As the semester winds to a close and as we approach finals (yikes), I want you to think long and hard about what finals does to both your mind and your body. These thoughts will probably be somewhere along the lines of “my mind is dead, so I must refuel it with food.” I approached finals at the end of first semester with the mindset that I could eat anything in sight because winter was right around the corner, and we all know winter is a lovely time when you can snuggle your body under layers and layers of sweaters, scarves, sweatpants, parkas, igloos, etc. Personally, I view winter as “bulking season:” no, I’m not an athlete so technically I shouldn’t be “bulking” at all. But let’s be honest: finals week first semester and pretty much all of the winter I ate whatever I wanted just because I wanted to.
However, spring semester finals are upon us, which means most of us will probably be in a swimsuit in less than a month. This means that yes, we should probably be more conscious about what we stuff our bodies with over the next few weeks. Though the idea of not eating upwards of ten cookies a day may seem terrible when combined with finals week, I’m going to try to convince you that there are other, better food options to munch on. Trust me, when it comes time to shed the layers of winter clothing you’ve been hiding under for the last few months, you will thank me (I hope).
Snacks
If you’re hanging out, bored, tired, and want to reach for a jar of this…
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…try going for a spoonful of this instead:
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If you find yourself asking this a lot…
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…try hopping on the Ritz Cracker bandwagon instead:
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And, of course, always keep this magical transformation in mind:
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Wow. Truly magical.
Meals
Instead of piling your plate high like this…
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…look how happy you could be with a healthy salad!
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Instead of falling victim to one of these…
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…try making one of these. All that goodness without the calories!
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Desserts
If you’re really craving the creamy goodness of a milkshake…
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…go for a smoothie!
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And finally, if you find yourself gravitating towards the ice cream for the hundredth time in the last hour…
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…go for the yogurt. Ryan Reynolds knows how to eat during finals. Be Ryan Reynolds, not Ryan Gosling.
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Over the next few weeks, due to a lack of sleep and an abundance of studying, our bodies will start demanding nothing but food food food. When you see those chips, go for the crackers, and stay away from the ice cream cooler. Hopefully you can find the strength to stay in charge of your body as is slowly starts to kill you. Good luck everyone, and happy finals.
GIF courtesy of giphy.com