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Healthy eating for me was always something that just came naturally. My family always ate organic food, we prepared all our food ourselves and very rarely went out to eat. So when I arrived in college, it was super hard to learn how to balance all of this food that I wasn’t used to (high in fat, sugar and salt) and I definitely put on the Freshman 15. I was overwhelmed with school work, wanting to spend time with new friends until 2am and eating foods my parents would never let me eat so you just naturally put on weight. But I knew I had to do something.
The gym is your best friend. It helps you eat whatever is provided on campus without necessarily putting on a ton of weight and if weight isn’t your concern, it’s a great thing for stress management and a break from homework! But it can be hard with your schedule, so here are a few tricks on how to simply make time for the gym and be relatively healthy.
Set Gym Time
Set a particular time each week that you will go. Maybe you will only be able to fit in one day a week, or two, for like an hour or so. Take whatever time you have. Just take a few moments to sit down and find some free time. Maybe it is between classes, maybe it’s instead of sleeping in or cutting an hour off social time to make it to the gym. Whatever it is, find the time and mark it in your calendar. Once you start to religiously go, it will be so much easier to make the time and you’ll be more motivated to go!
Pre-Prep Your Meals
They may seem impossible in college but Tupperware. That stuff is a lifesaver. Bring a container in with you for breakfast or the day before and grab some stuff. Maybe you want a salad to go or some cold chicken. There’s no explicit rule against taking food out of a cafeteria. And if you make room in your backpack, you can get out with some good food. You also save some money and swipes for later in the semester. You also portion control in a way because you can’t go back and get more food because all you have is what you took out.
Cook Yourself!
A lot of college will not let you cook in your room but they will provide cooking stations in the cafeteria. Throwing together something simple is healthier generally than what the college provides. Fried rice is perfect as you get carbs, veggies and protein in one place! Maybe just do scrambled eggs with some veggies! Whatever it is, you can control your sodium a little better, as well as how well it is cooked! Is it a little more effort? Yeah, it is, but it is so much yummier. It also gets easier with time once you learn how to make things!
Nutrition apps can help if you’re clueless!
You may know the basics of food, but if you were anything like me, you weren’t used to being in charge of your food and you needed some extra help. I was never a fan of apps and just did a lot of research, but with the amount of nutrition apps out there, it’s a great place to start. There’s some really good lists on some of the best apps out there. I wouldn’t use these like they are the Bible and live by them but use them as guides. They can help you decide if having those fries will be a bad choice and if maybe a banana would be a better snack rather than chocolate (duh it is, but chocolate though, YUMMY!). It will help get you on your feet, especially with helping to decide what to eat and when!
Instagram is a great motivator!
There’s so many fitness Instagrams out there so don’t think you’re necessarily going to become anyone special (although you may) but it’s a great place to track your progress. You can see before and after pictures, document your meals and such. You can also follow some fantastic fitness accounts to get motivational quotes and fitness routines. For ladies, two I love are Anna Victoria and Natacha Oceane as they post some incredible workouts and are advocating for health, rather than how you look, which I adore!
Playlists, Playlists, PLAYLISTS!
Music is your best friend. I have my pre-workout pumpup mix that just has lots of motivational music to my various playlists for when I workout. I have playlists for when I’m running, biking, rowing or weight-lifting and then cool-down and happy playlists. Some I’ve made and others were pre-made on Spotify that I just searched for. I can tell you that 9.8 times out of 10, music will help make a workout better. I even have ‘epic’ playlists that just get the adrenaline going and makes running so much more fun! Getting there and beginning is the hardest, but once your blood is pumping, it’s easier!
Check out one for running, another epic one for running, a fun one for post or pre-workout, StairMaster playlists to take away the pain and some other ones for post workout.
Eat. Breakfast.
We’ve always been told that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and it really is! It helps to set you up and stops you munching on crappy foods throughout the day. Have some eggs, or oatmeal or even grab a breakfast sandwich. Just have something. It will cover you until lunch and sometimes even beyond. As for snacks, grab some fruit or some nuts. Almonds are my favorite!
Get a gym buddy!
I never personally got into this as I workout better alone, but sometimes having someone there who is accountable for you, and you for them, can be a good motivator to get to the gym! Maybe you just remind each other to go, maybe you actually go together and push each other, but it’s just another person. If you’re new to the gym and can’t find motivation, having someone there who you can laugh with and struggle through the workout with can make it a little bit easier. And they can make you go when you don’t feel like going. Yes, this can sometimes turn into a ‘neither of us want to go, let’s not’, but if you choose the right person, especially if its someone who already has the routine and just helps to remind you to go, that can be the extra push you need!
Wear something cute!
Workout clothes are sometimes overrated and overpriced, but having a good outfit really helps. If you look good you will feel good and will be more likely to go. This is in no-way sponsored but Fabletics seems to sell some really well priced things but I love Victoria Secrets. It’s pricey but if you wait for sales you can get a pair of $70 pants for like $30 and they last! It’s better to spend a little more on your outfit to make it last instead of being cheap and it…ripping in the gym. God. Forbid.
The hardest thing is starting to go to the gym. The first 30 days are the worst because you don’t have the routine. And then there are tests and other things you want to do. But trust me, when you look back on it, you may regret not going. Once you get into the swing of things, it gets so much better.
