I admit I’m not the healthiest collegiette around. I eat when I’m bored or stressed, have an enormous sweet tooth, I’m constantly on my computer, and like all students, I’m usually at my desk working (or procrastinating). I’ve always envied the students who could wake up in the morning and go to the gym, go to fitness classes, or eat clean and healthy. While that sounds great, let’s be realistic—it’s hard to do, especially when you’re in school. However, it’s undeniable that being healthy is important. I’m usually busy and I don’t find most vegetables particularly delicious, but I have found some super easy ways to stay healthy during the school year.
1. YOU ARE NOT ON A DIET
This is an important mindset to have. You are NOT on a diet. Being healthy is not about losing weight or adopting a temporary meal plan for a month. You should never feel like you’re starving yourself or sacrificing your happiness for anything. Being healthy is about treating your body better, feeling better, and learning to love what you have. You’re #FLAWLESS!
2. Be aware of your drinks
Pop is notorious for being filled with sugar, but did you know that juice isn’t much better? Sure it’s got more vitamins than pop, but if we compare the two, Coca Cola has about 40 grams of sugar in a 12oz bottle, while apple juice has around 39 grams of sugar. Skip the juice, eat the actual fruit (it has fibre!). Watch out for those drinks you get from Starbucks too— they are packed with sugar. Think of it like this: 10 grams of sugar equals one candy bar. Of course, it’s fine to have your favorite drink once in awhile. Just remember not to make it your main source of liquid intake. Bring a water bottle around with you so you’re less tempted every time you get thirsty.
Easy alternatives: consider drinking tea, which has a variety of flavours including fruit teas, or water with fruit slices infused in it.
3. Exercise in one way or another
I’m not talking about going to the gym or waking up at 7 a.m. and jogging for an hour. In fact, I’m not even saying you need to exercise for an hour. Twenty minutes of light exercise every day is enough to reap some awesome health benefits, according to Fitsugar.com. Simply walking to as many places as you can, taking the long route home, or taking the stairs are good ways to incorporate exercise into your routine. Even just taking a break from sitting at your desk and walking to a cafe to grab a tea or coffee is a great way to get you moving. My favourite way to get exercise is to actually do it at home by watching blogalities, a YouTube channel run by an infectiously fun and enthusiastic pilates instructor, Cassey Ho. Pilates can be done by anyone, and it feels so good after you finish a work out. What’s even better is you can do it in your room, so it doesn’t even matter if it’s snowing and freezing outside.
Tip: You don’t need a yoga mat to do pilates, you can just use a towel.
4. Throw vegetables into everything
The college diet consists of ramen, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change it up a bit. I like to break the ramen in half and add vegetables into the pot. This way, I have vegetables in my meal and I don’t go hungry. The taste of the veggies are also masked by the strong seasoning in the ramen. You can’t even tell half of the noodles are missing, and plus you have enough for another meal (talk about cheap eating). You can do the same thing for any meal you make—just throw some broccoli, spinach, carrots, or anything into your food. Easy.
5. Take it slow
Adopting a healthy lifestyle is going to take time. Rushing to the grocery store to buy carrots and vowing to forever avoid chocolate will only make your chocolate craving worse. Slowly cut out the junk foods from your diet and start to buy more fruits and vegetables instead of cookies. Alternate the days you exercise. It’s a long process, but overtime it gets easier and you’ll start to feel better too. Don’t forget to treat yourself occassionally—there’s too much good food out there in the world.
Images Obtained From:
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