Staying Healthy and Fit for the Rest of the Semester

When getting closer to the end of the semester, it’s easy to stray away from healthy habits, but staying healthy and fit should be a high priority in our daily lives.

Things that can be done to stay healthy:

·         Sleep 8-9 hours

·         A balanced life

·         Exercise 3-5 times a week for an hour

·         Eat right

·         Engagement

·         Healthy relationships

“Young people don’t get enough sleep,” said Dr. Theresa R. Stephan Hains, the director of the Weigel Health Center. “It's all about a balanced life that involves getting good sleep and eating well.”

For students, it’s also important to engage with people and form friendships, Stephan Hains said. She said it’s important for students to interact with real people rather than to have disengaged interactions Facebook, Twitter, or other social media.

“Any extra activity will benefit you,” said Corey Pepero, personal trainer at the Southtowns YMCA. “You don’t have to go out and run 10 miles or lift weights for an hour. Extra steps to work, walking the dog, and exercising while watching TV are all things someone could do to increase their daily activity.

“Easy cardio and weightlifting is a good start, and then interval training. Exercise can help fight off disease, to feel good, to relieve stress, and to prevent further progression of some diseases.”

Walking, whether around campus -inside or outside- around the neighborhood, or in the park are all things Stephan Hains and Pepero would agree on. Also having balanced meals with fruits and vegetables is important.

“Students need to be wary about how much they drink,” Stephan Hains added. “If they smoke, or do any drugs; those are all detrimental to their health.”

What the campus has to offer:

·         Health and Activity Program from the health center

·         Facilities on campus (Fitness Center, Houston Gym)

·         Free fitness classes offered on campus like Zumba, Kickboxing, and Yoga

·         The Dining Hall

·         Volunteer and Service-Learning Center

Stephan Hains spoke highly about the Buffalo State Health and Activity Program,  which includes fitbits and tracking activity and teaches about different things a person can do in their daily lives.

The campus dining hall is a better alternative to the Retail Dining Hall. “They have a great salad bar,” she said. “They show calorie counts and have healthy choices.”

She also recommended community engagement.

“Engaging in some sort of service will help you be a happy person,” she said. “Reaching out to the Volunteer and Service-Learning Center and asking if there is anything they could do to help the community can help a student with their well-being.”

One of Stephan Hains’ favorite quotes is by Shirley Chisholm, an African American woman who ran for president in 1972. She said it's a quote she lives by.

“Service is the rent we pay for the privilege of living on this earth. It is the very purpose of life, and not something you do in your spare time.” Shirley Chisholm

Wellness Coaching From Rich Muscatello

Our wellness is a main factor in controlling our health

Rich Muscatello spent months of learning and training to become a wellness coach, so that he could expand his gift for helping people.

Muscatello, 55, from Orchard Park, is the owner of Sports Focus in Buffalo and Orchard Park, and the director of wellness at Inspired Health Group. He has been a physical therapist for 35 years for his own business and a wellness coach for four months.

A wellness coach helps a person make changes in their daily lifestyles to improve their health and general well-being.

Q. What education is needed to become a wellness coach?

To get accepted into a program, one would need a bachelor’s degree or higher in health or psychology, or a two-year degree as a licensed nurse.

Once in, the first 18 weeks include a 90 to 120-minute long phone conference per week before a four to five-hour prep before class; reading papers or texts; listening to sessions; and grouping with four students for an hour and a half. At the end of each class, there is an evaluation to fill out including an opinion based section.

After the 18 weeks, the student gets practice clients to document and submit findings to the school. At the end of this process, there is a written exam with 125 questions and an oral exam over the phone before certification.

Q. Why did you decide to become one?

It’s not a licensed field but a certified field. Instead of being an expert and prescribing something, I get to work with people to help them manage their own well-being and figure out resources in people and the environment to support them.

They define their ideal of wellness and I get to help them set goals to achieve their vision. They achieve a greater sense of self-efficacy.

Q. How many clients do a wellness coach usually have?

Usually, we work 30 to 40 hours a week, which is 30 to 40 clients. But right now I only have one and I usually work with him an hour a week.

Q. What does a session consist of?

A session is usually through a phone call, but we can meet up in person. The first session is all about getting to know each other and why they want to improve their wellness. I also tell them why I’m a wellness coach, what it is, what it entails, and what they should expect.

That same session, we develop their goal and talk about positive experiences that they remember. We then develop a wellness vision and how to get there. We usually set up weekly goals, monthly goals, and yearly goals.

After that, the sessions following usually consist of me asking open-ended questions and seeing how well they achieve their goals on a scale of 1 to 100. It’s also always important to see how they feel about sessions so I can change how I handle them to help improve their experience and overall wellness.

There’s also a lot of reading between the lines on my side of it all so that I can help connect to the positivity they experience. Here we can tweak their goals to make them harder or easier.

Q. What do you find most rewarding?

I’ve been able to learn new ways to help people. Physical therapy is an expert model, it’s formulated. Suzie is recovering from a knee injury so she does X to get better. It’s a short-term experience while choosing to achieve a better wellbeing can be a life choice. I love that I can now help people reach their goals in a way other than prescribed.

Q. What is most challenging with wellness coaching?

Trying not to be an expert. Being a wellness coach, I don’t tell them what to do, I have to help them figure out the experiences that have bettered themselves. I also have to be patient and open to each client.

Q. Why is wellness coaching important to you?

Most people in the United States suffer sickness and death from bad life decisions, which are controllable in our life decisions. Our healthcare pays so much for those consequences and can’t get people to change, but coaching can be compared to a doctor.

Q. What do you do to stay healthy and well?

Eat well. I usually meditate most days, don’t smoke, limit my alcohol consumption, and I think I usually handle my stress OK.

Anyone can have a wellness coach. No matter what age we all can reach our wellness goals so that we can live happy, healthy, long lives.