So there’s this really fun perception of nutrition students that we’re really healthy people who never eat shite food and are sports stars or do yoga at 7am or something. Well, unfortunately for us nutrition students we often don’t practice everything we are being taught in our lectures. I honestly think the nutritional science student is a prime example that just giving someone the right dietary information doesn’t mean that they’re going to suddenly throw out all their alcohol and junk food and start sprinting around the garden to get in a calorie deficit. When it comes to me and my peers a good chunk of us smoke fags on the regular, those of us in college accommodation drink at least twice a week and trust me we are not sticking to the recommended alcohol guidelines. We’re all broke bitches so you bet we’re eating fuck all during the day so we need to buy less alcohol to get drunk and then feeling starved at around 11 o clock and ordering take away. Just like three weeks ago, me and the nutrition gals ordered a takeaway I think five days out of seven so ya know, we aren’t the best.
When it comes to why a person eats in a certain way there are so many factors involved, but in this post I’m going to be focusing on the diet of college students and I’ll throw in a few tips and tricks to at least somewhat get some form of good nutrition.
Why College Students Have Such A Tragic Diet
- Mammy is no longer cooking dinner for us and if you haven’t done junior cert. home economics or haven’t been helping mammy make dinner in the kitchen then you’re fucked. No chance are you cooking a meal from scratch when you can’t even chop a carrot so you’re surviving on frozen ready made meals, takeaways, sandwiches and pot noodle (green pot noodle is the best. Fight me).
- We have like zero time to actually make meals most of the time. Granted in lockdown we’re at home more but still, between college work, chatting to roommates, drinking, acting the bollox, going for a stupid little daily walk and whatever else, cooking is often fairly low down on the list of priorities. There have been so many days where I’m like why would I make a proper dinner where I have to actually prepare stuff when I can just eat a pot noodle and like a carrot or some fruit??? Be grand like.
- Student accommodation provides literally the worst kitchen equipment. From my apartment alone our fridge and freezer were broken from day one, our oven door fell off about a month in, one of the rings on the hob doesn’t work and the hobs take a good ten minutes to heat up, our chopping knives wouldn’t cut butter, one of our frying pans had a massive dent in it, we had one teaspoon between five of us and we currently share a whisk with two other apartments. It’s kinda funny but it would well put you off actually cooking anything.
- College life in general just doesn’t promote healthy eating. Alcohol and healthy food obviously doesn’t go together. Have you ever woke up after a night of drinking and been like “damn I would kill for a smoothie bowl right now!”? I doubt it. Smoking suppresses your appetite so the avid smokers are likely to be low on a few nutrients. Stress is another huge factor, especially during this pandemic where lecturers don’t seem to realise that they’re giving many of us impossible workloads. For me personally, stress destroys my appetite and I can barely eat but for others they binge which promotes an unhealthy relationship with food. I’ve also known many people who barely eat during the day before a night out to look skinnier in pictures, which isn’t just a college student thing but is also a factor to be considered as there is a certain pressure there to “look your best” when surrounded by other young people.
Tips To Eating A Somewhat Healthy Diet
Let’s be real. We aren’t gonna stop drinking and smoking and eating convenience food but there are certain things we can do to ensure that we are meeting our nutrient requirements or at least getting close enough to them that we don’t develop scurvy or something.
- Try to eat three meals a day: I’m the worst for skipping breakfast because I tend to go to sleep at like 4am and get up at 12 and because of this I often only eat two meals a day in college which is really bad. I also have quite a small appetite anyway so this is definitely an issue with me. Ideally, it is recommended that a person eats three meals a day plus two or three snacks but I think in college this is often hard to do especially when you’re out and about a good bit. What can help here is making a big batch of meals like lasagne or stir fry or something simple like that and freezing it. Also I think having a knowledge of really quick and easy meals is very important.
- Have plenty of healthy snacks in the apartment. Some good examples are fruit, nuts, veggie sticks and hummus, rice cakes and peanut butter and popcorn. Fruit and veggies are high in many important vitamins and minerals like vitamin C for the immune system and calcium for bone health, nuts and nut butters are high in good fats important for brain and heart function, hummus is a good source of plant proteins and all of these options are great sources of fibre which can give you an energy boost. It’s better to snack on these kinds of foods as in comparison to things like crisps and chocolate, they’re lower in saturated and trans fats, sugar and salt and tend to be higher in essential vitamins and minerals. A good rule of thumb when picking snacks is that the more processed something is, the more nutrients are likely to be lost so it’s usually better to go for unprocessed options. I like to keep a bag of nuts on my desk to remind me to eat some grub while I’m studying and to give me a bit of an energy boost.
- Learn a few easy to make recipes like stir fries and spaghetti bolognase. Ask your mam for some cooking tips. learn how to properly chop some simple veg with variety like carrots, peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms and things like that that can be incorporated into so many different meals. Learn how to boil a spud, you’re Irish you’ve got this. Basically become skilled enough in the kitchen so you know how to make two or three basic meals, make like 3 servings once a week and that’s dinner sorted for three days. Simples.
- Opt for healthy-ish takeaways. Usually when me and the gals get takeaway, we get Ramen which is usually quite full up with veggies or sometimes we get falafel or burritos. Although these are likely still quite energy dense and salty, in comparison to McDonalds or something it is definitely healthier and much more rich in vitamins, minerals and fibre. As well as this swap fizzy drinks for water, choose smaller portions and maybe skip dessert if you can resist it.
- Take yo vitamins!! You’re a college student, you probably need them.
- Drink water. Lots of water. Drink it as soon as you wake up, with every meal, while you’re studying, before drinking alcohol, during drinking alcohol, after drinking alcohol, down that shit the morning after drinking alcohol. It’s so easy to become dehydrated so it’s important to make sure you drink lots of water regularly.
In conclusion young wans, don’t get too worked up if you’re finding it hard to eat healthy in college. We’re still learning how to be adults and it’s a turbulent ride in many aspects of our lives, including diet. I know myself when I’m at home I eat a lot healthier because my mam is minding me and cooking dinner for me and staring me down making sure I eat my greens but it’s a whole different story when suddenly you’re responsible for your own health (gasp!). We’ll get there in the end but for the moment it’s good enough to cultivate small good habits and just try your best!
NutritionWithMaidi 