Healthy Dorm Room Living

Every fall term thousands of students turn toward life in the college dorm room. And every spring semester many of these students will leave not only with more knowledge but with the dreaded Freshman Fifteen. Is there any way to prevent this? Is it possible to retain a healthy lifestyle while living in a dorm room? Of course! There are several things that can be done to assure you leave your dorm as healthy or even healthier than when you first arrived.

College is stressful . . . I know, I've been there. It is easy to get stuck into the mindless munching while cramming for a final exam or sitting for hours watching "Friends" re-runs because your avoiding writing that paper (not to mention you just can't seem to come up with a fantastic topic). Trust me, eating cookie dough and watching TV may seem like a great release but your heart will think you later if you make some changes.

One of the first things you can do to ensure your health is to fuel your body with appropriate nutrition and avoid mindless snacking. Many college students who stay in the dorms tend to purchase meal plans that are associated with dining halls across campus. While these dining halls may have some amazingly sinful food (I'm thinking of some great chicken strips with gravy and mashed potatoes) they also tend to have healthier choices as well. Think about it: you may enjoy all the fast food-like meals available in the dining halls, but when you lived at home, you didn't eat out everyday. Sure, it's okay to enjoy every once in a while but seven days straight probably isn't the way to go. Make sure when you visit the dining hall to vary your food groups as well (you know those seven food groups we learned about in elementary school -- use them).

Mindless snacking was the biggest obstacle that I had to overcome my freshman year of college. When I would sit for hours with a book in front of me, I would always feel restless and like I needed to be doing something with my hands; that's when the chips would come out. Fortunately mindless snacking is easily overcome. It's simple, if the foods not there, you won't eat it. Lets face it we're college students, most of the time we are broke anyways, why not save some money (plus you can always visit the dining hall if you get truly hungry and need a snack). However, It's important to remember that if you are going to have food around your dorm, make sure there is some health benefit to it, a bag of nacho flavored chips might taste good but they're not helping you (plus they tend to leave orange prints all over books, very annoying). Instead of chips, try carrot sticks, just as crunchy and with a little ranch definitely pretty good tasting.

Eating isn't the only thing that is going to keep you healthy while living in a college dorm; exercise plays a major role in a persons health. If you are lucky enough to have gym or a few pieces of exercise equipment in your dorm building that's great; you don't have to go far at all to experience health benefits. However, most dorms are not equipped with their own gym; but don't worry you don't have to buy a membership to your local fitness center or anything like that, just take a look at your last bill for tuition. If you look under the "fee" section you are more than likely to see a section entitled "athletics" or something similar. Guess what? That's your gym membership. Many colleges and universities have gyms and fitness areas that are available to students at any time; you don't have to be the quarterback to use them. Since you are already paying for the gym, you might as well use it.

Okay, so you've got your diet in line and your visiting the gym and you're on your way to becoming healthy while living in the dorms . . . but wait, I know what your thinking: What about the re-runs of "Friends" and my fantastic paper topic? Don't worry I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to check on the gang and that paper topic will come to you in no time. Until then, have a carrot and go for a walk, explore the campus where you now live; don't let the freshman fifteen weigh you down.