That's Fit

It once was called the "Freshman 15." Now it's the "Freshmen 5" -- 15 was apparently an inflated number -- and even though the tendency for young women to gain five pounds after embarking on a new college experience doesn't seem so devastating, it's still quite alarming, say Canadian researchers.

It's alarming because the weight is typically gained over six or seven months. Putting on weight at this rate can be very problematic.

While there are limitations to the study of this phenomenon -- women who took part in weight-gain research reported only what they ate during the prior 24 hours, for example -- it's clear that colleges need to do more to incorporate physical activity into the lives of female students. And girls entering college should be advised to eat right and exercise well.

I distinctly recall making a trek through the New England snow during winter mid-terms while I was in college. As just about every student on campus crammed for exams, the school was nice enough to offer us late-night study breaks -- typically in the form of hot cocoa and some cookies in the student union. The break was a great way to decompress, but it turns out the hot cocoa actually offered its own unique benefits to the brain-clogged undergrads that we were.

Researchers at the Nottingham Medical School in England found that the flavonoids in chocolate increase blood flow to your brain for up to three hours. This is particularly beneficial during times when your brain may not be operating at its best -- like, oh I don't know, when you've been awake for almost three full days, trying your best to cram a semester's worth of learning into that short of an amount of time.

Dark chocolate contains more flavonoids than does milk chocolate. Best I can remember, the university's hot cocoa offering was made of the latter. I'll use that as my excuse for only getting a B minus on that final.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly, our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

My guest this week is one of those people who really puts me in awe. Desmond Howard has scooped up two of the most impressive and revered awards in the entire sport of football, a Heisman Trophy and a Super Bowl MVP. As I sat with Desmond on a sunny and breezy day in the University of Florida football stadium, The Swamp, I wondered what if felt like to achieve such greatness. Most boys feel lucky to make their high school JV football team. To play in college is an honor. To do what Desmond's done ... indescribable.

I love talking to professional athletes because they have had access to the best of the best opportunities in fitness. They have been trained for perfection and have proven to have mastered the art of discipline. Surely, they have something to share!

ince retiring from playing football, Desmond now works as a color analyst for ESPN's College GameDay. He doesn't have the luxury of an aggressive coach barking at him each day to maximize his potential. He trains because he loves being fit, and just like you and me, he has had to find creative ways to work it into his schedule.

On a personal note ... for someone with so much success in one of the most testosterone-driven sports in the world, Desmond was one of the most down-to-earth non-egotistical men I've ever met. He maintained a gigantic smile (with ridiculously perfect white teeth) throughout our entire conversation and was just a pleasure to spend time with. He's smart, funny, and everything I would want my son to become if he followed in a similar athletic path. Plus he praised his Mom, and of course, I want my baby to do that too. If you haven't been able to keep up with Desmond's success in sports, but would like to achieve great fitness as an adult ... read on.

Fitz: You've retired as one of the most successful football players in both the NFL and NCAA. What do you do now to stay fit?

Desmond: I usually try to work out four-five times a week, but it's kind of difficult when I travel a lot. When we do a lot of college football games, I'll ask the Sports Information Director of the university where we'll be if we can use their weight room. Sometimes the hotels we stay in have pretty nice weight rooms too. We really don't need a lot. I try to do cardio. I like the elliptical machine a lot, because it's low impact on my knees. If they don't have that I'll do the stationary bike. I always get in at least 35-40 minutes of hard cardio, work my core, and then work some other muscle group.

Good role modeling never goes out of style. It may even be the exact reason why people gobble down Goldfish crackers -- or animal crackers.

In one study, cited in June's The Oprah Magazine, college students who watched a video of a colleague talking while eating Goldfish crackers chose Goldfish over animal crackers 71 percent of the time. Those watching someone eat animal crackers went for Goldfish only 44 percent of the time, despite a reported overall preference for Goldfish.

This Monkey See, Monkey Do phenomenon holds true for babies too.
Chow down on fruits and veggies while your baby is in the womb and while you're breastfeeding and your little one will be more likely to consume these items when offered them, say researchers mentioned in the May issue of Woman's Day magazine.

The lesson here: Think before you eat, because people, even babies, are likely to mimic your actions. And be careful about whose eating habits you watch, because you're likely to pick up the very snacks you see.

For some strategies and tips for healthy eating, check out AOL's America Takes It Off series.

I dare you to read this story without getting choked up.

Throughout their high school and college careers, student-athletes are told over and over again that sportsmanship is important. That's why, in many sports, the athletes and coaches shake hands before and after each game. However, what happened at a Central Washington University softball game is the greatest display of sportsmanship I've ever heard.

The game, versus Western Oregon, would decide whether Central would keep their Division II playoff hopes alive -- it was the second game of a double header, the first of which Western had already won. In the second inning, 5'2" senior right fielder Sara Tucholsky stepped up to bat with two runners on, and did something she'd never done before, not even in practice -- she hit a home run.

