Eating Habits
According to the USDA, the average college student should consume 2,000 calories daily. Though, this recommended amount varies depending on weight, gender, and height. It’s convenient for students to go to college, start a new life, and partake in a lot of fun events and unhealthy habits over an extended period of time. This can often lead to an period of generally unhealthy food consumption due to laziness, time management, and their studies. These poor eating habits can consist of ordering out or settling for cheap processed foods that quickly feed dopamine into our brain. The struggle and dilemma of students abandoning their eating habits is real; some positive experiences prove it’s necessary.
Coach D, a fitness and physical coach at MSJC stated, “Physical health is everything. I’ve been doing fitness for so many years, and automatically, when I see people train, it correlates to their lifestyle. Their workout ethic is the same as their work ethic, and it is how they go through life.”
She advocates for students to prioritize their nutrition and to start with small choices. Coach D explained, “I’ll see the biggest mistakes, with students starting way too hot with how they eat and workout. Burnouts are real, and cutting too many calories is not the move. Start small with steps and build those stones to make a walkway. I encourage people to make it a lifestyle rather than simply diet for a small period.”
What College Students Experience: The Upside
I asked a small sample of college students who are currently enrolled in universities/colleges. The attempt here is to get firsthand experience and a glimpse into some of these people’s lives, examining their health, education, the negative or positive effects, and the parallels they have with one another.
One student who attends Mira Costa Community College gave his experience of keeping his physical health in check throughout his college career. “My eating habits throughout these past two years have fluctuated and I’m going back up so far. They have not negatively impacted my studies. Food, supplements, and herbs have kept me sharp while also calm as can be.” He adds, “being home taking online classes led to experiencing a lot more food stress regarding binging, cravings, and missing nutrition goals from time to time.” Rudy had a successful journey and consistent routine to keep his gut health and eating habits accountable so he could perform better with his education. He had the same results as another student.
Another student who attends Austin Community College and is a computer science major explained that keeps his health as the main priority in his life, especially since he is a college student.
“It holds me accountable because typically if I am going to the gym and eating healthy, I am also studying and keeping up with my schoolwork.” His overall eating habits are great and works out 5 days a week at least. He eats his body weight in protein and orders a lot of food online.
Students should try to stick to a three-meal plan, and a maintenance of healthy foods and since free time can be limiting. Nutrition experts tend to recommend eating 3 balanced meals (350 to 600 calories each) and 1 to 3 snacks per day (between 150 and 200 calories each).
What College Students Experience: The Downside
To every pro, there is a con. The nutrition aspect of maintaining your body isn’t easy, as it is a choice to proceed with that plan. Students give their perspectives on this.
According to a college student who attended University of North Carolina Chapel, her experience with eating habits were “terrible”. She did not have good eating habits and ate a lot of food, negatively affecting her studies.
“I relied on food as a coping mechanism for my stress, which I knew wasn’t good. I just physically could not stop eating, which also affected my mental health. I stayed in my room most of the time. I would have changed a lot of things and communicated to friends about my habits. I had eating disorders in the past, which ruined my studies and focus, along with anxiety”.
According to the Mayo Clinic, eating disorders are serious health conditions that affect both your physical and mental health. A disorder like this causes severe and persistent disturbance in eating behaviors and associated distressing thoughts and emotions. Eating disorders can affect educational status and performance due to the constant reminders to eat food. Understanding that change is never far, and the concise area of doubt to change your body physically and get it right will only go up and improve.
Moving Forward: How to take part
Incorporating a healthy lifestyle into your studies will benefit how you approach people and future opportunities.
For students, maintaining a healthy lifestyle requires great discipline and dedication. Some tips to help with this and start consisting of:
- Eating Fruits and vegetables daily (contain vitamins and decrease several possible diseases)
- Having a calorie surplus or staying in a deficit
- Being active or hitting the gym (have a convenient and consistent split 3-4 days a week)
- Taking rest days to recover
- Drink 2-4 quarts of water
- Avoid high saturated fats and processed meals
- Limit Fats food choices to twice or once a week
- Getting 8-10 hours of sleep daily to recover the mind
- Plan meals and experiment with what you like
- Optional plan to take supplements to enhance movements and compound weightlifting
Take a mindset switch but taking care of yourself is one of the major parts of being an adult, especially a student. Entering this endeavor of an adult, being responsible for yourself is important. Choosing to partake in healthier options could lead to a range of health boosters and overall healthier mindset.
