a couple questions for anyone who is in/has gone through college. . .

Hiya! I joined a few months ago to this site, and was working really hard on trying to eat right and even get myself outside (I'm more of a sit-and-stare-at-a-computer sort of girl). Well, this was working for me until I entered college this past September and the whole calorie counting and getting out of my room became a thing of the past. So what's the point of all this rambling?

Being a full-time college student means I'm eating the food that the college wants to give me, with very little outside food (my wallet contains more dust than money). I was wondering if anyone on here is willing to give me suggestions for what I could eat knowing what college food is usually like at a Dining Common.

Also, I was wondering if anyone could suggest some in-room exercises/specific stretches (in-room because of winter and my lacking a gym membership).

Thank you for your help :) And I hope I posted this in the right forum D:

Dunno what to say about the food, HOWEVER... are you sure your college doesn't include a gym you, as a student, can't use? I went to two separate colleges and both had a student gym, free to anyone with a student ID :)

Check it out :)

Most college's have a nutritionist on site that a student can talk to and discuss the best selections available on campus....free of charge.

As far as excersie....check out the activity center.  The college I went to had classes to particpate in for little to no $, a rock climbing wall, a lap pool, and a huge gym.

Ask around......the medical center probably has some great info, and just check out the campus.

Sigh.....When I think back on my college days I really regret all that I didn't take advantage of :) memories, memories :)

its possible to not gain weight. or minimal weight in college.

first off you have a more flex schedule. get involved w a sport... run around campus. be active!!!

eat chicken, fruits, veggies. even turkey sandwiches.... egg omelettes... theres good food out there. make smart choices.

Ugh, I am really dreading going back next semester (my LAST!!) because of the dining hall!  I'm so fed up with it.  I have peanut/legume allergy, and the "healthy" food is always something I can't eat, like tofu or something smothered in soy sauce.  Even when whole grains make an occasional appearance, they always think they need to throw in some peas or beans.   And thanks to this fall's spinach outbreak, we haven't had spinach since early October!  My veggie intake at school is seriously low.

When I was pretty fit during my sophomore year, my dinners were a weird mish-mash of the few healthy "staples" that the dining hall always has.  I'd have a scoop of cottage cheese, a scoop of tuna (sometimes spread on a slice of bread), a big load of spinach, and a few pieces of fruit (usually pineapple).  Since then I've become quite a gourmand, and I can't bear the thought of eating that for dinner!  So I don't know what I'm going to do when I go back.  I'll keep checking this thread though and we can swap tips.

I, too, am a sit-and-stare-at-the-computer kind of girl.  I can relate to feeling like you can't/don't want to leave your room to exercise.  You just have to force yourself to do it at first.  After a while you get to the point where you don't feel good if you don't go exercise.  Agreed with hkellick above; I'd be really surprised if your college doesn't have gym facilities.  The people in your ResLife office should be able to tell you.  If the neighborhood around your college is safe you could try jogging.  I did this for a while after getting into jogging with my mom over the summer.  The first few times are hard, but it starts to feel pretty good over time.  I often prefer the gym, though, as my exercise-induced asthma makes running in the cold pretty painful.

Does your school offer physical education classes?  Try signing up for something you think you'd enjoy.  Get a friend to do it with you.  When it's scheduled into your day, getting exercise is a lot easier.

Personally I was at my all-time low adult weight when I studied abroad in Scotland.  I was cooking for myself, and I had a hard time making friends there so I often had nothing else to do but jog around the loch!  Kind of depressing, but hey it worked!  Now I'm back home and happy and I've gained 20 pounds in a year!  Obviously I'm not the best person to offer advice about being healthy in college but hopefully someone else will come along onto this thread and give better advice. :)  But I hope my anecdotes help in some way.

dining commons are no good....i went to a tiny little college that had 2 choices for food, the dining commons or a sort of cafe type place where you got very little food for your meal dollars. that being said, however, the last two years i went there, i realized that by NOT going to the dining commons and only allowing myself to eat healthfully at the cafe, i actually really managed to cut down on calories and i actually ate healthier. NOW, this also resulted in an incredibly boring diet (albeit a healthy one) that consisted primarily of tuna or turkey sandwiches without cheese, garden or ceasar salads with fat free dressing, raw veggies, fruit, yogurt, and soup. my hot meal of the day was breakfast which was weight control oatmeal.

