What are College Students Doing for Fun during a Pandemic?

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed how we do things. Life in lockdown and social distancing can be a struggle. While college students can still continue their classes online, they need to engage in fun activities to motivate them and improve their mental health. However, it is challenging to keep engaging in the previous fun activities. As such, college students have to adapt and change their fun activities. Here are some things that college students are doing for fun during a pandemic.

Oct052020

What is the importance of pediatric advanced life support?

Pediatric Advanced Life Support (“PALS”) is one of the most important fields of the medical industry. It particularly pertains to the branch of medicine which deals with children and their issues and diseases. Provided that children often contract diseases and emergency situations may show up, it is imperative to get hands on such knowledge.

There is a lot of academic literature and theory on whether PALS is important within the medical industry or not. Medical professionals are on the same page as to how important it can be. Many institutes such as United Medical Education (UME) are also of the view that PALS can play a very important role in any medical institute or hospital. Therefore, this article will shed some light on how important PALS can be in the industry of today.

Jan312020

How to Spot Mental Illness in a Teen

Mental illnesses are becoming increasingly common in teens and range from eating disorders and body image issues to post-traumatic stress and depression. Mental disorders can have serious long-term effects, so you must be able to spot the warning signs that your teen is suffering from mental illness.

You should then be able to offer them the support and guidance they need to make a full recovery and improve their health and wellbeing.

With this in mind, here are some useful tips on how to spot mental illness in a teen:

Know when to get help

If you are worried that your teen may be suffering from the symptoms of mental illness, then you should never be afraid to seek professional support. Start by educating yourself on the symptoms of mental health illnesses and reach out to your teen to discuss your concerns. Keep in mind that your teen may be reluctant to discuss their feelings with you at first, or may deny their behaviors i.e. if they are suffering from an eating disorder.

Try to be understanding and avoid coming across as judgemental. Luckily, many treatment options can help your teen recover from mental illness. This often involves a combination of medication and psychotherapy.

For instance, igniteteentreatment.com offers various treatment programs that have been specifically designed to help teens overcome common mental illnesses such as social anxiety, drug and alcohol abuse, and social media or gaming addiction.

Educate yourself on mental health

The first step is to educate yourself on the common mental health issues found among teens. Many mental illnesses start in adolescence and they can have a huge impact on a teenager’s academic performance, emotions, and social interactions. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, some common mental health disorders in teens include anxiety disorders, depression, ADHD, and eating disorders. If these conditions are spotted early, then there’s a good chance that they can be treated to prevent them from having any long-term or serious consequences.

Learn the early warning signs

Teenagers are halfway between children and adults and they often struggle to find themselves and feel comfortable in their own skin. During the adolescent years, it is normal for teens to present some changes in behaviors. This may involve isolating themselves from family members, lashing out, or experimenting with new activities. However, you must know when teen behavior goes beyond what is normal.

Here are some warning signs that your teen may be suffering from mental illness:

Poor academic performance or skipping school.
Avoiding spending time with friends or doing activities they once enjoyed.
Extreme shifts in moods. They may be extremely happy and excited one minute then sad, fearful, or anxious the next.
Self-harms or has suicidal thoughts.
Unexplained physical symptoms such as frequent headaches or stomach aches.
Engaging in risky behavior such as drug-taking, unprotected sex, binge drinking, or other dangerous activities.
Unexplained weight loss and an obsession with body image, exercise, and healthy eating.

Feb182019

5 Steps To Raising A Challenging Millennial

Aging is inevitable and happens to everyone. But while aging is a biological process, being an adult is more of a social concept. Becoming an adult is not as simple as turning into legal age. When a person comes of age (18 in most countries), it is expected that he or she can already carry out the duties and responsibilities expected of fully developed individuals. Unfortunately, not everyone has learned most of the life skills that are essential to living independently by the time they reach the so-called age of majority. Today’s generation uses the term “adulting” when referring to activities that they have to do in order to simply survive day to day living. Adulting has become a byword for many millennials, it is what they call the things they do to cope with everyday life when they are not prepared to transition into adulthood. Many millennials will benefit from taking lessons such as Adulting 101: Millennial Life Skills Classes to help them handle different situations. Life skills can be taught to young adults so they can be better prepared to face the world. Here is a simple guide to raising today’s generation.

