Three Tips to Eat Health as a Busy Student - Yiwei Yin

Three Tips to Eat Healthy as a Busy Student

By Yiwei Yin

Many new students sneeze at the weight gain rumor at the very beginning of their college lives. However, the “freshman 15”, which refers to the approximate 15 pounds’ weight gain after students’ first year of college, turns out to be a real situation that almost everyone has to face. Healthy eating habits are important especially for international students, who may need dietary habits change when they move to a brand new country. Here are three tips to help you find a balance between busy school life and healthy eating habits.

1. Cook for yourself

If you have a kitchen in your apartment, you could stay with your traditional eating habits when you cook for yourself. Raw material for cooking could be accessed easily in Ann Arbor. Big supermarkets like Kroger and Meijer provide tremendous food choices as well as daily necessities for their customers. Food markets like whole food, trader joes and plum market are also excellent places if you are looking for fresh vegetables and meat nearby. On Saturday, you could also visit the farmers market in Kerrytown, a place near central campus, to buy the local fresh product directly from Farmers with reasonable price. Ann Arbor also has featured supermarket if you have special needs, like Chinese supermarket (Way one) near north campus, Indiana supermarket(OM market) near north campus and Korean supermarket(Manna International Foods & Gifts) between north campus and central campus. Don’t forget to ask your mom for the easy cooking recipes before you go to the airport and you could also find recipes on google!

If you do not have a kitchen or live in the dorm, don’t worry! Small household applicants could help you. You could use the microwave to cook frozen vegetables and meat , a small refrigerator is enough to store your food. Rice cooker is also useful if you want extra carbohydrate. Do not let frozen pizza and meal plan to fill your life just because of you do not have a real kitchen！

2. Count your calories intake and survive through meal plan    

When you find yourself stuck on the meal plan. It does not mean that you could not live on the healthy lifestyle. Every dish would have a label indicates the calories contained in the food. Normally, a male needs 2200-3000 calories per day, while a female needs 1800-2800 calories depended on his/hers daily activity. Separate it into your three meals and you could also rely on salad and fruit bar for more vitamins and fiber. Have ice water rather than soft drink would be a great way for you to become hydrated and healthy. Also, do not hesitate to ask servers for the partial item to get rid of food with high fat and calories, servers are really friendly and always ready to help!

3. Cut the calories down when extra food is necessary

Students become nervous when they are under high-intensity school work.  Eating is a great way for people to release the pressure. When you have to eat during late night study, choose your snacks wisely would help you to stay healthy. You could always find low calories food on the market, Diet Coke and low-fat potato chips would be a better option than normal snacks and you could order pizza with half cheese and bacon. You could also purchase healthy snacks like fruit and yogurt in advance. Also, you could ask for half sugar and low-fat milk when you order coffee. With these methods, you could enjoy your favorite food and eat healthily!