Still in college! Tips on not eating like a typical student

19feg96

Hi, I'm pretty new to MFP and I wanted to know what sort of tricks and tips anyone who has committed to eating better may have

wtliftchick

Can you cook your own meals? That helps!

Don't order meat on your pizza or dairy on your tacos.

Watch the booze calories. Actually, watch the drink calories in general. I used to drink a ton of coffee drinks. God knows how many calories were in those things!

If you can't cook, keep raw fruits and veggies on hand for an easy and healthy snack.

Idle_Moon

I'm a student too! Do you have a freezer? I love veggies, but for me they are expensive. So I buy frozen veggies. You can buy packages with mixed frozen veggies. I like to cook them and mix them in rice, or couscous, or noodles, etc. I also buy frozen creamed spinach alot and eat it with potato's and fish.

Furthermore, I try to not eat outside. It's expensive, and it often has more calories. So I bring sandwiches with me. Lettuce makes my slice of bread with cream cheese a lot more delicious.

Forty6and2

If you have access to a freezer and microwave, I suggest Bird's Eye steamers with vegetables and rice. I also really like canned tuna and chicken salad quite frequently as well as canned soups. You really have to watch the sodium with these things, but otherwise you can find good options.

Tbh, I still eat "like a college student" I just reduce my portions so I'm eating fewer calories. I've lost 60+ lbs so far, so I think it's been pretty successful.

humaira_k

I'm a student as well and I used to eat like a student despite being able to cook, I gained a lot if weight by doing that hence why I'm here

If you can't cook and love fried food/takeouts look into air fryers, maybe grills (they're quick, easy and cooks meat itself!)

Also I find preparing big portions of food when cooking beneficial, you can put the remaining food in boxes and in the freezer, so if it's a lazy day you won't get tempted to eat from out.

If eating from out, avoid fried food and go with grilled stuff like chicken and avoid soft drinks!

If you like pizza, you can make homemade pizza (make a lot in one go and wrap it an put it in the freezer), it's healthier and you know what has been put in pizza.
If you're eating a burger, avoid the cheese slice or lower the amount of mayo you use, it makes a big difference.

Prepare your lunch for the next day ahead of time, so you won't get lazy about making lunch.

Lastly, fill your fridge with food, this may seem counter productive but it's not! If you want to have a chocolate every now and then, then buy it and put it in your cupboards, this works in the long-term.

All food is okay in moderation, you can eat everything but just a certain amount and don't eat based on cravings. The main thing is to avoid soft drinks like the plague though.

19feg96

These are such great tips! Thank you everyone for your feedback!
While I do have a mini fridge I don't have much freezer space. I might be able to squeeze one packet of frozen vegetables in there lol
Also, I will be able to cook my own meals this coming year, but between money and space I'm really gonna try to rely on my meal plan for food. Hopefully the cafeterias will be better with their options *fingers crossed*

butterbuns123

If you can handle beans they are great on macros. They have alot of protien just mix them with a type of grain (or eat grain at some point in the day to complete the amino acid chain). Cause beans are cheap and filling. Get some tortillas and make bean burritos.

Batemama

Make meals on nights/mornings you have time and then freeze/refrigerate the leftovers in individual portions for quick, grab and go meals. If you are only 5 microwave minutes away from a healthy, filling meal, you're less likely to grab awful fast food.

I strongly recommend the website budgetbytes.com. Her site is all about eating well on a budget. She doesn't have nutrition info, but most of her meals are healthy and filling. She also does step by step instructions with pictures and is really great at answering questions if the thought of cooking is intimidating.

apullum

Not a college student anymore, but I teach them I don't know what's available in the cafeteria on your campus, but many schools have a salad bar or salad stations, soups (be careful, some soups have more fat and sodium than you might expect), fruit, stir fry, or healthy breakfast options like eggs or oatmeal. Hopefully, your school's dining services has nutrition information available. If it's not online, try contacting them to ask.

If you do wind up with pizza, burgers, etc. as your best meal options, add more veggies to help you feel full without eating as much high-fat food.

If you live on campus, that makes it harder to cook, but nuts and nut butter, canned beans, yogurt, and canned tuna come to mind as relatively cheap proteins that you can prepare without a kitchen. If you can have small appliances, you could get a crockpot (they often have them at thrift stores) and use it to cook your own dried beans, soups, etc. while you're gone during the day. Cheaper than canned stuff, and you control what goes in it.

If you have a sweet tooth, try a small piece of dark chocolate or fresh fruit.

I always have a Kind bar or protein bar in my bag, since sometimes I teach several classes back-to-back and don't have much time for lunch. In my office on campus, I keep protein shakes, a couple of ready-to-eat Indian meals (too much salt for an everyday lunch for me, but they're great for those occasions I've forgotten my lunch), and some Clif granola bars.

Finally, you can make overnight no-cook oatmeal in your fridge. There are lots of recipes, but here are the basics: http://food52.com/blog/9844-how-to-make-overnight-oats-without-a-recipe.

Lounmoun

19feg96 wrote: »

These are such great tips! Thank you everyone for your feedback!
While I do have a mini fridge I don't have much freezer space. I might be able to squeeze one packet of frozen vegetables in there lol
Also, I will be able to cook my own meals this coming year, but between money and space I'm really gonna try to rely on my meal plan for food. Hopefully the cafeterias will be better with their options *fingers crossed*

Eat a variety of foods. Watch your portion sizes. Fill your plate with more vegetables.
Cook if you can. When I was in college years ago a few of my friends and I split our money to buy ingredients and cooked once a week on the weekend because the cafeteria was so bad. We split up the leftovers between us. We made things like pasta, soup or casseroles. Maybe you have friends who would enjoy doing that. http://www.budgetbytes.com has tasty cost conscious recipes.
Drink water or unsweetened teas. Cheap, no calories.
Cut up meats, vegetables, etc and put them in soups, stir fries, casseroles to make them stretch farther.
There is nothing wrong with a sandwiches or wraps- tuna, peanut butter, lunchmeat, egg salad, shredded chicken, hummus, vegetables, beans
Potato- white or sweet, baked- easy and filling
Fresh vegetables, frozen vegetables, canned vegetables- you can do a lot with canned tomatoes.
Fresh fruit, frozen fruit, canned fruit
Canned beans, dry beans, lentils
Cereal, granola bars, oatmeal
Cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt
Cook a bunch of hard boiled eggs. Eat plain or add to sandwiches or salads.
Salads- spinach or kale gives more of a nutritional punch than iceburg lettuce, you can add all kinds of stuff to salad
Salsa is low calorie and can add flavor to a lot of dishes.

tofuligan

Cook for yourself as much as possible with beans, other legumes, and frozen veggies. Cooking from scratch is actually much cheaper than anything else!

At the dining halls, stick to ingredients as much as possible-- get creative at the salad bar, and try to only eat meals where you can tell exactly what went into it. A polite request to anyone working usually got me vegetarian options, dressings on the side, pickles instead of chips, etc.

Pre-plan your boozing and avoid sugary drinks, mixers, and punch.

Pick a free hour per week to make up snack bags of cut veggies, trail mix, etc. and always make sure you have a few in your bag when you go anywhere. Low-sugar protein bars are your friend!

Bring healthy snacks to share-- even just a big bowl of popcorn-- when you hang out at someone else's place.

Find 0-cal drinks to sip when you're feeling snack-y. Flavored sparkling waters can keep your mouth and brain busy when all you want is chips.