College Chic: Staying Healthy at School

With snack-filled study sessions, parties and meetings that have you up late at night, college activities can seem anything but healthy. While academics should be a priority, nothing is as important as your health. In fact, leading a healthy life can contribute to success in academics and a sense of general fulfillment in all aspects of life. Senior year of high school, I really focused on being "healthy." After a disastrous cross-country season in the fall, I knew it was time to make a change. While I've always been a healthy weight, I've never been very athletic or strong and I wanted to change that. I began going to the gym religiously 6 days per week and tried out all sorts of workouts- from cycling to yoga to running. By the time I got to college, I had committed myself to staying in shape, and while there were times I slipped up, I kept to that for the most part.

Below, I've broken "health" down into a few sections to help you stay in tip top shape when you're off at school. Enjoy!

 (Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor, dietician, fitness instructor or anything official at all. 

The advice below is purely based on my experience.)

1. Sleep: I choose to discuss sleep first because it is arguably the most important key to success in college. I'm a sleep addict. I honestly cannot function on less than 8 hours (maybe 7) of sleep. Sleep has all sorts of amazing benefits. From helping with weight management to improving alertness/focus to keeping mood swings at bay, rest is necessary for academic, extra-curricular and social success. I try to get between 8-10 hours of sleep per night. Ideally, I would be in bed by 10:30 or so as I love getting up early, but I find between 11:30 PM and midnight as realistic bedtimes for college (more like 1 AM on Friday/Saturday). Therefore, when I get up between 7:30 and 9 AM, I am ready to take on the day.
**Tip** Rest can be even more beneficial if you go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day- your body will fall asleep and wake up easier!

2. Working Out: Let's face the facts here- I'm no varsity athlete. While I'm pretty uncoordinated, I know that it is extremely important for me to workout intensely at least 4 or 5 days per week. This means 35-45 minutes (minimum) of cardio, followed by weights/abs and stretching. I love using the elliptical and interval running. An example of my workout is: 40 minutes of interval running (5 minutes running hard, 5 minutes easy jog or power walk if it's a hill), followed by an ab circuit (planks, russian twists, crunches) or high reps with light weights (like 15 pounds), and 15 minutes of stretching. I try to devote an hour of my day to working out. Personally, if I don't workout in the morning it just doesn't happen, so I try to workout right when I wake up.

3. Eating: The Freshman 15 haunts all college students and is real. However, by limiting midnight snacks and partying, it is easy to maintain (or even lose) weight while at school. Calorically, I can only estimate what I ate- during the week (Sunday-Thursday) about 1400-1600 calories per day and on the weekend (Friday-Saturday) about 1700-1900 calories. Rather than counting calories, I tried to have 3 meals a day and 2 snacks. My meals/snacks are pretty healthy (breakfast is always oatmeal with some type of fruit/peanut butter/topping mixed in, one snack is a coffee and an apple, lunch is usually a salad or sandwich on whole wheat bread, dinner is usually stir fry with brown rice or a little bit of whole grain pasta mixed with veggies). I always allow myself a treat (I have a bit of a sweet tooth), so one of my snacks (or my dessert) is something sugary like a cookie from our amazing campus bakery. Friday night or Saturday, I usually go out into town for a meal with friends, where I basically let myself get whatever I want since I eat well during the week.
**Tip** Eating healthfully in college is all about balance. Eating well not only makes for a healthy weight, but also fuels your brain. Snacking on foods that are good for your brain (slow-release carbs found in whole grains, healthy fats such as avocados/walnuts, protein such as chicken or tofu) will help you focus longer and be efficient.

4. Water: I am a big water drinker. Other than coffee and the very rare diet coke, I don't drink anything but H20, and boy do I drink a lot of it! Water supercharges your metabolism, helps you focus more and keeps your organs running smoothly. Every morning I drink 16 ounces (two glasses or one Camelback) of water right when I get up, I also drink 8 ounces (one glass) before and after every meal as well as 1.5-2 water bottles over the course of a workout.

5. Vitamins: I don't get sick very often (knock on wood)- I've never gotten a flu shot or really any extra shots other than requirements for public school. While I might just be lucky, I think that eating healthfully, working out and taking a multivitamin has helped my immune system stay strong. The vitamins I have tried have been Centrum (not a fan), and Alive! (I love this food-based vitamin). When my friends/roommate(s) are sick, I take Emergen-C immediately to get an extra boost of immune-boosting Vitamin C.

--The Bottom Line--

Making healthy choices shouldn't be a chore. Personally, I feel great when I'm eating well, working out and sleeping a lot, and that feeling keeps me motivated to continue to make good choices. When it comes right down to it though, college is a time to have fun. Miss a workout? Eat 5 slices of pizza? Drink soda? Don't sweat it. Problems start when making unhealthy decisions becomes a habit. Every meal, every workout and every day, is a new chance to make your best decisions.  

Hopefully these tips will keep you healthy and happy!

xoxo