Dieting with the College Caf
 

Hi all-

I found this on Google and liked the website. I am a college student in my early twenties and just now committing to a workout plan. I have been overweight since grade school and I am now doing something to change that. I am having a hard time working on a food plan. All of my meals are at the school cafeteria, and I have been sticking to low-fat salads and veggie sandwiches, but they are starting to get boring. Does anyone have advice on how to diet while in college? I would appreciate anyone's comments.

are you a vegetarian? Where are you getting your protein?

I'm not a vegetarian....it's just that any meat served in the cafeteria is really sketchy, but at home for breaks I eat meats except for red meat. I try to get protein in by adding kidney beans to my salads, and I know that I should have more protein in my diet. Any tips?

Eggs are a great source of protein (but they may look rancid the way your college caff does them :rofl: ). Also try snacking on cheese, babybels are good, and they come in light form.

Do you have a chiller in your room? You could keep healthy snacks in there that you can complement your salads with. Maybe buy some pre-packed cooked chicken to put in your salads, you could take it to the cafe with you...?

Hey there helomaa!

Well, when I was going to school I was commuting so I wasn't necessarily forced to eat out of the caf... thank god. As I recall there weren't really a ton of healthy options. One thing they did have though were pre-packaged salads similar to what you might see at Wendy's or Burger King. They came with a choice of grilled chicken or tuna salad. I used to get the tuna salad ones all of the time.

What I tended to do most often though, when I was stuck eating lunch there, was to make a meal out of various healthy snack foods. Most cafs have offer things like V8, yogurt, fruit & string cheese. I would also get not-so-healthy but not-so-bad-either things like the occasional soft pretzel, italian ice, or frozen fruit juice bar.

It sounds like you're already doing great in an very challenging situation! Congratulations and I hope you get some more suggestions about ways to add variety!

helomaa - Does your school have a grocery store where you can spend your student dining dollars? My school had that - we could purchase Lean Cuisines, fruit, milk, etc. instead of eating the hot food.

I know it's tough in college. You're constantly surrounded by not-so-healthy choices. Always keep healthy choices in your room so you won't be tempted to call in pizza when you're studying at 1:00am.

That's the best advice I have. Good luck!

Jocelyn :)