College is, without a doubt, one of the most exciting times of your life.
New friends, new places, and new ways of thinking. You’re exposed to an entirely different way of life and it can be a bit overwhelming at first as you try to settle into your niche and start discovering who you are, all the while trying to keep up with school work and friends. Trust me, I’ve been there!
College is one of the biggest balancing acts you’ll ever go through and there are a bunch of different aspects that I could write pages and pages on, but today, I’m going to talk about health.
While we all are different, here are some of the things I’ve picked up during my time in college in terms of maintaining my own personal version of health:
1. Take a health/nutritional science class.
Most of us entering college are vulnerable when it comes to our self-confidence and knowledge of the world. I’d say the majority of the time we’re only exposed to one misleading face of health: thinness. It splatters the covers of magazines we see at the grocery store and subtly screams at us from actors in movies. We’re groomed and conditioned to associate a smaller body with health and fitness and beauty and being loved and sought after and NO.
Stop this way of thinking!
Open up your mind to the fact that health is so much more than your weight. You need to dissociate the two words of “skinny” and health from each other. Throw them from your mind and feel how liberating it is! Health classes give you a more holistic view of health and learning about things such as vitamins, cholesterol, bone density, mental well-being, and how the small things work together to bring about your definition of “health”. For me, taking a nutritional science class my freshman year helped keep me from falling into the trap of focusing on thinness as the main indicator of health and becoming obsessed with the pursuit of it,
2. Surround yourself with positive people who don’t judge or belittle you.
Don’t put up with people who don’t love you just the way you are. We all know those people who make you feel shitty about yourself, whether it be based on your body image, intelligence, religious views, etc. You don’t have time for them! Surround yourself with people who don’t put you down and who you genuinely like. College isn’t like high school. You aren’t trapped in a small bubble and friend group. When you get to college, you’re going to be surrounded by wonderful people who will become your best friends. My friend Kelty is a great example of this. She’s an absolute gem and I could go on and on about her fantastic qualities. Since I’m trying to keep it short, feel free to check out the guest post she did for me called “Never Merely Pretty”. You’ll instantly see what I mean. Love you, Kelt!
3. Find a workout body.
Working out doesn’t have to be a drag. Find a workout buddy and go explore new trails, play a sport, hit up the gym, etc. Have fun with it and start incorporating exercise with your daily life in an enjoyable way!
4. Don’t be intimidated to lift weights.
Friends. TRUST ME. No one cares if you’re sweaty and lifting heavy things.
I know a lot of girls get self-conscious when they’re in the weight room with big beefy guys who have muscles the size of friggin’ King Kong, but in all honestly, they probably don’t care if your hair is up in a messy ponytail or that you’re face is red from the badass cardio you just did. They’re too intent on their workout to notice you and don’t think anything of it. I’ve bench pressed/spotted with my enourmous 6’4 rowing friend, Ryan, before and no one even batted an eye, nor did he feel like it was weird. I repeat, NO ONE CARES.
Lifting weights in no way make you more “manly” or less feminine and it’s essential in helping you maintain a healthy bone density and improving your quality of life now and in the future. Go lift!
5. Fill up your dorm room/kitchen with healthy snacks!
Personally, I have a very out of sight, out of mind view when it comes to food. If I have healthy snack options surrounding me, I automatically go for them instead of stuffing my face with potato chips every night while I study. Here are some of my favorite snack foods:
6. Finally, health isn’t an all-or-nothing thing.
Yes, I exercise and eat right, but there are plenty of times where I don’t. Late night pizza with friends and eating straight out of pints of ice cream while watching Netflix occur regularly for me. I don’t workout when my body is tired and oftentimes, I skip the gym in favor of going out dancing and partying with my friends. It’s part of my college experience and I wouldn’t trade those times for the world. Your mental health and happiness is just as essential, if not more, than your physical health. Take care of yourself, but don’t restrict or confine yourself from living.
So there ya have it! Some quick and dirty tips that have made all the difference for me. Hope your week is going splendidly, loves!
Christine
Nicely done, Christine! I struggled with finding my way to a healthier lifestyle and way of thinking in college, so these I would all HIGHLY recommend. Skinny does not equate healthy. Amen!
Thanks Kaylin! I think the mental aspect of health is just as important as the physical parts of it. Finally understanding that skinny doesn’t equal healthy was a BIG realization for me!
Great tips, Christine! I think the biggest fail that college students make is loading their room up with unhealthy snacks or giving into those late night treats. Unless the person has control, that one late night treat can lead to two… then three & then four. Soon enough their wondering how in the world they’ve gained weight.
Great tips! I have found all of those to be true in my college experience! I would also recommend taking a physical education course. I took a weight lifting class last semester so it was nice to learn how to use all the machines and have scheduled time at the gym!
