As we enter this new year, many college goers (myself included) are making it their goal to be healthy in 2016. With stress eating, alcohol, food prices, and drunken trips to Dogg Haus, making good choices can be rather difficult. After my first semester of college, I wanted to make some drastic changes to my lifestyle to stay healthy when surrounded by bad decisions. Here are some things I have learned along the way to help create my ideal healthy lifestyle — hopefully they help you, too.
Schedule time in your planner to work out. If you schedule it, you are more likely to do it. Plan it out in your class schedule what days and times you will hit the gym and get your sweat on. Adding gym dates will start making it a habit and hopefully hope you fall in love with working out.
Plan your meals ahead of time. After a long, exhausting day of school and work, the last thing you want to do is spend time planning and cooking a healthy meal when you are starving and all you want to do is whip up some mac and cheese. Plan at the beginning of the week your daily meals; or, better yet, cook for the week. Throw some chicken in the crockpot in the morning so it’s ready and smells delicious by the time you get back from class.
Eating healthy can be pricey, so find some ways to cut costs. Buying fruits and veggies (especially in the winter) can be hard on your wallet. Buying fruits and veggies that are canned, frozen, or even dried can be awesome if you are trying to eat healthy on a budget.
Track your workouts to see your progress. It can be helpful to track your workout and eating habits. It can even be beneficial and make you want to workout more or eat even healthier. Popular apps are Fitbit, My Fitness Pal, and Map My Fitness.
And when you have a hankering for drunk food, opt for some healthier options. We have all been there, you get back to your dorm and apartment after a night out and you are HUNGRY. Try and munch on healthier options like trail mix, bananas and peanut butter, fruits, or veggies to fill you up instead of consuming anything deep fried or greasy.
Let’s make 2016 our healthiest year yet!