This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Princeton chapter.
Princeton graduates go on to do varied yet equally fantastic things. Daphen Oz is no exception. A 2008 graduate with a degree in Near Eastern Studies (with a focus on Turkey and Islamic Art), Daphne Oz has been taking the health and fitness world by storm; Daphne has been featured in
The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, People, The Washington Post, Reader’s Digest, Teen Vogue, Seventeen, Cosmo Girl!, and Glamour , and on Good Morning America, Fox & Friends, The Dr. Oz Show, The Nate Berkus Show, The Tyra Banks Show. In addition, Daphne has founded HealthCorps–a non-profit with that “
equips teenagers with nutrition, exercise, and stress management education in 40 schools nationwide.” In short, Daphne is awesome!
We collegiettes™ know how easy it is to gain weight in college while we’re focusing on studies, eating club parties, and everything besides the gym. Thankfully, Daphne has penned The Door Room Diet–a must for every collegiettes™ bookshelf.
Luckily, Daphne has taken the time to answer our questions about her Princeton experience and The Dorm Room Diet.
Her Campus Princeton: How was your experience at Princeton University?
Daphne Oz: I absolutely loved my time at Princeton, and felt very lucky to find myself surrounded by so many dynamic, curious and thoughtful students. All four years were a fantastic learning experience, both academically and personally, but I think freshman year in particular was a unique environment wherein I felt at once so comfortable growing into my own and also pushed and encouraged to test my boundaries and beliefs.
HCP: What did you wish you knew as a collegiette™?:
DO: I wish I’d known how fast the time would fly! I could not have asked for a happier four years: I made friends for life, learned from professors who are the minds of their generation, and really tried to be present in every moment and live each one fully. The most important thing I hope any collegiette takes with her is the knowledge that she had a complete and wonderful college experience, because we never get a second chance to do it right.
DO: I wish I’d known how fast the time would fly! I could not have asked for a happier four years: I made friends for life, learned from professors who are the minds of their generation, and really tried to be present in every moment and live each one fully. The most important thing I hope any collegiette takes with her is the knowledge that she had a complete and wonderful college experience, because we never get a second chance to do it right.
HCP: Why did you decide to write The Dorm Room Diet?
DO: I decided to write The Dorm Room Diet because I saw a real need for college students who wanted to learn how to take care of their bodies but didn’t want this interest to become the only focus of their lives; healthy living had to be able to fit easily into the rest of the college experience. I had accumulated tons of relevant, useful information about healthy lifestyle growing up in my family and continuing to devour new research as it surfaced. Despite having all this knowledge, I hadn’t found a way to apply it to my own life, and struggled with my weight throughout adolescence. In my senior year of high school, I realized that college would mark the beginning of my adult life, and I wanted to do all I could to ensure I would be capable of doing anything and everything I might want to as I began that next stage, which meant getting my health on track and losing the extra thirty pounds I was carting around.
DO: I decided to write The Dorm Room Diet because I saw a real need for college students who wanted to learn how to take care of their bodies but didn’t want this interest to become the only focus of their lives; healthy living had to be able to fit easily into the rest of the college experience. I had accumulated tons of relevant, useful information about healthy lifestyle growing up in my family and continuing to devour new research as it surfaced. Despite having all this knowledge, I hadn’t found a way to apply it to my own life, and struggled with my weight throughout adolescence. In my senior year of high school, I realized that college would mark the beginning of my adult life, and I wanted to do all I could to ensure I would be capable of doing anything and everything I might want to as I began that next stage, which meant getting my health on track and losing the extra thirty pounds I was carting around.
Instead of resorting to the fad diets I’d relied on–and failed at–before, I decided to try something new: a complete lifestyle overhaul that would allow me to recalibrate the power balance between eater and eaten without ever having to give up the foods I loved. So many of us come to rely on food as an emotional crutch, or treat it as though it has some hold over us because we have tried to deprive and limit ourselves, as opposed to seeing that we are always in control and that nothing is off-limits when this is the case. Becoming conscious not only of what I was eating, but alsowhy, gave me a whole knew toolbox of resources to use when it came to being able to enjoy a full college experience–like the late night pizza, keg party, fun dinner out with friends, or celebratory occasion complete with cake–without sacrificing my health. Once I resolved that I wanted to be healthy most of the time, but still have room to indulge when I wanted to, it became a priority for me to find ways to make smart choices without ever feeling deprived. This was the key to my own success, and the tips and tools I developed and share in The Dorm Room Diet have had great results for young adults around the country.
HCP: What can college women expect to find in The Dorm Room Diet?
DO: Readers can anticipate finding simple, practical, relatable advice from a woman just like them who’s been there and understands both the unique pressures that campus life presents and also the unique opportunity it offers to start to establish a health lifestyle that will last you a lifetime. From ways to navigate college danger zones without ever feeling out of control or like you are missing out, to easy tips and tricks that you can use throughout your lifetime to keep your health on track–like my trusty “count to your age before you cheat” motto that gives you time to make a conscious decision and an opportunity to gauge whether you are eating something out of convenience, or whether indulging will go the extra mile in helping to fuel your resolve to eat well the rest of the time–these are the same tools I used to lose thirty pounds, take control of my health, and have the time of my life at college.
DO: Readers can anticipate finding simple, practical, relatable advice from a woman just like them who’s been there and understands both the unique pressures that campus life presents and also the unique opportunity it offers to start to establish a health lifestyle that will last you a lifetime. From ways to navigate college danger zones without ever feeling out of control or like you are missing out, to easy tips and tricks that you can use throughout your lifetime to keep your health on track–like my trusty “count to your age before you cheat” motto that gives you time to make a conscious decision and an opportunity to gauge whether you are eating something out of convenience, or whether indulging will go the extra mile in helping to fuel your resolve to eat well the rest of the time–these are the same tools I used to lose thirty pounds, take control of my health, and have the time of my life at college.
So what do you think collegiettes™? Do you own The Dorm Room Diet or do you plan to purchase it? Let us know in the comments below!
Check out the Dorm Room Diet website!
Photograph credits to Alexandra Carillo-Vaccino.