College is notorious for bad eating habits and junk food diets. The whole its-college-so-anything-flies culture has contributed to poor health amongst students. However, I can’t be too hard on students living this sort of life as college can be a difficult transition for many. College is often the first time for many students to leave their homes and experience independence. This sudden shift in your life is bound to have some lifestyle consequences. Eating unhealthy foods and putting on weight is one of them.

I also understand that eating healthy can be expensive for a college student, and most students won’t have time to meal-prep. That being said, I think that these claims are often blown out of proportion to justify an unhealthy lifestyle.

There are always things you can do to make the best out of a given situation, and college is no exception. This article will provide some tips to help you eat healthier in college and prevent weight gain.

Never Skip Breakfast

This seems like a common occurrence amongst college students, and it does affect your health. How many times have you woken up, gotten ready, and left for a class without having anything? If you do this quite frequently, then you have a problem.

Our bodies need nutrients to fuel vital functions, both physiological and mental. When you wake up from a deep sleep, your body is deprived of many of these nutrients. During sleep, your metabolism goes into overdrive which is why you need to replenish.

Moreover, when you skip breakfast, you tend to overeat lunch which ends up working against your bodily health. Something as simple as a bowl of oats and a couple of boiled eggs will give you both proteins and carbs for a good start. Foods high in fiber, such as oats, also fill you up quickly and longer. This prevents you from binge eating later in the day.

Hence, wake up just 30 mins early than usual and make yourself a simple breakfast every morning. This simple action would do you wonders in the long run.

Starvation doesn’t amount to losing weight.

Some people wrongfully think that if they starve themselves all day and only eat one meal, they would lose fat. However, this is not how our biology works. Eating healthy meals multiple times a day is monumentally better than starving yourself.

Our bodies have a protective system that turns on when it senses scarcity of food. If you don’t consume enough calories, the opposite happens. Instead of losing fat, your body slows your metabolism to preserve fat for energy. Hence, instead of losing fat, you end up retaining it and feeling tired at the same time.

The healthy approach is to breakdown your food intake multiple times a day. Eat smaller portions of healthy foods scattered throughout the day, and don’t starve your body.

Not all calories are the same.

A calorie from a cookie is not the same as the calorie from a banana. Foods that are heavily processed contain excessive amounts of sugars, salts, and preservatives. Foods such as pizza, frozen foods, hot pockets, and soft drinks tend to spike up your sugar levels. When your sugar levels go up, it makes you feel fatigued, and you become hungry again sooner. On the other hand, if you eat fruits, vegetables, unprocessed meats, fiber-rich grains, etc., you feel fuller for longer. Also, your metabolic system has to work harder to break down calories from proteins and healthy carbs, which prevents fat gain.

Hence, try to avoid foods rich in sugar and instead go for foods that make you full.

Healthy Snacks

You will spend a lot of time in your dorm, and it is usually around mid-night when you feel that sudden urge to eat something. Usually, students would order fast food or fry up frozen food. However, the best thing to have for these hunger pangs are healthy snacks that you can store in your room.

Healthy snacks include foods such as:

• Nuts
• Greek Yogurt
• Fresh or frozen fruits
• Hummus
• Baby carrots
• Whey protein shake
• Olives
• Whole-grain crackers
• Hippie Snacks Avocado Crisps
• Granola
• Roasted chickpeas

There are too many healthy snack options to list here. A simple google search will give your hundreds of ideas, both ready-made and something you can put together quickly.

Exercise affects your eating preferences.

Exercise, that dreaded work most people don’t want to hear. However, in the context of college eating habits, exercise has an important place.

I don’t need to go through the myriad benefits offered by exercise. That has been widely documented and researched, and everyone knows physical movement is the key to a healthy life. However, most people don’t know that your body begins craving foods rich in nutrients once you start exercising.

Even something as little as a 20 min jog around the campus coupled with some pushup and situps will make you feel energized. It will also signal your body to crave foods that are rich in nutrients. If you do this regularly and consistently, you will start avoiding fast food without even noticing it. Sounds like woo woo? Here is an article from NY Post detailing the science behind it.

Moreover, exercise will also help you burn off calories contributing to fat-loss. The best way to lose fat is to prevent gaining it in the first place.