We all know that the freshman 15 is real. Freshmen tend to spend impulsively on junk foods and gain crapload amount of weight within a matter of time. However, weight gain can happen to you at any point in college by not being aware of what you eat. These tips and tricks will show you how you can eat healthy and what I learned on my health food journey!
1. DISCIPLINE is a MUST!!
It’s hard to ignore the temptation to eat that slice of pizza or that hamburger! Personally, there’s nothing wrong with indulging in some of your favorite snacks–but you can’t indulge every day. Think of it this way: If you spoil your body too much, then your body will crave more junk. You have to control what you eat every day. It’s not hard keeping track of what you eat (unless if you’re eating a crapload of snacks while studying). You need to learn how to point out what food gives you the most nutrients. Keep a food diary if you need to or simply remember what you ate breakfast, lunch, and/or dinner.
2. It’s never wrong to experiment with what kind of diet works best for you!
I can’t speak for everybody because everyone has a different way of eating/dieting. In addition, types of eating habits and diets are a WHOLE other broad topic. Dieting is up to you to decide and find out what works best for you. STAY AWAY FROM FAD DIETS, THEY DO NOT GUARANTEE A LIFESTYLE CHANGE. You could try being vegetarian/vegan (works best for people who want to lose weight or for others who need to eat vegetables), watch your macros/micronutrients (works best for weight/powerlifters–they need protein for their BIG muscles), or you can simply change your eating habits (cutting out ALL junk food–NO RAMEN OR BURGERS–, fruits for sweets, or making home cooked meals often as you can).
3. Less meat, more vegetables.
This is what is basically my ‘diet’ is. I’m not strict with indulging a little but junk foods don’t really appeal to me like my veggies do! I love my kale and spinach, pasta, rice, and chicken. I would recommend less meat, more veggies because red meat tends to be a lot more fattening and can be cancerous as well, go for white meat or any dairy products, instead.
4. Don’t forget about EXERCISING!
Just because you’re going to have a healthy diet in college doesn’t mean you should skip the gym! You don’t have to have a full-blown workout all the time, start little by doing cardio and some weights. Soon enough, you will be able to intensify your workouts while balancing eating healthy as well. You have to prioritize and have time management.
Hope these tips and tricks will help a ton. Simply know that your lifestyle will not change overnight, it will take a while for you to adjust. Don’t think of eating healthy and working out is a punishment or a way making yourself look ‘pretty’. It’s all about taking care of yourself and then, reaping the benefits in a humble way. Good luck!