Community Blog

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Now that football season is here every weekend there will be tons of calories added to everyone’s daily intake. With all the endless drinks and late night meals staying in shape may be a little more difficult. I went to college and remember how that can be. It was like when I left college, I automatically just lost weight without having to do much. But there are things to do from keeping that muffin top from sneaking up. I was reading an article about how to lose belly fat. Below are 3 of the tips that they talk about and that I use myself. They work!

• Watch what you eat. I know it’s hard to be healthy all the time, but try to be extra conscious on the week days.  A lot of protein and fiber is good!
• Get to moving. Cardio is your best friend when it comes to losing belly fat. And this doesn’t mean a walk in the park; you need something with high intensity like sprints or spin class.
• Tone everything. Doing just crunches will not help. You need to strengthen your back as well because it all ties in together.

I hope these tips help you and motivate you to say healthy! Do you have any other tips?

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This Saturday, September 4th,  is the start of Crimson Tide Football. They are taking on San Jose State and the newly renovated Bryant Denny Stadium at 6pm.

It will be interesting to see how the team comes together because they have not been able to practice together consistently. Due to team injuries they have had to rely on their secondaries. Saturday will be a great opportunity for the secondaries to show everyone what they are made of.

And one of my favorite parts of game day is tailgating in the Quad. This usually takes place 3 hours before the game, but people are camped out there way earlier then that. You can find out details about the tailgate on the UA website. The atmosphere is amazing. There is so much energy and love for football in one place. It’s a great thing to be a part of.

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I just moved into an apartment and I love it, but it is a little smaller than they one I had before. It looks and feels very cluttered to me. I have been researching organizing tips and ways to make my place look cleaner. I have found a lot of great tips, but some of them can get pretty pricey. I have gone through all of them and separated the less expensive options. Below are some tips for making room that I think everyone can benefit from

• Hang cooking utensils on a rack on the wall instead of placing them on the counter.
• Have 2 hampers for your darks and lights instead of having one huge pile.
• Get customizable drawer dividers so everything doesn’t get mixed up and cluttered.
• Have a basket or tray near your door for keys, bills etc . . . . so you don’t leave them all around.
• Put your shoes up when you get home. Don’t let your shoes pile up at the front of the door.

I love these tips and have started implementing them in my new apartment and my place is already looking less cluttered and fresh. Do you find these tips useful? Also, what other tips do you have?

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I started doing yoga about a year ago. It was recommended to me by my old trainer. He said that it would be a nice change for my body and that the stretching would really be beneficial. When he first suggested it I was there is no way this is going to help me get in shape. I thought that you needed to sweat and be moving really fast or lifting to get results. I was wrong! Yoga has been one of the best practices that I have picked up. Not only does it stretch my body out, but it also helps me mentally feel more refreshed.

I love the fitness center at the Bluff, but they do not offer Yoga classes so this summer I decided to try a few yoga places out in Tuscaloosa and below are the 2 spots that I have liked the most:

• Yoga Bliss Studio – 2221 University Boulevard (Downtown Tuscaloosa)
• Yoga Center – 821 Hargrove Road E # D

Is yoga apart of your workout regimen? If so, where do you like to go in Tuscaloosa.

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I hope everyone has a great first day back at UA today! I was trying to figure out what my friends and I are going to do this weekend and found a few concerts that are going on Friday night that I thought everyone may be interested in. Below is a list of the concerts that are going on around Tuscaloosa on Friday.

• Caffe Portofino – Graz
• Bama Belle Riverboat – The Blue Party
• Mellow Mushroom – Seymour Blue, 90.7 Benefit
• The Dixie – The Velcro Pygmies

As you can see there is a variety of things going on this weekend and I am sure there will be plenty of house parties as well. The great thing is that these places are only about 5 minutes away from our apartments. This is great because we can just get a cab and not worry about having someone drive. I love living at The Bluff because it’s so close to everything!

What are you planning to do this weekend?

