College friends & the pressure to eat junk

foreverstarstrukk

I'm a college student, and it's sad to say but most of my friends don't care about what they eat.

They have respected my decision not to drink with them (they are big on partying), but I feel like whenever we 'hang out' all we ever do is go get food! I don't want to eat fast food...I'm committed to eating healthy now.

However, I feel a lot of pressure to eat these foods when we are hanging out, and I don't want to seem like I'm stuck up or think I'm better than them... or even that I have an eating disorder (which I don't) or something! It's just that I'm trying to change and eat healthy, but all of these places they want to eat at aren't healthy.

I understand its okay to have a few cheat days here and there, but honestly I don't even crave these bad foods anymore or have a desire to eat them. I'd rather make my own food and know what I'm putting into my body!

It just tends to be very inconvenient when you are spending the whole day out, or at a friends house...and all they have is unhealthy snacks at their home or want to go out and get food (Subway gets old fast so its not like we can go there every time).

I almost find myself avoiding certain people because of this...and I don't want that to be the case. I just need a better way of dealing with it, I guess... can anyone else relate?

rmhand

My friends frequently have cook outs with hot dogs and brats and lots of drinks. something I'm going to start doing is bringing a veggie tray. even if I'm the only one that eats it and i have to take it home thats ok. You might help some one make better choices. I take healthy snacks with me when I travel but I do sometimes feel rude so I think its best to bring enough to share.

zenchik115

i feel ya...whenever my friends go out it seems to not be the healthy places either...the other day when we went out I ordered wings(like everyone else) i just asked them to leave off the sauce and not fry them. It sucks...especially since i was out with my personal trainer! I dont really have any great advice...just wanted you to know your not the only one...

omgitsgarry

I can relate! All of my co-workers eat so unhealthy. Everyday they go get take away and they ask me if I want anything. I have found bringing what I like with me helps. I bring my own lunch to work and if they make fun of me (which is never, a lot of them want to lose weight, too), I just tell them my latest scale victory and it makes them shut up. Bring your own snack or meal if you are going over there house, it might wake them up, too.

Paiche

Oh my gosh, I total understand.
My friends are always going on "blizzard runs" and getting fatty smoothies and always wanting to go out to eat (doesn't help on my friends are dudes, with fast metabolisms or are getting thee freshman 15.lol).

Ive started planning ahead a bit. I have some safe options for different fast food places, or i make jokes like "If i lose 15 lbs i'll let you see me in my bikini!" haha, sadly enough that usually works!

You can use a medical excuse. Say your doctor has ordered a test and you can't eat junk food for x amount of days or it can't be taken. Ive used that and people usually are ok about it since its "health related"

alexbowser

I bring homemade hummus and pita bread to functions with friends, they like it and don't really think about the fact that it's healthy.
Try checking Eat This, Not That for some healthier options when you go out with friends.
I have the same dilemna you do but with my family. They think that me eating better means that I think I'm smarter than them, or that I'm better than them. I have to make a lot of compromises. It's difficult, but most restaurants have a healthy option on their menu. My general rule is to avoid fried foods at all costs.

DaniJeanine

I had the SAME problem when I was in college...it's really hard to eat healthy when your surrounding by drinking and junk food that often. I handled a few ways:

1. Suggest somewhere new where you know you can order a healthy option (i.e. Ruby Tuesday Salad Bar)
2. Suggest going for coffee at Starbucks instead (anyone who's hungry can eat food there, too)
3. If you get totally stuck going to a fast food place, there's a lot of options that are diet-friendly (the sodium is sky high, but at least the calories are in check) like Wendy's, McDonald's or BK salads with FF dressing, Wendy's small chili, McD's fruit & walnut salad with a small garden salad on the side, if you check the menu online there's a lot of options.
4. For drinking, Skinny Girl Margaritas! You can get them at any package store. The drink is ready-made and it's 35 calories per 1.5 oz. So basically, if you make one on the rocks, it's a 35 calorie drink. You can have 3 and still be low-cal.
5. Bring snacks in your purse to parties. So when everyone is munching on chips at 2 am, you can eat a filling granola bar that you brought. If you're worried about people making fun of that, go eat it in another room.
6. Eat light (yet filling) when you're alone and in control of your food. If you know you're going to see your friends for lunch, eat a banana and tsp on peanut butter for breakfast. That's super low-cal yet filling. Also, coffee and tea suppress your appetite. As long as you skip the sugar, a coffee with cream only is still low-cal because the cream is so rich.
6. Work out, work out, work out! There's soo many temptations in college...if you give in and have a bad night, at least you know you exercised that day.

Also, consider buying a book from the "Eat This Not That" series. they give you the best possible options for every junk and fast food restaurant in America. They even give you generic menu options (i.e. the best thing to order at an Italian restaurant) in case you go to a local spot without nutrition info.

This is what I did in college and I managed to maintain a healthy weight, I actually lost throughout. I hope this is helpful for you and good luck!!! :-)