by Amanda Keller

Created on: February 01, 2008

Staying fit in college isn't really as hard as you think. Yes, you now have access to all those cakes and burgers in the dining hall, but you're also no longer in an establishment with your own private kitchen. Mom's cookies can taunt you no longer. In the safety of your own dorm room, you get to decide what food will be kept close by. You can choose to stock your mini fridge with fruit and milk from the grocery store down the road instead of with candy bars and sodas from the vending machines downstairs.

With so many kids nearby eager to avoid the freshman fifteen or to burn them off, you'll certainly find a few people who'll team up and diet with you. Pick a few days a week when you can all go to the gym together. Remember, the gym came with the school, so there's no reason why you shouldn't use it. If you're not a fan of the treadmill and prefer changing scenery when you're running, take advantage of the safety of your campus. Your parents are no longer there to prohibit you from running during odd hours of the night, so break out your ipod and knock yourself out.

Make solid diet plans, set goals. Map out which foods are allowed and which are definitely not okay before you begin dieting so that there will be no questioning the health potential of certain foods later on. You don't want to just plan to "eat well" and then find yourself trying to convince your diet buddy two days into your new eating plan that one or two slices of pizza wouldn't be "that bad."

When you go to the dining hall, sit by the salad bar, or as far away from the greasy and sugary selections as possible. No longer a slave to your family's meal choices and portions, you can take advantage and eat as little and as healthily as you want. This doesn't mean you have to avoid all but lettuce. Help yourself to meat and potatoes, sushi, some stir-fry. You probably never noticed all the healthy choices your school has for you. When you get your sugar-coated eyes past the cupcakes, you might find some hidden treat like vegan pudding and be pleasantly surprised at its taste.

Buy a good amount of natural foods from the grocery store to stuff your room with, so that when you get those snack attacks you won't be tempted to rush to a vending machine or a fast food place. It's cheaper overall, anyway, to just cut out restaurants altogether from your diet. Choose milk or OJ over soda, get yourself some cereal (the real stuff, not the large clumps of sugar), some whole wheat bread and peanut butter. Carrots, celery, apples, bananas and peanuts are all healthy choices that you can chow down on.

As far as drinking is concerned, well, you shouldn't be doing it at all. But of course it's completely understandable if you're not quite done exploring your newfound freedom and want to continue indulging yourself. Just try to keep the beers lite, and if you're on a calorie-counting regime, don't forget to count the liquid ones.

If you follow these tips, you'll find dieting at college is easier than it ever was at home. At college, you now have total control over how you live your life, and the first thing you can do for yourself with that freedom is to take up a healthy new lifestyle.

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