College poses a whole lot of challenges for an inexperienced youngster. You’re expected to cope with new social conditions, workload and totally new conditions of life. Luckily, there’s a great deal of ways to avoid it. We’ve collected some of the most helpful ones for you. What’s more, none of them includes starving yourself! Read on and dig in.
H is for Hydration
Drinking sufficient amount of water is super important. Although you probably have heard about it once or twice already, some still forget about this golden rule. Clean water does miracles to your body: it helps your kidneys function properly, flushes the toxins away, helps restore the energy and boosts your metabolism. One can confuse the feelings of thirst and hunger, thus, eat more calories then they actually need. Water can easily prevent gaining weight. The exact amount differs depending on your weight, however, the average safe option is 1,5 liters.
Proteins to the Rescue
Protein is an essential component of your diet. Not only does it help restore the muscle tissue, but also has a great power to help you stay fit. For instance, your body needs lots of energy to digest proteins into the components, that are easily absorbed by your system. It also fuels fat burning processes, as it provides enough energy to burn the fat. What is more, it gives you the feeling of satiety for a long time. Thus, don’t hesitate to include enough of protein into your daily diet. Go for the eggs, Greek yogurt, cottage cheese, lean meat, sardines or peanut butter. The list is easy to continue! Just spend some time researching the topic and see it yourself.
Opt for Good Snacks
It’s easy to forget about good, healthy lunches and dinners when you’ve got a research project, 5 essays and a great deal of laundry in addition to all that. That’s why people turn to really bad options, like chips, cookies and candy bars. Much wiser option would be to stock your kitchen, fridge or wherever you keep your food supplies with a bit healthier options: mixed nuts, frozen grapes, pumpkin seeds, jerky – they all are not just good for you, but also are delicious.
Always Be Prepared
Hunger makes us do stupid things. Do you remember that night of 7 donuts in a row? That’s why you should always be on the watch out for this feeling. Carry around a couple of granola bars or pieces of fruit to avoid indulging yourself to empty calories that are ”forever on the hips”.
Go for the Veggies
Entering a dining hall, you have to be able to resist a temptation of filling the plate with everything you could possibly carry around. The initial intention is clear: you’ve already paid for the food, right? Before you actually do that, try to remember a simple principle: always fill a half of your plate with vegetables. This way you’ll balance your diet and provide your body with sufficient amount of fiber.
Stick to a Routine
Don’t let your busy schedule take away the time you could spend eating. Work out your own meal plan and stick to it by all means. Your organism will soon get used to the system. The whole process might require some work, like packing your meals or making time to actually enjoy them, but in the end, you’ll be satisfied with result.
Find Your Source of Food-Spiration
Clean, healthy food is amazing. In addition to being good for your body, it opens a whole new world of new flavors and their combinations. Find yourself a source of inspiration, that will dare you to try something new and exciting. It might be an Instagram account, cooking blog or a community of healthy eaters on Facebook. You’ll see a great deal of options of balancing your diet and recipes, that you’ll definitely want to bring into life. Cooking might turn into a great way of self-expression. If you haven’t tried it yet – do it now. It’s both fun and healthy!
With a bit of creativity and discipline eating healthy in college is possible. Use our tips and change the “freshman 15” perception: it won’t be a number of pounds gained, but only IQ points increase indicator!
