As I sit at my kitchen table eating my weight in homemade banana bread, I look back on all of the questionable health decisions I made throughout my first semester. Sure, I didn't gain the freshman 15 (phew), but I've certainly developed some habits worth breaking for second semester.
1. Late night eating
You're coming home from a party, it's late, but, you know, you're potentially not in the best state of mind, and you're a little hungry. What is the obvious thing to do then? Order in, of course. On any college campus, there are a plethora of options, and before you know it, your trash can in your dorm is flooded with pizza boxes and candy wrappers. Oh no.
2. The gym? What?
It can be so easy to be unmotivated to exercise in college. The thought, "I walked from my dorm to central campus, that's exercise, right?" is definitely something you should stop saying to yourself. Exercise is a great way to release endorphins, relieve stress, and stay fit. Running on the treadmill, going to a workout class, or even doing some crunches on your dorm room floor is essential to success in college. Use this cute dog working out as motivation.
3. Binge drinking
In college, the weekend starts earlier and earlier (Wednesday?), and with the weekend comes drinking. We don't realize it, but alcohol has calories — a lot of them. Sadly, those calories contribute to weight gain and fewer brain cells, which obviously can have disastrous consequences for the future.
Eradicating alcohol altogether is really hard, but limiting one's nights out is definitely a big step in curbing excessive drinking habits. Being a sober hot mess every once in a while can be fun, too.
4. Skipping meals
College kids are perpetually on the move, and sometimes, there just isn't enough time to sit and have a meal. They think they're losing weight because they feel hungrier, but it really just causes students to overcompensate later, which this is more unhealthy than eating less in the first place.
Plus, starving oneself by skipping meals actually leads to the breakdown of muscle tissue instead of fat. The way to kick this bad habit? Keep an apple or a granola bar in your backpack. You never know when you'll feel those obnoxious hunger pangs.5. Excessive caffeine
Per Mayo Clinic's guidance, the average consumer can safely have 200 to 300 milligrams of coffee each day, which equates to between two and four cups of coffee each day. In addition, the average Red Bull contains about 80 milligrams of caffeine. The people that rely on caffeine to get them through the day drink more than what is probably suggested, which can result in insomnia, nervousness, irritability, and more.
The romanticization of the perfect cappuccino in your college's neighborhood coffee shop is wonderful, but moderation is definitely important when drinking any type of caffeine.6. All-nighters
When there are just way too many homework assignments, papers, exams, and extracurriculars, all-nighters may seem like the only logical solution to complete everything in a timely fashion. However, all-nighters can take a HUGE toll on your health. Starting with the lack of sleep, continuing with the consumption of junk food to get through the night, and ending with post all-nighter exhaustion, which often leads to making dumb mistakes on the exams you had prepped so hard for the night prior.
The best way to avoid all-nighters is to schedule everything and anything — even if it means doing it obsessively. If you feel like you can't get everything done in time, talk to your professors. All of them have been in the same position as you, and more than likely, they'll be understanding.
Let's face it, college is hard, and sometimes, desperate times call for desperate measures. If that means eating pizza at 2 am or gulping a 5 hour energy to bang out that paper, we gotta do what we gotta do. But, a lot of times, those days and nights can lead to unhealthy consequences in the future, so it is really important to break those bad habits you developed first semester.
Being healthy is the first step to being successful throughout life, so taking that first step by kicking those habits to the curb while you're still young and in college is the best way to ensure success in the future.