The main reason why people gain weight in college is because of (duh) the dining halls. Mom and Dad are no longer cooking for you and controlling your servings—you’re all on your own. But let’s be honest, would you rather eat a salad for dinner or grab some chicken parm? But it doesn’t stop there. You are going to get some more soda and see that they are serving dirty mashed potatoes and cheddar biscuits at the main line. So you get some. But that’s not all. They have panda paws ice cream today. How are you supposed to miss out on this rare opportunity of eating delicious ice cream with chocolate shaped PAWS?! Exactly, you don’t.
And now your jeans aren’t fitting. They must be shrinking! It’s the dryer’s fault, right? So what are we supposed to do?
Personally, I believe that you don’t need to sacrifice taste in order to lose weight. Eating an egg white for breakfast and then salad for both lunch and dinner will help you lose weight, but you’ll also be cranky because you’re never satisfied with what you eat. Remember that you are making a lifestyle change. Experiment, figure out what you like, what you don’t, and eat what makes you happy. So, here are my tips:
1. If possible, check on your dining hall’s website to see what they are serving for the week. We have the Ithaca Dining Services website which provides the menu for the week at the multiple dining halls on campus. I am always on this site, checking out what we are serving this week and planning my meals around which dining halls have healthy and tasty options. For instance, I am a sucker for Philly Cheese Steaks. So Terraces is serving them for lunch on Thursday and I will make sure to NOT be there. Here’s another example, the Vegetable Lo Mein on campus is pretty healthy and it tastes awesome. I’ll make sure to hit up that dining hall tonight. See? It’s not too difficult. If your dining hall isn’t as cool as IC, then I’m sorry. But tip #2 can (maybe) help you then.
2. This tip can either help you or hurt you; do a walk through of the whole entire dining hall before you make your decision on what you want. For me, who has everything online, I try not to do a walk through because I don’t want to swayed by the Mac & Cheese on the main line and not get the Balsamic Chicken with Biryani Rice and Green Beans at Simple Servings. But walking around can help you find something healthy. If you walk through the dining hall, make sure you have self control and make the right decisions.
3. Portion size is what determines your success in a dining hall. I’m not one of those people who goes on a diet and never eats what she loves again—and neither should you! I like to reward myself with food I like if I do something good (aka go to the gym 5 times a week, get an A on a paper, etc.). However, remember to be smart about your portions. Don’t put a mountain of mac and cheese on your plate and expect to lose three pounds; it won’t happen. TRUST ME, I KNOW FROM EXPERIENCE.
4. Where you sit in the dining hall will affect what you eat. Weird, right? But true. So, try to sit as far away from the unhealthy things to protect yourself. For instance, I like to sit where there isn’t any food near me because then I get what I want, eat it, and then go on my merry way. However, if you sit by the dessert bar, you’ll probably want that cookie a lot more than if you sat with me.
5. Don’t hang out in the dining hall for too long. For instance, today I hung out at brunch for 75 minutes just talking with my friends. Doing that just prepares you to eat everything. I’d be prepared to leave and see a friend, and instead of just sitting with them while they ate, I would get something too. I like to make restrictions on how long I’ll be in the dining hall. For instance, I’ll go about a half an hour before work starts. That way I can get there, grab dinner, and then before I even think about getting some more food, I have to go to work.
6. Tell your school about what they can do to improve the dining halls. Don’t be afraid to be to complain about how the vegetables are always doused in butter. You pay an arm and a leg to go to this school, so you should have the best dining experience possible. Regardless of what you think, your dining halls are interested to hear your opinion, so speak up!