Dec052018

How to Avoid the Freshman 15

Starting college is exciting. It’s a place to prepare your mind for a successful future. Unfortunately, the hours spent sitting, learning, studying, and not having much time to cook or find healthy options can take their toll on your physique. Not every new college student gains weight during their first year, but the issue is common enough that it has its own nickname: the freshman 15.

Unfortunately, gaining weight in college doesn’t just have an impact on self-esteem. It could even affect career options later in life. In college, you’re earning your degree to make the most out of your career. One day an employer could choose you to lead the organization, especially if you have a quality degree and the proper mindset and ethic to excel. How you treat your body plays a big factor into who you are, your job, and more. It’s necessary to take care of yourself and keep your mind and body in tip top shape.

If you’re worried about putting on some pounds when you start living in a dorm, here’s what you need to know about weight gain in college and tips for how to avoid the freshman 15 yourself.

Jun262014

Hungry, Fit & Co are Moving!

The whole family is packing everything up again and moving to the West Coast! Los Angeles here we come. At first, we’re going to be staying in Santa Monica but our goal is to eventually move to Korea Town as soon as possible. We would love to stay in Santa Monica or another beach part of LA, but with Alana certainly going back to school, and Chris possibly going back to school, it’s just not going to be affordable!

The chances are Alana will be going to school part-time and maybe eventually full-time for nursing and Chris will start to take part-time classes working towards a Masters in Physiological Science. Therefore, Alana could be working part-time, full-time or just managing Hungry & Fit, while Chris probably works full-time. You, or we, never know until we’ve made the change and hopefully we have good like in finding a place to live and good jobs! All those things could change! A huge part of the excitement of moving is the adventure; we love adventures… like hobbits… well Bilbo, and Frodo. We will be sure to keep you all updated on what we choose to do.

We will be leaving Boulder August 1st and should get to Los Angeles August 2nd. It is two days of driving and we’ve done the trip before but not with all these animals in the car. We will have to take extra care and make sure to control the climate in the car. Again, it should be exciting and build character! Once we get there, we’ll figure out all the necessary evils such as where to live and how to pay the bills. Chris will probably try to be beach lifeguard, walk dogs, and do personal training… all things he has a lot of experience doing and enjoys. Alana will figure out a school and work schedule that is reasonable.

There is not a whole lot more to tell you other than this is the big announcement and we better get in high gear to start preparing for the move. Lots of items are being sold on Craigslist and we will be having a garage sale soon. Let us know if you are in the market for anything! We are really trying to be minimalists for this move and prevent Chris from hoarding and collecting things he never uses. He promised to change this time so we’ll see!

Hopefully, we get to see even more friends and family as a result of this move. We get to spend more time at the beach and although Chris will miss his whiter winters, we will hopefully be travelling to the East Coast more than when we were in Colorado. We like LAX a lot more than DIA. So if you’re living in LA and want to meet up at some point, let us know. We have friends there but building a new network is going to be a challenge. You make something out of yourself in one place and then decide to pick up and start from scratch again. I hope it all works out well for us! Thanks for all your support and look forward to an even better Hungry & Fit in LA!

Dec092013

Sugar Cookie Chex Party Mix Recipe

This weekend, Chris and I attended our first blogging event. Chex had researched the blogs in the Colorado area and we popped up on their list! We drove down to the Park Meadows Mall in Lone Tree (which is BEAUTIFUL) and attended the event for about an hour. The bloggers were all female and a slightly older demographic. Everybody was super friendly and it was great to meet other bloggers, especially some of who I follow daily like Dinners, Dishes and Desserts. We spent half the time trying out the easy peasy Chex holiday recipes and then the other half bundling up the goodies in little gift boxes and bags. All the recipes we learned were easy and delicious–perfect for procrastinators like me for gift-giving. And then Chex sent all of us home with goodie bags that we very much appreciated. Thank you, Chex! It was hard picking one recipe out of the many we tried, but I’m going with the Sugar Cookie Chex mix. Now onto the yummy stuff…

Their setup

Ingredients

6 cups Rice Chex cereal
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp corn syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
SPRINKLES!!

Ingredients all ready for us! Very nice

Directions

Put the cereal in a large bowl that can be microwaved
Line a baking sheet with some wax paper or foil for when you are finished
Get your butter melted, whether through the oven, microwave or other means
Mix the regular sugar and corn syrup into the butter, then microwave to loosen everything up
Stir in the vanilla.
Pour the mixture over the warmed up cereal and stir it so it is mixed properly. Also add in the white chocolate chips at this time
Microwave for 2 minutes
Sprinkle with the powdered sugar and really spread the sugar around
Now let’s lay the delicious cereal mixture onto that lined baking sheet. Sprinkle those sprinkles on top and have fun with it!

