The 1880

There are more than a few warnings that everyone encounters on the adventure toward college. Parents, relatives, older siblings, the eavesdropping grocery store clerk—all of them are more than ready to inundate you with what you absolutely have to know while you’re away. How to do your laundry, how to stay awake for finals (don’t take any advice that involves putting anything up your nose), how to make friends. And things to avoid: procrastinating, overbooking yourself, majoring in philosophy, sketchy bars and sleeping with your TA—all worthy and helpful advice. But one thing we all hear of but are rarely advised about is the legendary Freshman Fifteen. Everyone knows what it is. Fifteen pounds or so packed on as the daily reminder of rushed lunches, late-night binges and fat-oil-starch soaked dining halls.

Regardless of whether you’ve already gained it, never will, or just don’t want to risk it, there are some basic, simple, and even delicious (unless you have a vegetable vendetta) ways to avoid buying a whole new wardrobe of pants. This isn’t a diet, it isn’t a daily meal plan, and it doesn’t involve much more than what you already have access to. The fact is, food is like karma. When you put good things into your body, your body does good things for you. The better you are to yourself, the more you’ll be rewarded. These rules are easy suggestions and modifications that will help you look better, feel energized, and avoid adding to the stress of your body. Keep these in mind, and you’re practically guaranteed to be getting your good-food karma.

1. Rainbows aren’t just for Gay Pride.
The best and easiest way to ensure you’re getting all your vitamins and minerals is to incorporate as many colors into your daily intake as possible. When you look at your sandwich, are there more than two colors on it? Aim for three or four by using vegetables. (Three varieties of cheese isn’t the best idea here). How about your cup of soup? Is it white cream and white potatoes, and two flecks of parsley? Try again. Different colors are produced by different vitamins, so the more color you eat, the more of your daily values you’ll be fulfilling. In addition, prettier food is scientifically proven (sort of) to be more satisfying.

2. Carbohydrates are not your enemy, but refined carbs are not your friend.
When it comes to carbohydrates, your body needs them to function. They provide most of the energy that your body uses to stay in motion. What isn’t good for you are simple carbohydrates: the kind you’d find in refined flour and bleached wheat products. The bran, or outer coating of the grain, is where you find the phytochemicals (antioxidant power!), the fiber, and B vitamins. The germ contains more vitamin power. Both of these are stripped in the refining process to produce plain white flour, and all that is left is the middle endosperm, which is nothing but carbs and a little protein. Plain white bread and white rice are common simple carbs. You can still eat these types, but try to fill most of your daily carbs with whole-grain products and a variety of sources, such as brown rice, oats, quinoa, barley, buckwheat, and sesame. Good carbs are also the kind you’ll find in more substantial fruits and vegetables, such as apples, potatoes, carrots, beets, bananas, and the like.

3. Think about what you’re adding to a perfectly healthy food.
Yes, potatoes are good for you, especially with the skin on (no points for French fries, unless in moderation). But when you load your baked potato with butter, sour cream, bacon, and cheddar, you’ve added hundreds of calories and dozens of grams of fat to an otherwise nutritious food. The same goes for a great salad with half a cup of creamy dressing. Try small portions of toppings, or low- and fat-free versions of your favorites. This way, you can enjoy the goodness of the flavor without sacrificing your health.

4. Everything in moderation, including moderation.
Deprivation doesn’t work; ask anyone who’s been on a crash diet. You’ll only drive yourself crazy with cravings and end up with a brain freeze on the couch after downing a half-gallon of Chunky Monkey in record time. You can still eat your favorite foods if you keep in mind frequency and portion control. Ice cream is okay if it’s not every night (or if it’s a small amount every day.) Don’t absolutely deny yourself your indulgences. Just indulge wisely. This also goes for portion sizes. Read the label. Seriously. You’d be surprised what ¾ of a cup of cereal actually looks like in a bowl. Chances are, your morning pour is closer to two cups, thanks to huge bowls and a restaurant mindset. Measure your foods once to get an eye for portions, and remember them. (For hard-to-measure meats or fishes, a serving is about the size of a deck of cards). And remember, even moderation must be moderated. Your lavish work party with the catered dinner? Go for it, and get seconds. There is always room for freedom if you take care of yourself the rest of the time.

