Eating in a college dining hall

MeIShouldB

I just got accepted to a new college, and I have no idea how I am going to stay on track with dining hall food. HELP!!!

starryvagabond

When I was in college and managing my weight, I kept this in mind: I would get a protein, a carb, and a vegetable. For dessert I would eat fruit. Just watch portions and make sure you're eating the right things!

Mimoki

Congrats on getting accepted and also look into your college dining hall facility. The college I went to was very good in terms of it. You could request anything, and the next day it would appear, we had vegan desserts, low fat, gluten free, asian, wester, etc... But it was buffet style so that was the down side though I only knew one classmate who attemped to stay and eat all day!!! I am sure your university will have something healthy catered for your school, plus if you are living in dorms they should provide some kitchen space for cooking, I know mine did.

MeIShouldB

Congrats on getting accepted and also look into your college dining hall facility. The college I went to was very good in terms of it. You could request anything, and the next day it would appear, we had vegan desserts, low fat, gluten free, asian, wester, etc... But it was buffet style so that was the down side though I only knew one classmate who attemped to stay and eat all day!!! I am sure your university will have something healthy catered for your school, plus if you are living in dorms they should provide some kitchen space for cooking, I know mine did.

True, I do recall them saying they cater to all dietary needs. And thanks !!!

slkehl

Be careful with buffets. It's hard not to take a little of each when it all looks so good!

1Kirsty1

Congrats! I was in a college dining hall in my first year and I made sure I ate the veges first because they had the least ingredients added to them. We had processed ribs which I'm sure were 1% meat! Just make sure you eat veges and fruit, and avoid as much processed foods as possible!

boroko

Congratulations on your college place and for your weight loss - both are something to be proud of. :flowerforyou:

The fact that you want to ensure your new lifestyle won't cause your health too much of a set back is a good start as being conscious of what you eat is half the battle. When you get to college you won't have total control of your diet in the dining hall so need to focus on making the best choices from what's on offer. Try and avoid anything fried and things with pastry or rich sauces however good they look. Avoid croutons or heavy dressings on your salad. Opt for plenty of vegies (at least half your plate should be vegies) and chose yoghurt and fruit for dessert. Let others eat the cakes and suffer the consequences! Keep thinking about your overall diet and ensure you are getting good nutrition to keep healthy. A lot of students end up living on starchy carbs that might keep you full but don't do much for your health.

It can be hard when there's all sorts of tempting stuff on offer but go into each meal with a strong mind - just because something's there doesn't mean you need to eat it. Don't be swayed by what people around you are eating. Stay strong and make good choices. Be careful with portion sizes - take or ask for smaller portions if they're too generous and remember that you don't need to eat everything that is put on your plate. Also drink water. Lots of it. :drinker:

The first few weeks will be very important in terms of you establishing good eating habits. When there is a lot of food on offer it can be easy to eat too much but this is not just a one week vacation that you can quickly recover from, you will be living there so don't start eating more than you do at home. If you are struggling to find healthy choices make sure you speak up and ask for better options - after all you are paying for it so you have the right to get what you need. I'm sure you won't be the only person wanting to eat well so team up with other like-minded students if you need support.

Finally, a big trap that lots of students fall into is bad snacking. Keep a stock of healthy snacks so that late-night study sessions don't turn into disastrous midnight feasts.

sorting

After living in a boarding house with limited flexibility on healthy food + alternatives I used simple, easily achievable goals to help cut down. For example, I never drank the juice or cordial that was available at every meal - only water. I also treated myself to an "indulgence" dessert once or twice a week with fruit for every other day. Also, try and make pacts with friends (peer pressure!) along the way to help with healthy eating decisions. And make sure you have snacks on hand! Frozen grapes were a favourite for many of my housemates

vivaldirules

In addition to trying to eat healthy in college dining halls, I remember (when my daughters were in college just a few years ago) reading of students who also tried to make the food more appealing by making some minor modifications. Somewhere I have a link to some suggestions. They involved things like buying spices, condiments, and foods to add to the dining hall offerings to make them tastier. If you combine that with making healthy choices, perhaps it would be easier for you. I will look for the information I had and post it here this weekend. Best wishes to you!

