Being healthy in a college environment...

ashleynicoleb

Leading a healthy lifestyle in college is extremely hard. Not so much because of all of the unhealthy food that is readily available, but because of all the alcohol! I feel like I'm sacrificing part of my social life if I have to refrain from drinking alcohol. It wouldn't be as big of a concern if I wasn't just beginning to be disciplined with my diet and exercise again. I don't exactly know how to balance everything. I definitely want to have fun...but at the same time I want to completely get back on track so that I've reached my goal by winter break which is mid-December. Does anyone have any suggestions?

thanks

Sparklewolfie

Can you be the sober driver or the photographer? Or drink mocktails?
Drinking too often is not good for your liver anyway, so if need be I would just say that your liver has been having issues so you can only drink a little bit or once a month or something Or say your grades have been slipping?

Alcohol reduces the effectiveness of workouts (well, according to some sources anyway... it is what I have heard). Maybe just try straight up telling your friends that you are trying to get healthier and need to drink less in order for that to happen, so instead of going out with them every weekend only go once a month or so. Wishing you the best of luck! I have never been in that situation so I am not too sure how to deal

stuartme123

I hear you, ashleynicoleb! I'm a senior in college - and I have to say that I very much enjoy drinking socially. I don't know how often or much you drink, but I'll preface this by saying that I generally drink (anything from a beer while watching TV to getting drunk at a bar) 1-3 nights a week . All power to you if you want to give up drinking most of the time - and I really think your friends will be fine with that - I know that I can still have fun at bars/parties when I'm not drinking much or anything.

But I don't think that you need to give it up if you don't want to. I have been losing weight (and fitting better in my jeans!!) while still drinking some nights. On nights that I plan on drinking, I make an effort to eat particularly healthy and efficient options during the day and stay around or a little under 1200 cals (which is my calorie goal on this site). And then I'll drink moderately - paying attention to what I put in my drink (usually go for juices over sodas for example). Friendly tip: be CAREFUL if you've started exercising (especially weight training) regularly. It did a number on my metabolism, and I learned the hard way that I couldn't drink as much as I could in the past (which is really a bonus, because it means I drink less calories). Just be conscious of how much and what you drink .

Good luck!!