Eating healthy on a college campus?

sfabianski

Hello all, I'm a 22 year old college senior who has finally become 100% sick of carrying extra weight around...literally. My question is that with the food that is served on a college campus, does anyone know of tips for eating well while i'm here and not have to go out and buy my own groceries?!

KANGOOJUMPS

booze, booze, booze.
that's all u need.

Lizzy622

Ask around. Many campus food services have calorie and nutritional information you can get online. Log, track and stay away from fried. Late night pizza was actually my worst enemy.

micheleb15

No offense, but you are 22 - is there a reason you don't want to buy your own groceries? What options do you have on campus?

12skipafew99100

Try to choose foods in their original God made state. Fruits veggies and lean meats. Avoid processed foods and excessive simple carbs. That should do it.

DawnieB1977

What sort of choices do you have? I'm English and so went to uni over here (a long time ago now lol) and I managed to lose weight. I don't remember exactly what I ate, but knowing me it was probably jacket potato and salad a lot of the time.

I also drank a lot, but that didn't seem to stop me losing weight!

In my 2nd year I lived in a shared house so obviously did my own shopping and cooking. My 3rd year I was at uni in France and had a fridge and a hot plate, and my final year I was back on campus with a fridge and a microwave. I ate a lot of salads!

Just stick to things like chicken and fish and veg. If it's anything like when I ate on campus, I doubt the portions will be big.

SoDamnHungry

Figure out calorie content. Monitor calories.

TheSlorax

No offense, but you are 22 - is there a reason you don't want to buy your own groceries? What options do you have on campus?

they probably have a meal plan included with their board & tuition. why waste the money on groceries if you don't have to? maybe they don't have a fridge or anything to cook with, either. what a weird question.

OP - lots of good tips. could you give some more detail as to what kind of food and dining your campus offers? it will be easier for people to help you.

csuhar

One thing to really pay attention to is portion sizes. When I was in college, the buffet-style cafeteria had plenty of opportunities to get large portions. Compounding that was the fact that it was a place you paid once to get into (or swiped your card if you were on the meal plan) and then could go back through the line as often as you wanted, so it was even easier to eat a lot more food than was necessary.

Also, as others have said, you probably want to do some investigating. While you may not have what some consider to be truly "healthy" options, you're likely going to be able to find healthIER options.

YAYJules

No offense, but you are 22 - is there a reason you don't want to buy your own groceries? What options do you have on campus?

Probably because college years means financial destitution, even with a job.

dp1228

Even though I gained all my weight in college, looking back on it, I could have lost weight and got fit if I wanted to. Like a lot of other schools, my college had a buffet style cafeteria. Yes, there were some not so good options, but there were also a LOT of healthy options. Like someone else said, portion size is really key here. You dont always have to eat the salad in the cafeteria, just don't eat more then you need of the other stuff. A lot of colleges are now trying to get nutrition facts for their foods. See if your college is one of them. If not, MFP has a lot of comparable foods that you can use to count your calories. always OVERestimate your calories just in case you get some of the calorie counts wrong.

There was also a market on my campus and my school gave us a card with money already on it (it came from our tuition already of course) and we were able to use that to go to the market. again, there werent GREAT options but the basics were there to make yourself something healthy to eat. you say you don't want to buy groceries but to be honest you're gonna have to get over that. try and see if you can buy at least the basics. to me the best thing you can do for yourself is make your own food. you know exactly where it's coming from and what's in it. if you don't want to buy from the school market (because usually they are overpriced), take a weekly shopping trip to the closest town and get your groceries there.

get yourself a filtered water bottle so you can drink the tap water in the dorms and around campus so you don't waste money on water.

and take FULLLLLLLL advantage of the universities gym (i'm sure you have one)

looking back on it i really REGRET what i did to myself in college. i cheated myself out of the full college experience. i had all the tools i needed to be healthy and i wasted them. i try not to regreat anything but i REALLY regret that. don't let that happen before you leave school!

good luck!

