College is often the best years of a young man or woman's life. The parties, the bars, the amount of kids your age. It truly is some of the best years of your life. But these years come with a downside. In dorm roomed you're often spoiled with a luxurious meal plan with tons of high calorie treats. It's no wonder the "freshman fifteen" is common; not to mention the amount of alcohol calories not helping. Then junior/senior year come around and you experience some of the poorest years of your life where you budget is often very limited. Often college kids find themselves on a ramen noodle every night type diet this article is designed to help a college kid eat healthy on a budget.
Below is a lift of 10 tips I've found have helped college kids keep their fitness goals in check when they're on a budget.
1. The number one rule to follow when in college is simple, watch and know what you're eating. Meal plans are awesome, you get a ton of food for one quick swipe into the cafeteria. This is how a lot of students put on weight due to unhealthy food choices and over eating. It's important to look at the food you're grabbing and ask for a cafeteria nutrition guide that lists estimated calories in each meal. Your college should have one or else they're doing something wrong. When in doubt, fruits and veggies never hurt anyone.
2. Buy healthy food for your dorm. Instead of going down to the cafeteria every day invest in a refrigerator for food. You can keep fruits, veggies, 90 calorie bars, soups, and other healthy snacks in your dorm.
3. Don't EVER eat out. It's nice going out with your friends and having a nicely cooked meal for dinner. This however costs money... Money in college is hard to come by. If a student is lucky they'll typically find a job minimum wage for MAYBE 12 hours a week. Not to mention for the guys out there; girls like a guy who can cook also. It's a good social skill to work on. If you can prepare a meal for a girl she'll be impressed. Also the amount of calories in most meals when eating out is ridiculous.
4. Cut back on late night snacks. In college you're often cramming late at night for exams. I found that to be my study habits at least. You also may be more inclined to grabbing a bite to eat while studying this late. AVOID THIS. Late night snacking gives your body zero time to start digesting your food before your body is completely at rest. This leads to a lot of weight gain.
5. While shopping, shop for healthy sales. Look for coupons for discounts. Search online. While shopping for sales you don't really need to change your eating habits. You can often always find something you like on sale. Where I live I have a Kroger's, Walmart, Sam's Club, and Jewel Osco all within 5 miles. It's important to look online, if you can, at the stores available and look at the sales they have going on.
6. Give yourself a budget. There is a lot of cheap healthy foods out there to buy that don't cost much.
Soup is often relatively cheap and healthy for you.
Egg whites and peanut butter are high sources of protein that are often eaten by not just poor college student but lifters in general.
Rice is also a great cheap dish to make yourself when you're feeling hungry.
Multigrain pasta is cheap and great to eat an hour or so before a work out. It'll give you extra crabs to help push you through a workout with that much more energy.
Finally Frozen Veggies are another cheap low calorie side dish that can be used to maintain a fit life.
7. Weight yourself often. If you're trying to stay fit it's smart to weight yourself. This applies to all ages in life, not just college kids. Watching your weight by watching your food is a good start but if you physically see how your weight is fluctuating it maybe a bigger eye opener to gauge the consequences of your eating habits.
8. Cut back on alcohol. This may be the hardest rule to follow for a college kid. I've been there, I know what it's like when all your friends are going out on a Friday night. It's seemingly very difficult to say no to your friend when they want you to go out but it is possible. Not to mention when you're up late out with friends at the bars or at a party your appetite tends to spike because of alcohol. This typically I found leads to, me personally, either going out and spending money or basically making a feast the second I got home.
9. The beauty of water.
Drinking water at certain times of the day can help increase its effectiveness on the human body, this also applies to all stages of life. Not just college students:
2 glasses of water a day helps jump start internal organs
1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal helps increase digestion
Water also has the ability to make your brain feel as if you are fuller if you drink 2-3 glasses 30 minutes before a meal.
1 glass of water right before taking a bath/shower helps lower blood pressure
1 glass of water right before bed can help decrease the risk of a stroke or heart attack.
10. Protein Shakes. If you're trying to cut calories and money protein shakes are really never a bad choice. A protein shake also contain vitamins and nutrients that the body for growth and repair with very few calories tacked on (usually around 190 with fat free milk). I use protein shakes often as a meal substitute. I plan my workouts early in the day so a protein shake I use as a breakfast substitute.
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