5. Protein: Do not confuse yourself with a bodybuilder, Dr. Atkins, or a carnivore.
There are options. The protein world can be ambiguous. All protein? Soy protein? Shake Protein? Water Protein? (really, Special K?) Here are some basics: Protein is essential for your body to build lean tissue, i.e. muscle. It comes mainly from animals products, but good plant protein can be found in soy, nuts, and beans. Proteins are made up of 20 amino acids, 8 of which your body is not capable of producing on its own, which is why it’s important to get your daily amount. The easiest way to determine this is to divide your weight in half, then subtract ten. Most people get enough protein from their foods without worry. However, many students on meal plans like myself don’t like or trust the meat products that the college offers, so it can be a challenge. Remember though, that high-protein, no-carb diet isn’t sound either. Any diet that tells you to have six slices of bacon with breakfast but never bite into an apple is simply bad advice. A good general rule is to have at least one protein source at each meal, whether animal or plant based. For example, milk or soy milk with breakfast, turkey or chicken on your sandwich or salad at lunch, and tofu, chicken, or beef, etc. in your stir-fry at dinner. And don’t buy into the protein water—they taste terrible and are a poor source of protein anyway. They’re just expensive.

6. Get creative.
It can be tough not to slip into the easy, quick, and always tasty resorts that aren’t so good for you. Think pizza, chicken strips, Ramen, those god-damn waffle fries (I’m sure they put crack cocaine in them). Sure, they’re a safe bet to taste good and fill you up, but if you took a minute to get creative with your limited options, you’d have healthy resorts to all the bad stuff. Places like the dining hall are a plethora of food, and therefore combinations. It can be something as simple as tossing some tomato slices or julienne-d peppers on your bagel and cream cheese to creating an entirely new rice and veggie extravaganza. Here are a few ideas to jumpstart you: Mix cereals to create flavors and cut sugar (mix a low sugar with a high, like regular rice krispies with the cocoa kind). Put a ton of veggies on top of some spinach and get creative with your dressing, like mixing raspberry vinaigrette with honey mustard. Or experiment with salad toppings, like mandarin oranges or salsa. Get a small portion of plain noodles and top them with lots of ratatouille, which has a lot more veggies than marinara. Use egg beaters in your omelets and use equal amounts of veggies and turkey or tofu inside. Top a baked potato with bits of broccoli and a little cheddar cheese. Think about your favorite foods and find ways to combine them with healthy counterparts

7. Drink, drink, drink!
The last and final advice for you, and it doesn’t apply to Saturday nights. Often, when a body feels hungry, it will trigger a thirst reaction. Drink a tall glass of water before you eat to keep from overstuffing yourself. Another water factor is that the more water you drink, the less you retain. To avoid that puffy, bloated feeling that’s blamed on water retention, get at least eight glasses of water a day. Keep in mind, it doesn’t have to be water, as long as it is low calorie and water based, like coffee, tea, Vitamin Water, juice, etc. And lastly, make sure your drinks are sensible. Soda and high-sugar, corn-syrup based fruit juices are strictly empty calories. There is absolutely no nutritional value in them whatsoever, and chances are they are pushing more than two hundred calories. Again, think moderation.

There are plenty of resources out there that help you keep track of healthy eating habits without getting into a restrictive or costly diet plan. Websites like FitDay.com can create a personal profile to keep track of your nutrition and exercise on a daily basis, while factoring your body weight and lifestyle. Remember, it is much easier to keep the weight off than to take it off later, and someday, your health and heart will thank you.