FrankiesSaysRelax

I bought my own groceries in college. I also lived relatively close to home, so my mom would make me dinners for throughout the week. I think the best advice would be to try and eat the healthier choices and maybe buy some snacks for your room so you aren't starving when you go to lunch/dinner. Definitely take advantage of their fruit and salad bars (remember calories add up in salads really quickly).

My cafeteria always had grilled chicken, so I got that a lot then made a huge salad or got some vegetables on the side. I tried to stay away from deep fried things, pizza, mac and cheese. I also bought bread/meat and kept it in my room to make sandwiches. You probably have a mini fridge, right? You could always do a few groceries each week and do dinner at the cafeteria?

micheleb15

No offense, but you are 22 - is there a reason you don't want to buy your own groceries? What options do you have on campus?

they probably have a meal plan included with their board & tuition. why waste the money on groceries if you don't have to? maybe they don't have a fridge or anything to cook with, either. what a weird question.

OP - lots of good tips. could you give some more detail as to what kind of food and dining your campus offers? it will be easier for people to help you.

Lol at weird question. Apologies for thinking that most people would have some sort of small fridge or microwave in a dorm room/home/frat house/communal living. I only had $20 a week to eat in college and survived on apples, easy mac, ramen and Marie Calendar's chicken pot pies. Everyone has a different situation.

karona513

I only had $20 a week to eat in college and survived on apples, easy mac, ramen and Marie Calendar's chicken pot pies.

You make a big deal about buying groceries.... and you're doing it wrong.

micheleb15

I only had $20 a week to eat in college and survived on apples, easy mac, ramen and Marie Calendar's chicken pot pies.

You make a big deal about buying groceries.... and you're doing it wrong.

That's because I am in my 30's now; my college days were a long time ago. And funny thing is, I wasn't over weight in college...

eblakes93

Hey! I'm a college junior - I have a meal plan that allows for two meals a day and I have a galley style kitchen (microwave, sink, fridge, no stove/oven.)

Usually, I eat breakfast in my room and then have dinner and lunch with friends in the dining hall. In terms of groceries, I buy store brand if it is cheaper (it usually is) and I try and only buy what I know I will consume. I also bought a digital food scale to help measure out more calorie dense foods like bread, cereal, oatmeal and nuts.

Breakfast options:
-Quick oats with nuts, milk and fruit
-Toast with peanut butter
-Yogurt, fruit and a granola bar
-Eggs microwaved in a cute little egg cup on toast with a slice of cheese and hot sauce.

When I'm at the dining hall, I stick to lean meats and veggies (raw from the salad bar) when I can - our school posts nutrition info but portion size varies depending on who is serving, so I don't know if I can trust it. I'll also get sandwiches with salami and count the salami slices they put on (I know how many calories is in the bread they use - I snooped one day!)

I try and keep desserts and sweets at home because I don't know the nutrition info for the ones at school. I like snickers ice cream bars - they are pre-portioned so I don't have to worry about eating a whole pint of ice cream.

I find it VERY DIFFICULT with the buffet style to exercise my will power - the first few weeks of school I had some 2800 calorie days. But I'm back on the band wagon now. And you can do it too!!

kaylurzz

I'm assuming you are eating in the campus dinning halls. Which was my down fall my freshmen year, I was all over that all you can eat style.

But take advantage of the salad bar. And honestly, you just have to work with what you have. It's hard eating at places you have no control over what is being served. I know my school's dining hall would post a weekly menu, so check to see if yours does that.

I also suggest buying some of your own food if funds are available. Such as fruits and healthy snacks to bring to class.

AND if your campus has a gym, take advantage of that! It's usually included in tuition costs, and they may have more resources you can use for free or very cheap.

DawnieB1977

One thing to really pay attention to is portion sizes. When I was in college, the buffet-style cafeteria had plenty of opportunities to get large portions. Compounding that was the fact that it was a place you paid once to get into (or swiped your card if you were on the meal plan) and then could go back through the line as often as you wanted, so it was even easier to eat a lot more food than was necessary.

