Saturday, March 23, 2013
A Little Bit About Me
I'm a 4th year telecommunications-news student at the University Florida. I will be graduating in May with a Bachelor of Science in telecommunications and an outside concentration in sports management. I am currently a news anchor for the evening news show, First at Five, for the North Central Florida PBS affiliate. I have a passion for media and entertainment and ideally would like to pursue a job in entertainment news. A full list of my professional experience and skills can be seen on my resume, which is also posted on my blog. I was born and raised in South Florida and would love to end up living back there at some point in my life. I have a very tight knit family. I'm extremely close with my parents and younger brother and of course, our loving Shih Tzu, Muffin. I love spending time with my friends and family, going to the beach, dancing and working out, which you can see from the topic of my blog, Commit to be Fit. I like to live each day to the fullest, with no regrets and believing that everything happens for a reason.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Top 5 Foods That Don't Deserve Their Bad Raps
This top 5 list is awesome because it may give you a new found perspective on some foods you thought you shouldn't be eating. After reading this I kind of want to go and make my own healthy pizza.
1. Pizza. Pizza has a bad reputation because when you have it, you're usually eating the unhealthy kind made with white crust, a lot of cheese and and high fat meat toppings. If you make a pizza at home from scratch, you can use a whole wheat crust, fresh vegetable toppings and add as little or as much cheese as you want.
2. Peanut Butter. Peanut butter gets a bad rap because it is very high in fat. But it is high in healthy (unsaturated) fats. These fats have been shown to decrease your risk of heart disease. While you shouldn't be eating whole jars of this stuff, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can be very healthy.
3. Eggs. Eggs get a bad reputation because they are high in cholesterol and have a bit of saturated (bad) fat. But if you do not have a cholesterol problem, eggs provide a high amount of good quality protein and are low in calories. Eggs may also be a healthy choice for food before or after a workout. If you're interested in finding out if eggs are in fact something good to eat before or after you exercise, check out a great video I posted onn my blog, Commit to be Fit, a couple weeks ago.
4. Beef. Since beef is high in saturated (bad) fat, many people stay away from it. Beef is also high in good quality protein and iron. You can buy lean ground beef that has as much fat as ground turkey. Lean ground beef is also usually less expensive and tastier than ground turkey. You can also try organic beef.
5. Carbohydrates. Low carb diets label bread as unhealthy because of the high carbohydrate content. Carbs come in two categories: good and bad. Bread can be good or bad so lumping all bread into the bad category is like stereotyping. If it is made out of 100% whole wheat flour, it is good. The whole wheat flour is high in fiber and nutrients while white flour is not. This is true of all foods made from flour including snacks and pasta.
1. Pizza. Pizza has a bad reputation because when you have it, you're usually eating the unhealthy kind made with white crust, a lot of cheese and and high fat meat toppings. If you make a pizza at home from scratch, you can use a whole wheat crust, fresh vegetable toppings and add as little or as much cheese as you want.
2. Peanut Butter. Peanut butter gets a bad rap because it is very high in fat. But it is high in healthy (unsaturated) fats. These fats have been shown to decrease your risk of heart disease. While you shouldn't be eating whole jars of this stuff, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich can be very healthy.
3. Eggs. Eggs get a bad reputation because they are high in cholesterol and have a bit of saturated (bad) fat. But if you do not have a cholesterol problem, eggs provide a high amount of good quality protein and are low in calories. Eggs may also be a healthy choice for food before or after a workout. If you're interested in finding out if eggs are in fact something good to eat before or after you exercise, check out a great video I posted onn my blog, Commit to be Fit, a couple weeks ago.
4. Beef. Since beef is high in saturated (bad) fat, many people stay away from it. Beef is also high in good quality protein and iron. You can buy lean ground beef that has as much fat as ground turkey. Lean ground beef is also usually less expensive and tastier than ground turkey. You can also try organic beef.
5. Carbohydrates. Low carb diets label bread as unhealthy because of the high carbohydrate content. Carbs come in two categories: good and bad. Bread can be good or bad so lumping all bread into the bad category is like stereotyping. If it is made out of 100% whole wheat flour, it is good. The whole wheat flour is high in fiber and nutrients while white flour is not. This is true of all foods made from flour including snacks and pasta.
Top 5 Ways to Enjoy Alcohol in a Healthy Way
I think it is important to know how to maintain a healthy diet and that diet doesn't have to be blown when you go out for drinks with friends. As a college student, I like to meet friends out for drinks every once in a while but I don't like to feel bloated or like I'm wasting my calories on alcohol. I really liked figuring out some ways to enjoy alcohol in a healthier way so I hope you do too!
1. Diet Sodas. When you have a mixed drink, make it with diet soda. This can take off about 100 calories per drink which, depending on how much you drink, can add up to quite a bit by the end of the night.
2. Fruit and Vegetable Juices. You can also make mixed drinks with fruit and vegetable juices, like tomato juice. Even the small amount of vitamins and minerals will make your drinks healthier than if you had used soda. Vegetables can also be a great source of fat, which help keep a balanced diet. For more information on vegetables and good sources of fat you can check out another post on my blog Commit to be Fit.
3. Shots. Shots contain the same amount of alcohol as mixed drinks but they have far less calories because...they aren't mixed with anything. This can cause you to drink more though, which defeats the purpose of shots, so be mindful of how much you're taking in.
4. Light Beer. Light beer has less calories than the regular kind but can cause you to drink more because you don't feel as full. If you drink light beer to save on the calories, make sure to keep track of how much you're actually drinking because it can end up being a lot more than you think.
5. Wine. If you can afford it, drink wine instead of beer or liquor. It is very high in antioxidants which can help protect you from cancer. However, don't drink too much thinking its healthy. Studies show that benefits happen from drinking one to two glasses per day for men and one glass per day for women.
So no matter what your drink of choice may be, it is possible to make healthy mixed drinks and to make healthy choices in general when it comes to alcohol.
1. Diet Sodas. When you have a mixed drink, make it with diet soda. This can take off about 100 calories per drink which, depending on how much you drink, can add up to quite a bit by the end of the night.
2. Fruit and Vegetable Juices. You can also make mixed drinks with fruit and vegetable juices, like tomato juice. Even the small amount of vitamins and minerals will make your drinks healthier than if you had used soda. Vegetables can also be a great source of fat, which help keep a balanced diet. For more information on vegetables and good sources of fat you can check out another post on my blog Commit to be Fit.
3. Shots. Shots contain the same amount of alcohol as mixed drinks but they have far less calories because...they aren't mixed with anything. This can cause you to drink more though, which defeats the purpose of shots, so be mindful of how much you're taking in.
4. Light Beer. Light beer has less calories than the regular kind but can cause you to drink more because you don't feel as full. If you drink light beer to save on the calories, make sure to keep track of how much you're actually drinking because it can end up being a lot more than you think.
5. Wine. If you can afford it, drink wine instead of beer or liquor. It is very high in antioxidants which can help protect you from cancer. However, don't drink too much thinking its healthy. Studies show that benefits happen from drinking one to two glasses per day for men and one glass per day for women.
So no matter what your drink of choice may be, it is possible to make healthy mixed drinks and to make healthy choices in general when it comes to alcohol.
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