Does anybody have some neat tricks to help me out. I have always been someone who likes to have larger portions of healthier foods...but its hard to do that in the dorm with such few options..all of which are unhealthy

Do you have a fridge in your dorm room? Any way to buy fruits/veggies to have on hand for snacks? Might not solve the "meal time" problems, but could help curb other things.

I was very successful losing weight my first year of college when I was in a dorm... I would always eat at the dining commons. Is that where you eat? I mean, for breakfast I would have a bowl of high fiber cereal (usually Raisin Bran) with skim milk. For lunch I would make a nice big salad at the salad bar, and for dinner I would eat whatever meal choice I wanted, just in smaller portions. Also, after lunch I would steal an apple every day and bring it up to my room and put it in the fridge and snack on it around 3:00. I lost 10 lbs in a couple months eating that way. I actually think in the end I was eating less than 1200 calories (bad) which is why I gained back the weight so quickly. But, it is certainly possible to eat healthy while living in the dorms. The hardest part is avoiding alcohol (lots of empty calories) and avoiding the dessert table in the dining common. Also, if you all have a pizza night (I know it's common) you can just try to limit yourself to pizza once a month.

When I went to college, I actually lost weight while living in the dorms and eating dorm food(and then gained weight when I moved out). I wasn't even trying to lose weight.

Are there salad bars? Are there sandwich bars? I remember eating a lot of sandwiches in college. I'd also eat some of the cooked items but in smaller portions.

Do you have your own fridge? You can store some healthy options in there.

Basically, I'd try to maximize your fruits and veggies, minimize the fat loaded and sugary items.

Also, try to get in exercise where you can. I walked a lot in college which helped but also you probably have access to a gym as well as other things such as a track? possibly swimming pool?

Yes, salad bars! I would KILL to have a salad bar like they used to have in my dining commons. Mmmm, giant salad bar.

There are likely other healthy choices too, depending on what your food service folks provide. We had a stir-fry station and you could ask them to steam with water instead of using oil to prevent sticking...you loaded up a bowl with veggies and meat and it was cooked to order.

Of course we also had bad choices (including the ever-present hamburger/cheeseburger/grilled cheese/fries station and some truly atrocious hot foods).

Your campus probably has a nutritionist or provides nutritional information - have you asked?

And don't forget, most colleges also have a gym with easy, free or low-cost access for students. When you get older and have to pay for a gym, you'll MISS this, so use it now!

I love the tips, guys. I hope DD is able to keep from gaining the freshman 15 next year when she goes to college. The school she has decided on doesn't have a meal program. If she gets into the dorms she'll have to shop and cook for herself. If she doesn't get into the dorms, she'll have to do the same in an off-campus apartment. Had she chosen her 2nd choice school she'd have a really, really nice cafeteria with lots of really healthy-looking dishes to choose from.

Thank you all so much! I will look into that cooker grill and see if it will work for me. We have a salad bar, which I take my own Wishbone spritzers with me instead of their unhealthy dressings...I drank a lot first semester which I think was my biggest problem, but I hardly drink anymore because I noticed that beer belly developing way to fast! ha!

i think my biggest difficulty is 1) avoiding the desserts 2) i get tired of the salads and want something else but there are really no other options

as far as snacks go, I do have a fridge and i store some clementines and low fat yogurt for snacks...i think its the actual meals that are getting to me

My son lives in the dorm. How often do you go home? When he comes home I cook a whole big batch of lean proteins like turkey breast, chicken breast, bison steaks. I marinate them all different ways, jerk, barbacue, etc.
I put them in freezer bags with the date on them and he uses his microwave to heat them up. He has some fresh fruit with it he doesn't like veggies much. That might be an option.

well i dont go home very often, but that sounds like an awesome idea! plus, can't i cook them at home and then freeze them here and then reheat it when necessary? not the most appetizing idea, but sound like it might work...if you can do that? like cook something and then freeze it?

sorry im not the most knowledgable on cooking

Yeah, you can do that. You need some good freezer-quality zipper bags, and you'd also need an insulated cooler that you could put your frozen foods in, so they didn't thaw too much on your way back from home.

Jay

okay thanks!