On a campus where unhealthy food is rather abundant, exercise is not mandatory, sleepless nights are quite often the norm and exam stress builds up, you might think that healthy living is truly impossible.
Not at all: healthy living in college and on the campus is just as possible as anywhere else and at any other time, if not even cheaper!
After all, it’s in fact just about the only time when you have access to a gym for free, so why not take advantage of it? Living a healthy life in college, as at any other time, is all about knowing and applying the basics: eat healthy, exercise frequently, get enough sleep, reduce stress.
Eat Healthy
Eating healthy can be easier than you might think. There is no need for detailed plans and counting of calories, it is enough to follow a few simple rules:
1. Start your every day by having breakfast. Healthiest for breakfast are whole-grain cereals or even a bagel with some cheese or jam, but avoid bacon, muffins and eggs.
2. Drink a lot of water all through the day. Have a bottle of water with you at all times: it’s much healthier to drink water than any soda and it will even save you money. If you want to save even more, don’t buy bottled water, but use instead a filter for tap water.
3. Stock healthy snacks (and eat them moderately). Those include for instance fruits and vegetables, but also dried fruits, nuts, granola bars. They are healthy, but also easy to keep, easy to take with you at all times and tasty to eat. An apple a day might be a cliché, but it is a healthy one.
4. Stock the basics, such as canned fish and vegetables, beans, rice, and pasta. Having those around ensures that you can actually prepare a healthy meal for yourself in very little time at any time. And in the process, you’ll avoid frozen dinners, processed food, running out of money and getting fat.
5. Leave the meat for last. Whenever you have to choose food to put on your plate, start with lots of salads and vegetables. Add the meat only at the very end and this will help you to avoid overeating, as there will not be too much space left for huge pieces of meat.
Exercise Frequently
For healthy living, a habit of exercising frequently is simply essential. Most campuses have a gym where students can go for free, so make the most out of it. Jogging is also a great option as it helps you spend more time in the open as well and that is good for your whole body and mind.
If you find it hard to get yourself to exercise regularly, try to do it together with friends: invite them for jogging at lunchtime or establish a routine such as meeting every morning for a bit of exercising together.
Get Enough Sleep and Reduce Stress
Getting enough sleep is often overlooked, but nevertheless truly essential for healthy living. Your body needs around 8 hours of sleep every night, so don’t deprive it of them. If you find you simply don’t have time for sleep, try to organize your activities better or even to prioritize them and decide which ones you can leave for another time.
An important step to avoid too many sleepless nights while in college is in fact as simple as planning your study and work so that you don’t have to do everything at the last moment.
This will also help tremendously to reduce stress as you will have enough time to study for each exam and you will be more relaxed and confident. Moreover, if you don’t have to spend sleepless nights, you don’t need that much caffeine and coke and therefore you will likely fell more relaxed and less stressed, overall living a healthier life.
