Collegiate Times

Image: 2013-02-25 21:45:54

In hopes of giving students an education that goes beyond the classroom, Dining Services, Rec Sports and Schiffert Health Center’s health education department have teamed up to create a program that teaches students how to live a healthy lifestyle.

The program, called SmartLIFE, advertises an opportunity to “make a change” and “get fit and fresh,” on the Rec Sports website. SmartLIFE offers valuable lessons in fitness and healthy eating, according to the administrative dietician for Dining Services and co-founder of SmartLIFE, Jenny Lindsey.

“The goal of the program is to give students healthy eating skills and healthy exercise skills for a lifetime, not just while they’re at college,” Lindsey said, “We’re building those skills while they’re here on campus to take with them for life.”

According to Lindsey, who has a B.S. in dietetics from the University of Arizona and a Masters in education from Virginia Tech, the program will consist of five sessions with a personal trainer, nutrition workshops, meal planning workshops and cooking classes with the dining hall chefs. After enrolling in SmartLIFE, all of the workshops are free, except the personal training sessions, which are $75.

Lindsey, who also oversees the You’re Eating Smarter program, says SmartLIFE is a more extensive program because it expands on the basic nutrition knowledge Y.E.S. provides. SmartLIFE teaches students how to apply the knowledge learned in Y.E.S., as well as other valuable lessons, Lindsey said.

“Y.E.S. focuses on what you should choose when you’re going to the dining hall, but SmartLIFE recognizes that students aren’t going to live on campus forever,” Lindsey said. “SmartLIFE will give them lifelong skills that they can take out into the world after they graduate.”

All of the departments, Dining Services, Rec Sports and Schiffert’s health education, came together to work out the specifics of the program to make sure it offered a well-rounded education, according to Lindsey.

“It’s a collaboration between departments,” Lindsey said. “You’re getting exercise (tips) from Rec Sports. Through (Schiffert’s) health education, there is the Nutrition 101 workshop, which gives a good background into nutrition. Dining Services’ part in SmartLIFE will provide a healthy meal planning workshop and two cooking classes per session,” Lindsey said.

Lindsey, who works for the Dining Services department, collaborated with a health education awareness team and her student assistants to create the new Healthy Meal Planning workshop. The workshop will teach students how to plan meals, grocery shop and eat healthy off-campus.

Lindsey also coordinated with Dining Services’ chefs to provide two cooking classes per SmartLIFE session. According to Lindsey, the classes will teach quick andy easy healthy skills, showing students how to cook on their own. The classes will also teach skills like how to effectively use leftovers.

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A version of this article appeared in the Feb 26 issue of the Collegiate Times.