College: The Healthy Edition

Your college years are widely reputed to be the best of your life, and I can see why. Partying, few real-world responsibilities and no one to tell you to eat your veggies or do your homework? It's a blast!

Ridiculous hat and Zoolander-in-headlights expression optional

In any case, while your collegiate years may be some of the most fun, they can also be some of the least healthy. I've received several emails and comments recently asking me for advice on staying healthy in college, and while I'm not a health expert of any kind, I have made it through the most of my undergraduate career with my liver and (some of) my sanity intact. Therefore, I present you with my tips!

1. Move it! I honestly think that exercise is one of the best things you can do to stay in shape while in college. Not only does it feel good to break a sweat, but it's also a healthy form of stress relief, and boosts your metabolism for those late-night junk food fests. Prying yourself from bed to get to the gym can be tough, but trust me on this one- you'll never regret a good workout!

2. Keep fruits, veggies and other healthy staples in your room. It can be difficult to make good dietary choices when you're limited to what the dining hall is serving; however, most dorms do allow you to have a mini-fridge in your room. When I lived in a standard dorm I always had baby carrots, hummus, apples, bananas, whole-wheat bread, peanut butter, oats, cereal, milk and canned soup on hand. These might not be the most exciting choices, but it's even easier to reach for these than it is to call for pizza or Chinese when you don't feel like moving. Plus, they're cheaper and won't leave your room reeking of sweet & sour chicken for days! Other easy-to-keep foods include sweet potatoes (just poke and microwave), healthy frozen meals (Amy's are great), dates, nuts, dried fruit, granola bars and whole-grain crackers/bagels/tortillas.

3. It's not the drinking, it's the drunk food. Alcohol is a large part of many collegiate experiences; it's silly not to acknowledge that. I know that drinking is a personal choice, but if you do choose to partake, remember that those drinks really add up- as do the drunk french fries and pizza. I'm not saying that you should swear off of the drunchies forever (greasy food really does taste better late at night), but don't let those late-night junk runs become a nightly occurrence.

4. Sleep enough! This is so important to me! I've earned the title "grandma" with many of my friends and roommates, but I don't really care. If it's a choice between staying up till 3 to "study" or going to bed at 10 and feeling well-rested the next day, I'm definitely going with the latter. I've noticed that late-night cram sessions never help much, anyways- as bad as it sounds, I'm way better at BSing my way through a reading I didn't do when I'm well-rested and on top of my game. Just sayin'! Plus, studies have shown that more sleep = higher metabolism, and who doesn't want that?

Even if you're sleeping in a scary loft bed!

5. Have fun. I'll admit that this is something I struggle with. I feel like there's always a paper to write, a test to study for, a sleep deficit to catch up on, a training run to go on in the morning. But the "best four years of your life" won't be that great if you can't throw the previous four rules out the window every once in awhile and just have fun. I'll never be the life of the party and I'm definitely more than ready to be done with school forever, but I also know how important having fun is to my health. Make good choices, but let yourself slip up sometimes- after all, in just four years you'll probably be wishing you were right back at the beginning again :)

PS- I know that Gracie, Anna and Julie have all posted recently about this topic as well- so check them out!

If you're still in college, what are your best tips for leading a healthy but balanced lifestyle? If you've graduated, what advice would you give a current student?