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The College Student's Guide to Staying Fit

By Anne Watkins

Everyone knows about the Freshman 15 -- those pesky extra pounds resulting from over-exuberance upon living away from home for the first time.

Healthy foods like fruits and vegetables are summarily dismissed, and junk food indulgence becomes not just an occasional treat but a full-fledged diet plan.

Meanwhile, although most colleges have physical education programs, these provide nowhere near the amount of exercise that an energetic college kid needs. Rather than making up for this on their own, most college freshmen end up spending their free time partying, hanging out with friends and maybe studying on occasion -- all while letting exercise fall by the wayside.

But it doesn't have to be this way. Even when surrounded by thousands of less-than-healthy young people, there's nothing stopping you from becoming the exception to the rule. In fact, living a healthy lifestyle in college will keep you sharp and focused, helping you stay ahead of the academic competition while preparing you for a happy and productive adulthood.

Keep these tips in mind, and you'll stay ahead of the pack:

Take advantage of summer breaks. Even before you begin your freshman year, you can start a healthy college lifestyle. In the months before you go to school, do everything you can to get in the best shape possible.

Exercise daily, develop good eating habits and if you have a few pounds to lose, lose them now. In later years, don't just spend your summer breaks relaxing and going to your summer job. Make good use of your hometown's parks and gyms, and don't let your parents overfeed you.

Get to know the gym. With all of the official classes and organized sports activities conducted in the campus gym, it's easy to think that it's an inaccessible place. But don't forget that the gym is for you. Yes, you'll have to stay out of the way of classes and practices, but there are plenty of downtimes to take advantage of.

Find out when the pool and the weight room go unused, and build your schedule around those times. If you have to, go at night or on the weekends when people are doing other things.

Join a sports team or an extracurricular club. You may not be into any official organized sport, but there's likely to be plenty of unofficial extracurricular sports clubs that you can join.

For example, most large schools have things like Frisbee golf and kickball clubs, and there may even be non-competitive clubs for sports like tennis, golf, soccer and volleyball. And if these clubs don't exist, you can always start them yourself.

Consider a fitness class. In all likelihood, your school allows you to take fitness- or sports-related classes to cover a certain number of credits. If you get plenty of exercise on your own, these credit hours may be best spent on other types of things, but if you're having trouble working exercise into your schedule, sign up for a fitness class next semester.

Go off campus for produce. A lot of colleges are making great efforts to provide their students with healthier meals in the dining halls, even providing vegetarian options. But on many campuses, there's still a woeful lack of fresh produce accessible to students.

If this is the case on your campus, find the nearest grocery store to your school. Take regular walks or bike rides to the store, and stock up on the types of healthy foods that aren't in the dining hall.

Prepare healthy meals at home. Not having a kitchen in your dorm doesn't mean that you can't make meals at home. With the produce that you get off campus, make a healthy raw salad for at least one meal a day.

Drink responsibly. It's no secret that alcohol is a part of the American college experience. There's just no getting around it. But if you're going to drink, keep it to a minimum. Have no more than three drinks, and have a glass of water between each one.

Remember that regular alcohol consumption can quickly add a layer of flab to the mid-section -- and you'll probably notice this in many of your fellow students -- so use this as a motivating factor to keep your drinking light, if you do it at all. Binge drinking can also lead to more serious problems than just gaining weight.

Eat healthy snacks. On days when you have multiple classes in a row, you'll probably need something to keep you fueled and alert. But eating sugary snacks between classes will only make you feel languid and sleepy, and it won't help your learning process.

The best between-class snacks consist of fruits, vegetables or whole grains. To stay hydrated, bring a bottle of water to class, and stay away from soda and sugary fruit juices.

Break up study sessions. If you're studying for a test, reading a long chapter, or composing a term paper, it may be tempting to stay cooped up for hours on end without moving. Instead, take a 30-minute break in the middle and get out for some exercise. Go for a little jog, or even just a walk. This will get your blood flowing and sharpen your mind for the remainder of your study session.

In fact, exercising can actually help boost your memory and enhance your ability to retain information. It will also help combat stress during high-pressure end-of-term weeks.

Don't smoke. Unfortunately, college is when many people start smoking. It's the time when many kids are trying to figure out who they are, and many feel that smoking helps establish their identity while giving them a rebellious air.

But if you want to stay healthy, smoking is the worst thing you can do. Yes, it represses appetite, but it will also sap you of your energy and make it difficult for you to sustain your exercise sessions. Do you really want to start coughing every time you try to jog more than 100 feet? Didn't think so. Avoid this nasty habit.

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