By Kelli Swensen, Dietetics Student, Sargent College

Image Source:http://www.time.com/time/travel/cityguide/article/0,31489,1984920_1984917_1984724,00.html

Whether you love to run along the Charles, practice yoga at a nearby studio, lift weights at the gym, or take a PDP at FitRec, if you like to exercise, chances are you’ve heard a lot of exercise and nutrition myths. This month’s theme is Don’t Sweat it. The topic line up is as follows:

• Pre and Post Eating as well as eating during exercise
• Truth About Protein and Exercise
• Science behind Carb-Loading

Picture Source:http://www.bu.edu/today/2009/savvy-fitrec-advice/

Don’t Sweat It: Getting personal with exercise

In my exercise physiology course, one of the take-home messages has been that everyone can benefit from exercise. Whether you like to work out to burn off some stress or to get your body in physical shape, you want to get something out of exercising — some benefit. Just like there is no one perfect diet that works for everyone, there’s no perfect type of exercise or workout routine. While it’d be convenient to be able to go online, find an article that tells you what moves to do and what to eat to get those perfect abs, real life doesn’t work that way. The goal of this month’s series is to show how you can’t depend on a magazine article or website to tell you the best exercise and diet for your body. Luckily for BU students, getting personalized exercise counseling is easy to find.

• FitRec offers personal trainers that will help devise an exercise plan specific to your goals. If you’re interested, head over to their website HERE and sign up for more information
• A slightly less personalized, but still instructive option is to sign up for a PDP at FitRec. There are a ton of class options: everything from swimming to fencing to skiing to Zumba to yoga.
• For the nutrition component, the Sargent Choice Nutrition Center offers free nutrition counseling to all BU students. Simply register for an appointment with one of the registered dietitians and be sure to mark that you are interested in sports nutrition counseling.
• For non-BU readers or BU students going home for the summer, many gyms offer both personal training and nutritional counseling — just be sure that they offer nutritional support from an actual registered dietitian (RD)! (Look for a post next week on the differences between a registered dietitian and a nutritionist)