Fitness Classes - May 9-May 27
Stretching Outside
Wes Fitness Walk
If you are interested in attending any of these classes contact: Heather Minetti, x2928 or hminetti@wesleyan.edu

Tips for Healthy Eating
- Eat smaller portions
- Choose non-fat or low-fat dairy products
- Choose lean meats
- Remove skin from chicken and other poultry
- Eat at least 5 servings of vegetables and fruits every day
- Split entrees and desserts with a friend when eating out
- Ask for dressing, sour cream and sauces on the side

Tips to increase your activity
- Take the stairs instead of the elevator
- Park your car at the far end of the parking lot
- Take a 5 to 10 minute walk after each meal
- Play with a child
- Work in the yard or garden
- Take an exercise class
- Go dancing with friends

Tanning Bed Truths
Craving a sun-kissed look, but concerned about the safety of commercial tanning beds? Don't trust the salon operator to give you the facts, a new Consumer Reports investigation concludes. Among the 296 tanning facilities polled, more than one-third of salon operators said indoor tanning caused neither skin cancer or wrinkles. The truth: a mere 20 minutes in a tanning booth is equivalent to an entire day a the beach without sun screen.

In fact, researchers in Sweden found that people younger than age 30 who use tanning beds or lamps more than 10 times a year are seven times more likely to develop melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer. "If you must tan, get it from tanning creams and lotions," advises Kansas City, MO, dermatologist Audrey Kunin, M.D. "And wear sunscreen."

Weight Loss - Keep It Off!
Along with summer's tempting treats come two blessings for everyone trying to maintain a healthy weight: longer days and better weather. Try some of the fun activities below to burn extra calories:
- Walk your dog more often or go to a dog park for a vigorous Frisbee session
- Try out at least three unfamiliar local parks or walking/hiking trails
- Walk or bike instead of driving for short trips and errands
- Engage in watersports, such as swimming or water-skiing
- Learn to play tennis or golf
- Take an active vacation
- Go backpacking or day-hiking

A Royal Effort
As Sarah Ferguson, the Dutchess of York, confesses, even royalty aren't immune to the "demons" as she calls them, that can derail your best weight-loss intentions. Ferguson, a Weight Watchers spokeswoman has maintained a 50-pound weight loss for more than eight years, now, learn her keep-it-off tips:
Stop the denial. It is possible to lose weight and keep it off. If you can't, you need to look at the reasons why you're eating. For example, are you bored, lonely or depressed?
Don't Deprive Yourself. Ferguson allows herself two cookies with the afternoon tea.
Make Exercise Fun. Ferguson runs five or six miles three days a week, but stops to appreciate her surroundings. Also, pilates, yoga and resistance training round out her weekly workouts, which gave her so much energy.
Seek support. When talking with other women, ask for tips, such as how they handle a bad day.

Yoga Cuts Muscle Soreness
Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) - which usually peaks 24-48 hours after exercise - can ruin a skiing or hiking vacation, as muscles react to unaccustomed exercise. A new study conducted by a sports medicine expert at the Medical College of Georgia found that practicing yoga regularly helps prevent post-exercise muscle pain. Twenty-four women, half of whom did yoga several times a week, participated in a bench-stepping exercise guaranteed to make muscles scream. When DOMS peaked, the yoga group's pain scores were about 50 percent lower than the non-yoga group.

While there is probably nothing magical about yoga, it works because it's "another way to stretch sore muscles and loosen them up."

However, you should get some instruction in yoga at least one month before you dive into new activities because people unaccustomed to yoga who try it for the first time while experiencing DOMS might actually end up hurting more.

Diet With Your Dog
Seeking a diet buddy? Look no further than your dog says the medical director at Northwestern Memorial Hospital's Wellness Institute. He put 36 overweight people with plus-sized pets and 56 overweight non-pet owners on a diet. They were given meal plans, pedometers and tips for exercising and cutting calories. Both groups lost weight, but dog owners enjoyed the program far more and were likelier to stick with it. Plus, their pets lost 16% of their body weight.

Why were the pet owners so successful? For one thing, it was fun. That's because it felt natural. It's playing-not consciously working out. And while you may go off a dies during stressful times, your dog still needs to be walked, so you do it. You don't have to buy a dog to drop pounds, but if you already have one, take advantage!