10 Healthy Eating Tips for the Busy College Student
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Going to college is exciting as well as scary. It requires a lot of life alterations. A college student’s day is packed with lectures and homework, training and hobbies, and sometimes a job and sustaining a social life.
It doesn’t sound like something that has a place for routine and healthy eating. A student has to be smart about food to consume, a young adult needs to take care of their health, the easiest way to do so is by taking care of your body by eating correctly.
Making eating a priority is important and accessible with some small improvements.
Breakfast
First things first- never leave home without eating breakfast. It may seem tempting to get a couple of extra minutes of sleep in the morning, but your breakfast shouldn’t be the cost of that.
It’s not without a reason why experts say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Studies show that eating breakfast helps to improve your scholastic performance, making you more concentrated and energetic.
Scholastic performance is crucial, don’t be afraid to ask for guidance- get help from someone and ask for professional advice. Help your body jump-start your metabolism to get through the day and get yourself a good breakfast.
Consuming enough water
Can not emphasize it enough- you have to drink water. Your body needs proper hydration for your organs to work correctly. Typically a human body needs at around eight glasses a day, but you have to adjust it to your lifestyle- training and being more active daily requires you to consume more liquid.
Drink even when not thirsty, being thirsty means you’re already dehydrated. A quick tip- when in class, have a water bottle in front of you on the desk, so you won’t forget to drink it. Might result in you having a couple more bathroom breaks, but your body is worth this minor sacrifice.
Keep it simple
That’s the part where we get back to the basics. As a college student, it is not unusual to be short of money. Changing up your meals to something simple is a great way to save some coin.
Centre meals around simple yet filling foods, for example, a great place to start is canned foods – those are moderately inexpensive but contain a great number of proteins and fibres.
Simple doesn’t imply boring, don’t be hesitant to change it up!
Snacking can be good
You may have heard that snacking in between meals is wrong, well it could be true if your idea of a snack is candy or chips, but a healthy snack can improve your eating.
Eating regularly is important, but understandably, it is not always possible for a college student. An easy solution to that is keeping a snack on hand so later you won’t be tempted to get fast food.
A simple healthy snack will make you less hungry and will keep your blood sugar level stable until the next meal.
Plan ahead
As time-consuming as it may seem, in the long run planning your meals can save you time.
Make a simple yet effective shopping list that contains healthy foods that can be easily be mixed with each other. When cooking, make a bigger portion to make cooking for later meals quicker.
Seasons are your friend
A money-saving tip is buying seasonal fruit and vegetables. They tend to be cheaper and widely spread.
It is normal to want something more filling and dents in the winter like sweet potatoes and lighter and with high water content such as berries in the summer.
Local stores and markets allow you to make those right and inexpensive choices.
Eat balanced meals as a college student
Eating healthy doesn’t mean living off of just vegetables. It means having at least three different food groups on your plate. It will help you get all the nutrients to stay healthy.
Check out what recommended portions of each food group are. If it seems hard to follow recommended fruit and vegetable intake of the day, don’t forget liquids count- make a smoothie, have a juice ora s other alternatives get yourself dried fruit.
Pack your lunch
Not always possible but a brilliant idea is to have your lunch from home with you. It makes staying on the right path a no-brainer even for a college student.
If it isn’t possible try making healthy choices while eating out, get a well-balanced meal and don’t overeat or undereat.
Make time to eat
Eating three times a day and snacking in between is important and keeps your metabolism working. But at college, it is easily forgettable in a rush of things.
It is a necessity to find the time and have a meal in between a busy schedule. A hard task, expressly at the end of the semester, but has to be done.
Try taking supplements
Nothing can replace a well-balanced meal, but sometimes a little boost is needed. If you can’t keep up with healthy eating, take some supplements. Try using natural vitamins and consult with your doctor before taking anything.
A switch doesn’t happen overnight, make time to improve your eating habits step by step. Acquire some new easy and quick recipes and be more flexible with your food. Keep nourishing and fresh foods around, then you’re likely to eat healthy in college.
This change doesn’t mean that you have to stop enjoying food. The internet is packed with all kinds of recipes to choose from that require a small amount of time and aren’t expensive. It is a lot of hard work and discipline but your health and wellbeing are worth it!
Authors bio:
Sandra Larson is an experienced writer. She is engaged in health and fitness. She values the body’s demands and takes care of them. Sandra is also interested in the way the body reacts to certain foods and loves writing and sharing about her experience.
If this post has interested you then check out my superfoods article for students.