Student life made me fat and unhealthy

Well, my lack of will power and busy life style somehow convinced me that eating huge quantities of takeaway at 3am and drinking copious amounts of cider was somehow not damaging to my body. I was wrong. Now that I've graduated and moved into a (reasonably) routine job, I decided it was time to get back on track. I got on the scales to assess the damage. I knew it would be bad, I mean I've had to donate some of my favourite dresses to slimmer friends and charity shops, and I could tell there was more of me wobbling when I ran.  But I wasn't expecting to be quite so heavy. I had gained about 4 stone in 3 years without even trying. Thinking back I don't think I even ate that much bad stuff, my student loan could not cater for luxuries such as Dominos pizza and lots of meals out, and I was convinced that I'd made sensible purchases at supermarkets, although maybe this was me being in denial. So where has my new bulk come from? 

I've had a think and will be sharing them with you to let you review my mistakes so that you can try and avoid making them too. As a someone who absolutely loved every moment of student living (so much so I ran for election at the Students' Union) I don't think anything should put a downer on the student experience, so diets and gruelling exercise routines are not what I'm about to preach about. But I don't think you need to compromise the student lifestyle to be healthy, it's about making sensible choices and enjoying things in moderation. Being able to enjoy things in moderation was never a particular skill of mine! So here is my list of mistakes for you to learn from, I will be brutally honest so please enjoy (in moderation!)

1.    Cheap food doesn't always equal bad food – In my first year I tried to save as much money as possible (sensible) by buying things like 40 frozen sausages for £1 which were made mainly of fatty off cuts (not sensible). I thought that supermarkets healthiest ranges were too pricey. In actual fact, it's much cheaper to shop healthily if you go to the right places. Aldi, Lidl and local markets offer great prices on fresh fruit and veg and meat. And they taste better than those sausages, trust me.
2.    You can still eat out and not get fat – A massive part of my social life at university was lunch in Ember or Squeezebox. I would eat a bowl of curly fries covered in ketchup and mayonnaise just as a snack. This is where making sensible choices comes in, choose a jacket potato, salad or sandwich instead of a burger. And go easy on the mayo.
3.    You can still drink and not get fat – Although the union advocates sensible drinking, it would be stupid to not realise that many students drink enough to sink a small country. But you really do need to consider the massive damage you could be doing to your body by binge drinking. There are also lots and lots of calories in beer, wine, cider and alcopops; some student favourites! So how can you cut down on the calories but still have a great night out? If you must drink heavily, opt for spirits such as vodka and clear rum with a diet mixer. We have some outstanding deals on spirits on a Friday night in Legends and LRV so it wont cost much either!
4.    Enjoy a takeaway, just not every night – I know loads of students who would eat takeaway for nearly every meal. Not only will this make you fat, it will make you poor. You also need to think about the nutritional value of takeaway. It lacks the ingredients your body needs so you might find yourself lethargic, unmotivated and grumpy. Not sexy. This is not to say don't do it ever! Enjoy in moderation and make sensible choices, why not opt for a healthier Chinese such as a vegetable chop suey instead of Curry or fish and chips. This way you can still enjoy a take away with friends but you won't be carrying it around on your gut for years to come.
5.    Exercise isn't always boring – Some people (including a big proportion of our student body – hats off to them) love keeping fit and find exercise fun, relaxing and energising. I am not one of these people. Exercise makes me miserable. I hate going to the gym with an absolute passion. Turn activities that you enjoy into exercise. During one of my (rare) healthy periods at university I joined the women's basketball team. Not only did I feel much fitter I made some great friends, learnt a new sport and got to play as part of a university team. We have so many clubs to choose from that if team sport isn't your thing you can still partake in physical activity such as dance, snow sports or swimming.
6.    Walk places – Walking is an easy and free way of getting some exercise that can easily be incorporated into a busy student lifestyle. Choose walking into town to get your shopping instead of driving or taking the bus. It's also cheaper and better for the environment. Also take the stairs!
7.    The "Skip dinner, get drunk faster" technique is foolish! – Before a night out on the razz, I have often come across students skipping their evening meal so they don't need to drink as much to feel drunk. This is naughty on lots of levels. Firstly it's not sensible to drink on an empty stomach especially if you're planning a big night out. If you're worried about feeling bloated then don't have a big meal and don't eat late. If you miss your meal you will only feel hungry at the end of the night, and after a few drinks, it's very easy to justify that margarita pizza with chips and cheese from the takeaway and your starvation was for nothing.
8.    Always eat breakfast – This is sometimes difficult to achieve when you have early morning lectures (and have only left yourself 10 minutes to get ready, as I frequently did). Having a bowl of fruit so you can grab something on the way out is a quick way of having a healthy snack to start your day if you've slept through your alarm. You can always grab a smoothie from Squeezebox if you're over at College Rd and you don't have fruit in the house.
9.    Become a part time veggie – It is not essential to have meat with every meal. A lot of meat is high in fat and better quality meat is usually expensive. Often meat free mince is very low fat and at least half the price of its meaty counterpart. Meat free mince is a great staple for dishes such as spag bol and chilli.
10.    You don't need to put cheese on everything. – Lots of student cooking seems to revolve around a hearty helping of grated cheese on top of things. Cheese on spaghetti, cheese on chilli, cheese on chips, cheese in egg, cheese on beans, cheese on mash, cheese on cottage pie. Cheese is very tasty but very high in fat. Cut cheese down to just a sprinkle or choose the reduced fat version.

Keeping healthy might not seem like the most important thing to think about at university but it's really crucial that you do. I am now faced with the challenge of losing three years worth of excess weight. I've embarked on this challenge but it will take me a while. I hope you can learn from my mistakes, and the mistakes of many of my friends at university who are now faced with the same task of losing their student bulk!
 

Emma Harris - Commercial Services Officer