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I can’t believe the summer is already over and the classes at the University of Alabama are starting this week! You can tell that Tuscaloosa has been a lot busier and crowded this weekend. I remember every year when I moved back to the apartments how stressful it was. I am the type of person that wants everything moved at once, I don’t like bringing some stuff and then going back a few weeks later for more. In saying this, by the time I was a senior I had it down to a science. Below are some of my tips that helped the settling in a lot less painful.

• Unload everything at once and put it in the middle of the room. Then I would then take my time, even if it took a few days to put everything up in an organized manner.
• Go food shopping the first night. This way you can talk to your roommates and see how you will split the food.
• Do the Target shopping before you move in. This will keep you from feeling rushed on your move in day. You will already have your essentials.
• The night before class, make sure you have some notebooks for each class and pens.

What other ways do you make moving in a lot less stressful?

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School is starting soon and I know that many students will be making one of the hardest decisions of their college career. They will be deciding what they are going to be majoring in and what they want to become as “adults.” I remember when I was in college I originally thought I would become a physical trainer, then a teacher, a lawyer, and then I finally fell in love with marketing. I ended up majoring in marketing and management. I love the creative aspect and big picture managerial thinking that went with is. When I look back, one thing that I never looked at was the income that my major promised. I don’t that is the most important thing to look at, but it is something that should definitely be taken into consideration. Below is a list of a few of the lowest paying majors that I found on Yahoo!.

• Child and Family Studies $29,500 – $38,400
• Elementary Education $31,600 – $44,400
• Social Work $31,800 – $44,900
• Athletic Training $32,800 – $45,700
• Culinary Arts $35,900 – $50,600

The ranges listed above are beginning to mid career. The biggest thing today is that I love what I am doing so that is what really matters to me. I would hate to have a huge salary but hate getting up every morning to go to work.

What are you going to major in?

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I went and saw The Other Guys this weekend at Hollywood 16. It was absolutely hilarious. I went and got yogurt my date after and we were still laughing at some of the parts. The movie is starring Will Ferrell. It’s about 2 detectives who are usually stuck behind the desk doing paperwork because of a previous mistake. They eventually get the opportunity to show their skills and step in for the Other Guys, but things do not go as planned. When I went and watched this I really needed a laugh so it was the perfect movie. I will say the only down part was the movie did go slow at some parts. Check out one of the many funny scenes below.

I have been spending a lot time in the gym lately and re-connecting with a lot of my old gym friends. We always talk about our training and eating programs, what works and what doesn’t. I have worked with about 3-4 different trainers in the past 6 years and each one has taught me some very valuable things along the way. I was reading this article on Yahoo! this morning about fitness myths and it was exactly the things I had been told before. It’s amazing how so many people are misinformed and then give up because they don’t get the results they want. Below are 3 of the myths that I found most pertinent my fitness program that have been revealed to me:

1. It doesn’t matter where your calories come from. This statement is incorrect because they are definitely good fats and bad fats. Some proteins go straight through your body while others stick. It’s very important to have a well balanced diet and know what you are putting into your body.
2. Diet is enough to sustain weight loss. This is incorrect because exercise helps build muscle and muscle is what makes your body burn more calories at rest. So it is very important to exercise as well as eat healthy.
3. There is not best time for exercise. This is incorrect to an extent. If you weight train then it is best to workout in the late afternoon when you muscles are already warm and your body has extra fuel. But if you are just walking or doing some cardio then time doesn’t really matter.

How many of these myths did you already know? At one point or another I had believed all of these myths.

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Do you feel tired or overwhelmed right after you just had some “me” time? I get like that on the weekends all the time. I was telling my friend that I am taking time to myself by running errands, meeting a friend at the pool or going out to eat, but the truth is that it’s not really very relaxing. She pointed out that I am constantly on the go and never really relax until the end of the day. So I asked what I needed to do or lack there of. She told me to schedule time out of my day, only do one thing, and keep it simple.

I took her advice this weekend and I am so glad I did. I ended up going to the lake and reading a book. I scheduled for a few hours so I wouldn’t feel rushed. It was great to actually be present for myself. I felt very rejuvenated after. I am going to commit to doing something like that twice a week by myself.  What do you do for “me” time?

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