Also, as others have said, you probably want to do some investigating. While you may not have what some consider to be truly "healthy" options, you're likely going to be able to find healthIER options.

I guess that is a difference between British and American university food! We only got tiny portions! No wonder I lost weight.

FerretBuellerr

No offense, but you are 22 - is there a reason you don't want to buy your own groceries? What options do you have on campus?

I know this question has been answered by a few already, but I was about to ask the same thing.

If you live off campus, I don't know why in the world you would want to have a full meal plan - I only had a meal plan when I lived in Res, and the cafeteria food was okay. Buffet style with decent variety, but a lot of the food was still cooked in a lot of oil/has a greasy feel to it. I definetly gained that Freshman 15 within a few months without necessarily meaning to, and eating only what is found on campus is verrrrrry difficult when you want to lose weight/remain healthy.

But yeah, seriously, if you live off campus, cooking your own food is WAY BETTER - it does take a little more time, but it will be MUCH better for you nutrition wise and wallet wise. If you got a meal plan because you can't cook, then this is the best way to learn how! Or even have a reduced meal plan (I have friends that would have one just so they could have one meal each time they were on campus in order to avoid packing lunch/dinner/snacks)

And you say you don't wanna buy your own food, but when it's 2 AM and you're freaking out because of an assignment/test/exam the next day, you will NEED some decent brain food to keep you going, and the likelihood of something "healthy" being open at that time is very slim. I'm saying this ESPECIALLY if you are living on campus. My school's meal plan when living in Res only included 2 meals per day, so I still had food with me in my room. If that's otherwise with your school, then bonus! But I'm still sure you will be needing some food with you where ever you live.

Sorry I don't have any advice this time around - just confused as to why you don't want to/don't feel the need to buy your own food.

Unknown

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ash8184

I know what you're going through! I had a paid-for built in meal plan because I lived on campus all 5 years, and not a whole lot of healthful options. Try to stay away from buffet style dining - lots and lots of bad carbs. This is terrible, but the best option I had was Wendy's. Would get a dry burger with extra lettuce and tomato, with only mustard, took the bun off, and ate the meat with a side salad. We eventually got a Chili's, and I did the same there, or got a salad, no dressing. Try to walk as much as possible too - no buses or golf carts

lynn1982

Hello all, I'm a 22 year old college senior who has finally become 100% sick of carrying extra weight around...literally. My question is that with the food that is served on a college campus, does anyone know of tips for eating well while i'm here and not have to go out and buy my own groceries?!

Veggies, protein, whole grains, and buy your own fruits and veggies for snacks. The only time I ever had a university meal plan was while studying abroad in Poland. There, tuition included housing and food, so I didn't want to buy extra groceries, but I did go to the local market a couple times a week just for fruits and veggies that I could eat as snacks (mostly so I wouldn't be tempted by delicious Polish chocolates and pastries!). The meals were also fairly healthy - meats, cheeses, fresh bread and veggies at brunch and supper, and soup, protein, and veggies for lunch/dinner. Granted, you're in the US so your selection of food on campus might be different, but just try as best as you can to make healthy choices and supplement with some fruits and veggies for snacks.

everstraete

I'm in a similar situation as you- meal plan with 19 meals a week, mini fridge (really, really, mini) and a hot pot and kcup brewer. Microwave in the lounge but it's usually broken. My university has to go dining options and I usually get fresh fruits and veggies and a low calorie entree like a turkey sandwich (bfast is 5 items I get milk for my coffee then supplement with yogurt, banana, and apples they have). TO go dining or food court style eating that restricts what you can get is the way to go for portion control, however there is lots of benefits to be found at a buffet style dining hall.
Go to dining hall, eat and then make a second trip to the salad bar- I usually keep sandwich baggies in my satchel that I use to store apples, baby carrots, and other fresh fruits and veggies in from the dining hall which takes care of between meal snacking in a healthy way. Also, air popped popcorn (you can buy a popper for like $20 or use a microwave) one bag at the store costs about two dollars and makes piles of popcorn that you can bag up with a little salt or cinnamon as a quick low calorie snack.