College is as good a time as any to learn about nutrition and weight management. It's best to take a whole food approach and focus on adding fruits, vegetables, whole grains, proteins and good fats. You should still eat as little processed foods as possible, but with a whole food approach you don't have to worry as much about calories and extra bad stuff because you're hitting all the nutritious food groups and getting the vitamins and minerals you need.
You should enjoy your food and go into it thinking, “what do I like and how can I build healthy meals from that?” and it's so much easier.
It’s About (Energy) Balance
Your parents probably gave you some innate sense of what’s “healthy” and how to eat “in moderation.” Still, knowing how to identify healthier foods pales in comparison to understanding the larger concept of energy balance (calories in versus calories out) and how it relates to weight.
After a period of time, it’s the total energy balance that chiefly determines the changes in your body. Put simply: If you eat more calories than you spend (via exercise, non-exercise activity, and basic bodily functions), you’ll gain weight over time. Conversely, eat less than you burn and you’ll lose weight over time.
Since many college meal plans tend toward an all-you-can-eat style, you can steel yourself against temptations with these general guidelines in mind:
- Eat two or three meals daily in dining hall: Save your dining hall trips for when you can sit down and take your time to eat a solid meal. Try to avoid going to the dining hall only for a “light snack.”
- Hit the salad bar: You can turn anything you get in the dining hall into a salad. Load up on fibrous veggies for added food volume (and not to mention, awesome micronutrients and fiber). Unless they’re prepared heavily in fat sources, vegetables typically have lower calories.
- Emphasize protein: You should have access to an assortment of protein options: chicken, burger patties, lunch meats (although these can be higher in sodium), beans, eggs (hardboiled or scrambled), tofu, tuna, peanut butter and so on. Sometimes you may have to alter your food. For example, if only fried chicken is available, remove the fried skin to salvage what is otherwise a perfectly good source of protein. It doesn’t have to be perfect.
- Make special requests: Take more control of your situation by asking food service workers for modifications. Many of them graciously accept reasonable adjustments and requests, such as a burger without the bun. Just explain to them that you’d rather eat what you can than needlessly waste food.
- Drink a ton of water: Drink water with your meal, as it contributes to feeling of fullness. Many times you may confuse hunger signals with mild dehydration.
- Avoid drinking your calories: Steer clear of the fountain drinks. Liquid calories are just too easily over consumed, not to mention unsatisfying. If you’re in a hurry though, a smoothie, a glass of milk, or a bowl of soup are fine, but you want those to be exceptions, not the norm.
- Eat when slightly hungry and until fullness: Common sense, right? Except common sense takes a hike amid a food paradise, where it’s easy to be tempted and ignore satiety cues. We say “slightly hungry” because when you get into full-blown hungry mode, you’re a lot less calculated about healthy choices and are more concerned with cramming things into your belly. Don’t worry if you can’t do these things from the get-go. These self-control tactics are fairly advanced skills that can take some time to develop.
- It’s cool to treat yourself on occasion: It’s smart to balance an otherwise sensible diet with a moderate amount of foods that make you happy, too. The trick is to not completely deprive yourself, but to find the minimum amount of the treat that will satisfy you. This balance will be especially beneficial for when you eat with pals that might have less healthy eating habits.
- The food will still be there tomorrow: Just remember that even if it felt like that meatloaf spoke to your soul, you can still enjoy more food tomorrow or at the next meal.
Eat Well in Your Residence Hall Room
While many may hit up the fast food joints around campus, you can easily cobble together hearty meals in your own dorm room as well. Most dining halls will allow you to take small food items, such as piece of fruit or sandwich, with you. In addition to those, it’s a good idea to have some non-perishable items at the ready.
Some examples of food to keep in your residence hall room:
- Nuts and nut butters
- Dried fruit
- Oatmeal, rice, beans, tortillas, whole wheat bread
- Granola bars (watch the hidden sugars, oils)
- Canned chicken, tuna or sardines
- Hot sauce, various sauces, and spices (to make the food more palatable)
Space is limited in your residence hall room, but here’s a few items you might want to have around.
- Can opener: Yup, it opens cans.
- Mini-fridge: You can live without one, but having it will certainly help diversify your food staples (i.e. eggs, egg whites, milk, etc.)
- Microwave: The things you can cook in the microwave span a surprisingly long list. Think oats, rice, eggs, baked potato.
- Plastic food containers: Very few things beat being able to store your foods and then being able to easily transport them around campus.
- Magic Bullet blender: Perfect for blending smoothies, sauces, and guacamoles. It’s surprisingly tiny— perfect for a residence hall room.
Buy a bag of anything— pretzels, nuts, even chips —and immediately look at the serving size and pre-portion the snack into sandwich bags. Not only does this prevent you from eating half a box of crackers in one sitting, but your snacks don't go stale as quickly and they're portable, so you can grab one and go in the morning.
Don’t hang in the dining hall. Use it to eat. Lingering can cause you to eat more than you need just because you are there. Move the social gathering to another spot.