The pumpkin cheesecake, apple crisp, and pecan pie all seem to be calling your name. You’re already full from the heaps of canned cranberry sauce and leftover Halloween candy you shoveled into your mouth earlier to get yourself through the day after an all-nighter studying for an ethics exam. What to do?
Let me first let you know that while I consider myself a healthy eater, I play a sport, and I care about my well-being, sometimes I can’t resist having just one more Reese’s pumpkin around this time of year. Sometimes I give myself an extra large scoop of apple crisp. But doing this doesn’t mean I suck at controlling myself nor does it mean I’m a terrible eater, it means I’m a human being and a college student with a lot of other things on my mind in addition to what I put in my body. The difference between myself and Hollywood stars (well, there’s a lot of differences) is that I don’t want to kill myself after I eat a little extra dessert.
This time of year, sensible eating can be difficult. We all seem to be exercising a little less because it’s starting to get cold, so we’re less likely to be able to work off whatever we eat. We’re also tempted daily by the warmth of decadent coffee drinks and the aroma of a pumpkin pie wafting through the Colonial hallways after someone ambitiously decided to bake one to get in the mood for the holiday season.
For some people, overeating is a reaction to boredom, sadness, or even happiness. While some diet philosophies out there today, like Jillian Michaels’, say that any and all processed foods are a no-no, and that diet pills can be beneficial. These kind of diets seem to be straight-up unrealistic for most college students because of time and money constraints. More realistic philosophies, like Bethenny Frankel’s or Weight Watchers, encourage individuals to look at their diet like a bank account, meaning that if you had a large slice of chocolate cake yesterday, then today you probably don’t have the “funds” to eat another ooey-gooey sugary treat.
Your “bank account” can depend on multiple things, like your age, daily activities, how much you exercise, and if you are trying to loose weight rather than just maintain a healthy one. But, at the end of the day, rather than weighing yourself down with the technicalities of calorie counts and grams of carbs, it’s about common sense and listening to your body. Everything you eat is a choice, and you know when you may not be making the best choice when you decide on going for the at second AND your third round of cheesecake.
So, collegiettes, should you feel like you want to jump off a bridge if you decide on having the pumpkin pie AND the apple crisp? No. But hold off on the pecan pie, because that stuff just disgusting. Just kidding. But you SHOULD be conscious of what kind of foods are depleting your food “bank account” and limit yourself if you’re looking to keep your svelt figure for your fierce Christmas and New Year’s outfit. Everything you eat is a choice, and you know when you’re making the right or wrong ones this time of year.