By Justin OsborneMoving to another town and starting a new life as a college student can be challenging. Not only do you have to get used to new people, a new environment, and a new way of living life, but you must also change habits and foods. For exactly this reason, college students can put on weight very quickly. According to a study conducted by Health.com, 70% of students gain weight during college. If you’ve ever heard of the “freshman 15,” here’s the evidence that it is not a myth. Late night snacks and a lack of exercise will do that to you.
To avoid getting bigger, plan your meals right, exercise often, and avoid snacking as much as you can. Here’s a short guide to staying fit during college – and succeed.
If you snack, snack on something healthy
Oreos, pizza, and cookies sound great, but they’re not at all healthy for you. If you choose to go down that path, you’ll end up putting on serious weight throughout your college journey. Snacking is okay as long as you choose to snack on something healthy such as fruits, hummus, carrots, yogurt, cheese, etc. You can always buy a blender and make yourself some nice late night smoothies. They are sweet and tasty, but not at all damaging for your health (unless you have too many of them, of course).
Keep yourself accountable for what you consume – this is the only way in which you track your food in-take amount. If you don’t have enough time to prepare your snacks, search write my essay UK on your search engine and find someone who can help you out with your work. Habits take a while to form, so you might need some help managing your workload at first.
Drink plenty of water
Drinking water each day is a must. It helps you get rid of body waste through urination and perspiration, keeps your temperature at a normal range, and protects sensitive tissues, according to mayoclinic.org. The same source recommends consuming at least eight glasses of water per day, each day. However, depending on your activities, you might want to adjust that amount.
For example, if you exercise a lot, eight glasses of water per day won’t be enough. That’s because you will be sweating, so your body will eliminate water more quickly from your system. In this case, drinking more than the basic amount of water is highly recommended.
Be as active as you possibly can
Staying active is another important part of the process. So, if you want to stay fit, make sure you exercise. You could go rock climbing if you have mountains close to you, hike in nature, kayaking, walk, jog, or take the stairs to your dorm more often. You don’t have to hit the gym three or four times a week to stay in shape. You can diversify your activities to make sure you enjoy staying active. If working out becomes a burden, it will take all the fun out of it, and you’ll definitely not want to do it anymore.
Plan your meals and eat well
You should have a very structured meal plan if you want to stay in shape. That means eating at specific hours and cooking your own healthy food. There are tons of recipes that you can follow online, so there’s always something new you could try. More than that, most recipes for college students don’t take long to make and are high in nutrients. Some examples could include egg burrito, mango chicken with veggie hash browns, or peanut butter oatmeal. No matter how busy you are, you can leave 30 minutes per day for cooking healthy food. And if you think you can’t, try harder, because food stimulates your brain, helping you learn faster.
Make sure you get enough sleep
Sleeping less than seven hours per night can trigger depression and other serious mental health problems. When you’re feeling down and your hormones are out of balance, you feel like you want to eat more. You crave sweets or fast food and stop functioning properly. The inability to control your appetite is another downside of a lack of sleep. You will also have less energy and less drive to complete your assignments. In case that happens, you can hire any scholarship essay writing service to do the work for you – at least until you get back on your feet. Bringing yourself to the point of exhaustion is a terrible idea. You should not be ashamed of asking for help if you truly need it.
Take time for yourself
Last but not least, learn to care for yourself. Take enough time to write down your thoughts and emotions. Journal often, learn how to meditate, be curious. Make new connections but look out for yourself first. Learn how to do something new every week or month. Discover yourself and start loving yourself each day a little bit more.
Wrapping Up
Staying fit requires discipline and good organization skills. Prepare your meals, plan them right, exercise, drink water, snack on healthy foods, and get enough sleep. These should do it.
Justin Osborne is a writer at write my essay UK. He loves to share his thoughts and opinions about education, writing and blogging with other people on different blogs and forums. Currently, he is working as a content marketer at a scholarship essay writing service.