February 27, 2012

OneLess...dinner at Seasons

Have you heard about the OneLess Campaign and Media Contest?
Margaret and Deanna from our office coordinated a new media contest... and we want to know more about your OneLess. The winner receives dinner for them and 10 friends (from an outside vendor) on us! So OneLess dinner at Season's!


For details visit www.bentley.edu/oneless and contest rules are available at http://campus-life.bentley.edu/sites/campus-life.bentley.edu/files/u48/one-less-video.pdf 

Since we're asking you about your OneLess, we figured, we'd offer some perspective too.

Here's what Deanna has to say:

As the campus Dietitian, I see students with a wide variety of goals. A really common goal is to “be healthier” and to “manage my weight”.
For students who choose to consume alcohol, I challenge them with this…why not have OneLess? That is, either OneLess drink per occasion or OneLess night of drinking all together.  It would surely be a step in the right direction in terms of being healthier and managing your weight.

Did you know that on average one beer has 150 calories?
Six beers per night is a whopping 900 calories. And these are EMPTY calories…meaning that there is nothing beneficial about it.
Drinking six beers just one night per week is 3600 calories per month or 46,800 calories per year…which is over 13 lbs.
Or the equivalent of 21.5 LARGE PIZZAS.
Drinking more than this? You do the math.

Consider OneLess for your health.

Margaret adds the following:

  I am one of the Nurse Practitioners and the Assistant Director for the Health and Wellness Center at Bentley University.  I am also a member of the OneLess Committee which formed last Spring as a collaborative effort from Student Affairs and our office. Something I learned at an Alcohol Summit conference last year was that if students, who drank alcohol, were to choose to drink one less drink per occasion it could have a significantly positive impact on academics, health, and finances.  I thought it was incredible that making just a small change in behavior could result in such a positive outcome.

I encourage all of you to learn more about OneLess and learn what it could mean to you!!

January 31, 2012

Out with the old, in with the new!

Hello, I’m Deanna Busteed, Bentley University’s resident nutrition and fitness expert. This is the first of many “nutrition bites” geared to help you live a healthy lifestyle right here on campus.
As we kick off 2012- many of you may have given some thought to eating healthier this year.  To help you with eating healthier, I wanted to introduce you to MyPlate.
Recently the United States Department of Agricultural updated the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.
The new 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans focus on balancing calories with physical activity, and encourage Americans to consume more healthy foods (like vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy products, and seafood) and to consume less sodium, saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and refined grains.

Along with the new Dietary Guidelines- the all new MyPlate has replaced the former Food Guide Pyramid.  MyPlate is designed to remind you how to eat healthfully. It illustrates the five food groups using a familiar mealtime visual, a place setting.   It encourages you to balance your plate each time you eat.
Some key messages include:
  • Make half your plate fruits and vegetables
  • Switch to low fat dairy
  • Balance your calories
  • Enjoy your food but eat less
  • Drink water instead of sugary beverages
  • Make half your grain whole grains
  • Avoid large portions

I recently went into Season’s Dining Hall and put together some examples of healthy plates that you can create for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Some examples are included below.

Click on the thumbnail image below for a video of Deanna at Season's Dining Hall creating healthy plates!



Until next time...B Healthy and B Fit!

Deanna Busteed MS, RD, CSSD, LD
Clinical Dietitian/Sports Nutritionist/Coordinator of Fitness Classes
Center for Health and Wellness

January 19, 2012

I resolve to...

Happy and Healthy New Year from the Center for Health and Wellness. Jumpstart some of your resolutions with these resources!

If eating healthier is on your mind, consider making an appointment with our Nutritionist, Deanna Busteed. All appointments are free and confidential. You can also visit myplate.gov for information.



Are you looking to exercise more? Sign up for one of our weekly fitness classes in the Wellness Studio beginning in February!



Are you thinking about making changes regarding your choices around alcohol, consider One Less!



We'll be focussing our next posts on each of these areas as well as other ways you can be healthier in 2012. Please contact us if there is specific information you are looking for!

B Well Bentley!



December 1, 2011

Empower Yourself-Get Tested!

Hey, it’s Anne Herzog Rousseau, a Nurse Practitioner here at Bentley. In honor of World Aids Day, I wanted to remind you to Empower Yourself, Get Tested!

Regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, or sexual history, we are all at risk.

Did you know...

·         1 in 5 US citizens with HIV are unaware of their status. (CDC-Center for Disease Control and Prevention)
·         ¾ college students have not been tested for HIV. (National Collegiate Health Assessment)

Did you also know...

·         We offer HIV (and STI -- Sexually Transmitted Infection) testing right here on campus? WELL, WE DO!

HIV testing on campus consists of two office visits, each about a half hour in length. At the first visit we assess your health history and any specific risk factors for HIV. We can answer ANY and ALL questions you haveWe then collect a specimen for the test. At the second visit we show you your results and go over them with you.

Our appointments are CONFIDENTIAL and the cost is $30. Paying in cash helps to assure confidentiality.

All you have to do is make an appointment with me or any of the nurse practitioners in our office—we’d be happy to see you.


