Do you all remember college? Late night pizza, beer, chips, soda...ahhhhhhhh.
I blame my 20lbs entirely on college.
Lately I've been REAL busy (full course-load, 2 jobs, 2 committees, and a club) so all time I have for eating is to stop by the cafe and do a quick meal swap.
This has been my meals for this semester so far. I grab a sandwich (usually then slathered in mayo for taste), a half a cup of Coke for caffeine, and chips because they rarely have bananas. They usually have apples (which I dislike) and oranges (which are messy when on the go).
And I refuse to eat a salad because I need a sort of meat or I will be hungry and unfulfilled. And I dislike salad dressing of most any kind. Except Thousand Island..which is not very good for you anyways.
I've cut alcohol out though. Ouch.
:| What's a kid to do?
Even in the regular cafetaria all I get is a grilled chicken sandwich, pasta, pizza, or a burger. AND the cafetaria has ice cream.
I think most school cafeterias (at every level of school), in north america at least, tend to be a disaster waiting to happen. Most don't have many healthy options, and some have basically none (no wonder there is an obesity epidemic with kids here). The best thing to do would be to pack food for yourself ahead of time, that way you don't have to worry about trying to scrounge up something at the cafeteria, and an easy way to cut back (if you are not opposed to things artifically sweetened) would be to switch from regular coke to diet. Depending on how many you have throughout the day, you can save a lot right there. For example, if you have 2 cans (355ml) of coke throughout the day, and switch from regular to diet, you'd save 280 calories, providing that you don't think you can eat more because of this cut back (the most common fault of those switching to diet pop from regular). Also, not to nitpick, but slathering on mayo is no better than having salad dressing.
Basically, changing 3 things, i can see a way to cut out quite a few calories...
1. drink diet pop (assuming you don't already, and you didn't say you did)
2. try bringing your own snack to replace the chips, like good for you granola bars, or pre-packaged veggies (like those little packages of baby carrots etc)
3. Cut back on the mayo
I'm sorry, but if you want to really cut back, it's going to take a bit more work, and you'll probably have to bring your own lunch.
Last edited by isthatreallyme; 10-20-2006 at 06:15 AM.
Why not just buy some bananas at the store? Bananas are pretty cheap. I bought 9 bananas for $1.71 last week. Also, why not just skip the chips and have a sandwich and the banana for lunch?
Also, maybe try mustard instead of mayo to save a lot of calories.
Consider taking that grilled chicken breast out of the sandwich and eating it with a side of veggies and a healthy starch like rice if available. You could also have chicken, lots of veggies, and one of you bananas for dessert.
I agree with Isthisreallyme.... I can certainly relate to a schedule like that, but it does take some effort to eat better. I can say that for me, "bagged" things have saved me at times. I know you said you dislike salad because it leaves you "unfulfilled", but if I need something heartier I throw some precooked chicken breast strips in it (in the lunch meat section usually). I'm also a big believer in bagged/precut fruits and veggies and low fat string cheese, etc... Also, I'm not a food journaler, but with a busy schedule like that, some planning is necessary to eat better. I don't eat on the run and have learned the hard way that if I don't plan ahead, then I'm one hungry girl when I get home. When I'm really busy or just feeling lazy I will put together a stew or goulash (sp?) on sunday nights because I'm just looking for a hot meal I know I will like and will be good for me.
I don't know if you are living on campus or not, but when I was on campus, I just couldn't tolerate the cafeteria food for very long (it was poor quality as well). By the end of the semester I would still have a few hundred bucks left on my card. You could make small changes and see if that makes a difference- switching to diet and replacing the chips with something better would save you a few hundred calories a day.
After spending the past five years living and eating in a college dorm I can compelete understand we you are coming from. Like you I was super busy when I was an undergrad attending 18 credit hours and working 40+ hours a week. I normally managed to find time for dinner but after my second year (when I started getting really busy) I realized I actually had to schedule at least 30 minutes in every day for lunch. Otherwise I would just eat junk food all day. Here is my list of things you could probable do:
* Schedule meals in the real cafeteria in rather then eating on the go.
* Cut the Mayo off the sandwich, try and switching to other condiments such as mustard (even if you have to add it yourself), hummus, miracle whip, lite miracle whip, light mayo, low fat ranch (I know you said you don’t like salad dressing but sometimes if you try it on something then it taste better.
* Can you get different types of bread this might help improve the flavor of the sandwich and lessen the need for Mayo or use a low fat/ calorie bread?
* Soda – switch to diet (this was the hardest thing for me. When I switched to diet I started with mixing it with regular pop then slowly changed it so there was more diet coke then coke in it and eventually the coke was gone. If you want the caffeine coffee or black tea actually have more and have few to no calories if you don’t add anything too it.
