Trust me, I know. Getting fit and healthy in college is HARD. Between all of the classes, assignments, student orgs, adulting tasks, and parties we have on our minds, it is easy to let our health take a back seat in our list of “to-dos”.

It is already difficult enough to drag ourselves out of bed for that 8am (or that 3:30pm discussion for that matter), without also having to worry about squeezing a workout in. And the first thing on our minds during that late-night cram session is not, “I could really go for some tea and broccoli right now”. More than likely, it is an overwhelming desire to stuff ourselves with caffeine and candy bars to keep ourselves awake long enough to remember the Earth’s five major biomes.

However, if you are anything like me, you have reached points where it’s 2am, you have just devoured an entire bag of chips, and you vow to yourself that you are starting a health kick (for the fourteenth time this semester). And while your intentions to finally get healthy may be pure and your determination seemingly unwavering, getting healthy in college is simply difficult.

But…. it is not impossible. What’s even more exciting, is once you commit to beginning a healthy lifestyle and making the necessary lifestyle changes, it can be a very rewarding and fun journey. Deciding to take care of and nourish your body can completely change your life and your relationship with yourself and with others. College is such a wonderful time to implement new healthy routines into your everyday life that will benefit you for years and years to come.

Getting fit and healthy is not an overnight process and, especially while in college, will require a great amount of patience, perseverance, and grace. Understanding that small steps are a huge feat when it comes to leading a healthy lifestyle can help keep you motivated through the ups and downs of this journey. Progress in this area of your life is far more important than perfection, for progress is far more sustainable than perfection- and the goal is sustainability. Forgiving yourself and starting fresh every morning with your health and fitness goals will promote a lifetime of growth.

Whether you are a fitness guru or are just beginning your transition to a healthy lifestyle, I wanted to share with you some of the healthy tips I follow as a college student striving to be the best, healthiest version of myself. I hope you find these tips helpful to achieving a more active, healthy lifestyle

Find a form of working out that you love, and get that workout in before class.

Who said that getting fit means having to run for a grueling hour on the treadmill or lifting weights until your arms go numb? Working out does not have to be this daunting, dreadful chore that is more than easy to make an excuse to miss. In fact, it shouldn’t be!

Getting and staying active comes in so many different forms and it is so important to discover a form of working out that you love. Doing so will keep you excited about staying fit and will be far more sustainable than forcing yourself to do something you hate every day.

Whatever your favorite way to work out is, whether it’s running, pilates, hula hooping, yoga, weight lifting, HIIT training, dancing, swimming, playing a sport, jumping on the trampoline, or trying something different every week, do THAT! It really is that simple.

Once you’ve done some soul-searching for the activity that makes you adore sweating, commit to spending at least thirty minutes to that activity first thing in the morning. Because, chances are, if you promise yourself each day that you will work out in the evening, you will often get too tired and unmotivated and the thought of plopping on your bed will be way too tempting.

Crushing your workout first thing in the morning will guarantee you get your sweat sesh in, boost your endorphins, and encourage you to make healthier decisions throughout the day. I promise you that once you make working out a part of your daily routine, it will gradually become easier and something you look forward to.

I am someone who loves to switch up their workouts every day, so I do a lot of running, HIIT workouts, and strength training. For almost all of my HIIT workouts and strength training, I get my inspiration from Pinterest and YouTube!

Pinterest: Pinterest is absolutely LOADED with amazing workouts for almost any body part or activity you could imagine. You can search for dumbbell workouts, no-equipment workouts, HIIT circuits, treadmill interval training, yoga moves, 20-minute workouts- anything under the sun, really. If you hate going to the gym because you have no idea what you are doing, Pinterest will be your best friend.

YouTube: You know how they say you can learn anything from YouTube? That includes how to workout! I credit YouTube workouts to being the starting avenue of my fitness journey. When I first decided I wanted to get fit, I had no gym membership, no equipment, and very limited time. Every morning before driving to my high school, I would do a 20-30 minute YouTube workout that would get my heart rate up and help me build strength using body weight exercises. As you try out different YouTube channels, you can discover which channels post workouts that align best with your fitness goals and which workouts you enjoy doing the most. To get you started, here are a few of my personal favorite YouTube channels.

• Blogilates
• Popsugar Fitness
• HASfit
• Fitness Blender
• XHIT Daily
• Millionaire Hoy

Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store for most of your grocery shopping.

This is such a simple, straight-forward hack to healthy grocery shopping! Understanding how to navigate the grocery store when trying to eat cleaner can get real complicated, real quick. Nowadays, so many packaged foods are deceivingly labeled “healthy” and “natural”, yet are loaded with sodium, sugar, and impossible-to-pronounce additives.

Sticking to the perimeter of the grocery store for most of your shopping ensures you are hitting the most wholesome sections of the grocery store including produce, dairy, and meat/seafood.

There are a select few aisles that I will venture into when grocery shopping, but I am always sure to have a predetermined plan to get exactly what I need. This way, I avoid falling into the trap of purchasing the pretty packaged “health” foods that line the many aisles.

The primary items I buy in the middle of the store are almond butter, paleo bread, lentil pasta, pasta sauce, oatmeal, canned beans, quinoa, spices, and packages of cocoa powder, chia seeds, and hemp seeds.

Chop all of your veggies and proteins at the beginning of the week and always have frozen veggies in your freezer.

This is something I only recently began doing and, let me tell ya, it works!!!

Taking an hour or so on a Sunday morning to wash, chop, and store all of your fresh veggies and protein in the fridge is a huge help in encouraging you to make healthy meals throughout the week.

