Eating healthy, not losing weight, is key

There are people who eat healthy. Then there are people who go to college.

Most of us find it pretty difficult to do both consistently.

The college lifestyle is essentially a recipe for unhealthy eating habits. We run around all day going from class to a job or internship, which inevitably leads to settling for the dollar menu at one point or another.

Then we head to the library to do homework and get a 300-calorie, sugar-infused frappuccino before heading to that party up the road where there's no telling how many calories of alcohol will be consumed before the end of the night.

And as Asher Roth would say, we "pass out at 3, wake up at 10, go out to eat and do it again."

 Does this mean that we are supposed to just go with the flow and settle for the "Freshman 15" or more that we could potentially gain from eating and drinking whatever is most convenient?

And aside from the weight gained, consider all of the other consequences inherited from poor eating habits.

In my efforts to turn in three final projects and take exams while still working 20 hours a week at my internship the last couple weeks of spring semester, my already less-than-nutritious eating habits hit rock bottom.

I was waking up, drinking two cups of coffee, downing a Monster energy drink in the afternoon, eating either pizza, McDonald's or Moe's for dinner.

Then I would have another two or three cups of coffee once it got to be 11 p.m. or midnight so that I could stay up till 3 a.m. and get about four hours of sleep.

I felt disgusting and probably looked disgusting too. Eating never even satisfied my hunger because I just felt sick all the time.

But, as always, summertime provides some redemption.  It's every college students' golden opportunity to finally get to the gym, cook healthy meals and, hopefully, break some gluttonous habits.

It's not all about laziness and partying.

Sometimes we just need to be reminded of how bad some of the things we eat really are. I was mortified when I realized a 20-ounce bottle of Coke contains more sugar than a king-size Snickers bar.  I was amazed I did not weigh 500 pounds when I learned that two Oreos have nearly the exact same amount of calories and fat as a cheeseburger.

Watching what you eat and making healthy choices are steps in the right direction, but it is important to remember that it's all about portions.

A meal purchased from a restaurant, whether it be Chili's or McDonald's, is usually about two and a half portions. You eat it all and you're eating more than twice as much as you should be at one time.

Eating smaller portions five or six times a day will help you lose weight even if it's not all salads and fruit.

I recently heard someone talk about making "better bad decisions."

If that's where you need to start, OK. Personally, I'm an all-or-nothing type. If I have to make choices before every meal, nine times out of 10 I will go with whatever I'm craving, in other words, whatever is most unhealthy.

But if I put specific limits on what I can and cannot eat, I usually follow through and end up feeling pretty accomplished.

I have learned that if I make being healthy a priority rather than losing weight, I seem to be much more consistent and, of course, end up losing more weight in the long-run.

There is no time like the summertime to take a break from the traditional college lifestyle and give fruits and veggies a chance. The tastes will be acquired more quickly than you think.