With the lack of funds and affordable healthy resources that college students have, we're often forced to make food decisions in the moment. Most of the time, we turn to fast food or any easy-to-grab thing on campus solely because of convenience. We're mindful of our (bad) habits but we also can't help it when we only have 30 minutes of free time and minimal funding.
Here are 10 eating habits that every college student has that will disgust your 30-year-old self!
Chick-Fil-A
It's fast, easy to get, simple, and you can't forget about the waffle fries. Though the line is always ridiculous, we accept the risk of being late to our next class just to get the Classic Chicken Sandwich and fries. Forget about how processed and disgusting this specific order is, and don't get me started on the oil in the fryer that definitely needs to get changed more.
The amazing snack-cake addiction
You can get a box of 6-8 Little Debbie cakes, maybe more, for around $2. And if you have a meal plan? Sign us up! They taste good, they fulfill the sweet tooth, and they're so easy to grab. They're also the reason the freshman 15 exists but hey, it's college. Though we probably shouldn't turn something meant for a snack, an unhealthy one at that, and make it into a meal because we eat them until we're full.
Living off of Ramen noodles
Sure, this is the #1 go-to. You can buy a 12-pack of Ramen noodles at Wal-Mart for under $2. And sure, you can throw all the spices and varying ingredients in with the noodles and practically make your own Ramen cookbook. But really? Think about it. Videos have gone viral of a guy using Ramen to fix a broken sink AND IT WORKS. Just imagine what that's doing to your body after you eat it.
Literally all caffeine
It's not a food, but hey, we're all guilty of it. If you say you aren't, you're lying. It doesn't matter if it's coffee, Red Bull, Monster, Bang, whatever. Caffeine is a go-to for all-nighters and finishing that paper at the last minute but when we get older, we're going to finally acknowledge all of the terrible ingredients in these drinks, look back, and wonder how we're still alive.
However, coffee will still be our (more acceptable) downfall because we'll be working that dreaded 9-5 and have to face the commute that goes along with it.
Constantly ordering take-out
Instead of grabbing a meal in your Student Union or cafeteria, or making food at home (with those Ramen noodles), you decide to call it in and get some take-out. You'd probably call literally any pizza place, Jimmy Johns, any fried chicken place, or literally anything on Tapingo/GrubHub. Either way, I can guarantee you that your choices weren't the best.
I mean, forget about your diet and health for a second -- what about your bank account?? Those several $5-10 fast food meals add up FAST. Pretty soon, your card declines and you have to settle for Ramen anyway. In addition to hurting yourself, you're hurting your checking account. Your 30-year-old self is shaking their head at you.
Chicken nuggets for any meal of the day
Do you know what part of the chicken the nuggets come from? Do you even know that it's actually chicken? Exactly. But are you going to eat them anyway while dunking them in whatever sauce you like? Absolutely. Will your 30-year-old self judge you for only eating the dinosaur shaped ones? ...Probably but we can all hope for the best.
Mac and Cheese.. and a lot of it.
I get it: it's gooey, cheesey, and delicious. But I kid you not, one of my friends and his roommate bought 18 boxes of macaroni and cheese with a bag of frozen chicken for $21. They call it grocery shopping but I call it shopping for a heart attack. Mac and Cheese should not be the only thing on your grocery list and it should NOT be your dinner for three weeks straight.
Not eating all day, then binging at night
GORGING YOURSELF IS NOT GOOD FOR YOU!! Not eating breakfast is one thing because I totally get that, but not eating all day for whatever reason? Then resorting to binge eating to compensate for your lack of meals throughout the day? No matter what you're eating, healthy or otherwise, that's not good for you and is literally directly correlated with weight gain and slow metabolism.
Eating in the middle of the night because you "didn't have time"
This corresponds with the previous point a little but it's also a little different. I'm not talking about midnight snacking. Instead, I'm talking about full meals between 12-2 a.m. Just like the last point, it's connected to weight gain and slow metabolism. Your body doesn't have the chance or the resources to break your food down properly before you go to sleep, so you end up packing on the weight -- then wonder why the "freshman 15" turned into 30 lbs. in your junior year of college.
Stress eating
I know, it's hard to avoid stress eating in college. Whether it's finals, term papers, final prospecti, or just a simple assignment that you forgot about, we stress eat all. the. time. Freshman 15? Yes, please! No, I'm not body shaming, weight shaming, or anything like that, but we tend to wonder where all the extra weight came from when we ignore what we consume on a day to day basis (or hourly basis).
There are other ways to manage your stress that don't involve eating. Check them out.
So yes, college students have eating habits that aren't the best and are on the verge of disgusting. I know that it's because we're broke, and so we choose some of the cheapest options so we can just get by -- which can also mean the nastiest but alas, beggars can't be choosers. So here we sit, enjoying our terrible food that may just come back to disgust us later.
So please, to my 30-year-old self, take it easy on me. I'm doing the best I can under trying circumstances. Hopefully your food choices are strong enough to counteract our stupidity.
