Ladies, I have good news and bad news. Good news first: Your metabolism is at about the highest it will be in your whole lifetime. Live it up! You in a good mood? Go ahead and eat three more Oreos. You’ve earned it, and your body can take it.
The bad news is that your metabolism is on its way down as I’m typing this. That means that if you keep up some of the not-so-great eating habits you’ve developed in college for the rest of your life, maintaining or losing weight will quickly become an uphill battle.
You have to understand where I’m coming from here. My dad was a morbidly obese human for most of my waking life and a good portion of his. He used to tip the scales around 260-ish. Not great. About three years ago, he became a hardcore calorie counter and has kept spreadsheets of his daily caloric intake ever since. Doing that not only helped him lose nearly 100 pounds, but it also opened his eyes to how calorically dense some foods are and how expending extra calories in protein-dense foods can help stave off hunger later in the day. And for three years, all I’ve ever heard about from him is how bad my eating habits are. It’s helpful and exhausting all at once, but I want to pass along some of the more helpful tips I’ve learned.
I’m not encouraging fanaticism by any stretch. He’s a little overboard. But I would recommend starting to change your eating habits now so that it won’t be so hard later on. Your amendments don’t have to be huge or terribly painful, but tweaks here and there may make an enormous difference. Here’s a few that I employ that have helped me maintain weight and have helped me form good practices for the future:
1. Hungry? Don’t reach for sweets – reach for a fruit or veggie. Fruits and vegetables contain very few calories (if you’re into the Weight Watchers scene, fruits and veggies count as 0 points), and are usually better for you nutritionally than whatever cookie or pizza item you were going to grab for.
2. Soft drinks, energy drinks, and blended coffee beverages should be an extremely rare treat. You wouldn’t believe how many calories those can be, and they do nothing for you in terms of “filling you up.”
3. Water, water, water! There’s not a whole lot extra to say here, in earnest. The more water you drink, the better it is for your body over all. Water keeps things moving, keeps your whole system in check, flushes out bad stuff, and makes your skin radiate. Where you may reach for a soda, get water! Literally zero calories. I don’t see a downside, quite frankly.
4. Stock up on protein at breakfast. If you eat some meat or eggs or hearty granola first thing in the morning, you’ll be fuller throughout the day.
5. Eat when you’re hungry, not when you’re bored. As silly as it may sound, this may be the best advice I’ve ever heard. For me, eating became just “something to do” when I had run out of new pictures on tumblr. But if you make a habit of reaching for water or physically moving instead of eating when you need a change of pace, you’ll thank yourself in the long run.
It may take a while to change some of your eating habits, but in the long run, you’ll feel better about yourself physically and emotionally.