This is a hoot to to talk about. By no means am I even remotely perfect at this. Eating a balanced diet is something that you may find helpful in the long run. Believe it or not, eating cheap doesn’t mean you are eating right.
Eating right can help increase your awareness. It can help you feel energized for the day and help you stay focused throughout the long days that you consistently have. For example, when you choose to put the soda or the junk food down, and eat something better like an apple, your body already loves you so much more.
Unhealthy Habits
When I first started college, I didn’t really care about my overall health and well-being. I ate what I wanted when I wanted. Our tiny dorm only had a mini fridge and a microwave so it was easy to eat tons of Ramen and Hot Pockets. If you get nothing else from this post, please remember that these are so bad for you. They are loaded with sodium, sugar and carbs. All of which are the worst things for you.
My roommates and I would also go out to eat all the time. We would stop at McDonald’s and Taco Bell almost daily. This is fine when you are young and have a quick metabolism. As you get older, that changes. It slows down. All-nighters become more difficult. Partying until 3am won’t fly if you expect to be a functional human being the next day.
Some Tips
Your body is so important to your school life. Being sluggish and gross is not the way to go. Now, I want to make it very clear that there are certain health challenges that make it very difficult but here are some simple tips to be healthier.
Some simple ideas:
- Plan your meals for the week
- Purchase the ingredients
- Meal prep
- Put reminders in your phone to help keep you on track
- Remember that every time you eat out is money that you could have spent elsewhere.
Obviously, this won’t solve all of your problems. But it is helpful to keep these things in mind. It is also helpful to note that your friends will be the WORST source of peer pressure. They will ask you to go out to eat all the time. A lot of students end up having access to their parent’s bank accounts and will be able to go out to eat for every meal.
As I stated earlier, this is a waste of your time and money. It is also harmful to your body. And you know that I am right.
When meal prepping, you want to remember that there is a lot of information out there to help confuse and overwhelm you on the path to living a healthier life. Don’t get overwhelmed. It is fairly simple. Always have some source of proteins and carbs. There is no reason to get into tons of detail with all of this.
Portion control is crucial. Many people in our modern society over-eat. It is so easy to over eat. When you over eat, you get that feeling of being bloated and not wanting to move and be productive. It is kind of what I talked about earlier in this article.
The FDA recommends 2,000 daily calories. This is obviously not a perfect science. There must be some wiggle room. Depending on your gender, age, height, weight, and level of activity are factors to consider the amount of calories you should be consuming.
In the middle of the day, you get to that point where you are hungry. Instead of driving through McDonald’s or some other fast food joint, pick up an apple or a bag of carrots. Trust me, your body will thank you in the long run.
The millennial college student 