working-outWe all know at this point that the Freshman15 is definitely a real(and terrifying) reality. But when you’re stuck on campus eating meal trades or living on your own on a very limited budget, staying healthy can be even more difficult than writing that 7 page paper you should have started a week ago. I’ve put together this list of the best ways to try to stay healthy in college:

1. Avoid eating greasy at every meal
This one can be very tricky, especially if you have a set number of meals you can eat, and a limited number of places to choose from on campus. My freshman year, I ate Panda Express, everyday…sometimes even two or three times in one day. As you can imagine, I felt terrible! Those types of food do no good for your thinking and can make it super hard to stay focused in class. For those who pay for every meal, it may seem easy and cheap to buy burgers for meals, when in reality it can be more expensive than preparing your own food at home. For both situations, going to your local grocery store and picking up fruit that doesn’t need to be refrigerated will make a world of difference. If an apple a day can keep the doctor away, imagine what an orange could do.

2. Work out…. somehow.
This is another tricky one. For many “blessed” with living on campus, you have access to some sort of gym facilities. Many apartment complex contain gyms with at least some functioning machines. Both of these situations you can run into the same issue: Bros. You know, those muscle-y guys who can’t seem to take their eyes off their reflections and only seem to communicate with each other by grunting and yelling at each other during what I like to call “Bro-offs”. However, you have to remember that exercising is for the greater good and that some sacrifices must be made. If you need a little help, take a look at our cardio exercises for girls.

3. Enjoy Yourself
One major source of any unhealthiness is stress. Stress can affect you both mentally and physically so it is important to let loose and have fun sometimes. Keep in mind that getting too loose can cause problems and lead to even MORE stress for you. Turning up the night before your finals is NOT the way to get rid of any kind of stress. However, a fun movie night with friends after studying or a trip downtown could be the solution to your stress.

4. Don’t Overthink It
Getting healthy is hard. Staying healthy is even harder. However, being healthy does not require an extreme lifestyle change. You won’t need to swear off meat or start juicing all of your meals to stay healthy while in school. Making small changes to your everyday eating habits will make a much bigger impact than any sort of crash diet would ever.

5. That One Cupcake Won’t Hurt
Everything is OK in moderation. Slipping up and eating a few scoops(or the whole pint) of ice cream won’t automatically reset all of the work you have done trying to stay healthy. Being healthy is not something you can achieve or lose quickly.

These are the 5 things that help me most in my attempts not to eat my weight in chocolate during the semester stay healthy while in school. I hope you can take something from this and can use it in your daily struggle!

Health & Fitness

2 Comments

  1. avatar Mallory says:

    This is a great article with helpful hints that seem reasonable for any college student! Your advice is very encouraging to your readers, and will make anyone feel a little more capable to develop a healthier lifestyle! Here’s my blog on a similar topic if you want to check it out!

  2. avatar Paige says:

    Another great post! I’ve been trying to stick to these things lately–definitely need to hit the gym again soon!

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