Photo by Victoria Alexes Mikula
You worked so hard for your summer body, went three months without dining hall pizza and probably have a nice tan. You look damn good! With school starting again, it can be progressively harder to make healthy choices and maintain those nice toned legs. However, it’s possible!
Make It A Routine
Making exercise a part of your daily routine easily makes it into a habit. Make a plan to go to the gym after your last Monday, Wednesday, Friday class, or go for a walk between classes. Even doing a certain amount of squats or sit-ups before bed will ensure that you’ll stay in shape. Many schools have fitness classes like Zumba, aerobics or hip hop dance that are way fun to take with your friends!
Chug! Chug!
Drinking lots of water is the simplest way to keep you on track. Water not only curbs your appetite, it energizes you, flushes toxins from your body and prevents muscle and joint pain as well as headaches. Adding Mio flavor drops, single-serve Kool-Aid packets, or Trulemon to your water makes it anything but boring. After all, your body is 60% water! And seriously – avoid soda pop at all costs. Google what soda pop does to your body and I promise you’ll never want to drink it again.
Fractions Are Your Friends
Try this simple formula to guarantee a balanced meal: ½ of your plate is vegetables and/or fruit, ¼ is protein and ¼ starch. A full plate of mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and lo mien sounds delicious…but maybe not the best choice! I promise all three will be in the dining hall next week.
Live a Little
In college, you’re bound to eat more 2 am pizza in four years than you will throughout your entire life – but that will guarantee you a freshman 15 no matter what year you are. Save your splurge meals for the weekend. A basket of chicken tenders and cheese fries tastes so much better after an entire week of willpower!
Sunny Side Up
So many collegiettes skip breakfast to sleep in a bit longer, or grab a sugary muffin and cappuccino on their way to their 8 am class. When you skip breakfast, it is much harder to focus during class and might make you over do it on lunch. Pastries and donuts have zero nutritional content and aren’t filling. Fruit, yogurt and oatmeal are the hands-down the quickest, healthiest breakfasts and most schools have them in the dining hall to grab on your way out and stash in your room! If you’d rather have a breakfast bar, go for options that have at least 5 grams of dietary fiber to hold you off until lunchtime. Some bars I recommend are FiberPlus, Fiber One, and Luna Fiber.
Chill Out
Stress causes weight gain. The stress hormone cortisol is to blame for this. Cortisol causes you to overeat and reach for starchy and sugary foods. To manage stress try yoga, meditation, running, getting plenty of sleep, and try to manage your time better. Taking a few slow, deep breaths can work wonders.
See? Staying healthy during the school year isn’t that hard – it’s just a matter of making better choices. When in doubt, just breathe, grab some baby carrots and go for a walk! HCxo