I also found that when i was forced to eat at the commons, basically stayng away from any prepared food was the best way to eat well. most of the options were pizza and burgers with the rare chicken breast thrown in (although who knows what it was cooked in). even though they are delicious and consoling (especiallly on those days when all you want to do is go home) avoid pasta dishes at all costs.....in a cafeteria style setting you will eat WAY too much. I also found that vegetarian options were sometimes a better choice, but the dining hall chefs can make those pretty unhealthy too....

good luck, the best way to help yourself out at college is the same as out in the real world... watch portions, don't eat between meals, and drink in moderation...

hope that helps

i was so poor in college all i would eat was ramen or lettuce with a piece of turkey, so um, not too healthy!  And I also lived in philly, so i had to walk half a mile to get to my classes, so that was my exersise.  wow.  im not helpful at all!

Hey there..... I've been in college a while.... but I refused to eat in the dining hall the year I lived in Dorms! haha! There are way too many amazing places to eat in my city, haha. But hopefully this helps.

I know all dining halls arent the same... but at my school they all have pretty healthy choices. Lots of fruit, veggies, fish, salads... so maybe you can try a dining hall further away from where you live and see if they have better options! Also, think portions! When people eat out they tend to eat a lot more than just one portion... so consider that.

Also, don't bring food back up to your room! My roommate did that and gained like 20 pounds freshman year! She still only weighed 130 pounds, haha.

It's not too expensive to grab some grapes or carrots... something fresh. Then you can have something healthy to snack on while in your room, so you won't have to go downstairs and eat so much!

Hi!  Even after moving off campus (I'm a junior), I still struggle with what to eat---mostly based on convenience and lack of cash.  I go to a really small school, but our dining commons is always willing to take suggestions--maybe jot a few down.  We always had a salad bar, which is nice every once in a while.  There was also usually chicken or some sort of other not fried thing.  I know you said you're low on cash, but do you go out to eat a lot too?  That's where I find my biggest problems.  When I lived on campus I would try to keep a few small things in my room so when I got hungry at all hours of the night cause I was still studying, I'd at least be eating healthier.

As far as a gym goes--my campus actually does not have an athletic facility so if that's the case--I know how you feel.  If they don't, is there a possibility that they have a deal with a local gym?? I know the YMCA by us gives a discount for students.  If this is still too expensive, even just trying to walk more around campus or town or whatever helps (parking farther away, you know).

Good luck:)

Thanks everyone!

Okay, here's what I've found out about my gym facilities at school: all the one's close to me need a paid membership, though it's not too much if I save a little. I've also found that there is a free gym on campus (that I need to locate) but I've heard that the lines to get in aren't worth waiting. I will try going though! I just need to find a buddy (going by myself is sort of discouraging the first time).

I also do have a problem bringing food back to my room :\ I'll try to stick with fruits and juice there so that I'm able to get a snack as well as breakfast (classes sort of took away from my ability to get breakfast in the morning).

Thanks for all the help everyone, I'll post how I'm doing when I get back for the Spring semester :)

I always had salads and cottage and whatever the lean meat was that day in my all you can eat cafeteria. It really helped.

good for you!  as far as breakfast goes--i never could get my butt outta bed to go before class--i'd always make sure i had granola bars or yogurt etc  in the room so i could grab it and go

Maybe you can get a list of the things that your school serves to keep. That way you can cross reference that with the site and find some combinations for healthy meals. Then you can head to the cafeteria with a plan. With efforts of becoming a more health conscious society, your school will most certainly offer healthy options.

I also def recommend getting involved to keep busy. It's easy to get stuck in that dorm room. Maybe you can join intramural sports or a club you are interested in. Maybe you could even start a club for students who wish to lead healthier lifestyles where you exchange recipes, nutrition info, maybe schedule workouts like walks on campus together and keep each other motivated. Not only would that be a great way to meet people, but it would be a great addition to your college career. Starting your own club would be awesome fo ryour resume! And I bet tons of people would join!!