10 Easy Healthy Habits to Avoid Gaining Weight in College

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College is a rough time for our bodies. Our parents aren’t cooking us meals, we have to buy our own groceries, we are drinking a little more alcohol, and worst of all … we are constantly tempted by the quick and often unhealthy options our lifestyles require.

For the first couple years of college, plenty of students find themselves gaining the “freshman 15″, and even if we aren’t physically gaining weight, our poor bodies are suffering when we make the choice to eat a Pop-Tart instead of fruits and vegetables or when we eat Chick-fil-a instead of a healthy salad.

Everyone’s bodies are different, so you need to find exactly what works for you, but making intentional healthy choices will definitely help you avoid gaining weight and dealing with a bloated stomach. I’m not saying you have to avoid all unhealthy foods 100 percent, because everyone likes a doughnut every now and then, but following these tips will absolutely keep you feeling good, and you’ll most likely drop a few pounds.

1. Avoid a heavy breakfast. Eating a breakfast full of fruits and grains or maybe some oatmeal topped with fruits, nuts and seeds, is filling, healthy and better for your body than bacon, eggs and white bread. Smoothies are also a good solution, and if that doesn’t fill you up enough, take a Lara bar or two with you to class to tide you over. Lara bars are sweetened with dates instead of sugar, so they are way better for you. Each bar is equal to 1/4 cup of fruit, believe it or not, and you can order them off of Amazon in bulk, for a little bit cheaper.

2. Walk or bike instead of driving. Anytime you are close enough to walk or bike somewhere, do it. Even just the five or 10 minutes of physical activity will be better for you than getting in your car and driving. Plus, parking at colleges can be the worst thing ever, and avoiding it will save you a lot of stress.

3. Avoid fried or processed foods. Fried or processed foods are usually empty calories and have no nutrients. This means, your stomach will not feel full for very long even though you’ve eaten food, so you will eat more. Check out more side-effects of eating fried foods here.

If you need a snack during your busy day, put some already prepped vegetables and fruits in a tupperware and take it with you to class for times when you get hungry. In the end, this tip will save you the money you would have spent on over-priced potato chips or cookies and it will save your stomach from any damage processed foods cause.

4. Buy a scale. I know that having scales can sometimes be misconstrued as weight obsession, but it’s sometimes a helpful motivation when you can see what habits are allowing the weight gain and what habits are helping to avoid gaining weight. Don’t get discouraged if you are exercising and eating healthy but still not losing the pounds. This is often because you’re gaining muscle mass at the same time as you’re losing weight. This is a good thing!

Getting on the scale every couple of days is important for knowing where you are, but remember, your weight will fluctuate and change will take time, even if you’re doing everything right.

5. Eat plant based meals. If you want to commit to this tip, watch a documentary called Forks over Knives. It’s on Netflix, and it provides plenty of reasons to believe that changing your diet to mostly plant-based meals, minus cheating on Thanksgiving and Christmas of course, could be very beneficial for your health and weight.

Plant-based essentially means avoiding meat and dairy, but you don’t have to go completely vegan to reap the benefits of this change. By avoiding meals that have a meat focus or lots of cheese, you’re going to feel less bloated afterwards and ultimately drop a few pounds. A common question about this diet is: where do I get protein? The answer is: Lots of places! Nuts, seeds, legumes like chickpeas, lentils and beans, quinoa, edamame, tofu, tempeh, and whole grain bread.

6. Do not eat and watch TV. If you continuously eat meals or snacks with Netflix on, your brain is going to begin associating Netflix with food, so whenever you turn Netflix on, you’ll probably begin to feel hungry. If you feel hungry, you might grab something quick like potato chips or sometimes, a full meal, even if you’ve eaten recently. Eating like this, and sitting in front of a TV, is distracted eating. This is not a good method of avoiding weight gain. Check out some mindful eating tips here.

7. Drink black coffee instead of sugar-y milky lattes. This will keep your sugar and dairy intake a little lower, which is better for your body, because black coffee is calorie and sugar free. If you absolutely can’t stand black coffee, put some unsweetened almond milk in it (or regular milk if you want). Following this tip will also save you a couple bucks each time you go to a coffee shop to study.

8. Put snacks in a bowl. I know we’ve all accidentally eaten a whole bag of chips, crackers, Oreos … without meaning to. This is an easy thing to avoid if you practice self-control. Put a small portion into a bowl or on a plate, and don’t eat straight out of the bag or package. This will absolutely keep you from over-eating and putting smaller portions on your plate is a proven way to avoid gaining weight.

9. Stand up more. Take study breaks and walk around the building or go outside for a minute. Moving is going to give you a little break from the material and when you come back you will feel much more refreshed and ready for more studying. Bonus points if you work at a stand up desk!

10. Sleep. Sleep. Sleep. I know it’s hard to avoid all-nighters, so one or two during your college career won’t kill you, but it will not be beneficial. There are ways to avoid all-nighters, so find what works for you and try to get 7-9 hours of sleep every night. If you aren’t convinced, take a look at this article about sleep debt and understand how your body will benefit from sleep each night.

So now you know how easy these changes are. They are simple lifestyle choices that will help you, at the minimum, be good to your insides and, if done consistently, they will help you avoid gaining weight in college.