lambchoplewis

I know it will be hard to eat in dorm as others will be "pigging out" and they will get the "freshman fifteen" (lbs that is!!). If you can just get your food while alone even if you are sitting with others, you won't be tempted or conned into getting dessert, peanut butter etc. Also, ask for a protein and have them leave the sauce off. They usually have the protein there and sauce at last minute. If you let the kitchen people know when you ask for something plain why you want it, you will be surprised how supportive some are.

Keep it up!!!

MeIShouldB

Thanks everyone. At my old college freshman year I actually LOST 10 pounds. I think I can do this.

boroko

I KNOW you can do this!! :flowerforyou:

dimsumkitty

I've got a lot more comfortable with logging college food as I've got better at eyeballing portions. I know what 100g of various things looks like on a plate, so I just log it approximately.

ScottishMrs

I just got accepted to a new college, and I have no idea how I am going to stay on track with dining hall food. HELP!!!

Congratulations on being accepted! I agree with the PPs that you should look into what they actually have at your college. At mine we have the expected pizza place, chip wagons, fast food place, and so on, but we also have a salad bar, a soup bar, a build-your-own sandwich place, and a place that offers a different sort of cultural food every day (stir fry day, fajita day, shawarma day, etc). It's likely that your school has some healthy options along with the stereotypical unhealthy ones.

katpatoneill

Congrats! I currently go to college, so I'll try to give a head's up. First off- your friends are probably going to be TERRIBLE influence on you, at least for me that's how it is. They will get pizza every weekend, there will be times when there's a 'girl's night' and of course there will be ice cream involved. Just try to remind yourself you are your own person and don't need to follow their habits!

As for the dining hall, eh... It sucks. We have a 'salad bar' at mine that I hit up, where they will put these huge bowls of fruit for us to pick out of. When you are checking out they also put 'grab-able' fruits, like oranges, bananas, apples. I don't know how your college will be set up, but I can pretty much guarantee there will be fruit bowls hanging out, which I hit up first thing. I love my fruit. The sandwich place can't really mess up a good sandwich, loaded with veggies (of course!) so that could also be an option. Salad bars are generally available and can bring some diversity (shall I have carrots, or a bunch of tomatoes? Hmmm...), but I won't lie, I usually get bored with salads. You are also allowed to ask people behind to exclude or include things, so make proper decisions with that. Make sure to check the menus! Usually I just walk in and grab my usual things, but just recently my friend informed me I could be eating turkey burgers for dinner if I just ordered one and ignored the pre-made burgers sitting on the counter! There's a Sbarro's in mine, where they make loads of unhealthy pizza and weird sauces, but they also have some good veggies, so never just assume a place will be COMPLETELY unhealthy- there is usually one item in every menu that is actually pretty awesome, if you look for it.

But this is all based off my food court, yours might be different, but I can't imagine it being too different! But good luck! College is a BLAST.

vivaldirules

In addition to trying to eat healthy in college dining halls, I remember (when my daughters were in college just a few years ago) reading of students who also tried to make the food more appealing by making some minor modifications. Somewhere I have a link to some suggestions. They involved things like buying spices, condiments, and foods to add to the dining hall offerings to make them tastier. If you combine that with making healthy choices, perhaps it would be easier for you. I will look for the information I had and post it here this weekend. Best wishes to you!

I can't quite find what I was looking for but I Googled spicing up college dining hall food and looked at some hits and found some ideas that might help you. Here are a few links that talk equally about making things taste better and making things healthier. Heck, I've learned a lot in reading them myself and may try some of these tips at the cafeteria where I work. I hope this helps. Good luck!

http://www.thekitchn.com/college-eating-5-ways-to-spice-93717

http://cavemancollege.com/2012/09/10/10-ways-to-spice-up-your-salad-bar/

http://dining.umd.edu/archive