In a more subtle way, opening the fridge and being able to see the ingredients in see-through containers inspires me to think of recipes that use as many of the ingredients as possible. Having the step of washing and chopping my veggies and proteins already done makes me much more likely to cook than to grab takeout or microwave a meal.

That being said, I am a huge believer in the wonders of microwavable veggies! I recommend buying an assortment of different frozen vegetables and fruit to store in your freezer for those days when you are just too tired or busy to sauté or bake a full-blown meal. Frozen vegetables are very nutrient dense and provide an easy way for you to get your green fix for the day.

When a microwaved meal is inevitable, I encourage you to find a way to keep your meal as wholesome as possible. My favorite microwaved meal is a baked sweet potato (wrap your sweet potato in a damp paper towel, puncture it several times, and microwave for six-seven minutes), topped with beans, microwaved veggies, and hummus.

Have a signature high protein breakfast.

Not to beat a dead horse, but breakfast really is the most important meal of the day! Not only are breakfast foods delicious, but eating breakfast curbs overeating and cravings throughout the day, promotes healthy weight, steadies blood sugar, fuels your body and mind- the list goes on.

If you are someone who does not have the time or energy to think up an elaborate breakfast each morning, I encourage you to create a “signature” breakfast that you look forward to eating every morning. When creating this breakfast, focus on using real, whole ingredients and keeping your breakfast high in protein. Choosing a high protein breakfast helps stabilize your blood sugar, build muscle, and keep you fuller for longer.

When I first wake up, I have a major sweet tooth, so my signature breakfast is yogurt topped with honey, mixed nuts, cocoa nibs, cinnamon, and blueberries. This is a super easy, quick, healthy recipe that I can quickly chow down before my first class. For my occasional savory breakfast, I opt for a two-egg omelet packed with spinach, tomatoes, and mushrooms.

Modify the menu.

Accepting your enrollment into university and signing your first lease might as well equate to signing up for four years eating out 24/7. As college students, it is pretty much inevitable that we will be ordering takeout or going out to lunch with friends every week.

At first, this can seem like a significant roadblock to getting in shape. Menu items are typically full of sodium-packed, greasy food, with the only “healthy” option being an unappetizing plate of lettuce. Unless…….

We get creative! I used to think that if I wanted to eat healthy while eating out, I had to stick strictly to the less-than-enthusing “healthy” options. However, a couple of years ago, I realized that there were certain ingredients I liked in a variety of different dishes that could all be used to modify a preexisting healthier dish.

For example, say you are faced with the sad idea of ordering the bland house salad at a restaurant- the one with only lettuce, tomatoes, and onions. Yet after sleuthing the menu for a few minutes, you see ingredients you like in a few of the other dishes- such as rice, black beans, and grilled chicken. Requesting these items be added to your house salad is usually accommodated and, though you may need to pay a little extra, can turn a bland house salad into a wonderful, filling, nourishing bowl.

Don’t be afraid to request some weird combinations as you deconstruct and construct your own meal while eating out- the worst thing anyone can say is no. Doing so will allow you to enjoy eating out with friends and help you stay on track with your health goals, all while preventing you from getting hangry with your limited menu options.

Carry healthy snacks on you at all times.

Running in between classes or pulling all nighters at the library can leave you wanting to quickly grab a snack from a vending machine or convenience store. And if you are hungry and pressed for time, it is easy to want to grab an unhealthy snack.

My first semester in college, I was notorious for grabbing a high-sugar, over-sized smoothie to keep me fueled in the middle of my hectic schedule. This never ending snacking dilemma can lead to making unhealthy choices and can quickly derail your healthy lifestyle if you allow it.

This is why it is so important to always carry healthy, delicious snacks with you to help you save money and stay healthy. My purse, backpack, and glove compartment are always equipped with dried fruit, nuts, or granola bars! I cannot recommend this enough, especially if you are a student with an extremely busy schedule.

Plan “active dates” with your friends.

Planning active dates with your friends is a fun way to incorporate more movement into your life! If you are looking to catch up with a friend you haven’t seen since before winter break, consider asking them if they want to walk and talk to a nearby smoothie place. If you and your friend need to study for a quiz, make flashcards and quiz one another while walking on your city’s local walking trail (performing light exercise while studying can even help you retain more of the information). Grab a group of friends and spend the weekend kayaking or hiking. There are so many fun ideas for active dates that can help you and your friends lead healthier lives.

Develop and prioritize a regular sleep schedule.

You may be rolling your eyes at this tip, and for good reason. As college students, we are told over and over again of the importance of getting those magic *eight hours*. Yet, realistically, we are busy people!!!!! It seems the only way to stay on top of classes is to stay up super late finishing homework and the only way to stay on top of our social lives is to attend events that don’t even start until 10pm. A regular sleep schedule may seem like an intangible dream that looms over our exhausting everyday lives.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t change the fact that getting enough sleep is an unavoidably critical part of maintaining your physical and mental health. I could drone on and on about the effects that lack of sleep has on our bodies and minds, but that would take forever, and you have probably already heard most of them.

If you really want to get serious about your health as a college student, sleep must become a priority.

Even if it is the night before an exam and I haven’t studied as much as i’d like, I always choose to go to bed early over staying up late to study. The occasional all-nighter or late night social event is fine, but regularly not getting enough sleep can wreak havoc on your body and undermine your other efforts to get healthy.

Transitioning to a healthy lifestyle as a college student can be difficult. But taking small steps every day to develop healthy habits is a great place to begin. Always remember that healthy living is a journey that calls for grace and patience with yourself. Simply focus on nourishing, appreciating, and taking care of your body, and allow the rest to fall into place.

Good luck and best wishes!

Love always,