By Daniela Jimenez Roman
One of the many things people worry about when getting into college is about their physique. We all know about the reality of those freshman fifteen! Whether you’re worried about your weight, being healthy or just working on forming better eating habits – eating at college is hard.
As someone who was obsessed with how their physique looked and has recovered from past eating disorder habits, I was still having a hard time finding ways that would make my recovery a bit easier. The reality is that being on a college budget doesn’t make it easy to be able to accomplish all your goals when it comes to your health whether you have dining resources on campus or off-campus.
One of the best things I learned being with a dietitian is that we as a culture have obsessively labeled way too many foods as “junk food” and “healthy foods.” This creates a super toxic environment and relationship with food.
When it comes to having “healthy” eating habits you first have to rediscover your relationship with food and how you came to have your eating habits. After that you can determine really what it is that you want to get out of when you say – you want to eat healthier.
Another key thing to keep in mind is that you don’t have to remove any specific food out of your diet unless they are toxic or allergic to your body. Whether you are allergic to specific foods or have certain health limitations. Additionally, you want to think about what specific food groups you are missing and how you can add them into your everyday life in different ways. For example, if you’re looking to add more vegetables maybe try squeezing them in as a snack. If you are looking to add more protein maybe try adding a scoop of protein powder to your shakes or coffee.
Another important thing is that you have to make sure you are eating enough during the day. It’s important that you get your meals in and/or snacks. You don’t want to go for a long time without eating which can later on turn into a binging out episode. Have a little variety in all meals and snacks – protein, carbs, dairy, fats, veggies, sugar, etc..
What else can you do? Make sure you are aware of your hunger cues and if you are not, try to find new ways on how you can become more present and attentive when you are eating. Also, make sure you are dedicating time for mindful movement.
By mindful movement, I mean whether it’s working out, dancing to music, or any type of physical activity to get your body moving a little a few times a week. When you begin to also have a different perspective when it comes to defining mindful movement, seeing it as something fun as a way to make your body move a little bit more. With this, you will then begin to appreciate and look forward to working out.
With that being said, the important thing to being healthy in college is being able to review your relationship with food and physical activity, make sure you have clear intentions behind your journey and know the specific changes that need to be made to your everyday diet. At the end of the day, what’s important is that you have a balance with what you’re consuming and the amount of physical activity you are doing.