* When you are refering to a half glass of soda how big of a glass there is a huge difference from half of a 4 oz glass and half of a 32 oz glass. If you do not want to switch to diet pop can you decrease the portion size?
* Opt for fruit as the side dish rather then chips. I know you said you don’t like apples or oranges can you bring your own? Or can you suggest to the cafeteria manager that they get bananas? Most of the time they welcome these types of suggestions. If you are going with chips do they have a variety? Can you get pretzels or baked chips?
* Can you substitute a salad as a side dish to your sandwich or in place of your fries? What about veggie strips and hummus or reduce fat ranch?
* I know you said you don’t want to eat salad because you want meat so that you are full have you tried getting a salad then adding either deli meat to it or cutting up your hamburger or chicken and putting it inside the salad and then if you don’t want to use dressing some lemon, salt, and pepper?
* Or you could add beans (Black beans, chick peas, kidney beans) and egg to a salad both have protein and beans are great sources of fiber so make you fill full.
* Rather then eating the chicken patty/hamburger/chicken sandwich on the bun can you put it on low calorie bread or eat it without a bun. I the last two years I was an undergrad I stopped eating the bun because they only had white bread ones and those are empty calories.
* The BIGGEST two things that I know now that I wish I would have done then is avoid fried food and learn portion sizes.
My last suggestion would be if you are finding that our suggestions do not work with your cafeteria then either, one, go talk to the food service managers and discuss why what they are providing does not fit your needs. I got to know the ones at my school really well and I learned that welcome suggestions from the students on ways to serve you better and are often willing to bend over backwards to help you out. Second if they will not work with then can you opt to decrease your meal plan and make food in your apartment/ dorm? I’m not talking making dinner in their but buying light bread, condiments and fruit to have for lunch.
I have 2 BA s, a specialization, and am a first year law student. I have found the hardest thing I have tried to battle is changing my eating habits and becoming healthy. It is a constant battle so you just have to try and make the best decisions you can even though they might not be what you want to make.
Oh I forgot to put that I still haven't cut out alcohol compeletly just mostly. When I do drink I limit them amount to one or two drinks and try and have either light beer (bud select is actually pretty good) or get whisky and diet coke or rum and diet coke. That way you are only getting all the extra alcohol calories and not the extra soda calories. The whisky will mask the diet pop flavor.
Thanks for the great replies!! I've been a bit caught up in exams (bleh), but I did skim the replies before and tried some of your tips (which are great!).
First, it's really hard for me to do anything about my meal plan because I have to be on a certain one for these two years. This is why I really hesitate on buying ANYTHING outside 'cause my meal plan is already horribly expensive.
For the past two days, I've been drinking water instead of soda. Sigh. It was very hard. Would Nestle's Ice Tea be good subsitute? If not, I might have to try and stomach Powerade 'cause I'll die if I just drink water. :[ It's probably tap, too.
I have not gone near mayo. :]
It was soooooo hard tonight to find a good meal. I ended up with a grilled chicken on a roll with tomatoes, lettuce, and onions. And a salad (I triiied) with some ham and this miso salad dressing. I ended up picking at it, and now (5 hours later) I am STARVING. :[
Some days I know I do eat, but I end up being so hungry. Why? :[[ That chicken sandwich should have filled me up. And I had a teeny cup of ice cream and milk.
i feel your pain. Healthy options are few and far between on a college campuses but its totally doable. I understand the need for caffeine, but make sure and drink lots of water. Just eat the sandwich, dont eat chips too. Also, i know between school and homework, time is non-existent but try and get at least a 3 minute run/walk in. It will make you feel better and you will ultimately be more productive. Good luck, its hard. If you arent drinking though, it should be a lot easier. I think my problem is i was hungover a lot in college and that was the start of my downward spiral of my freshman 15.
I never expect a meal to hold me 5 hours!! I eat every 2-4 hours. So maybe you're hungry because you need more food!
Sounds like you're trying! Do what you can. As one of the posters said, we all need to find ways to meet these challenges throughout life. I wish I had started trying sooner!
5 hours between meals is way too long. You are trying and that's great. Water is still the best beverage you can drink. You can learn to like anything, like having a salad instead of chips. I think my health is worth more than any meal plan so if I had to spend a little more to get what I needed, I'd cut the alcohol and buy it.
I know other people have said this but I try not to go 5 hours without eating. I find I am starving and tend to binge. (I did this a lot as an undergrad and have now learned my lesson). I normally get up around 9 and have light breakfast around 10 (I'm a law student so I don't have to get up early for a job), then I split my lunch into two meals I have my sandwich at 12:30 then I have my veggie stickes or other side at 1:45, then I have dinner between 5-6, and have a snack around 8 or 9 (normally a piece of fruit). I find eating like this helps to keep my blood sugar stablized and control my cravings.
Quick College Meals
Do you all remember college? Late night pizza, beer, chips, soda...ahhhhhhhh.
