1 chocolate brownie + 2 slices of cheese pizza + a bottle of cola + a packet of Lays to munch along = our idea of a delightful meal = nightmare for our body
This has been the age-old philosophical clash of being a college student and eating healthy. You expound a lot of excuses for your unhealthy choices. While many students are “too busy” to spare a thought towards their health, it doesn’t mean that fast food “grab n go” is the only alternative.
Going out to eat?
The next time you check out the menu at Zayca or Mic-Mac, instead of ordering foods submerged in oil, try some healthier options like a sandwich, rice or an Indian thali to abate your hunger. Relieve yourself of the sweltering heat and quench your thirst with yoghurt or chilled flavoured milk rather than your regular Pepsi. An evening walk to enjoy a fruit chat or a glass of mixed fruit juice is a healthy way to refresh yourself.
The classy restaurants or the zesty fast food joints tempt us away from the sober mess food or the college eateries. However, let’s try to limit our outings to a moderate number. If you really are on the lookout, you’ll always find tummy-pleasing and nutritious food items around us.
Habits worth keeping
Breakfast is the most crucial meal of the day, a fact probably stated for the umpteenth time. However late you may be for your morning class, try not to forgo the paranthas, omelette or that glass of milk. Any unhealthy substitute will only make for a grouchy start for the day.
Not to forget the area where you all falter- gorging on food at the wrong timings. The late night maggi noodles or the frequent snacking in between meals does satiate our hunger but it has deleterious effects on our health. So, you should avoid skipping meals to prevent untimely hogging on food.
Among all these diet regimes, the most convenient one is to drink plenty of water. By plenty, you mean a heck lot of it. Physicians recommend at least 8 glasses of water daily. This is a manageable feat if you mindfully keep it in practice.
Jog out the extra calories!
We have a sprawling 143 acre lush-green campus, let us make the most of it! Turning your body clocks more towards sanity, you can enjoy the bliss of nature during early morning walks or a jog around the campus. Whenever possible, walk down to the college instead of taking a rickshaw. And don’t crib about your class being on the third floor. It’s a blessing in disguise that shall contribute in keeping you fit.
College students like to think that they are the busiest people in the world. However occupied they might be in building their success stories, they should be reminded of the old adage “A successful person is one who is healthy, wealthy and wise”.
Why one shouldn’t diet!
Here is a huge misconception regarding skipping meals and dieting. Young people believe (especially girls) that skipping meals helps in reducing weight instantly, they won’t eat before an important occasion such as a farewell or an engagement where they have to wear sarees or the likes, but this is extremely unhealthy. It has been scientifically proven that if a person skips meals, it makes the human body think that there is a dearth of food in the environment and hence whenever one eats the next time, he/she tends to binge (eating excessively in short time duration). If dieting persists for a long time period, whatever little you eat, the body instantly converts that into fat which is visibly stored in your body. This is because the body is fooled by your dieting and it takes long term measures by storing whatever little it gets in the form of fat. Again if one manages to diet for a long period of time it is very easy to gain the weight back since the fat tissues in the body haven’t been eradicated, only fat is removed (think of them as fat lockers where fat has been removed but the space still exists). Thus dieting can never be helpful.
What is helpful, is exercising, which converts your fatty tissues into muscle (made up of protein); it makes your body lean and tight rather than rotund and sagging. You should have smaller portions of meals but more in number, like having 5 small meals instead of 2 huge meals, which most people in these busy times do. It provides body with necessary nutrients and increases metabolism which is helpful for reducing weight. Dieting on the other hand reduces metabolism which induces lethargy and lack of energy. Hence small but more number of meals in a day, following a healthy and complete diet coupled with regular exercise can easily make you lose weight.