Andrea Wilson

10/11/2012

Blog #3

Healthy Eating!

 

At the end of my senior year in high school, I literally could not wait for college to come. I had already started to plan decorating my dorm room long before graduation day. I was ready for freedom, meeting new friends and playing college sports.  I was prepared for the hard classes and the challenges of being away from home. However, I was not prepared with the many temptations and tests of will power I faced during my freshman year regarding eating healthy and staying fit.

Every single high school girl I know is always worried about gaining that Freshman fifteen, myself included. I had told myself that since I was an athlete I would have no problem staying in shape and eating healthy. This is much easier said than done. With different schedules everyday I found it hard to have a solid eating plan, or even a solid workout schedule. I will admit that I did gain the dreaded "freshman fifteen". However, once I realized that eating healthy and staying fit in college is a lot easier than it seems I was able to loose the 15 pounds I had gained and I was able to maintain my weight.

There are so many different tips and tricks out there to stay healthy while in college. It is imperative that you find the ones that work the best for you. Some people need to have a rigid eating routine in order to stick with their plan, while others can change the times and things they eat and still stay on target. It all depends on you feel about eating and what you think will work best for you.

Here are some of the tips that I used and am still using in order for me to eat healthy, stay fit and keep my weight in check.

1. Try not to hit up the desert bar at the cafe every single night
    I know those warm brownies are tempting, and that Ice Cream looks heavenly but try not to have them every single night. Having sugar heavy deserts as part of your diet plan forces you to keep coming back to that treat for sugar. Your body starts to crave that sugar and this causes you to reach for foods that are very unhealthy for you. Try to limit your deserts for only 2-3 times a week. This helps you look at the desert as a treat rather than a necessity.  I definitely recommend reading this blog entitled"Cheap, Healthy, Good" . It has an enormous list of do's and dont's regarding college eating.

2. Avoid eating food late at night
   In college, you are often up late at night studying for that big exam, or finishing a term paper. It's so easy to just run down to the vending machine and grab a candy bar or a bag of chips. However, this is extremely dangerous as this could become another routine. As a rule of thumb you should not eat heavy meals past 9:30 pm. This is the time where you body doesn't burn the calories as well as it does during the daytime. Therefore, it turns to fat on your body instead of using it as energy to keep you going throughout the day. If you have to eat after 9:30 reach for foods that will fill you up but won't make you feel bloated or tired.

3. Keep Healthy Snacks in your dorm room
 By having healthy snacks in your room you are less likely to over-indulge at the cafe or buy that candy bar at the drug store. Healthy snacks not only keep you full and satisfied but they are perfect for you when you just want something light before you head out for the night, or during a break in between classes. This website offers many ideas on what snacks you should keep in your dorm room, along with ways to mix up your snacks.

4. Plan Ahead

  Instead of grabbing that doughnut before running off to class, wake up 15-20 minutes early in order to have a substantial breakfast. Eggs can easily be cooked in the microwave and then wrapped up in a burrito for an awesome and nutritional on the go snack. Go to the grocery store during your downtime on Sunday and load up with fruits and vegetables. Failing to plan, is planning to fail.

5. Eat Fruits and Vegetables with every meal
  Fruits and veg tables are so important to maintain a healthy weight. They are not that high in calories and they offer so many nutritional benefits. Start to make a habit of having at least two or three of them with each meal and even planning to have them as snacks!


If you follow these tips and do some research on your own about healthy eating I have all the confidence in the world, that you will be able to eat healthy and maintain a steady weight while in college!