How to eat healthy as a busy college student while still eating and hanging with your friends!

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 Why is it important to be healthy in college?

• 41% of college students will become overweight or obese at some point during college
• According to the Harvard school of Public Health, individuals who gain between 5-22lbs before age 55 have a higher risk of chronic disease, unhealthy aging and premature death, regardless of who much they weighed in the beginning.
• For each 11lb weight gain, 31% higher chance of dev type 2 diabetes, 14% higher risk of high blood pressure, 6% risk of obesity related cancer.
• While your metabolism is higher in your late teens and early 20’s, if you aren’t active and strength train to maintain lean muscle mass, in your mid 20’s you’ll start to gain weight even though you’re eating the same foods due to a reduction in metabolism caused by a reduction in lean muscle mass.

How does this happen?

• You’re out of your parent’s control and you can actually do what you want
• Eating on the go
• Stress eating
• Not looking at or considering ingredients
• Choosing to dine out vs cook at home
• Late night snacking
• Consuming lots of liquid calories like lattes, sodas, sweet tea, fruit juices, high fruit smoothies and alcohol.

Healthy Eating Mindset

• Food is not good or bad, food is food.
• It is okay and human to like foods that aren’t the healthiest for you
• Be mindful when eating/drinking
• Enjoy the food taste, texture & eat slowly
• Don’t eat foods that you don’t like
• If you’re not a breakfast foods person, don’t try to be. You can eat steak, baked potato and green beans for breakfast if you want. Again, your body doesn’t know or care.
• Know that you may get some flack from friends, family & strangers about your new nutrition habits
• Do you want to look, feel, move like them? If not, then who cares?!
• If this were easy, everyone would have the body they desired. You have to give up trying to fit in unless you want to be a part of the 70% of Americans who are overweight or obese.

Emotional Eating

• Eating when you’re hungry vs. when you’re feeling emotional (either happy or otherwise)
• What’s eating you?
• You must deal with your emotions
• Stress is a your body’s way of responding to a demand whether good or bad.
• Cortisol is released during times when you are under physical or psychological stress.
• Cortisol can create a ripple effect of stimulation to your appetite and cause you to crave foods high in fat and/or sugar (starches included). This is even higher for women.
• When you stress out about overeating or eating the wrong foods when stressed, you release EVEN more cortisol which can trigger a seemingly never ending loop and can eventually mess up the hormones that control hunger and the feeling of satisfaction/fullness
• What can you do?
  • Meditate, pray, move (one of the best things), call a friend, journal
  • You must change your habit loop to change the habit. Find out what triggers you.

Nutrition Crash Course

• Protein for your muscles, body maintenance and growth.
• Carbs are our main source of energy and for quick energy. Also needed for brain function. Vegetables and fruits are also carbs
• Fats are a source of energy that our body prefers. Fat is also important for vitamin and minerals, helps with nerve and brain function and maintaining healthy skin and other tissues
• Water helps to flush toxins, increase metabolism, acts as a natural detox, natural appetite suppressant, great for skin, hair & nails (plain)
  • Aim for at least 64oz/day or until your urine is pale yellow to clear

Importance of Reading Labels and how easy it is to get tricke



Portion Sizes, Meal Balance and Frequency

• Portions are more important than counting calories
• How to use portion control with your hand and with your plate
• Eat slowly so that you have enough time to register when you are satisfied
• Only eat when you are hungry and stop when you are no longer hungry
• Cut out “snacking”
• Apps to help: Cheat Day and Fooducate, Pinterest