Right?! I think it’s so beneficial to have a more encompassing view about health! I’ve actually been considering taking a weightlifting class- I think it would be helpful to learn some new exercises and branch out :).
great tips! and great reminder!
i love lifting weights !!
You know how much I love this! And you are SO so right about everything, but especially the lifting. I honestly feel bad for the girls slaving away on the elliptical while I’m out there squatting. I’m pretty good at having healthy options in my room, but I also apparently rock at having some not-so-healthy ones, which I’ve been choosing more often than not. 😉 How long can I use the excuse that I ran 10K on Sunday? LOL.
Amazing post Christine!!
Lifting has honestly made all the difference for me in terms of my body image! It’s empowering and so much more entertaining than just doing mindless cardio haha. I think that 10k excuse can last at least a few more days ;).
what great tips! you’re so right — keep healthy snacks around so you’re not tempted to hit up sonic 😛
I mean, it is pretty difficult to resist Sonic haha! Having healthy things readily available take out some of the struggle, though ;).
“2. Surround yourself with positive people who don’t judge or belittle you.”
I have a friend from childhood (since grade 5, so like 10 + years), and she was my BFFF until grade 12 of high school. I’m in fourth year university now, and I realize now that she would make me lose my self confidence. We go to different universities but I always felt obligated to keep in touch with her since we have so many childhood memories, and we were so close for so long. Should I slowly distance myself away from her since she makes me feel not so great about myself when I’m around her? But at the same time I feel like I would be losing a part of my past if I did that.
Hi Angela!
First off, I think it’s wonderful that you’re acknowledging that there was a problem with your relationship. It points to self-awareness and is a great indicator that you value your self-worth and realize that it is NOT okay for anyone to put you down or make you lose self confidence. While I understand how hard it can be to distance yourself from such an integral part of your past, it sounds like it may be worth reevaluating whether or not holding on to the past will benefit you. I actually am really close friends/living with a girl who is EXACTLY in your situation. She came to college and realized when she made friends here that one of her best friends from back home mistreated her and that their relationship was not that healthy. For her, she found that slowly distancing herself and putting less time into that relationship, while still being cordial to the girl has been the best route for her. She’s decided to not invest her emotional energy into the girl, instead she builds relationships with her friends that treat her right. There doesn’t need to be a dramatic cut off from the relationship and it doesn’t mean that you need to lose the good memories you’ve had with this girl, but it might be good to consider how the relationship has been affecting you. In the end, the decision is completely yours and it sounds like you have a great head on your shoulders. Trust in your decision and yourself!
Just found your site and I’m obsessed, even though I’m living in Thailand at the moment with no kitchen to try out your lovely recipes, haha. This post is so great though, and I’m going to forward it to some of my younger cousins right now
I’m SO jealous of you! Take me to Thailand lol! I’ve always wanted to go (so I can eat pad thai all day, obviously), but growing up, my family traveled Europe mostly. Thanks so much for passing it on! I hope it helps them!
Great tips Christine! I just recently started lifting weights again and I feel so much stronger and better when I do. By the way just took your Baked Chocolate Chip Cookie out of the oven and hubby and I currently devouring it! Perfect for this chilly morning!
Doesn’t it feel SO great when you lift? So empowering :). Ohhh I’m jealous! Wish I had a slice in front of me right now :). So glad you guys liked it!
I bought a toaster oven and hid it under my bed and cooked food in it! I had frozen fish in my mini freezer, lol! In fact, I also bought an extra mini fridge so I could convert one of them (because the dorm room came with one) into a freezer! LOL!
Oh my, Christine Skari, you have been a major game changer in my life! About a year ago I decided I wanted to learn how to cook before I leave for college. Now I am a senior at West High School finishing college apps and I still haven’t learned much. Well actually my dad taught me how to make smoothies if that counts. My mom never really learned how to cook; she usually just buys pre-made foods, which are good don’t get me wrong. I just want to cook and eat healthy. Anyways, as the eager young learner that I am I quickly surfed through the internet finding different recipes. Somehow I landed on your blog and read through your recipes and love them. Thanks so much for setting up this site and I appreciate your numerous health tips. Students have warned me about Freshmen 15
but your site really comes in handy.
Hahaha this was just the sweetest comment! Definitely brought a smile to my face :). I think you’ll find that cooking is really not as hard as you think. I know it can be intimidating at first, but once you get the basics down (cracking eggs, boiling pasta, etc), everything stems form that and you can follow most recipes pretty easily! Feel free to email me at christineskari@gmail.com if you want me to recommend some starter recipes or have any questions! I would be happy to help!
What colleges have you applied to :)?