Being Healthy in College

"Heathy" is probably one of the last words I would use to describe myself. I can count the number of times I've been to a gym on one hand and I've been known to eat entire boxes of Ritz crackers in one sitting. I'm lucky - I was blessed with a fast metabolism and have always eaten what I wanted to without worrying about gaining weight. Sure, I have problem areas (looking at you birthing hips), but fixing that was never on my top to-do list.

Fast forward to the beginning of this summer. I noticed I had gained about ten pounds over the course of the year. I didn't think I looked different, so I didn't think much of it. Then, by accident, I came across fitness accounts on Instagram and various fitness subreddits on Reddit. It was incredible; hearing people's fitness journeys and both their struggles and successes proved to me that if they can do it, I can get off my butt and do it too. I downloaded a fitness tracker app for my phone, calculated my daily calorie goal, and started caring about serving sizes and getting my macros (protein, carbs, and fat). I'm a little over a month in of tracking my food and I feel incredible. I have more energy, I'm sleeping better, and I don't get that heavy feeling at the end of the day anymore. My next two goals: getting over my fear of the gym and keeping this up in college.

I have a few strategies I'm hoping will help keep me on track once school starts.

1. Meal Planning: This is super new for me, so it's going to be a lot of trial and error. I'm going to be living in an apartment for the first time next year, which means cooking and grocery shopping. I'm hoping to keep on track with my diet by planning out meals for the week keeping in mind my macro goals. I want to sit down on Saturday and plan out my weekly meals and then go shopping on Sunday. If I don't have unhealthy food in the kitchen, I won't eat unhealthy food. 
2. Packing Lunch Instead of Buying It: I think this is going to be a big one for me. Since I'm no longer on a meal plan, either through the university or through my sorority, I'm going to be responsible for every meal. I have a tendency to be lazy, and because of that, I usually find myself in the student center getting something less than healthy for lunch or dinner. Armed with my new monogrammed lunch box, I'm hoping to integrate meal planning into my busy schedule and make sure I have healthy snacks and meals with me even if I can't make it home in time for a meal. 
3. Having a Gym Buddy: The gym is a really scary place. I never go and when I do it's for a spin class once a year. As intimidating as it is, the way to tone and build muscle is through lifting weights and similar exercises. I have found a gym buddy who lives close by and has promised to keep me accountable by forcing me to go to the gym with him. He also offered to teach me proper form and technique so I can hopefully build confidence through knowledge. If you can't find a gym buddy, I would suggest looking to see if your campus gym or a nearby one offers personal trainers or beginner sessions that focus on teaching technique. 
4. Committing to a Schedule: Being a full-time student usually means I convince myself I don't have time to go to the gym because I need to be studying or working on a project instead. Since I have my class schedule, I sat down with the previously mentioned gym buddy and figured out a time three times a week to go to the gym together. My school gym also offers classes and has that schedule up already, so I've also made sure to mark when spin class with my favorite instructor is offered so I can do cardio once a week. As a girl who loves schedules, I'm hoping that by committing to a routine it will make going to the gym less of a chore. 
5. Holding Myself Accountable: I'm lazy and I'm the first to admit that. I'm writing this post mainly as an attempt to hold myself accountable - if I commit to sharing my journey, I'll feel obligated to actually follow through with what I'm saying here. This is also why I have a gym buddy - someone who will remind me why I'm doing this and that I can actually do it. I think that once I start building confidence it will get easier, but until then I still view myself as the girl who never goes to the gym.

This is the first article in what I'm hoping to be a monthly series. I want to be able to share my successes and my failures and really explain my journey in hopes of helping someone else start their own. I'm back down to the same weight as last summer and I'm ready to take the next steps to reaching my goals.