COLUMNS

Healthy holidays: Oxymoron or obtainable goal?

Will this be the year? Will it somehow be different? Or will many days of celebrating with cookies, candy and pie be followed by a resolution to eat nothing but raw veggies and bran cereal as soon as the New Year begins?

If you are like many, the holiday season is a joyous time of indulging, followed by a rigid New Year's resolution to make healthier choices for the following year. But if our goal is health, why do we wait until January? If we can't live a healthy lifestyle until January, what does this say about our chances of maintaining or improving our health and weight next year? The drastic and unrealistic goals we resolve to follow in January only set us up for the"holiday binge" at the end of the year.

Is there another way to approach the holidays? Begin by evaluating what you have done in past years. Do you usually eat too many calories, especially sugar and fat, during this season? Are you able to keep activity as a priority in your schedule, or are you currently active? What about other behaviors that affect your health, such as getting adequate rest and drinking adequate amounts of water? How are you handling stress? The holidays are fun, but they can be stressful, too.

This year, consider making smaller commitments during November and December than you typically make for your New Year's resolutions, commitments within each of three key fitness areas: nutrition, exercise and behavior. If you are not a resolution maker, have a plan for getting through the next two months.

The holiday season always makes everyone's busy schedule even busier! Are you in the habit of skipping meals? You may think you are never hungry for breakfast or lunch, but your body needs a little fuel. Regular meal eating also tends to curb overindulging. Research has shown that people tend to overeat at the meal following a missed meal. The same is true for sleep deprivation: Individuals who are short on sleep tend to overeat the day following the short night. Planning is key to eating regular meals and getting adequate sleep. Other strategies for improving your holiday nutrition include:

• Drink at least eight glasses of water daily. People who are adequately hydrated are less likely to reach for salty, savory snacks.

• You be the party giver planning a menu that everyone can enjoy.

• The holiday buffet tables are full of temptations. Before indulging, step back and look it over. Preplan what you will eat and don't overload your plate.

• Traditional holiday beverages are often loaded with calories, especially the alcoholic drinks, so limit your intake. Alcohol also reduces your control over your food intake. Why not try mineral water or club soda with a twist of lime?

Getting a handle on your eating is only part of your healthy holiday solution. Being more active provides its own benefits: burning calories, reducing your stress level and improving your endurance! Can you increase your daily lifestyle activities such as cleaning, shoveling snow, walking to the store and carrying groceries? Even these activities can improve your overall fitness level. As you do your holiday shopping, look for the parking places farthest from the stores. Exercising in short and small amounts several times a day can be as effective as longer workouts. Also consider:

• Stress and fatigue lower your self-control, so avoid getting overtired. Try relaxation exercises or at least lie down with your feet up for 10 minutes.

• Keep your appointment with exercise. You are worth it!

As you go through this holiday season, evaluate your success with each challenge you encounter. Give yourself a pat on the back for your successes. When you do eat more than you plan or exercise less, ask yourself why. Maybe you missed lunch on the day of a big holiday party -- of course you were starving when you reached the party! One day of overeating or under-exercising is not a failure. We learn from every experience. Have a healthy holiday!

LETTERS

U.S. should remain strong in war on terror

Editor:

There are some people on this campus and around this country who do not understand the current state of war our nation is in.

The United States holds no blame for the tragic events that have struck our nation for the past couple of months. The terrorists attacked us because our values of democracy and freedom are a threat to any tyranny in the world. It is no coincidence that nearly every nation or terrorist group that is hostile to the United States has a populous that is uneducated and thereby controlled by their regimes.

These regimes have no ethnic or religious face, for they have come and gone throughout history. The claim that we should halt the war on terror during Ramadan is ludicrous. Did the world stop fighting World War I and II for all religious dates? Did Washington stop the battle of Trenton for Christmas? No.

The al-Qaida terrorist network will stop at nothing to kill and hurt Americans. They will not stop for Ramadan and neither should we. Osama bin Laden has sought and continues to seek biological, chemical and nuclear weapons to use against the United States. I applaud President Bush for using all the means possible to bring down the al-Qaida network and the Taliban defenders of the terrorists. Hopefully, the war on terror will then turn to other terror organizations in the world, until we have minimized the threat to civilization that terrorism poses.

Terrorism will be the toughest challenge of the 21st century. The positive effects of technological advances have been visible for years, but the dangers of technology in the hands of evil people are now, sadly, coming to light. We cannot turn back the clock. We must meet the challenges of the future head on, as generations before us have. That doesn't mean we have to numb ourselves to suffering, but we must stay strong. Strong to our values as a nation, and as a people. The only way terrorism succeeds is if we surrender our freedom, our hope and our dreams of a better world. May we, as Ohio State students and faculty, begin this challenge by showing support for the men and women who are serving in our Armed Forces. They deserve nothing less.

Tony Porto, Senior history major