Amazingly delicious and simple

And that’s it. You can absolutely make this in under 15 minutes, no problem. If you prefer the oven, go for that! Next time when I do it on my own, I will probably substitute the corn syrup for some sugar and water. This dish is really delicious and it’s perfect for the holidays and school parties. Take advantage of it! And as always…stay hungry and fit!

Question of the Day: What is your favorite holiday treat?

BONUS KITTY PIC

Nymeria and I watching kitty videos

Dec052013

Make a Move with an IBM Certification

The last thing you should do is stand around and wait for your career to move on its own. Individuals new to the IT career often succumb to waiting because of their lack of experience and specified knowledge. Because the field is intensifying, specializations and expertise are becoming more necessary than before, and even a college degree cannot earn the most basic of IT and/or networking positions. This can lead to disappointment and feelings of hopelessness, but hope should not be lost. Thankfully, IBM is available with affordable, beneficial career options.

Companies view IBM certifications as top-of-the-line skill verification. Because of their challenging nature, practicality, and specified career subject knowledge, participants who take and pass an exam are immediately thrown into a technical field. Employers are keen on individuals who can perform multiple job roles, and several jobs within a company can open up to you with just one certification. Becoming a specialist within a field such as Cloud Computing, Connectivity, Information Management, or Design/Development can give your career the structure it was previously lacking. Earning certifications in numerous technologies (like Tivoli, Rational, or Lotus) can make you versatile in the skills you can perform and knowledge you can expend.

Although these exams are not free to take and require valuable time out of your schedule, they are completely worth it. Investing in training materials such as ExamTrace.com will pay off in multiple ways. Gaining and certifying an abundance of skills does not have to be a challenge with IBM. Turning it into a valuable learning experience is necessary for a successful career. Study for your dream career to stay hungry and fit!

Nov222013

My Future Plans (Being Organized, Be Ambitious)

This might not be so inspiring for some people. This definitely won’t be so interesting for most. However, I want you to NOT take this as me talking about myself. I hope that readers get something more out of this post. It will be a quick one that lacks depth and details (about me) so don’t worry about it being painful to read. What I am trying to do is motivate others to keep going, keep pushing and continue to grow. No one is perfect and no one can be perfect. However, there is always an opportunity to increase your abilities and learn more. I could say I am the best swim teacher in the world. I can say that my body is an ancient Grecian sculpture. But that isn’t true and the most important thing (what a great word, right?) is that I know that. ME!

Rawr from H&F

Once upon a time in the great land of fire, Uchiha Itachi told Yakushi Kabuto that “those who can’t acknowledge their real selves are bound to fail.” (My translation. And, yes, I am quoting the manga, Naruto. Uchiha Itachi is my hero! All rights to Kishimoto.) It is important that we know who we are, what we are capable of and that of which we are incapable. Once we can honestly assess this, it is our responsibility to decide whether we want to improve, regress or maintain ourselves. I personally have an obsession with continuing education. I am not a perfectionist, it is too lofty to be called ambitious, I believe. Nevertheless, I strive to improve. For example, I do not “do CrossFit” nor do I have much interest in doing CrossFit. However, as a professional and passionate member of the “fitness community” I want to become a Level 1 CrossFit Coach so I can give a better recommendation, or lack there of, of the program. That’s just an example.

Alana as Lara Croft from Tomb Raider for Halloween…always trying to improve for strength and agility!

With that being said, I am going to do myself a favor and outline my future plans. I will be focusing on remainder of 2013 and 2014, without releasing any confidential information. (There may be a lot of… secrets.) I hope that this will urge to do the same. Evaluate where you are and where you want to be. Highlight your strengths and weaknesses, then use those to make plans for yourself! This is an awesome way of staying honest, organized and motivated. So here we go… try to do something like this!

I want to focus on two areas… physical goals and educational goals. I have my college degree and plenty of certifications but I want to be capable of doing more and helping more people. I have a body that I am content with in many ways but I get bored if I don’t push myself. Those are my two categories and I will break those down. (I am very happy with my “family” and I have no desire to change it aside from the addition of another four-legged friend a few months into 2014.)

