Committit Kayla Kilba Team Member t’s that time of year again where many are off to a running start with their New Year’s resolutions, but how do you plan to carry out yours? The choices and indulgence made over the holidays or past year often influence one’s choices and goals come New Years. It’s easy to come up with resolutions. A couple years ago, I was unhappy with my body and my health, so my goals quickly became tailored to exercise and eating well. Let’s be honest: the hard part isn’t coming up with goals, but sticking to them. In nursing school we are taught to make SMART goals for our clients--specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. So this New Years aim to make SMART resolutions. Your resolution(s) should be specific. For example, let’s say you want to lose weight. There is nothing wrong with that goal, but how will you accomplish this? Perhaps we could dial in on it a bit more- -in order to lose weight I will specifically go to the gym. Now we need to make it measurable--this year I will lose 10 pounds by going to the gym at least three times a week, Is this attainable? Yes. You should feel challenged by the goal, but it should remain realistic. It is good to set a time frame to accomplish this goal; perhaps you may want to lose 10 pounds in the first four months ensuring your goal is timely as well. There is nothing wrong with making long term goals, but it is a good idea to break those goals up in to smaller parts to avoid unrealistic expectations of yourself. Start small and take baby steps along the way. Rather than angrily ingesting celery while you regret throwing out all of your junk food, try having treats in moderation. You will be amazed at how little changes can yield great results. Above all else, the smaller steps you take the smoother it will become a habit. The challenge with New Year’s resolutions is that people try to fully adapt their life to fit their goal rather than adapting the goal to fit their lifestyle. The beginning can be the hardest, so here are some healthy tips: -Craving sweets? Freeze grapes, or any fruit, and snack on those, tastes like candy! -Substitute your cream and sugar with almond milk and Stevia. -Eat your carbohydrates during the day instead of late at night. -Try to have 5-6 smaller portioned meals throughout the day versus three large. -Water is your friend! So carry a water bottle on you (depending on my training I drink anywhere from 3.5-8 L a day!) -Add lemon (cucumber, mint, strawberries, etc) to your water to satisfy other beverage cravings. -Don’t skip breakfast, and incorporate protein (my favourite is plain oatmeal with a scoop of protein powder, or eggs on the side). -Prepare your meals or snacks the night before so there is no excuse for the lack of lunch the next day and the consequent pit stop at McDonalds. -Use plain Greek yogurt to dip your veggies instead of dressings. Being fit and healthy takes commitment, dedication, and persistence, but with SMART goals and baby steps it can be achievable. Who’s to say New Year’s is the only day you can make goals and start fresh? Recognize that New Year’s is just a day like any other day on the calendar. Don’t wait another year to try again. Reevaluate your goal, identify what worked and what caused you to fail, and remold the goal as necessary and then try again! Who cares about the New Year, because tomorrow’s always a New Day! UNBC Life 5 UNBC Debate Society at the world championships Colin Slark Team Member he UNBC Debate Society did not return from the 2015 World Universities Debating Championships (WUDC) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as world champions. However, against stiff competition from the likes of Yale and Oxford they still managed their best ever point total at the annual competition. Over the winter break, the UNBC Debate Society sent 5 of their members to WUDC to join the approximately 1200 people that were in the Malaysian capital for the championships hosted by Universiti Teknologi Mara. Molly Fredeen and Ahsen Chaudhry comprised one debate team while Terrance Badham and Ed Quinlan made up another. Imogen McDonald participated in the competition as a judge to round off the largest contingent that UNBC has ever sent to a WUDC. Over December 29, 30, and 31, UNBC’s teams participated in 9 grueling debates against universities from all over the world. These debates were comprised of four teams per match, with two teams each being on the side for or against any given topic. This year’s competitions included questions regarding terrorism in Syria, urbanization in developing countries, and the ethics surrounding the research and development of moral enhancement drugs. Through several phases of arguments and statements based on the British Parliament debate method, points are awarded to teams for the persuasiveness of their arguments. UNBC recorded 12 points this year and won 3 rounds, up from their previous best of 10 points. Fredeen and Chaudhry also made it into the top half of the table for individual points. This improvement was achieved despite having to face off against some of the strongest debaters in the world. In UNBC’s very first round, they had to debate against the University of Sydney, whose team ended up becoming the world champions. Teams were only given their debate topics 15 minutes before the start of a debate and were not allowed to use the Internet during that time, so advance preparation was key to success. The team, selected during last year’s Winter semester after the 2014 WUDC in Chennai, India, had to keep on top of current events from all over the world to make sure they would be able to debate any possible topic that might come up in the competition. “If you read The Economist every week and National Geographic and listen to CBC Radio, you would be relatively prepared,” said team member Molly Fredeen. According to Fredeen, you need a broad picture of the world going into WUDC, needing to pay attention to well-publicized events like the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris, but also lesser-known events like the recent presidential elections in Brazil. She says that paying attention to current events helps her be a better debater, and through the process of observing the world and participating in competitions she has found out what she really cares about, helping her direct her studies into areas she is passionate about. “[Debating] is not all just for show, it proves to be useful,” she added. UNBC’s improved record is also remarkable because of the difficulty the society’s members have in getting practice. To attend any kind of debate tournament, it is a minimum 8-hour drive or a plane ride away. One of UNBC’s teams ended up tied in points at WUDC with a team from UBC, even though UBC’s debate society has many more members and more access to tournaments where they can hone their skills. Next year’s championships will be held in Thessaloniki, Greece, and will be hosted by the University of Macedonia. The UNBC contingent will be chosen this semester and will start to prepare all over again so that they can challenge the world and improve on their past performances.