getting themselves to those classes, or passing up that second slice of Nestle Toll House pie in Bostwick Marketplace, and understandably struggle with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. From personal experience, I can confidently say that it is possible for anyone, but you do need to have one thing: determination.

The act of lacing up your sneakers and walking down to the gym is always more mentally punishing than the actual workout itself. From what I’ve learned, sometimes the hardest part of any workout is simply getting started. In the end, if you were going to quit at any point, it would have been before you even started, not during the middle of your workout. The same goes for eating unhealthy foods. Sure, Bostwick Marketplace the Bison have lots of tempting offers as far as sweets and fried foods go, and sure, it’s okay to indulge in these treats every once in a while, but don’t make a habit of lapping the dessert table after every meal. Instead, get fruit if you’re still hungry and add peanut butter if you’re craving something sweet. I guarantee it will satisfy your lingering hunger and sweet tooth in a much healthier way than four cookies would. 

Of course, sometimes I’m guilty of snacking on sweets a little too often, or skipping a workout for no valid reason, but to occasionally lapse isn’t necessarily a negative thing as long as the lapse doesn’t become a habit. No one can live a completely exercise-oriented, sugar-free lifestyle–it would just be depressing. The key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is to balance the exercise and healthy eating with the occasional reward, whether it be a day off or a slice of cake. That way, your life has an equal balance of what is good for you and what is just plain good.