Don’t Let Yourself Go: A Guide to Fitness in College

Your college years will likely be some of the best in your life. Between getting away from your parents for the first time in your life (finally having the space to figure out who you really are), expanding your mind, preparing for your professional future, and meeting new people who could potentially become lifelong friends, business partners, or soul-mates, you have a lot of doors opening to you.

But while you’re busy taking advantage of the many social and academic opportunities before you, it’s all too easy to neglect your health, especially if you’re spread thin between studying and partying (as are most students). And if you have a job on top of everything else, forget about it! In short, the freshman fifteen of fable can quickly become a reality (and then some) if you fall off the proverbial wagon with your diet and exercise routine.

So what’s a busy college student to do? Simple: make diet and exercise one of your many priorities.

Let’s start with diet since you have to eat. And keep in mind that it’s not only about what you ingest, but also when you do it. If, for example, you find yourself skipping meals, taking prescription diet pills, or guzzling a Coke (instead of breakfast) as you dash to class, you’re going to have problems. Not only will missing meals make you hungry and leave you feeling fatigued, it will also prompt you to eat foods that are not so good for you (such as pre-packaged items that are easy to grab and filled with fats, sugars, and preservatives). And when you substitute these quick-burning foods for the real deal, you’re only going to find yourself crashing hard and fighting hunger again in an hour.

Instead, find ways to get the good foods you need to sustain your blood sugar and your energy throughout the day. Forget about three huge meals, which may not fit into your schedule and will probably make you want to take a nap anyway. Eat several smaller meals that consist of the healthy carbs and lean protein that will leave you satisfied for hours and keep filling snacks like fruit, veggies, and nuts on hand to help you through those mid-afternoon doldrums.

Rather than amping up with soda, try some alternatives like green tea, which will give you a gentler caffeine boost without all the sugar. Finally, try to keep alcohol ingestion to a minimum since it not only has a lot of calories, but can also cause you to miss sleep and become dehydrated.

You’ll also want to consider exercise. While running across campus to your classes probably can’t hurt, you really need to implement some kind of sustained activity. Think about joining a cardio class or starting a weekly Frisbee game in the quad. If you have the support network in place to keep you coming back, you’re much more likely to get the motivation you need to stick to an exercise routine. And it can’t hurt to have a little fun while you’re at it!

This guest post is written by Leon Harris. Leon writes for Fatty Weight Loss where you can find articles on health and nutrition in addition to information on the no sugar diet.

2 Thoughts on “Don’t Let Yourself Go: A Guide to Fitness in College”

  1. Great post on the need for fitness in college! As a college student myself, I find that I am prone to some of the bad habits that you mentioned (such as drinking a coke for breakfast). We college students have so much to do, from class to jobs, that we don’t really think about our health. It’s important that we take care of ourselves and our bodies to try to avoid the freshman 15 and, furthermore, to try to sustain a healthy lifestyle for life.

    I’m in a wellness class at my university, and physical activity is one dimension that makes up our wellness, along with spiritual, emotional and intellectual activity. I think sometimes people underestimate the power of fitness; in addition to it just being good for your body, it can also help other aspect of your wellness. For instance, when I play volleyball, my head is cleared and all my stress is released, thus letting me concentrate on my homework more clearly later on. So, fitness can have intellectual effects.

    I think college students should come up with some sort of regular fitness routine, whether that be running, playing soccer, weight lifting, etc. Exercise can be fun- it doesn’t have to be boring! Students need to choose something that they like so that they stick with it and don’t give up.

  2. Comme chaque année, Sony ouvre le bal des renouvellements de gamme de la rentrée. Fidèle à son calendrier, le nouveau modèle, cette année il s’appellera PRS-T2, est pretscuee;aent&´ en août et commercialisé en septembre. 

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