But ummm look how cute I am

Physically, I want to push my body despite a significant labral tear in my left shoulder. I want to actually try counting macronutrients and prepping meals, even if it is only for a few weeks or months. I want to increase strength in my legs and back. I want to hold my human flags for longer and perform muscle ups without using any momentum. I want to exercise my core more and start to improve my cardiovascular system by swimming and biking more. I want to return to the rock gym and really improve my grip strength and relative strength. I also want to increase the size of my upper and lower arms, and my chest. Last but not least, I want to maintain stability and prevent injuries (further injuries) in my shoulders. I’ll experiment with different exercise splits and regiments to achieve these goals. I want to also become a more active ISAFIT coach for iSatori and help Hungry & Fit grow so that it reaches more people.

For educational goals, I want to continue my education in scuba diving, swim instruction, and personal training. I hope to become a Level II ASCA Coach. I aim to become a Swim Schools International Teacher Trainer as soon as possible. I want to start diving more and eventually, maybe even in 2014, become a Scuba Schools International Dive Instructor. (I need more specialties and to… dive MORE!) I also am interested in becoming a CPR/First Aid/AED instructor! I love teaching. I know they say those who cannot do, teach. I disagree. And that’s the end of that. Those who can do and want others to do well also… teach. Finally I want to expand on my personal training skills and become a USA Weightlifting Coach, at the very least. I know it is a lot on my plate for 2013/2014 but if I focus and allocate my time and money properly, it is possible. I also want to get my motorcycle license; my permit is covered in dust. That might happen as early as next month.

Learning from a master triathlete swimmer!

In terms of work, I want to make the Swim School of Boulder the cornerstone of the greatest aquatic training center ever! I also want to help the Longmont YMCA grow into an even more necessary part of the community. Obviously, Hungry & Fit is a given. I want to create a Hungry & Fit team that can spread amazing knowledge and motivation to EVERYONE.

Like I said earlier, I will avoid major details and will not even think twice about what I forgot. I could just be content with what I do, but that’s not like me. Life is relatively short and everyone has their own path they want to follow but mine involves learning and spreading that knowledge… always. I will keep you updated on my goals and how I am doing in achieving them but I hope you do too! List some of your goals in the comment section. Let us know areas that you are good at but still want to improve. I respect that. No egos around here. Much love and stay hungry and fit!

Supplements/protein for us to get ready for beast mode

Packing on the weight

Using Olympians as motivation for my own swimming

BONUS KITTY PIC

Sep252013

College Student Fitness and Nutrition Guide

We were recently contacted by an individual who asked us to take a look at a graphic and a link you will be later in this post. It is a somewhat long but simple and comprehensive guide to basic fitness and nutrition for college students and those who live a similar lifestyle. I read the post briefly and after realizing that there was nothing wrong or harmful in its contents I decided to share it. I think it is a very useful resource for students to print out and hang up in their rooms.

During our last leg workout, beasted calves hamstrings, and jump squats!

The credit for the post is given to the site which is linked below. I will keep the woman’s name who contacted us anonymous. Here is a Hungry&Fit generally-approved article and–more importantly–graphic that individuals can use as a basic guide for creating a great regimen for college fitness and a healthy lifestyle. (It doesn’t say much about nutrition and diet.)

As the page states, “Starting out at college is a time of excitement, anticipation, and oftentimes, extreme nervousness. There are a whole host of prospects that can leave any freshman filled with anxiety, from making friends to maintaining good grades to knowing which classes to take. One of the biggest sources of anxiety for students, however, is unrelated to academics: A large percentage of students greatly fear the famous and dreaded freshman 15. The truth is, this isn’t an irrational fear: Most college students will gain between 15 and 25 pounds by the end of their sophomore year. One of the main causes of the freshman 15? Lack of exercise: Not only do the majority of college students not get the recommended amount of exercise, one in three just don’t exercise at all. To be fair, finding time for exercise in the midst of busy college life can be challenging, but there are some great ways that that particular hurdle can be side-stepped. Today’s infographic takes a look at the best ways for college students to stay fit—even in the middle of a dorm room. From cardio to strength training to flexibility, there’s a myriad of ways in which even the biggest of couch potatoes can beat the freshman 15.”

http://www.thebestcolleges.org/the-best-regimen-for-college-fitness/

That is the image and below it is the link. Credit goes to TheBestColleges.org who we enjoyed working with and look forward to working with again in the future. They originally posted it in early August of 2013. Being hungry and fit is a lifestyle so creating a solid regimen is one of the best ways to stay hungry and fit!

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BONUS KITTY PIC