Controlling your diet when you head to college can be tricky, whether you live in a dorm or find your own place. Eating in a dorm cafeteria limits your choices. Cooking your own healthful meals requires some knowledge of nutrition. If you're sharing expenses, you'll need to find a roommate who's on the same wavelength when it comes to eating. Using a few basic guidelines will help you avoid the "freshman 15" and get the nutrition you need.
Make Breakfast Easy
Whether you live in a dorm with a cafeteria or cook your own meals, you may find yourself preferring to sleep an extra 15 minutes or more to making a healthful breakfast each morning. Skipping breakfast can lead to overeating at lunch and bodily reactions to long fasts that promote fat storage and weight gain. Keep plenty of portable food items on hand you can eat on the way to class, such as granola bars, energy drinks, fruit, trail mix or other items. Eat more carbs than protein in the morning to replenish the glycogen stores you burn during sleep and to fuel your morning's activities.
Plan Ahead
College is a heady mix of classes, group activities, dating and late-night parties, and you may not have the time to create each meal in a healthy fashion as you eat throughout the week. Pick a day or two each week when you have some quiet time to review what's in your cupboards and refrigerator. Create meals for several days or the whole week. Be proactive and put ingredients together on the counter for quicker meal preparation. Pre-cook and freeze meals so you'll be less likely to use lack of time as an excuse not to eat well. Note when you'll be eating out with friends -- if you will be getting lots of carbs from pizza one night, plan on lighter meals and more protein for breakfast and lunch.
Snack Like You Mean It
The more often you eat, the less hungry you'll be at any one meal. Build morning and afternoon snacks into your routine each day. Pick healthful choices such as fresh fruits, nuts, trail mix, yogurt, fresh fruit and veggies, popcorn and baked chips with humus dip.
Substitute
You don't have to give up burgers and pizza, but you'll need to eat them smarter. While fast food is notorious for lots of calories, saturated and trans fats and preservatives, you can make these choices a bit healthier by special ordering. Hold the mayo and cheese on a burger. Skip the meat in burritos and tacos. Put veggies on pizza instead of meat, order thin crust instead of deep dish and ask your server for less cheese on the pie than normal. Fill half your cup with diet soda and top off with regular -- you may not taste the difference. Talk to your cafeteria manager during non-meal hours about special orders. She may not do this every meal but might accommodate you now and then, either at the beginning or very end of meal time, when fewer students are being served. Put sign-up sheets in the lobby of your dorm to see who wants meatless or low-cal dishes. If enough students request these options, dorms will be happy to save money on protein costs while making residents happy.
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