college student needs advice

Jewels044
Jewels044 Posts: 2
edited September 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I work at PetSmart, will get home around 10:30pm alot, and never have the energy to cook, so I always pick up fast food to eat when I get home. I am also a full time college student, and am so busy with work or school it's hard to find time to go to the gym or to eat healthy. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • RunConquerCelebrate
    RunConquerCelebrate Posts: 956 Member
    if your only option is fast food because of your schedule just make sure you make the right choice and get healthy fast food ( I know that is impossible) but Subway can be an option. Or maybe on a day off from work go shopping for healthy food and prepare your meals ahead.
  • babs3035
    babs3035 Posts: 1 Member
    Progresso light soups are great - just pop the top - heat - no need to even add water - I think the most important thing to do is plan ahead - sometimes quick fast food decisions don't turn out so well. The plus side is the money you save by not eating fast food.
  • mariapuhl
    mariapuhl Posts: 529 Member
    weightloss32 has a good idea - on your day off prepare food ahead of time. Or maybe on a weekend that you don't have class, and just work. Make a ton of sandwiches that are easy to just grab when you get home from work. Or prepare chicken ahead of time so you just have to heat it up, not fully cook it. Have ripped up lettuce already in baggies so you can just dump it on a plate and have salad, etc.
  • jenready
    jenready Posts: 2,658 Member
    My situation is very similar to yours. I try to use my weekends to prepare food for the following week so I can have a healthy snack or meal any time. When I get home from the grocery store I take some extra time to sort things out and package small amounts into plastic bags. Put together some 100 cal packs made of fruits and veggies. The other thing I try to do is make a casserole or cook some chicken on the weekend that I can just heat up when I get home late at night. It sounds time consuming and it does take a little bit of time but in the long run it is worth it. On the working out time I finally just had to suck it up and get up earlier in the morning and hit the gym early. Good luck!
  • TByrd1325
    TByrd1325 Posts: 920 Member
    Chick fil a also has healthy options. What you could do is take a couple hours out of one day of the week to plan meals, prepare them. If you have a fridge at work that's a great place to put your dinner. If not you could freeze meals and heat them when you get home.

    Also, I don't know what time you have to be at school in the AM, but you could try working out before school. I have to be at school or clinical at 8AM everyday so I get up at 4 to workout, get the little one to daycare etc... But I know you also have to work late, so that could be difficult.
  • TByrd1325
    TByrd1325 Posts: 920 Member
    weightloss32 has a good idea - on your day off prepare food ahead of time. Or maybe on a weekend that you don't have class, and just work. Make a ton of sandwiches that are easy to just grab when you get home from work. Or prepare chicken ahead of time so you just have to heat it up, not fully cook it. Have ripped up lettuce already in baggies so you can just dump it on a plate and have salad, etc.

    That's a great idea about the lettuce!! I like to cut up all my veggies and preportion them so I when I get home I can just grab them and toss them in a pan.
  • YeaILift
    YeaILift Posts: 580 Member
    Get a slow cooker. Set it in the morning and it will be ready by the time you get home.
  • lindseylou1987
    lindseylou1987 Posts: 1
    I am also a full-time student and have a part-time job and it is hard to find time to eat right and exercise. The first thing you have to do is MAKE time for yourself. Maybe you have to wake up a half hour earlier to go for a morning walk to get your metabolism going, or stay up a half hour later at night. The time isn't going to just present itself, you have to make it happen. Once you establish a routine for yourself, it gets easier. As for food, many grocery stores have decent salad bars or pre-made salads that you can just pick up. Lean Cuisine and Healthy Choice meals are good for portion control as well. Try to eat whole grains as much as possible and drink a lot of water - it helps promote that feeling of being full. Good luck!
  • sweetheart03622
    sweetheart03622 Posts: 928 Member
    Definitely get stuff prepared beforehand! Do that and get yourself a good crock pot. I work full-time and have a hefty commute, so I'm hardly ever home either, here's what I do: always have veggies chopped up and ready (carrot and celery sticks, diced peppers, onions, mushrooms, and squash), keep fresh fruit washed and ready to go, make large amounts of brown rice in advance, and learn how to use that crock pot! I make soups, stews, chicken, all sorts of good stuff. Just throw in the meat and your chopped up veggies in the morning and then it's ready when you come home! Eat it with some of the rice and you've got an easy meal. Plus, the leftovers can be frozen for meals later in the week. It's all about making smart choices and just getting the prep work done in advance!
  • herky
    herky Posts: 68 Member
    do you get a lunch or dinner break during your shift? pack a quick healthy meal from home and eat it during your break, so you don't have to wait until 10:30 to eat.

    I'm also a college student and I work until 10 several nights a week. If I wait until I get off that late to eat, I ravish my cupboards for snack foods, eat too much, and then go to bed which is so unhealthy.

    as for working out, you might have to wake up early, which does not sound fun but once you make it a habit, it is actually refreshing.
  • BOGmama2010
    BOGmama2010 Posts: 599 Member
    I agree with the last poster - you need to invest in a Crockpot and find some good easy recipes. You can make enough to keep for a few days for lunches or dinners. There are easy chicken recipes you can do and also things like chili turkey. My newest slow cooker cost me $30, not much at all, and it has all the bells and whistles. I think you'll find that cooking in your crockpot and buying healthy foods at the grocery store for it will end up being cheaper than your fast food.
  • Nikki_Marz
    Nikki_Marz Posts: 35
    I hear you dilemma! I too am a full time university student, work full time, and I'm a mother.
    I find what helps me the most is doing some prep work ahead of time (an hour or so every other day or twice a week normally is enough). So if i'm feeling like pizza, I use a whole grain wrap (for the crust), and prepare a measured out amount of cheese and toppings that are sliced ahead of time (like onion, peppers, ham). Usually I chop enough that I can make it several times over the next few days, and it literally takes all of 10 minutes to make and bake when I get home (AND one wrap, pizza sauce, toppings like veggies and ham is only about 150 calories, so a great snack, or you can have two for a good healthy meal of 300 calories).
    Other options along the same line are stir frys, I defrost the chicken while I'm out at work or school that day, but I cut up all the veggies ahead of time, so it all goes into a dish with a little chicken broth mixed with low calorie italian dressing (as the sauce) soon as I'm home, and 10 minutes later its pretty much ready.
    Prepping the ingredients like veggies ahead of time is my saving grace, because otherwise I always used to pick up food on the way home to because I was too hungry to stand there and make it at night!
    Thank goodness for fridges, because prepared ingredients stay for days and days and can be used anytime you have the urge to cook something!
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