Elated, she sprinted to first base and rounded it, but as she did so, she realized she hadn't actually made contact with the bag. She turned to go back and felt an enormous pain as her knee gave out, and she collapsed right there on the base path.

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

This week I got to sit down on a beautiful sunny day, in The Swamp with the very sweet, smart and athletic ESPN College GameDay Analyst Mr. Kirk Herbstreit. No, we weren't knee deep in mucky water. We were in the heart of Gator Country enjoying the breeze after Kirk completed his workout, running zillions of steps at the University of Florida football stadium, The Swamp. Kirk retired from playing football more than 15 years ago, after four years at quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes. But now, he's one of the major faces of college football. Pandemonium strikes college campuses across the country when he -- along with host Chris Fowler and analyst Lee Corso -- set up shop outside the biggest games of each week.

Kirk brings something unique to the team. Every time the GameDay crew heads to the University of Florida, I find more than just the expected crowd of rowdy football fans swarming their booth. There is always an unusual amount of females in a frenzy to get as close a look as possible into Kirk's pretty blue eyes. He's definitely worthy of the attention. From my interaction with Kirk, I think he's a genuinely nice and genuinely thoughtful person. Before we started talking fitness, Kirk shared concerns over all the violence taking place on college campuses. He's a protective father and husband who tries to excel in his career while taking care of his family. He is just plain old sweet! And even though his professional life has been built around sports, he works hard to squeeze in fitness and manage nutritious eating just like the rest of us. Kirk seems to be an expert juggler of life and shares some great tricks for staying fit on the go. He also dishes a few doozies on football.

Fitz: What types of things do you do to stay in shape?

Kirk: It's kind of a lifestyle really. As an athlete I worked out so hard, I could eat anything without paying the price for it. As I got older, I still had that appetite and I was not able to work out as hard as I did when I was playing football. What I really try to do is control my portions, and mix in cardio and strength training workouts four to five days a week. If I can do that, I feel like I'm in a pretty good place. It's just about doing it though!

Fitz: What do you do while you're on the road?

Last night, I spent an hour or so with the faces of college football. Now, of course these faces are no longer "in" college. But! They're the ones we turn to week after week to get the scoop on our favorite teams, athletes, and upsets. ESPN College GameDay. is coevering the Orange and Blue game, which is the University of Florida Gator Spring Scrimmage. I know...it's just a scrimmage! But...it is a big deal. A very big deal to the fans, and one of the great symbols that fall football is almost back again. Since I spend a lot of time near the University of Florida, I paid them a visit for some Celebrity Fitzness Report interviews.

When I arrived, sports analyst Kirk Herbstreit and side-line reporter Erin Andrews were working out, running up and down the bleachers in the Swamp (the Gator Stadium). Maybe they knew a fitness trainer would be popping in to check on them, but probably not. They were just wisely using their short break time to squeeze in a great workout. I was kind of sad not to have been in workout clothes myself though. It would have been fun to interview them on the go! Maybe next time they're in town we'll do that.

In the U.S., the 21st birthday is a rite of passage of sorts and is commonly celebrated with a little (or a lot) of alcohol. But when researchers from the University of Missouri followed over 2,500 students for four years, they discovered a disturbing ritual was being used far more often than realized -- a game called "drink your age." A significant number of participants reported attempting to drink 21 drinks (usually in the form of shots) on their 21st birthday.

It's a dangerous game, one that can lead to alcohol poisoning and even death, and party-goers may not realize the danger they are putting themselves or their friends in.

Parents and loved ones can send a gentle reminder to their soon-to-be 21-year-old with an e-card from the group B.R.A.D. -- even anonymously if desired. B.R.A.D. was founded by family and friends of Bradley McCue, who died of alcohol poisoning on his 21st birthday after playing the "drink your age" game.

Fitzness Fiends is a section devoted to you, the reader! We all have learned so much on our path to becoming more fit, and now it's time to learn from and inspire each other! Fitzness Fiends are constantly working to better themselves. Some are perfect, some are not. All have health on the mind. Please send Fitz your answers to these questions with a photo of yourself. Time for you to be the motivator!

Name: Alexandra Harris

Age: 51

Occupation: Life Coach

How often do you exercise? I eat seven days a week, and I exercise seven days a week!

What type of exercise do you do? Power walking, light weight training (for muscle tone), and yoga (for balance, flexibility, and occasionally turning my organs upside down). I think there's something really healthy about moving your organs around!

The college years are fun, but they certainly can be stressful. Some kids are away from home for the first time, others are struggling to support themselves. Students are trying to juggle class loads, part-time jobs, and an often a very busy social scene.

Though most college students can handle the stress that they feel, in a recent survey, 1 in 5 undergraduates reported feeling stressed out all the time. Chronic stress can lead to anxiety, depression, substance abuse, poor school performance, and health problems. Alarmingly, one in ten students reported thinking about suicide.

