For many, the arrival of the new year means not only celebrating the end of one year but also looking forward to a fresh start in the next. Many people vow to make personal improvements, such as saving more money, becoming organized, trying new activities or keeping in touch with old friends.
But when it comes to New Year’s resolutions, one particular topic seems to dominate year after year: the goal of losing weight, getting in shape and developing more healthy, nutritious eating habits.
Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet can be especially challenging for college students, though. Many students do not have kitchens in their dormitories, apartments or houses. Those who do have access to stoves, grills and ovens, meanwhile, often find it difficult to shop for, plan, prepare and consume well-rounded, health-conscious meals regularly.
“It’s hard to try and cook for one,” fourth-year College student Abena Apraku said.
As part of her New Year’s resolution, Apraku said she enrolled in a physical education class and vowed to be more mindful of making healthy dietary choices. She said she feels that the healthy food options offered by the University’s dining halls and facilities such as Pavilion XI are often unappetizing.
Second-year College student Mohamed Amin echoed Apraku’s frustration. “I don’t have a car, I can’t grocery shop, so I rely on [University Dining Services],” he said. Amin added that students’ lifestyles contribute to poor nutritional decisions; often it is easier for students to grab something fast or to eat on the run.
Lisa Womack, Education School exercise physiology faculty member, said she thinks money is also a factor.
“Part of it is cost,” she said. “Students are trying to be conscious of how much money they spend. Going to the grocery store and buying fruits and veggies seems expensive.”
Fast food, she added, is much cheaper and requires less preparation time, making it even more convenient for the busy lifestyle of a college student. This temptation, Womack said, can be overcome by planning ahead and “just focusing on making healthy choices.”
Womack suggested keeping boxes of whole grain cereal on hand for a quick, easy snack that is also relatively healthy.
“Avoiding that 2 a.m. Little John’s run is huge,” Womack said. “People certainly don’t need another 800 calories right before going to bed.”
She again emphasized planning, suggesting that if students know they will be overeating a little on the weekend, they should make up for it by being more conscious of what they eat during the rest of the week.
“Another challenge is that so many social events center around food and alcohol, so students get a lot of extra calories on the weekend,” Womack said. Dining out in restaurants also can be dangerous because restaurant meals can usually be equated with “more fat and huge portions,” she added. To avoid over-consumption in social situations, Womack said she suggests “hav[ing] rules for yourself when you go in there. Once you start drinking and being social, you’ll pick up anything even if you’re not really hungry.”
Beyond the essentials of portion control and self-restraint, the health-minded eater should carefully monitor liquid calories.
“People don’t seem to recognize the calories they drink as much as the ones they eat,” Womack explained, citing carbonated, alcoholic and coffee drinks as being especially high in calories.
Being conscious of both calories consumed and calories burned is essential to maintaining a healthy weight, Womack said.
“The problem is people aren’t regularly exercising to the level that they need the kind of caloric intake they are getting,” she said. “I don’t think everyone realizes that it’s easy to consume 600 calories, but not so easy to burn it off.”
One essential change is decreasing fat intake, which can be achieved at first by cutting back on non-nutritious junk food, Womack noted.
“People need to understand [that] if they decrease fat, they will decrease calories, because fat has nine calories per gram, while proteins and carbohydrates have only four,” Womack said, also noting, “it’s not that you can’t ever eat the things you want, but [when] it comes to deciding what to eat, just ask yourself if it’s worth it to have it.”
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