This may be the biggest struggle for college students out there. With soft-serve ice cream machines available at every corner, greasy fries served daily, and all you can eat pancakes for breakfast, how can you NOT gain weight?
It is every kid's dream to have access to all these delicacies, but when you are a 19-year-old girl you suddenly lose interest in what your stomach wants and gain interest in what your mind is telling you-you should have. It wasn't until this fall that I really began to take charge of my own health and diet. In high school, I went to practice without even thinking about it. In college, I have to make the effort to put on my coat and shoes and trudge across campus to the Health and Recreation Complex, get on the elliptical, and tell myself, "Okay one hour, this won't be bad!" I have found that though I have the facilities here, it is harder than ever to get motivated! So, I have started to watch different health vloggers on YouTube. Watching these vlogs helps me to get myself out of bed, and into the gym...no matter how bad I want to stay in and watch another episode of Pretty Little Liars.
While the athletic facilities are great, it is the diet portion of my health which is the hardest to control. The cafeteria offers nearly zero healthy options for students to eat. While salad is always an option, everybody needs a source of protein. For those students who are vegetarian and vegan, even paleo, there are very very few options besides salad. While exercise is a great thing to get into a routine of doing, you need to eat healthy as well if you plan to maintain a healthy lifestyle. After my first semester, I have found that it is absolutely vital to stock up on healthy, nutritious snacks in your dorm room. Sometimes you don't feel like walking to the cafeteria, or you want to have a quick bite to eat before class. Some of my favorites are:
- Larabar's (Cookie Dough and Apple Pie are the best)
- Clif Bars (Chocolate Chip, Blueberry Crisp, and Oatmeal Raisin)
- Fruit (Apples, Grapes, Bananas, and Clementines are my go-to items)
- Kind Bars
- Luna Bars (Lemonzest is my all time favorite)
- Skinny Pop Popcorn
- Jif To-Go Peanut Butter cups with Pretzels
These are some of my favorites, but there are so many healthy options to explore! College is a time to study hard and learn a lot. But, it is also important to take these four years to build healthy eating habits, which you can take with you into the real world. After all, your diet is one of the only things you can control... so, do it the right way!