Step One: Gather the goods.Eating healthy in college isn't easy. With classes, meetings, clubs, job... it's hard to manage. There's a double edged sword, on the one hand you could solely eat out which will consume your budget, or you could try eating at home. The downside to that is frozen meals get redundant, and it's difficult to try planning out meals in the week that are nutritious and tasteful. In this post, I'm going to try and help you out the best that I can. I'm going to outline how I got into meal prepping in college and started breaking into finding recipes that I could make on my off nights to carry me through the week. When I began, I had two goals in mind: 1. Eat healthy as best I can. (Keep in mind I'm dairy and gluten free) 2. Save money. First, find which stores are within your budget. For a select few, it may be Whole Foods, but for the majority of us, it's not. I typically shop at Kroger, Trader Joes and on occasion, Food Lion. Kroger has a good frozen veggie selection and Trader Joes always has fresh produce. Once you've determined that (you probably need to go to these stores to figure that out), now all you need are recipes and ingredients to cook with. Everyone has different flavors and cuisines they enjoy. I'd start with what you're used to and expand from there. I remember when I first began cooking for myself, all I made were tacos and sautéed veggies and chicken. It was a bleak beginning. Over time however, I began to add new recipes, tried new fruits, veggies, and spices that completely changed my meals. Indian is my favorite now. If you have Pinterest, that's the best place to find new recipes and meal prep ideas. Google works too. Whatever you have, you ca use to search. Next step: Find your containers. I went to Costco to get class containers of all different sizes. I prefer glass over plastic because they clean better and last longer, but they are more expensive. Tupperware can be found at any store: Target, TjMaxx, and others. I've included links here and here that are online options. Step Two: Find your recipesNow that you have figured out where you are shopping and how you are going to store your food, it's time to start cooking! If you already have recipes you've been waiting to cook, be free and do it! If you are however, recipe-less and wanting some aid, I got you. Below I've attached a week's worth of recipes that should sustain you through the week. I've included two recipes that could be used for lunch or dinner, and then two options for breakfast. Making both of the breakfast recipes may be a little excessive, so I'd just stick with one unless you'd like to add some diversity. I'm attaching the links to all the recipes below. Each link provides the step-by-step process to follow in order to make them. Here is the list of ingredients needed. Go ahead take a picture so you can have a compiled list ready to go with you to the store. Recipe's for the Week: Breakfast Egg Muffin's Yogurt Cups Lunch/Dinner Southwest Chicken Casserole Honey Sesame Chicken Ingredient List for Each Recipe Southwest Chicken Casserole
Healthy Egg Muffin Cups
Yogurt Breakfast Bowls
Honey Sesame Chicken Lunch Bowls
Combined Ingredient List for Simplicity
Step Three: Get to Cooking!Meal prepping is no easy task. At first, it can take a lot of planning and time to get into the swing of things. I promise though, from my own experience, once you get into the groove of meal prepping, it really does make life simpler. (Not to mention cheaper). I save so much time and money knowing that I have food already set aside for me at home. With meal prepping as one of my personal tools, I have greater freedom and flexibility in my day.
Have an assignment due that I've been pushing off but at the same time super hungry? No problem, there's already a meal ready to go for me in the fridge! I sleep longer, hang out with my friends more, and am less stressed about finances all due to this little life hack that I think is invaluable to any college student's peace of mind. Not to mention, when you are eating healthy food at home, your body thanks you for it. You feel better, have more energy, all providing you with greater faculties to tackle your day and be present with your homies. Let me know if you have any questions!
0 Comments
Picking the right activities for you.There is no "one-size fits all" when it comes to choosing a physical activity. Some individuals are inclined to group exercise, while others prefer to work out individually. There are those who prefer to exercise in the mornings while others couldn't imagine working out before noon. If you are just getting started on finding your fit, the first thing to do is begin. Try different exercises different times of day. Begin moderately, don't just jump into to a high intense workout and expect to be perfect at it. Start your routine for only 30 minutes every other day and see if it grows. You could maintain that cadence, or change it. You could bump it up to an hour or two if your schedule allows it. It's all a process of finding what works best for you and your body. Certain forms are more accessible than others. For example, doing a 30 minute online yoga workout at home may fit into your schedule better than driving to the gym to do a yoga or spin class. Ultimately, exercise should be an enjoyable part of your day, not something you dread. There will, of course, be days where you feel more up to it than others, but that's where discipline comes in. As mentioned before, some are group exercises, others are individual. Some will require equipment (for example, for barre and lifting weights you will need dumbbells or weight machines), others may not (all you need to jog are running shoes). A quick google search can give you a detailed description of the exercise you are considering, the equipment it requires, and how you can start. Here is a list of different types of exercise.
