As the school year progresses, and the stress of school and life builds, it is easy to fall into the trap of Uber Eats, Doordash, and GrubHub. The appeal of a juicy McDonald’s Big Mac crosses your mind, and you find yourself spending over $20 on a single sandwich with its delivery fees, taxes, tips, and service fees. The thought of eating a healthy salad or snacks suddenly becomes repulsive, and one more unhealthy meal is consumed. It is important to remember that it is possible to eat healthy even when it seems impossible, especially in the dorms.
The First Step
When planning your day, looking at what you eat and how much you consume is the first step in working on your diet. By identifying what you should and should not eat, you can begin the journey of replacing certain foods in your diet that may be harmful to your health. It is also important to note how much you consume in a day, because eating too little can lead to lack of nutrients, and eating too much can lead to health concerns such as heart disease and obesity.
How to Eat Healthier in the Dorms
While some may find it difficult to find the right meal in the dining hall in terms of satisfying a craving, many people either skip out on a meal or choose the pizza and chicken tender basket option during Late Night Bites. The dining hall is one of the most diverse places for food, offering all kinds of healthy options that tend to go unnoticed. The salad bar, a personal favorite, offers different kinds of lettuce to begin with, followed by a slew of options for toppings to put in a salad. For example, building up your salad with chicken for protein and croutons for carbohydrates is an easy, tasty way to choose the healthier option. The fruit bar is another fan favorite that offers up fresh-cut fruit almost every day. By trading in the soft serve with extra sprinkles for a bowl of grapes and pineapple, you are still getting the sweet taste but in a much healthier way.
How to Eat Healthier Off-Campus
Whether you are living in a nearby apartment complex or commuting from home, eating healthy is a lot more accessible than you think. If you are living in an apartment with your friends, or even by yourself, you can save yourself time and money by choosing the healthy route. Buying fruits and vegetables in bulk is a way to prepare your diet a week in advance, and you can plan out fast, healthy and efficient meals that suit your on-the-go lifestyle. Instead of spending $20 on a Big Mac meal from McDonald’s, you can spend less than that buying fruits and vegetables to use more than once. Stir fry, for example, which is packed full of nutrients and flavor, is an easy meal for either lunch or dinner that can be packaged up and eaten during your busy day. When living off-campus, you have more options accessible to you with healthy supermarkets scattered around Boston, saving you from yet another expensive DoorDash delivery.
Snacks
Throughout the day, you may find yourself trying to satisfy the different cravings you experience. For some, the vending machine full of candy and donuts may seem like just the perfect thing you need to satisfy your craving. This is the prime time to plan ahead snacks, bringing multiple different kinds of healthy snacks to munch on. Pretzels, fruit cups, and nuts are some simple, cheap snacks to carry with you for your busy and stressful days.
Eating healthy is one of best ways to keep your body healthy during the school year, as well as exercise and stress management. Cutting out the fatty foods that consume both your everyday life and bank account help to promote heart health and prevent the forever feared “freshman fifteen.” It is important to remember that changing your diet takes time as well as patience. The promise from keto diets and commercials to drop 15 pounds in 15 days is unrealistic in the sense that body types are different and does not always work the same for everybody. Sticking to some of the methods listed is an easy way to create better living habits both on and off campus.