Sometimes, or most of the time, it feels almost impossible to stay healthy and fit as a struggling college student. You are already worried about classes, professors, student loans, why would you even want to have to worry about your fitness? Perhaps these fitness hacks could make your lives a little easier. Because getting in the routine of staying fit in college will avtually take away from your stress, not add to it.
Watch what you put in your fridge. Stock your fridge every week with healthy foods. Stay away from the ramen and mac & cheese. Instead, invest in some fresher items, because fresh is always best. Items like yogurt, hummus, fruits, and veggies are perfect to have around.
Don’t starve yourself. Waiting until you feel like you are about to die before you eat is not healthy. Eating three balanced meals a day and sticking to the suggested calorie intake is important. For females between the ages of 18 and 25, the suggested calorie intake per day is between 1,800 and 2,400 calories depending on how active you are. For males, the suggested intake is between 2,400 and 3,200 calories.
Download a fitness app and make it your best friend. Not sure how many calories you are taking in a day or how active you are being? There is an app for that. MyFitnessPal is one app in particular that tracks your calorie intake according to your personal weight, health, build, etc. You can even create your own diet plan. Water intake is important too. Daily Water Free is an app that can help you track the amount of water you are drinking a day. There are many health and fitness apps available from the app store and the best part: the best ones are all free.
Walk to class. Walk everywhere for that matter. Don’t always rely on public transportation to get you to your next destination. Walking will help you with your daily cardio workout and you’ll be burning calories just by walking to your next class. It is important to stay moving and stay active so don’t be afraid to say no to taking the bus.
SLEEP IS IMPORTANT. College students are expected to get well over eight hours of sleep every night. I know that seems almost impossible, but getting less than eight hours can lead to more stress and anxiety and even cause weight gain. Getting enough sleep helps you not be exhausted as well as benefits so many other aspects of your health.
Don’t be afraid of the Life Center. It can be terrifying walking into the Life Center and being surrounded by athletes who swarm and takeover the weight machines forcing you to just stick to the elliptical. But, the Life Center is free to Utah students so don’t be afraid to take advantage of all it has to offer. Chances are, everyone else is just as nervous about being there as you are. Use those weight machines and the cardio machines. It is important to do both. Don’t stick to one routine and one muscle group either. Switching things up is key to noticing a positive change within your body.
Don’t stress. Don’t beat yourself up if you have one off day. Make gradual changes to your daily routine. Because, again, you are in college and that is stressful as it is.
Even if you are apart of Stressville’s population, your life can and will become easier when you don’t have to worry about the way you feel due to unhealthy habits. Include these small changes in your routine and watch them enrich your college experience.