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  • Everything in Moderation: The Balanced Approach to Healthy Eating

    Everything in Moderation: The Balanced Approach to Healthy Eating

    Healthy eating is important for reasons I’m sure you already know about: to keep your energy levels high and to allow your body to function at its peak. But eating well is just as important psychologically as it is physically and, from a mental health standpoint, it’s important to practice a balanced rather than an all-or-nothing approach.

    To me, “eating well” means focusing on whole foods, minimizing processed foods and consuming lots of fruit and vegetables. “Eating well” means choosing whole grains instead of white starch, and brown rather than white rice and pastas. It means eating a healthy and balanced breakfast, eating every 4 hours or so and staying well hydrated.

    What “eating well” does not mean is dieting, or staying away from anything containing sugar. “Eating well” doesn’t mean never eating dessert, and it definitely doesn’t mean not enjoying what you eat and using food as punishment. Thinking that you need to eat a perfectly clean diet with no treats whatsoever is dangerous, and can lead to disordered eating.

    Enjoying and indulging in treats once in awhile will not make a dent in an otherwise healthy diet. Rather, it will keep you balanced psychologically, and it will result in a healthier attitude toward food. Denying yourself the piece of cake you really want does not always mean that you’re disciplined; instead, it means that you’ll probably binge on it later and “start again tomorrow.” This can result in a vicious cycle; rather, be friends with desserts. If you really want to be healthy, have a little; if you’re still thinking about it and want to have some more, have some. Don’t get trapped into believing that having dessert means you aren’t eating well.

    You can also make healthy, unprocessed treats and desserts for yourself using natural sweeteners like honey and agave nectar. There are lots of websites with ideas for delicious and chemical-free desserts that will fuel your mind and body with clean energy. Just remember that, as important as it is to provide your body with the fuel it needs to work well, it’s equally important to enjoy the food you eat in order to keep your mind calm and balanced.

  • Life After High School

    Do you ever think about what you plan to do when you finish high school? Maybe you want to work right away or maybe you want to continue studying. For the first time, you’ll be making decisions that could affect you, your family, and your friends for the rest of your life. You can’t control everything in your life, but you can make a plan that will help you to enjoy whatever you do and to have a fulfilling life.

    You might expect that life after graduation will be completely different from your life in high school. For some of you, this might be true. You might decide to get married or to move to a different country or a different city. Suddenly, you’ll have to make your own decisions about your future, and even if your parents help, you’ll be responsible for your own life. You’ll be an adult.

    For at least the first while, your new freedom might seem very exciting. If you decide to go out and get a job, the freedom of having money might be a lot of fun. You might decide to get a job right away working in the retail or service industries. You might decide to go to university to become a doctor or teacher or go to a vocational school for a career in a trade.

    If you choose to work right after graduation, you might find that your job is a lot like high school. You’ll have to get to work on time and stay for the whole day unless you have a special reason to leave. If you miss work too often without a good excuse, you might lose your job.

    If you choose to continue with your education, you might find that your instructors pay little attention to whether or not you attend classes. You could attend only the first and last classes and still get good marks. However, you’ll still have to take all of the tests and complete all of the assignments if you want to pass the course. The professors likely won’t watch over you the same way teachers do in high school, but they’ll still expect you to get your work done.

    One thing that will likely stay the same after high school is the types of people you meet. Whether at work or in university, you’ll find the same mixture of friendly or unfriendly people, helpful or unhelpful, tense or relaxed. You will probably also remain much the same. Different situations might bring out skills and interests you never knew you had. However, your basic character will probably remain unchanged. That’s why it’s important to begin thinking about not just what you want to do, but what kind of person you want to be.

    Does life after high school sound like the kind of life you already have or like an exciting adventure that is opening up? In the end, both of these possibilities might be true. Use this opportunity to be everything you’ve always wanted to be.

  • Why Choose a School Far Away From Home?

    Why Choose a School Far Away From Home?

    Discerning where to continue your education after high school is a major life decision. The first question to ask yourself is whether you want to stay home, close to the comforts of your current lifestyle, or if you are willing to take a bold step and move elsewhere. When you attend a university or college far from home, the majority of what you learn happens outside of the classroom.

    Maturity
    At a university or college far from home, you will be away from the watchful eyes of the parents or guardians who led you through high school. You will face new kinds of peer pressure and have the freedom to choose how to balance your social life with your school life. You will be free to stay out all night long celebrating on weekday nights with your friends and you alone will have to face the consequences of your actions.

    Sociability
    Moving away from home means you will have to temporarily leave your circle of friends behind during the school year. The distance will not only make you appreciate each other more, but it will also mean your classes will be filled with new faces, all of whom are potential new friends.

    Respect for others
    Whether the stranger you share a dorm room with becomes one of your closest friends or drives you completely crazy, you will still have the perfect opportunity to learn how to share a space with another person. You might discover you have a whole host of new pet peeves, but you might also learn quickly how to successfully deal with them.

    Health consciousness
    Establishing a healthy and balanced diet can be just as important for succeeding in post-secondary education as studying for your exams. If your new school provides an “all-you-care-to-eat” buffet-style meal hall, you will need to learn how to have discretion in your choices.

    Time-management
    Or perhaps you choose to cook for yourself. Sometimes you will have to squeeze in three classes, two labs, a trip to the grocery store and time to cook dinner all into a single day. And that’s before you hit the books and get through all the readings you will have to have done for the next day.

    The first year of post-education can be arguably much more difficult than later years because that is when students transition into their new lifestyles. The learning curve is sharp and the work load is heavy. Many first year classes act as introductions to topics so there is often a huge amount of daily readings and assignments for students to do. But always keep in mind that the harder a challenge is, the more satisfying it will feel to overcome it.