Health & Wellness Wednesday - Dietetic Intern

Coe has had a dietetic intern (Brian Scheil) on campus for almost two weeks now. Brian has served many groups on campus thus far; met with Coe College Dining Services, served as a resource at Coe's Health Fair, individual wellness classes, etc. This week, he held separate question and answer sessions for the volleyball, women's basketball, wrestling and today, tennis teams!

I will thus expound upon that meeting as a tie in to Health & Wellness Wednesday!

In my opinion, the most important takeaway of the day from Brian.....examine your nutrition, cut out half the sugar and replace that with complex carbs; your performance will increase. Brian included rice, potatoes, etc within his list of complex carbs. Given my understanding of Fit for Life, I personally would stick to whole wheat and whole grain options....an excellent list of complex carbs here:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/27398-list-complex-carbohydrates-foods/

Specific Questions asked by Coe Tennis players....the answers a combination of Brian's response, my own understanding and at times, a bit of research.

Q: I love cereal and eat it most every morning. What types of cereal should I be eating?

A: Cereal that is low in sugar. Whole wheat, or whole grain when possible. Bran is another good option. As is oatmeal if a satisfactory substitute. For specific types:

http://www.livestrong.com/article/101223-top-healthiest-cereals/

Personally, I am fan of Cheerios and Special K Protein Plus.

Healthy options that I have found to be less readily available with the top choice being Post Shredded Wheat Original:

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-healthiest-breakfast-cereals.html

Q: What are your thoughts on supplements and energy drinks?

A: Other than fish oil (and a multi-vitamin if desired) being encouraged as a supplement, Brian was adamant that the best way to maximize energy is to eat a well balanced diet and get plenty of sleep. He also shared an interesting fact that I was unaware of.....if taking vitamins, and your urine is bright yellow, your body is excreting what isn't being absorbed. A more in depth explanation here.

http://www.livestrong.com/article/505866-vitamins-and-yellow-urine/

FITNESS CLASS

Deviating topics here....despite the grumbles received, ran my class through their periodic fitness test on Monday. Very pleased to say that everyone is still making progress! I have included the results of two members (and myself) below, and the % increase over time for the 8 different exercises.

Results

Quote of the week from a member of my fitness class....."Maybe we'll doing something easy today like an Insanity video.....Kris is tougher than Shaun T." I share that with all of you not to toot my own horn, but rather to show the level of fitness my class has attained; it wasn't too long ago that an Insanity video was considered EXTREMELY DIFFICULT. Will have to up my own game to keep pushing these folks!