Looking after your body: food

*First and foremost, I am not pretending to be a nutritional expert or fitness guru, rather, this is what works for me!*

University is a great time in your life! Whether you feel it or not, you’re an adult now; independent in your education and becoming independent in all other aspects of your life. Looking after your body is very important during this time, not only to feel and look amazing, but also to do well in your studies (especially during exam period!)

In my opinion, there are three things you need to do to look after your body: sleep, eat and exercise.

Food

Eating well is one of the most difficult things to do during University. Your routine isn’t necessarily daily – it’s sporadic and difficult to manage, so you cannot really make something healthy each morning, and sometimes, even when you are eating well, you still feel lethargic and bloated! We’ve all been there! Here are my top 10 tips for eating better during Uni…

1. Cut the carbs
This may sound like some ridiculous health scam – but trust me! Carbohydrates (bread, potatoes, pasta…) can give you a lot of energy. However, you need to use it right away for it to be good for your body. Carbs can retain water and make you both bloated and lethargic if you don’t use the energy right away. To make carbs work, eat them before a morning workout.
TOP TIP: Don’t eat carbs later in the day, they are burned more effectively in the morning.

2. Eat green!
If you’re a veggie lover, it’s good news for you! Green vegetables have so much protein and are so much better for you than meat! If you want long lasting energy and want to feel switched on, eat green veg! Your body needs protein, but we all know that eating too much meat never feels good. Stock up on broccoli, peas, spinach, and kale!

3. Start your metabolism!
This is for those of you who, like me, were not blessed with a naturally fast metabolism. I do a ridiculous amount of sport to try and tone up and get rid of the effects of food (I love food) but the easiest way to stay healthy and trim is to eat right! Speeding up the metabolism will rid your body of toxins, improve blood circulation, skin, immunity, reduce stress, and give you more energy! Try eating more peppers, brown rice, broccoli, apples, pears, citrus fruits, nuts, fish, cayenne, garlic, cinnamon, beans and try drinking green tea!

4. Water
While this isn’t eating, this is the best thing you can do for yourself. If you do not have a water bottle, buy one. There is great debate over how much water one should drink. 1/3 of your body weight, 2L, ten glasses… It’s all very undecided. My advice would be to just drink little constantly. Take a few sips every now and then to keep focused and keep yourself from feeling ‘hungry’. Usually you’re just thirsty! Drinking before a meal is also supposed to help digestion, and drinking the moment you get up is supposed to help boost your metabolism. Water is fantastic stuff!

5. Eat little often.
A lot of people swear by this, and if you’re like me, this is difficult. I eat a lot all the time. Something that has helped me deal with this has been using smaller plates. I try to serve my food on a smaller plate so that I feel more full as I’m eating, and reiterating my last point, I drink a lot. It can also be hard to find snacks that can fill the ‘often’ category, keeping fruit and nuts around is very handy, and I personally like homemade muesli bars if you have the time (or a willing mother). Just remember though, it’s better to eat at regular times!

Once again, I’m not pretending to be an expert, but these are what I feel work well for everyone and we should all feel our best during exam time! Good luck everyone! I’m sure you’ll do superb!

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