Students reported that the things that caused them stress included:

• school work
• grades
• finances
• relationships/dating
• family problems
• extracurricular activities

The good news is that more than half of the students surveyed reported feeling hopeful and that they had a good support system. Half said they would turn to professional help if they needed it and 15% have already done so. Even so, it's clear that even though college students are out of the nest, they still need plenty of support.

College was great for many reasons, some of which have no place being mentioned on this blog. Of those that do, however, I immediately think back to the afternoon nap I occasionally took. Living on campus, it was easy to squeeze in a quick, forty-five minute power nap before my next class and recharge my batteries a bit. But, with that easy, college life schedule years behind me, the best I can do these days is enjoy the mere thought of a mid-day nap. Amazingly, though, a thought, or that anticipation, of sleep has been shown to lower blood pressure.

Studying more than 23,000 people, Greek researchers studied the health benefits of taking a daily nap. Not surprisingly, they found that people who caught some Z's in the middle of the day reduced their risk of heart attack by 37 percent. What was surprising, however, was the discovery that anticipating a nap produced the most beneficial cardiovascular effects.

Measuring the heart rates of study volunteers during two separate stages: 1) the stage between turning the lights off and the onset of sleep, and 2) during actual sleep, researchers found that heart rates were lowest in the first stage. This suggests that the anticipation of sleep may create a calming affect equal to, or even more powerful than, actually sleeping.

Yawn. Sorry ... I was busy thinking about taking a nap.

It's not every day that you see researchers walking around active parties with a clipboard and Breathalyzer in hand. Well that's exactly what Megan Holmes was doing in order to discover more concerning the truth about drinking and college.

Her team's research was literally done on the site, taking surveys and testing how drunk people were actually getting. This method puts a shame to previous surveys that may take place months or weeks after partying. So what did they find? Well, college women are out-drinking the men... and they are wearing less while doing it.

Themed parties, like toga swaps with lingerie, are the kinds of events where women drink considerably more. One researcher thought this was because they might need to get more drunk to lower their inhibitions, making it easier to be seen in such skimpy clothing. Of course, more than 20 percent admitted they were at the parties to meet a sexual partner, so you decide.

Back in college, exam time was a stressful couple of weeks. Fortunately, the university would offer free coffee, hot chocolate and tea in several late-night common areas. Being able to decompress a little and take a break with friends always seemed to help stress levels abate. In the grown-up world, exams are replaced by work deadlines, and the stress levels have risen exponentially. Fortunately, the same, simple solution still works.

University of Rochester researchers discovered that taking time to interact with colleagues will help you finish tasks when you're overwhelmed with work. They also found that isolating yourself in your office during high-pressure situations is the worst thing you can do for your stress levels, in addition to making you three times as likely to become depressed.

See .. I did learn something in college after all.

It's arguably one of the most stressful moments in a college student's life. Running on all cylinders, burning the midnight oil, eating whatever we can find, and all the while trying to retain enough information to prove we are academically competent. Yes, folks, I'm referring to exam time.

Different colleges deal with the stress in different ways. For example, according to this neat article, students at Northwestern University all venture outside their doors for a ritualistic yell at 9PM sharp. This "primal scream" is shared by Stanford, Harvard and a host of other schools who need a way to vent their stress. As one guy put it, this is a way to share in the anxiety of everyone else. So at least you don't feel alone!

NYU has a different stress-relieving technique. Like other schools across the country, staff members will serve up a midnight breakfast to jittery undergrads. Not a bad way to get to know your professors either! With all the stress of trying to be so competitive, students are needing professional help too. The president of Saint Leo University, Arthur Kirk, says that long lines aren't uncommon at counseling centers during this time of year. Where does all this emotion come from? In the words of psychologist Pat Carey, "There are so many pressures to compete and succeed these days."

"You are what you eat." That's a phrase I've heard my whole life, but it isn't a mantra that governed my diet during final exam preparation. Study fuel was whatever I could inhale within 5 minutes in front of books or a steering wheel. Greasy, fried, or half-baked... So long as it didn't make noises or move, the food was in my belly and I was back on the bandwagon.

But your brain requires healthy eating for healthy functioning just like the rest of your body. That's where these tips come in. Make sure to get plenty of vitamins and essential minerals in your diet. Iron and Vitamin B, for example, help improve memory and cognitive functions. From the perspective of a student, cereal is great to fill this need. Grab a bowl of fortified Fruit Loops for a boost of necessary vitamins. Chili works great too (beef has lots of iron).

Eat smaller snacks throughout the day instead of a few big meals. The more you put in your stomach at a single given time, the more your body has to work to digest it. This can make you sluggish while your body tries to metabolize all that grub. Consider bananas with a bit of peanut butter, or stir fry with frozen veggies (they're cheap and really easy to prepare). The general idea is to avoid eating so much that you feel compelled to hibernate. There are some more great tips here and here. Good luck!