So it’s safe to say we all cheated a little on our “I-swear-I’ll-just-have-one-little-chocolate” food regime over the long Valentine’s Day weekend. If you too had trouble walking away from your thoughtful S.O. with Godiva truffles and edible bouquets in hand (or your mom, let’s be honest), here are some super quick and easy ways to blast off the last of that completely necessary Nutella pancake right here on our UMass campus.
1. Attend our Cardio Kickboxing Marathon, led by Eliza Shirazi of Kick It By Eliza.
On March 1st, Her Campus UMass Amherst and Eliza Shirazi of Kick It By Eliza, a successful fitness brand founded at UMass that’s now gone global, are pleased to be hosting a Cardio Kickboxing Marathon in the Student Union Ballroom. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5 – doors open at 10:00 am.
Join us for one of the biggest fitness events on campus this season, while also helping support a great cause. A portion of the proceeds will be going to Room to Read, an award-winning non-profit organization working to improve literacy and gender equality in education in the developing world.
And at the end of the day, you’re pretty much guaranteed to knock off the last of that Valentine’s Day weight and have a great time doing it! Just grab a few of your girls and get ready to whip that body into shape with Eliza. Make sure you swing by and don’t miss out!
2. Free Self-Defense Classes at the Rec Center, starting Friday February 21st!
The Rec Center is now offering free self-defense classes for women throughout the spring semester. Students will be taught avoidance and physical defense strategies and learn how to recognize and reduce risk. Plus, you’ll be able to get in a great workout.
Even if you missed the first session or you miss a few down the line, that’s no problem. The sessions are all first-come, first-serve, no pre-registration required.
The classes are held every Friday between February 21st to April 25th from 3-4:30pm in Room 215 of the Rec Center, so you’ll have plenty of time to get in a great workout, learn some necessary skills on how to protect yourself (really important as a Collegiette on a big campus), and still have time to get back to your dorm, shower up and have a great night out.
Each class is limited to 30 participants, so show up on time, have fun and learn a lot – every Collegiette should know how to throw down and protect herself if necessary.
3. Healthiest Foods to Eat at the Dining Commons.
Thank goodness our campus doesn’t have the usual terrifying dining options other schools insist on calling ‘food.’ Instead, we’ve got a lot of healthy, yummy choices to choose from! Here are some of the healthiest, tastiest dining options available at your nearest dining common for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Breakfast
If you get there early enough, a couple of hard-boiled eggs and some fruit are always some of my favorite breakfast go-to’s, both very low in fat. One large hard-boiled egg is only 78 calories, so grab two and a bowl of sliced pineapples or strawberry-flavored yogurt and granola and you’re good to go!
Lunch
The salad menu changes from day-to-day, but my personal favorites are the classic chicken Caesar salad, served at Berkshire on Tuesdays and Fridays, and the Cobb salad, served on Thursdays. Both ridiculously good… I’ve been known to let out an animal-like cry and sort of collapse when I see that they’re serving them that day…
So if you see an unstable looking person running around the salad bar screaming, don’t be alarmed.
Dinner
The dinner menu also changes from day-to-day, but some of their consistently yummy and healthy food options include: servings of grilled chicken (maybe with a side of steamed broccoli or roasted potatoes), your own custom-made sushi roll of choice (keep in mind brown rice is lower in calories and carbohydrates, so I’d go with a brown rice roll), and of course some delicious stir-fry also made to order (note that chicken has significantly fewer calories than beef and is higher in protein, and again I’d go with the brown rice over the white).
These are some of my personal favorites, but don’t be afraid to explore! You can always Google your food choice if you’re not sure how healthy it is, but as long as you’re picking something that’s not crazy-high in trans-fat or sodium, you’re doing fine.
It’s absolutely okay to treat yourself to something sugary and delicious every once in a while, but we should also try and take advantage of the fact that we have so many healthy options to choose from on our campus! Hopefully, you’ll be able to consistently find something you like.
And there you have it ladies, the surefire way to knock off the last of those stubborn post-V-Day pounds.
We promise you, ladies, if you hit a few of those self-defense classes, grab a brown rice crab roll over of a slice of pizza, and spend an hour at our Cardio Kickboxing Marathon this Saturday, you’ll feel healthier, happier, and way less guilty about your (completely acceptable!) decision to indulge a little this Valentine’s Day season.
Good luck Collegiettes!