Here are some great resources on STDs, HIV and testing:


November 17, 2011

Thinking About Quitting

Hey Falcons! It’s Jessica, your resident Alcohol and Other Drugs Education Specialist. Today marks the 36th Annual Great American Smokeout. If you choose to smoke, or have loved ones who choose to smoke, it’s a great day to get information and resources to help you or your friends/family make a plan to quit.
Tobacco is one of the only drugs that when used as intended, can cause death. According to the American Cancer Society, tobacco use remains the single largest preventable cause of disease and premature death in the US, yet more than 46 million Americans still smoke.
On our campus, based on data collect from the national Collegiate Health Assessment in the Spring of 2010, 83% of our students reported they DID NOT smoke within the past month.
We at the Center for Health and Wellness know that quitting can be difficult. Don’t be afraid to make an appointment to speak with one of our Nurse Practitioners to discuss your options for quitting. Additionally, I can help students with setting goals and establishing a quitting plan. We also have some brochures in our office about quitting.
If you are motivated to do it on your own, we think the following websites are helpful:

Be well,
Jessica
Jessica Greher Traue
Assistant Director, Wellness
Coordinator, Alcohol and Other Drugs Education

November 8, 2011

How Much is Enough?

Hey, it's Deanna Busteed, Bentley's resident nutrition and fitness expert. It's time to answer a question I get ALL the time...how much exercise is enough?

Last July, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM)  released new recommendations on the quantity and quality of exercise for adults.

They recommend that most adults to engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate- intensity exercise per week or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week. A good way to tell if you are exercising at a moderate intensity is the "talk test". If you can talk while exercising but can't sing, then you are exercising moderately. Some examples include, brisk walking, cycling less than 10 mph, swimming, dancing or tennis. Jogging and cycling uphill are examples of vigorous-intensity workouts.

There's no right way to get your 150 minutes--it's whatever works for you, your level of fitness and your schedule. Some people may choose to exercise 30 minutes, 5 times a week, others may elect for longer duration workouts less frequently. Still others work in short workouts throughout the day. The most important thing is to get moving!

Remember, besides going to the Dana Center gym, you can join an intramural team, take free ballroom or latin dance classes or watch a fitness dvd or sign up for classes in the Slade Wellness Studio.

If these options don't work for you, I really like this dorm room workout.


Below are some videos we created of three exercises you can do in your room too!



Don't be afraid to contact our office with any nutrition, fitness or health questions--781.891.2222.

Until next time..B Healthy and B Fit!

-Deanna

Deanna Busteed MS, RD, CSSD, LD
Clinical Dietition/Sports Nutritionist/Coordinator of Fitness Classes
Center for Health and Wellness

August 24, 2011

Welcome Falcons

Hey Bentley Falcons!

This is our first blog entry! We think a blog should give you some valuable information! We hope to use this site to give you a sneak peek into the world of health at Bentley with special tips on health news, exercise, eating, sleep, and stress--these are all areas you told us you want to hear more about!! We'll try to add to this blog once a week--let us know what you want more information on by emailing us with ideas or questions.
I always start the fall with a combination of excitement and trepidation! We missed you over the summer and can't wait to see you back here. What will this year bring in my world of health? Will there be any flu epidemic this year? How can we do our best to get you seen quickly and efficiently? It is important for us to have good systems in place--management 101--my mission! Are there any tips we can give you? (here's a few to get your year started!)
  • Take 10 minutes each day to be alone without a cell phone on and just take some deep breaths
  • Take a walk with an old friend or a new friend--two loops around the campus gives you some good exercise in the nice weather!
  • Eat a few pieces of fruit each day
  • Read something (not school work) at bedtime for 10 minutes--you may sleep better!
  • Find one person at Bentley who listens--who you can talk to if you have any worries!
  • Wash your hands!
You may wonder what we do all summer while you are not here!
How did we spend our summer?
  • Reviewed 1300 health forms on incoming students and input data into their electronic medial records. Made sure their immunizations were up to date and in compliance with state immunization laws. Made sure all students had health insurance--again another state law in Massachusetts. if we are out of compliance there are BIG fines! Fortunately, we have 100% compliance rate due to the hard work of Mary McCarthy, our coordinator of immunizations!
  • started this new Blog!
  • Updated our facebook page.
  • Created a NEW schedule for fitness classes at times you asked for!
  • Put a Q & A on our website to help you navigate the health care system.
  • Continued to work to get a secure email system in place for communication between you and providers.
  • Created a new on-line booklet to help survivors of sexual assault, their friends and family (we'll send it by email to you and also look for it on our website in September)
  • Reviewed our Satisfaction Survey--found that 89% of our surveyed students were either satisfied or very satisfied with our services as compared to 82% of surveyed students nationally.
  • Updated and improved our electronic medical records system to make charting more efficient and get you seen and back to class quicker.
  • Planning done for on-campus support groups for students with chronic illness--Diabetes and Crohn's coming in January 2012
Check out our blog next week for tips on how to set an easy exercise routine each day! Don't forget to email us with questions or ideas for this blog!

In good health,

Gerri Taylor
Associate Dean for Health and Wellness