The College Diet!

Coming home for the summer I have realized that I eat way worse here than I ever do at college. But maybe that's because my mom isn't coming home every day with more food. Well, I have also realized that though the story goes that you are supposed to gain weight when you go to college, I have actually lost weight while I was there. And that was big for me because no matter how much I would diet or work out in High School, I could never really lose more than a few pounds a year. Then there was also keeping it off. I thought maybe I could share what my plans are for being healthier when I go back to college this upcoming fall semester. Here are my tips for myself.

Eliminating Junk Food is my first action. I will buy pretzels instead of chips, lots of veggies and lots of fruits. And pretzels may not be the best choice, but compared to greasy chips, they are a good salty substitute.
Eating More Fish is the next thing. Fish are food, not friends. I have a acquired a taste for salmon. After 20 years, I finally like it grilled with some seasoning and lemon. It's odd; I have always loved sushi, but never really fish that was cooked. Weird I know. Anyway, fish is a really lean and good protein. And studies show that it's a food that can make you happy. I don't really know the science behind that but hey, why not?
A Lot More Salads will be a part of my diet. I have discovered the strawberry poppy seed salad at Panera. I love it so much. I literally could eat it every day. So I plan to buy the ingredients at school and make it myself and also eat more salad at unhealthier restaurants. I kind of can't wait.
Healthier Drinks need to make an appearance in my diet more. I may or may not have a diet coke addiction. Well though they say "Diet" and I love them, these kinds of drinks are actually really bad for you. I was dehydrated during the end of spring semester, as well as half of my summer because that was all I drank. I realized during finals week and it took me a long time to get back to normal. When I say healthy drinks I don't mean stuff like this, but green tea, water, Powerade/Gatorade, or even juice. Be careful though because a lot of sugar can exist in juice. Green tea helps your metabolism, water is most of your body, and the other are little pick me ups for either the morning or after a workout.
A Steady Work Out Plan must happen. Last semester I would get up at 6:00 A.M and go to the gym on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday. I always felt good after and it made me feel healthy. Well coming home for the summer, that just doesn't happen. I don't know if it's the time change or the lack of motivation, but I hope it doesn't follow me back to Auburn. I plan to reinstate this schedule to wake me up in the mornings and also feel good throughout the day. It also helps that I walk everywhere when I'm in Auburn.
Regular Eating Habits is the last thing I will say. I was so not on a good eating schedule. Sometimes I wouldn't have real meals and I would just eat snacks all day and say that counts. It doesn't! It is so important to eat three meals a day and even snack a little bit. Healthy snacks of course. Now even if you skip breakfast though I don't recommend that, and though I will probably do it, be sure to eat a really good lunch and dinner.

Really my biggest thing is to change my grocery list. Make the healthier choices for all of the food I like. Though I probably will keep something sweet around for rare occasions ;) The good part of college is you are responsible for your eating, so you can eat as healthy or unhealthy as you want. My roommate is really good about eating healthy and it makes me jealous because I have always noticed on my random health kicks, that I just feel all around better. I would be more energized and happier. I hope you have enjoyed my list, and if you haven't noticed by now, I love to make lists, even if I don't always follow them myself. Let me know if you have any more tips for me down below, and don't forget to follow Mooniemag on Instagram and like us on Facebook. Have a great day!