Everyone has their fair share of bad days. How do we make them better? Let’s see how!
1) Start with breakfast. Waking up at eightin the morning for a bio lab isn’t fun, neither is feeling like you could eat an entire cow for lunch. Breakfast really is the most important meal of the day. Within an hour of waking up, make sure you eat a balanced breakfast. I personally enjoy eating five egg-whites every morning for breakfast. At Baker, just peel five hard-boiled eggs and remove the yolk. With less than 90 calories and 18 grams of protein for five egg-whites, you will feel full and focused the entire morning!
2) Drink water throughout the day. Many times we confuse hunger with thirst. If you are feeling hungry, try sipping water instead and see how you feel after. Also, drinking water tricks your body into thinking its full. Plus, staying hydrated keeps your skin looking healthy.
3) Skip the elevator, take the stairs. Taking the elevator can be tempting, especially when you have a 20-pound load on your back. However, taking the stairs burns more than 25 calories and it elevates your heart rate, which could help keep you awake for your next class!
4) Eat a meal or snack every 3-4 hours. By eating every 3-4 hours, you will be less likely to overeat at meal. Eating every 3-4 hours will help you to maintain a stable metabolism, it will keep your body energized throughout a busy day.
5) Pack healthy snacks in your backpack. Ever notice those apples and bananas at Baker? Take one for your backpack. After a class, it is always tempting to buy a cookie at Jitters, but if you packed a banana, you will most likely eat that instead.
6) Look at Baker’s menu online before heading to lunch or dinner. If you didn’t know already, Juniata posts the menu through the school’s website for every week. If you click “On the Menu,” the entire week of meals is listed. If you click each entrée, the nutrition label pops up in a separate tab. Use this to your advantage! You will be amazed how healthy or unhealthy your favorite meal is!
7) Squeeze a workout in your schedule. One 30-minute workout is only 2% of your day. Just like you plan to study, eat, and go to class, plan a small workout everyday or every other day. Your body will feel refreshed and ready to tackle the rest of your day. If you physically plan to workout at a certain time, you will be less likely to make an excuse as to why you shouldn’t workout. The biggest struggle is just getting to the gym; once you get there you won’t turn around.
8) Try a new food at Baker. So maybe some foods don’t look very appealing. However, if you try new foods and take a risk you feel happier. We are hard-wired to think that risk equals reward. This doesn’t always happen, but we remember when a risk pays off. So, try a new, weird, or crazy food at Baker, you may even up having a new favorite food!
9) Get to bed at a reasonable time. Even though season five of the Walking Dead just premiered on Netflix doesn’t mean you should compromise a good night’s sleep to binge watch the entire season. Sleeping anywhere from six to eight hours a sleep will be more effective than staying up until 3 a.m. to finish a paper. Get to bed around 11 and then wake up before classes to complete any unfinished assignments. You will thank yourself later!
10) Indulge. Let’s face it, college can be rough. Every now and then treat yourself to an ice cream cone or brownie! Just don’t treat yourself every day. If you treat yourself once a week, the treat will be more satisfying rather than treating yourself every day for every meal.