Healthy U Interactive is an exciting new program that aims to help students reach their health and fitness goals.

It’s not a secret that staying healthy while attending university can be a challenge. Between late nights, non-stop parties and the temptation of the dining hall buffet, it’s no wonder that the “freshman 15” has become a widely-known part of the college experience.

Luckily, University of Saskatchewan students aren’t alone in their quest for wellness. Healthy U Interactive provides a wide range of collaborative programs to make being healthy something that you might actually want to work towards.

Each student creates their own personal wellness account by visiting the Healthy U Interactive website, accessible through a link provided by U of S Campus Recreation Services. After entering a university email address and password, the next step is to customize your account by entering information like your height, weight and age. With this data, Healthy U Interactive can help you track your progress and determine the path that’s best for you.

Once you’ve completed the first few steps, you’re ready to get started on your journey to a healthier life!

Healthy U lets you keep track of both your fitness and nutrition progress. Within the fitness component, you can catalogue your favorite exercises and routines.

Exercise goals can be measured in time spent, steps taken or calories burned. Within this area, you can also track the amount of sleep you are getting each night.

The nutrition portion helps you set a daily calorie range for yourself. It includes a food log, where you can track your intake and see the nutritional breakdown of everything you eat. This can help you make smarter choices in the dining hall. You are also able to add your favorite recipes and meal plans for future reference.

One of the best things you can do is set some goals for yourself. Goals are an important part of making progress, and Healthy U helps you keep track of your achievements. Students are able to join challenges that are held throughout the year.

By joining a challenge, you pledge to complete a set of tasks along with other U of S students. You journal your daily progress and compete against others to earn points and win prizes. While winning isn’t the main goal, being a little competitive never hurts your motivation.

Since the point of Healthy U is to get you moving, it isn’t surprising that a mobile app is also available. The Healthy U Interactive app is available for download so you can track your progress on your smartphone. Healthy U is also compatible with other fitness technology. It is possible to sync a Fitbit tracker to your Healthy U account so that all information is transferred over. If you wear a Polar heart rate monitor, you can also ensure that you are meeting an optimum level with your workouts.

Additionally, Healthy U offers links to resources relating to all different areas of wellness. For those that are feeling lost, it’s easy to find articles on the benefits of walking or healthy foods to bring to a barbeque. If anything, it’s an easy way to make wasting time on the Internet somewhat productive.

Healthy U Interactive goes above and beyond the reaches of a regular fitness program. It takes into account a wide range of health aspects, from fitness to food to functionality. Most importantly, it makes the journey to wellness actually fun. Being healthy isn’t always easy, but it definitely doesn’t need to be boring.