By Ryan Libby |Staff Writer|
Surely healthy eating habits can be hard to maintain, especially for college students, so are diets the best option?
When most people think about losing weight they think about going on a diet however, that does not have to be the case.
Professor Dr. Dorthy Chen Maynard talks about changing one’s lifestyle as opposed to thinking of their weight loss mission as a diet.
“Eat anything you want, but stop eating when you’re satisfied,” said Chen Maynard.
What one can do is when they attend a restaurant grab a to-go box first and take half of the food away and save the other half for later. Spacing your meals and eating smaller portions throughout the day is better than binge eating.
A person will also want to balance the amount of food they eat with the amount of activity they do.
“I try to at least get to the gym or at least get to the soccer field and train or get on the track and run,” said student Nick Harb when asked about his healthy lifestyle.
“I find that working out keeps me focused even at school and it makes me feel better about myself so the more I workout the more confident I am,” said Harb.
One trick is to create an illusion with your portions. Often the bigger the plate is, the more food that someone is more likely to put on it. Having a smaller plate will trick the mind into thinking that you are eating more.
Rather than going out to eat, buy your food at the grocery store. It may sound expensive, but the cost might actually be the same. This will also give you complete control of what’s in your food, which will ultimately help you make healthier choices.
“This is where one will need to [question] if you’re going to start eating out, that’s where the cost is,” said Chen Maynard.
“You save a lot of money in the long run [making food yourself] because if you go out to eat 40 percent of that [spending] is food cost and the rest of that is all expenses related to salary and all the other expenses.”
CSUSB men’s soccer mid-fielder Ricky Prouty shops for his own food weekly to help him save money for other costs such as paying rent.
“I try to eat vegetables, as an athlete or as anybody or as a 20-year-old, I probably don’t eat as well as I should, but I do take vitamins,” said Prouty.
Some students suggested that if you do go out to eat, subtract the soda for a glass of water.
Or instead of eating in the Santos Manuel Student Union, which is surrounded by unhealthy food choices, try to eat in the Commons where there are more healthy choices available.
“I do not touch the SU as far as the Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, the WOW, the Denny’s,” said student Krystal Rodriguez. “Because it’s fattening.”
You might also want to try the Coyote Produce Stand which offers a variety of fruit and fresh squeezed orange juice and is on campus every Thursday.
Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is not easy, but with a little help and motivation one will see the pounds melt within a matter of time.
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