Dining out /party going tips

• Always have a plan
• Look at the menu ahead of time for restaurants
• If nothing sounds like it’ll be healthy, bring a dish to share that’s healthy. Everyone loves a veggie plate!
• If it’s a restaurant or friend’s party where you know you love, love the food; plan this as an indulgent meal
• If at a party, here’s your plan:
• Take a trip around the table and look at all of the foods to see what looks appealing to you. If it doesn’t look good, most likely it won’t taste good either
• When you know what you want, get a plate and load up half of it with veggies
• Next do a tasting:
  • Fill one of the top quarter of the plate with the proteins that look good (can be more than one as long as it only covers a ¼ of the top portion of the plate. Choose small amounts
  • Fill the remaining top portion with small amounts of starches/carbs that look good
  • Sit down and taste the foods, starting with the veggies, then proteins, then starches
  • Drink a glass of water
  • Chat it up for a bit
  • If you’re still hungry, go back for seconds following the same pattern as you did before, but this time only go after the foods that were memorable and amazing to you
  • Drink another glass/bottle of water and chat before returning
  • Repeat the same for the dessert table, but only fill up one half of your plate with desserts that look good
  • DO NOT finish eating a food that doesn’t taste good or that you wouldn’t spend top dollar for. It isn’t worth it

-If at a restaurant:

• Look over the menu if you didn’t do this before
• Feel free to ask lots of questions or the waiter’s opinion on a dish if you can’t choose
• ALWAYS order (and eat) a salad prior to your meal coming with the dressing on the side
• Ask for sauces on the side for any meal that includes a sauce
• Order veggies to go with the meal as well
• Chat it up, after every couple of bites with your fork down remember what you’re there for!
• Eat only half of your meal and take the rest home. Think of it as getting another amazing food experience!
• Have dessert ONLY if you really want it, it looks amazing (or you know it to be amazing) and you have the room for it

Indulgent Meals

• Indulgent meals are just that, meals to be savored!
• They help to keep you from feeling deprived and can also help to jump start a sluggish metabolism from too much dieting
• Indulgent meals should be planned for the best results
• Only 10-15% of your meals that you eat per day should be indulgent meals
• You can save them up for the end of the week or have a little something daily
• Always have them in portion and full fat/sugar, etc so that you can feel satisfied
• Go for a walk after having an indulgent meal to aid in digestion
• These are MEALS, not indulgent DAYS
• Indulgent meals should only be made up of the foods that you LOVE! Know what these are!

Meal Planning

-This is the #1 way to reaching your desired health!

• If you don’t have a meal plan, you will grab ANYTHING when hungry

-Here are the steps for effective meal planning:

1. Take a look at your week. Are you crazy busy, or do you have more time to cook?
2. Do you have any particular foods that you’ve been craving or thinking about?
3. Flip through cookbooks, look at Pinterest, or google foods that can fit into the time frame you need for cooking that week
4. Plan your breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks including times where you will dine out and place on a whiteboard or chalkboard
5. Make sure that the meals are balanced (protein/carb/fat) and add in veggies
   1. You want to aim for about 4-5 cups of veggies daily
6. Figure out how many meals you need to plan for (can you eat off of a meal for a couple of days? You don’t have to eat them day after day)
7. Make a grocery list for those meals
8. Come home and prep the meals so that it’s faster to make them during the week

How to eat Healthy in a Dorm

• Make sure you have the right supplies:
  • Microwave
  • Mini fridge
  • Cutting board, Knife, Measuring cups, Measuring spoons, Spices, dishes, pot, pan
  • Toaster Oven
  • Blender
  • Colander
• Healthy Foods
  • Whole wheat bread
  • Peanut butter
  • Eggs
  • Pasta & Pasta sauce
  • Rice, Oatmeal, Potatoes
  • Canned beans
  • Frozen veggies/fruit
  • Olive/Avocado Oil
  • Canned meats/tofu (organic only)

