Good habits

College life, whether you commute or live on campus, does not always lend itself to a healthy lifestyle. Between classes and working to pay for them, there often isn't much time for proper rest or consideration for nutrition. Plus, it's pretty hard to stay healthy with daily access to French fries and Café pizza in all of their delicious, greasy glory.

With that, welcome to Health Hype. This is the first in a series of informative articles about health, nutrition and physical well-being as is relevant to students within the campus environment.

Many upperclassmen know all too well what a diet dependent on Donovan and the Student Union Café can do to your health – and your waistline. Too many of us have fallen victim to the infamous Freshmen 15 (trust me, it's not a myth), and some of us have gone above and beyond even that standard.

Incoming freshmen beware. Now is the time to stop and seriously consider the important choices you will soon be making about your diet and activity level. Upperclassmen, you are still young, and it is never too late to take back that lost ground and secure the foundations for your future well-being.

Here are a few good habits to get into:

– Eat breakfast. You may be tired of hearing it, but it is the most important meal of the day, if only for the fact that it gets your metabolism up and running for the coming day. While a balanced meal would be ideal, just a carton of milk, a slice of toast or a piece of fruit – all of which can be found in Donovan – will help get you going.

– An apple a day. It's OK to snack if you get hungry in the middle of the day or between classes, as long as the snack is a healthy one. Avoid the cookies and donuts when answering the snacking urge. Pick up an apple, pear or banana instead. If you like humus, keep that and a box of Triscuits around for a healthy snack.

– Avoid fried foods. The call of the curly fries is a strong one, but control is a must if you're to keep your diet in check.

– Resist the late-night snack. Late-night snacking is one of the major causes of weight gain because your metabolism has started to shut down. Also, putting energy into your body late at night may fool with your body clock and make it difficult to get a full night of sleep. Set yourself a cut-off time, like 9:30 p.m.

– Take the stairs. If you live in Sweet, Browne or New Hall, don't take the elevator – take the stairs! That extra activity will help burn excess calories and may even help tone your leg muscles.

– Get to bed before midnight. Some of us are away from home now, and suddenly find ourselves without a curfew. This is very exciting, but staying up late will only come back to haunt us in the morning (or the afternoon, for you really late sleepers). Your mind and stomach will be waking up late, as well.

– Keep the partying to a minimum. If you're the type who likes to go out to clubs or bars once a week (or multiple times a week), try toning it down and limiting yourself to once every two weeks or, better yet, once a month.

– Get yourself oriented at the Rec. Center. It takes about 30 seconds to fill out the form in order to obtain full access to the weight room and machines at the Recreation Center. Take advantage of it.