How To Eat Healthy In College

For the first time in many AHN girl’s lives, they will be on their own after graduation and will have to independently make decisions about what to eat. While in college, students are busy, surrounded by junk food, and often without a kitchen for the first year. However, conscious eating and craving management can certainly help avoid the dreaded freshman 15 pounds and create a balanced diet.

During freshman year, many students are stuck with a mini fridge to store all of their food, which is not much space. Therefore, it is important to remember to purchase healthy foods that will last a good amount of time. For example, nuts, dried fruit, rice cakes, and multi-grain crackers are good snack options and apples and oranges can sit up for two weeks.  Raw veggies and hummus are good as well.

Paige Coleman (’18) said, “My sister is one of the healthiest people I know. She shops a lot at Whole Foods and she gets a lot of her recipes off of Skinny Taste and cooks all the time.”

When in the dining hall, it is very important to not allow yourself to be tempted by the calorie dense options – instead, eat oatmeal for breakfast, go to the salad bar, make yourself a sandwich with lots of veggies, and always take a piece of fruit with you as you walk out.

As well, it is important to slow down and listen to what your stomach is telling your brain – eat slow and until you’re full and if you are still craving that late night snack pick something a little lighter like popcorn or even some dark chocolate.

Kelsie Killian (’18) has learned a lot from her sister. She said, “My sister is a senior at the University of Alabama and she does her own grocery shopping and cooks most of her own food because it is much healthier and a lot less expensive than always eating out.”

Evan Greek (’18)  has goals for herself to be healthy during her freshman year. She said, “I am going to try and keep myself to a strict workout regimen and only eat out on the weekends.”