Eating a Balanced Diet as a College Student

I am not the most healthiest of eaters. When I’m stressed, I have a tendency to binge on my favorite guilty pleasure snacks: kettle cooked chips, popcorn, or cup noodles. However despite my lack of will power, I have tried as a college student to be mindful of what I eat and drink. Overtime, I have picked up healthier habits, but sometimes it can be troublesome being a broke college student access to a variety of healthy food. As a senior, I have learned a couple of tips and tricks here and there, so here are some of my own pieces of advice.

If you are looking to change your diet, it’s always best to not go cold turkey. If you gradually remove something from your diet, your more likely not to go back to it. For example, two years ago I decided to cut soda and fast food from my diet. Over the course of one summer, I progressively reduced the intake. By the time I came back for fall semester, I had phased both fast food and soda from my diet, keeping up with it even until now.

However, maintaining a balanced diet and progress you have made over breaks can be hard. If you’re someone who relies on a full kitchen to eat healthy, it can be hard to transition back to a small dorm room where it is hard to keep fresh fruits. One good practice that I would do before I had my car was that whenever I went to the Dining Commons, I would grab a couple of fruits to go, and keep them in my room. I would do this every three days. This way I always had some kind of healthy food or snack in my room.

One very important aspect of maintaining a balanced diet is making sure you drink plenty of water, and keeping a reusable water bottle with you makes this easier. During my freshman year, I’m pretty sure I drank more coffee than water, and when I would drink water I’m sure my organs were celebrating.

I think maintaining a balanced diet is always a work in progress, especially for the average college student. While we should strive to be healthier and take care of our bodies, don’t get discouraged if you slip up every once in a while. Be kind to your body, but give yourself grace at the same time.