Eating Healthy in College

Joe Somebody gets out of his second class of the day at around noon. He has been on campus since eight in the morning and he probably didn't eat breakfast. He's very hungry and he has about ten bucks in his pocket that has to last him the rest of the week. Is he going to wait half an hour in line only to spend half his money on an overpriced salad at McDonald's or go home and cook himself a healthy meal?

Probably not. Especially if he has another class soon. Most college students will use one of the plentiful vending machines located all over most college campuses and spend only a couple bucks on some chips and some cookies or some candy. True, these vending machines are also overpriced, however, whereas many college students can't afford or don't want to pay five bucks for a fast food salad that they have to wait in line for, they will put a couple of bucks in the vending machine for snacks to hold them over until they can go home.

The point is, eating healthy while in college is very difficult. It's especially difficult for those 'poor college students'. And that label applies to more students than it doesn't. This is because college is expensive and that minimum wage job at Taco Bell doesn't go very far when you have to pay tuition, buy books, buy other school supplies, if a student has a car they might have a car payment, insurance payment, they have to pay for gas, they have to buy a parking permit, and in this age of cell phones most students have that bill as well, and of course, rent and utilities if the student doesn't still live with their parents.

With all those expesnes, it's much easier for students to just buy inexpensive food, wether it's from vending machines or the dollar menu. The problem with this is the food in vending machines and on dollar menus is not good for you. It has lots of calories and a lot of fat.

Now, many college students don't worry about their health because they are young and healthy. The majority of college students are in their twenties or their late teens. They (and I fall into this category as well) think, they're still young, they're healthy enough, they'll worry about it when they get older. But, it is important to start eating healthy now, while you're still young, otherwise it will come back and haunt you when you're older.

This is especially true of skinny people. Not the skinny people who are skinny cause they eat like birds. The naturally skinny people, the ones who are that way because of a high metabolism, not because of diet or pills or health disorders. We skinny people seem to think that because we don't gain wait we can eat whatever we won't and we'lll be fine. This is incredibly false. While eating that jumbo burger with your supersized fries and soft drink, you may not be gaining weight right now, but you are clogging your arteries and one day your metabolism will fail and you will gain a lot of weight.

Basically, we all need to eat healthy, and we need to do it today. Not next week, not next month, not make it your next new year's resolution that probably will fail. We need to eat healthy today so that our children can have healthy parents and our grandchildren will have grandparents.

The question is, how do you eat healthy while in college? They don't exactly have fruit stands around campus. Here are a few tips on ways you can't start eating healthy. Tips I need to start following, once again, as well.

Tip #1

Bring your lunch to school.

This can sometimes be difficult, as in the summer mayonaisse will go bad and your drink gets warm before it's time to eat. It is doable, though. If the weather is hot, try peanut butter and jelly. Or, most college campuses have microwaves that are available for student use, bring something you can microwave, leftovers from last night's dinner some soup in a small tupperware dish. You can also get some mayonaisse packets, then just bring some bread and meat and make your sandwhich at school so the mayonaisse doesn't go bad. Bring some things to go with it as well, fruit is always a good choice. Fresh fruit is the best: apples, oranges, pears, bananas, etc. Easy to bring and easy to eat. Celery is good as well. If you nees something salty bring some crackers. You can bring your lunch to school and enjoy it more than the snacks from the vending machine or the food off the dollar menu. You just have to give it some thought.

Tip #2

Treat yourself.

Don't completely abstain from junk food and fast food. The point is not that you can never have a hamburger and french fries from a fast food restaurant again. The point is that it needs to be in moderation. Once every one or two weeks, go out to lunch at McDonald's or Burger King or Carl's Jr or wherever your favorite fast food place is. Go ahead and put a few cookies in your lunch everday or make some brownies on the weekend. There's no need to be a health nut, just keeps things in moderation and eat smart.

Tip #3

Think about how much money you'll save.

How many times do you start the week out with a crips twenty dollar bill in your pocket only to wonder at the end of the week where it all went? When you think about it, you know it all went to junk food and fast food. Just imagine how much you'd save if you weren't spending all that money. You could actually start saving up to buy that new laptop you've been meaning to save up for, or anything else you've had your eye on but couldn't afford.

Tip #4

Don't procrastinate.

This is the hardest one for myself. I am a terrible procrastinator. I just say to myself I can get some fast food today; tomorrow I'll start eating healthy. However, the next day comes and I say the same thing and the next day and the next day. It's not the way to eat healthy because it'll always be tomorrow and never today. You're stuck in today so start today. Don't put it off any longer. You only live once and you can't go back in time and take back all those cheeseburgers and fries that contributed to your heart attack.

Follow these tips and try not to give up. It may be difficult at first but in time you're body will thank you for it. You'll stay looking younger longer and you'll live longer, but you need to start now when you are healthy and don't have anything to make up for yet.