As collegiates, we tend to focus more on our education, social activities and relationships, unfortunately putting our eating habits at the end of that list. We usually tend to blame this on not finding time, or our obvious hatred to make the walk all the way to gym. When we’re at home, it’s easier to eat the right amount of nutrition (mostly because our loving parents’ home-cooked meals) !!
But this is college. We don’t have time to make sure we’ve gotten our daily vitamins and minerals. Maintaining this is still essential, since we can’t be our best with a weak mind and a weak body. SO, I have a couple of helpful ways you can make sure your school work and health are both in the right place.
1. Focus on adding whole nutritious foods.
To start off your day, try to grab fruit! You can get a cup from first floor and have it with a slice of multigrain or rye bread! Or be sure to eat a bowl of oatmeal with skim, almond or coconut milk. By doing so, you don’t necessarily have to think about your calories, because you will be fueling your body with the correct amount of vitamins and minerals you need.
2. Make sure you stock your dorm with healthy foods.
We all know how it feels to late night snack and then regret in the morning. By putting healthy choices in your fridge, you can finally feel good about your midnight snack!. Therefore, you aren’t too prone to munch on junk food. Try keeping fruits, hummus, plain yogurt and almonds!
3. Want to eat junk food on third? Fill your plate with your favorite kind of salad first.
We always want to binge on something unhealthy from time to time, and the dinning hall has all types of choices. Choose what type of foods will benefit you most! I know that chicken parmesan, chicken nuggets and fries are such a difficult temptation to just not choose. If you feel the need to indulge in these feel-good foods, make sure the first thing you put on your plate is a salad of your choosing, anything green and healthy so that you get a balanced meal. Make sure to pack it with veggies!
4. Drink water, water, water!
A lot of us tend to forget just how important it is to drink water every day. They say you should at least drink 8 glasses of water a day, which in theory sounds like so much. Yet, that irritable headache, dry skin, or constant fatigue can be due to not drinking enough water. Therefore, I recommend that getting yourself a water bottle that you can fill up in those fancy water fountains are super reliable, and filtrated as well! Plus, the bottles are so cute!!