How do I get started?Once you've picked an activity, research how to get started! I am going to include some resources below that I believe will help. Some are links to websites, others are to apps that offer free workouts and tutorials to getting started. Weight Lifting Muscle and Strength This is a great resource for those who are just embarking on their weight lifting journey. This site hosts numerous workout programs for different target areas (lower body, upper etc.) and even have specialized programs just for women. Muscle and Strength's site also has meal plan programs if you are looking to try cleaner eating diets, Keto, or boost your protein intake. Their site's blog includes a litany of other resources to jump-start your weight lifting endeavors. My favorite feature on their website is their step-by-step tutorials for how to use pretty much any weight machine found in a gym, along with tutorials on how to perform any exercise you can think of involving a dumbbell. I highly recommend this site, it helped me get started when I became interested in going to the gym more often and helped me overcome my gym anxiety. It was overwhelming when I first walked into Strom (UofSC) gym and had no idea what half of the equipment on the main floor was used for. Swimming SwimWorkouts.net If you used to swim in the summers for your neighborhood team or competed for your high school or club team, it can be hard transitioning into college where there is no coach or team to create practices and hold you accountable. As someone who swam all their life, I get it. This site is a great gem I found freshman year when I swam for workouts. If you still want the team aspect of swimming, I recommend checking out the UofSC club team! I've attached their link on Garnet Gate here. Back to the website, this website will generate swim practices depending on the criteria you input. It asks for your level, training goal (stroke, endurance, triathlon training), and the yards you want to complete by the end of the practice. I think the personalization feature of the site is a great way to keep your practices diverse and adjust the length to what best suits your goals that day. Running/Jogging Runkeeper (Free) App This is one of the highest rated running apps on the App Store right now. It is available for iOS and Androids. Many use this app to train for 5K's but this app has many other features. My favorite is that it's free! Reviews highlight that it is easy to use, and accurately measures distance and pace. There is additionally a goal setting component that aids in staying on track and modifies your runs to meet your benchmarks. There are also a number of other apps on the App Store such as Couch to 5k and the Nike Run Club, but I am only mentioning Runkeeper for the sake of simplicity. Yoga Yoga is originally a Hindu spiritual practice which centers itself around breath control, mindful meditation and the movement of the body into a variety of postures. It is popular all over the world and has been adapted into numerous varieties to attain different intentions with their practice. If you are curious about yoga and want to try some poses and routines at home instead of going straight into a yoga studio or go to a class offered at Strom (I really enjoyed going to them when I had the time), here are some YouTube channels that are amazing resources to begin with. This woman is amazing. I started doing her 30 day yoga programs during quarantine and I still do them from time to time. She produces content for the beginner yogis, but has some intermediate and advanced classes. She guides you threw each practice and makes sure that perfection is not the end goal, rather to listen to your body and move with what feels good. On her channel, there are videos for stress, stretching, back pain, and tons more. I highly recommend her channel if you want to try yoga or just take a self-care day for yourself. This is another channel that provides guided yoga sessions. It is run by a couple who are very knowledgeable not only about yoga, but also mindfulness and meditation. Their channel has hundreds of meditation videos, yoga session, as well as videos centered around incorporating yoga into your everyday. In contrast to Yoga with Adriene, Breathe and Flow's practice length varies from 20 minutes to hour and a half long sessions. Their is a paid account they host on pattern that are geared towards intermediate and advanced audiences which are great for those of you wanting to level up in your practice difficulty. I've personally enjoyed their beginner and intermediate 30 day yoga programs. I'm going to shoot you straight, it's not easy, but if you are up for a challenge, I think they provide a great platform to get onto the mat and work up a sweat. Workout AppsThere are a ton of apps out there where you can watch a video and workout, but the downside is that most of them require some form of payment. FitOn has been my saving grace in college when I've been pressed for time and haven't been able to get to Strom. They have hundreds of workouts varying in length, type and intensity. Their app includes, barre, yoga, pilates, cardio, strength, HIIT, and kickboxing workouts all that can be done with and without equipment. If you have weights or bands at home, great! It opens up the number of workouts you can do on the app, although there is plenty of content still if you don't. Now, there is a paid version. It's a monthly fee that offers personalized workout routines, and meal plans with recipes. If that's something you are interested in, I say go for it! There is no wrong form of physical activity. What is important here is picking the forms of exercise that work best for your goals, your time, and most importantly, your body. I hope this post helps you in your exploration and best of luck!
|
What is Physical Well-Being?Physical health refers to a person's physical activity level, diet, nutrition, sleep cycle, and level of consumption of alcohol or drugs.
The intention of this page is to help brothers navigate and explore beginner-level exercise to improve their physical and mental well-being. CategoriesArchives |