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16
March 8, 2012
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Making healthier choices while living in the dorms SHYAM NOOREDEEN Staff Writer For many college students, living on campus seems like the perfect idea—no parents, no rules and an abundant amount of independence. With this new found freedom, however, new challenges arise. According to Freshman15.com, many college freshmen are bound to gain approximately 15 pounds during their first semester. Certainly, the lack of exercise, late night eating, consuming unhealthy snacks and drinking are just some of the reasons why freshman are likely to gain weight. This problem does not just affect college freshmen. In fact, gaining weight during your first year of college may have a subsequent effect on the next three years unless drastic measures are taken. Many college students find it hard to watch what they eat when countless options are made available to them. With the obesity rate in the U.S. on the rise, more companies are releasing
healthier alternatives to popular products. For instance, many companies are looking into whole wheat and fat-free substitutions. Though many colleges and universities haven’t made the adjustment just yet, T.V. personality and chef Rachael Ray and many others are speaking out. “The reason I believe college students have a hard time staying healthy is because of the food offered in the cafeteria,” junior Alireza Vaziri said. “A lot of the options are not healthy and the healthy options get boring after a while. The variety of foods offered to the students is a huge complaint. The cafeteria could do very simple things like offering whole wheat pasta instead of regular pasta.” Furthermore, many nutritionists suggest balancing one’s diet with more fruits and vegetables or perhaps becoming vegetarian. Conversely, it’s evident that the vegetarian option at most college and universities are very limited. Therefore, to get to the bottom of the problem, one needs to simply watch what he or she eats.
APPLE CRISP
QUICK TIPS
EAT BREAKFAST. Most college students tend to miss breakfast because they often over sleep or merely skip it. However, nutritionists say that skipping breakfast affects how much fat your body stores because it thinks you’re fasting. When you skip breakfast you’re likely to get hungry and may end up grabbing unhealthy snacks. Perfect breakfast options are yogurt, milk, fiber (apples and grains). HEALTHY SNACKS. Instead of stocking up on cookies and chips, try keeping fruits and vegetables on hand. Both often become tough to keep over-time, so it’s acceptable to buy canned fruits, but be sure that its 100 percent juice and not syrup. Canned corn, beans and other canned vegetables are great alternatives as well. Keeping soup in your dorm is a great idea. However, the soup in today’s market tends to be loaded with sodium and unnecessary fats, so try the light or fat-free options. Granola bars, protein bars, yogurt, instant oats and nuts are also great alterntives to unhealthy snacks. WATER. It is recommended that all adults consume at least eight cups of water a day. Many of us often turn to soda, coffee and other beverages and unconsciously skip water. LATE NIGHT EATING. Often you’re up late studying and may become hungry, so you grab a bag of chips or cookies and before you know it, it’s all gone and you end up falling asleep. Surprisingly, this is the number one reason why you’re more likely to gain weight because you’re not burning the energy from the snack you just consumed. If you absolutely have to snack late, try some of the options listed above for healthy options SLEEP. It’s recommended that we all should have approximately 8 hours of sleep at night—no less, no more. Some researchers say that those who sleep less than 8 hours are likely to wake up feeling tired so they turn to unhealthy snacks to elevate their energy.
YOGURT PARFAIT 4 ½ ¼
TABLESPOON OATS CUP NON-FAT YOGURT CUP OF FRUITS (YOUR CHOICE)
MIX ALL THE INGREDIENTS AND ENJOY! 1 1 – 2 ½ ¼
LARGE MCINTOSH APPLE SLICES TEA SWEETENER TEASPOON OF CINNAMON CUP OF OATS
SOAK THE CUP OF OATS IN WATER FOR 5 MINUTES THEN SQUEEZE DRY MIX THE CINNAMON, TEA SWEETENER, AND SOAKED OATS PLACE THE APPLES IN A BOWL AND SPRINKLE MIX OVER APPLES MICROWAVE OR TOAST FOR 3 – 5 MINUTES *keeping an eye not to burn the oats