Between exams, papers and maintaining an active social life it's very hard to stay healthy all the time. Especially if you are anything like me and stress eat when times get tough, it's hard to stay 100% healthy. But there are tips and tricks to stay healthy and here are just a few to keep in mind while you're spending your better years away at college.
This one seems simple, but make a huge impact into your daily fitness, walk to class. Even if it's raining, too hot, or too cold out; just walk. Most college campuses are small enough to walk to class everyday or walk to the dinning hall, which makes it reasonable enough to keep some form of physical exercise. Walking also helps you destress from class so you can be prepared for whatever else happens during the day!
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Another simple tip for staying healthy in college is eating healthy. Don't get the wrong idea, it is okay to binge eat junk food every once in a while. But you should consider eating very healthy more often. Some healthy changes to make into your everyday diet can be as simple as; eating less red meat, not eating a lot of fried food, more vegetables into your diet, eating more leafy greens, and managing how much you eat per meal. Sometimes a huge issue with eating at college is the cafeteria is basically a large buffet of pizza, burgers, and salad bars. A way to manage how much you're eating per meal is by drinking water before your meal. One cup of water before a meal makes you feel "fuller" which will result in you not eating multiple servings of food. Another is by eating slower so that the signal that your stomach sends, your brain will receive and prevent you from over eating. Slower eating just means chewing your food fully and not shoveling food into your mouth and maybe having a small conversation with a friend can help you from over eating.
A third way to stay healthy in college is taking the stairs. Which may seem hard to do when you're carrying your weight in text books and school supplies, but if you can manage to take the stairs, you'll be adding another form of physical exercise to your daily routine. Walking upstairs is considered a version of cardio because it raises your heart rate and can increase your strength. The five minutes it may take to walk up the stairs is more beneficial than the 45 second elevator ride.
Using the gym is another great way to stay healthy! Burning off some calories is always good, even if you ate relatively healthy that day. You can practice strength training, cardio and so much more. Colleges usually have gyms open to the students on campus and aren't usually far from the dorms. Going to the gym even three times a week is good for the body and also good for the mind!
These are just a few ways to keep yourself healthy while at college. There are many more topics that you can touch on for being healthy in school, whether that be; mental, physical, or even emotional. But here is a great place to start on your journey to a healthy college lifestyle.