Easy Recipes

• Popcorn. Popcorn is also an easy, healthy snack – unless you buy those overpriced little bags, drenched in fake butter. To make a healthier and cheaper version in your room, put a few tablespoons of popcorn in a plain paper bag, fold it over a couple of times, and heat it on high. This usually takes about three minutes, but microwaves vary, so turn off the power once popping slows to a few seconds between pops. Then you can flavor your popcorn the way you like it, adding salt, pepper, chili powder, cinnamon, Parmesan cheese, or anything that strikes your fancy.
• Fruits and Veggies with Dip. Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy snacks that don’t require any cooking at all, but they can be a little boring. To add some interest, whip up a batch of dip to go with them. Veggies are great with homemade hummus, which you can make in the blender using a can of chickpeas seasoned with olive oil, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and cumin. For sliced fruit, you can make an easy dip by mixing yogurt with peanut butter.
• Microwave Nachos. If you need something a bit more substantial to fuel your late-night study session, try a batch of nachos. These are super easy to make in the microwave. The key is to lay the chips out on a plate and heat them on high for 30 to 60 seconds by themselves, which helps them stay crispy. Then pull the plate out and top the chips with cheese, sliced peppers, beans, or meat, and zap them again until the cheese melts.
• Pasta. This is a go-to dinner for many inexperienced cooks. It’s easy to prepare, either in the microwave or on the stove in your dorm’s communal kitchen, and there are lots of ways to serve it. You can dress it with a basic red sauce or pesto sauce from a jar, or toss it with veggies, meat, cheese, or seafood to make a heartier meal.
• Steamed Veggies. Cooking fresh vegetables in the microwave is easy. First, chop up your veggies and put them in a bowl with a splash of water. Next, cover the bowl with a plate and put it in the microwave. Last, cook on high until the veggies are tender. Cooking times vary depending on your microwave and the type of vegetable, so check them after two minutes, and keep going in 30-to-60-second intervals after that. Be careful when you uncover the bowl, since there’ll be a lot of hot steam trapped under the plate.
• Scrambled Eggs. It’s easy to make scrambled eggs in the microwave. Just beat one or more eggs in a microwaveable bowl or mug, adding salt, pepper, or cheese if you like. Then heat it on high in 30-second bursts, stirring the egg each time until it’s as firm as you like it. You can also make this into an omelet by cooking some chopped veggies in your bowl for a minute or two before adding the eggs.
• Overnight Oats. For a healthier breakfast, try this simple overnight oatmeal. Put half a cup of rolled oats in a jar or bowl with half a cup of milk and any flavorings you like – fruit, nuts, seeds, honey, cinnamon, or whatever floats your boat. Stir the mixture, cover it, and let it sit overnight. The oats will soak up all the milk and be soft and ready to eat in the morning. You can pop the jar in the microwave to heat it up or simply top it with milk and eat.
• Breakfast Parfait. Another great way to enjoy oats is in a granola parfait. Just layer granola in a bowl, mug, or mason jar with yogurt and the fruit of your choice. You can also make this with a Grape-Nuts-type cereal in place of granola. These breakfast parfaits can be made ahead of time and stored in your mini fridge for up to a week, so all you have to do is grab one on your way out the door.
• Pita Pizza. Here’s an easy pizza for one you can whip up in the toaster oven. Just top a pita (regular or whole wheat) with pasta sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings, slide it onto a baking sheet, and bake it until the cheese is bubbly – about seven minutes. If you don’t have a toaster oven, you can microwave the pita for about 80 seconds on high instead, but it won’t be crispy. This mini pizza also works with a split English muffin in place of the pita bread.
• Homemade Mac and Cheese. There’s no need to settle for boxed macaroni and cheese. It’s easy to whip up your own in the microwave from scratch. First, combine 1/2 cup macaroni and 1/2 cup water in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat it for two minutes on high, stopping to stir it if the water starts to boil over. Continue cooking in two-minute bursts, stirring each time, until the noodles are tender. Then stir in 1/4 cup shredded cheese and 1/4 cup milk and zap it in 30-second bursts until the cheese melts into a creamy sauce.
• Mason Jar Salad. For a fast lunch you can eat between classes, try a mason jar salad. First, mix up a simple vinaigrette dressing and pour it into the bottom of a mason jar. Then add layers of your favorite salad ingredients – whole grains, veggies, fruits, nuts, beans, or cheese. Put heavy ingredients like beans toward the bottom and greens on top, so they don’t get soggy. You can make this ahead of time and stash it in the fridge for up to three days. At lunchtime, give the covered jar a quick shake to coat everything with the dressing, grab a fork, and take the whole package with you.

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