Janelle Patterson
jp004@marietta.edu
Eating well at Gilman dining hall has its own challenges; students are faced with the all-you-can-eat pizza bar, unlimited cereal, and a myriad of desserts. With so many unhealthy choices at their fingertips, the ease in which students can fall into the trap of grease, sugar, and bad habits is not hard to understand.
For the first time in their lives, Marietta College students are faced with making their own decisions with regards to diet, exercise, and sleep, and are surrounded by salty snacks and cartons of sweets that are just a card swipe away. Plus, the options and times of availability make healthy choices sometimes hard to come by.
But college is also the place where students have the opportunity to exercise their freedom. They begin to establish their own schedules, eating patterns, and accountability to a healthy lifestyle. Habits built in college can set students up for a lifelong commitment to their personal health and can be the perfect arena to break bad habits.
Keeping these challenges in mind, the following are five tips to improve your dorm-dwelling diet.
1. Establish a routine.
With a set class schedule, students are challenged with ordering their priorities based on academics, athletics, and extracurricular obligations. Often, finding the time to eat can become quite the struggle and students can be left deciding between a ramen dinner at midnight or not eating at all. To avoid this unhealthy dilemma, set a schedule that incorporates allotted time to eat every day.
Breakfast
According to Dr. David Ludwig, nutrition expert from the Harvard-affiliated Children’s Hospital in Boston, “skipping breakfast throws off the normal circadian rhythm of fasting and feeding. Breakfast is the worst time to skip a meal.”
Starting at 7 a.m. on weekdays, Gilman is open for breakfast. The options range from omelets, to customized breakfast sandwiches and are supplemented by a make-your-own waffle station and the cereal bar. Also, almost every morning Gilman offers oatmeal as a means to curb appetite throughout the day. This, in addition to a high-protein breakfast, wakens the brain and allows for top performance during academic activity.
Lunch
Grabbing a satisfying meal during the time crunch of a typical lunch hour can leave some students choosing to grab nachos on the go instead of committing to sitting down for a fully balanced meal. Beat the crowd and long lines of the noon rush by slipping into Gilman around 11 a.m. or after 1 p.m. when the primetime bustle dies down.
Dinner
After a long day of classes, external commitments, and stress, the first thing on any college students’ mind is refueling. In order to keep the stress-related weight gain at bay, focus on the balance of nutrient rich vegetables and high density proteins. While carbohydrates are a great way to immediately satisfy hunger, without high-intensity exercise afterwards, those pasta or pizza dinners can come back to bite the health conscious in the form of excess water retention and sluggish performance.
2. Tailor your dessert.
Rather than avoiding dessert altogether, opt for the most nutritious options. Cream-based sweets tend to rank higher in fats than their fruity counterparts. So instead of finishing dinner with the large piece of Oreo cake, reward yourself with a small scoop of apple crisp.
3. Experiment with new combinations.
Trying new foods can be challenging for some. Start small and ease your way into that odd soup or side by combining a food staple with something new. This way, students can slowly train their palates to enjoy new flavors and textures.
4. Think of Gilman as another classroom.
Students at Marietta College are immersed in a continuous learning environment, so why should this stop at the doors of Gilman? By understanding the nutrient values of the foods that they are consuming daily, students can make more informed decisions about their health and take responsibility for their own wellness. The college and Parkhurst are currently working to provide nutrient facts for all of the meals catered in Gilman. Additionally, the chef and workers on staff are trained and ready to answer any questions posed about the ingredients in each dish.
5. Listen to your body.
While many studies claim that late-night snacks can lead to weight gain, sometimes the only way to stay awake to finish a term paper or final project is to continue eating. However, the choice to down a soft-drink and chocolate bar versus a small pack of nuts and an apple lies in the hands of the student.
Rather than deprive oneself of a late-night pick-me-up, focus on the kinds of foods that benefit one’s overall metabolism; i.e. apples, almonds, a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, or even, a hard-boiled egg. Also, remember that sometimes when the body seems hungry, it is actually dehydrated. Before making any rash decisions that could jeopardize the healthy momentum of a week, drink a couple glasses of water and wait to decide if that late-night snack is really necessary.
