Whether you’re living on or off campus, a freshman or a fifth-year senior, eating healthy is key to maintaining a fit and trim body.

If you’re a student with a meal plan, or have easy access to a cafeteria, then these tips are for you:

•  Don’t treat your campus’ cafeteria like a limitless buffet.  Just because food is available, doesn’t mean you have to eat all of it.  

•  Do look at the menus ahead of time and eliminate any fried, fattening, high-calorie and low-protein meal options.  Salad bars are one of the best places to find healthy options, just make sure you load up on vegetables and avoid high-calorie dressings.  Topping your greens with grilled or baked chicken is good way to add lean protein and make your salad into a meal.  Try to have at least one salad a day.

•  Don’t indulge in dessert every time you’re in the cafeteria.

•  Do take advantage of the variety of sweet and seasonal fruit your cafeteria has to offer, instead. Fruit can be a great, low-fat treat and source of essential vitamins, minerals and fiber.

•  Don’t feel compelled to eat when you’re not hungry, just because everyone around you is. This is the “friend effect” that can lead to social eating and result in unwanted weight gain.

•  Do listen to your body. If you’re hungry, grab a plate and fill it with reasonable, healthy portions.  But if you’re not, sip on some water while your friends chow down. 

If you’re out of the dorms and don’t have easy access to the cafeteria, follow these tips to eat healthy while on a college student’s budget:

•  Plan ahead: Plan your meals and go grocery shopping with a list of what you will need to prepare them. This will save you from buying things you won’t use.  It also helps prevent those last-minute vending machine fixes and fast food runs, which add on the pounds and quickly put you over your budget. Plus, if you give yourself enough lead time, you can search for coupons to save even more money.

•  Eat what’s in season: Pay attention to what fruits and vegetables are in season and plan your meals using those items, as they will usually be the lowest cost offering in the store for healthy choices.

•  Have fun, but don’t drink your calories: Let’s be realistic; many college and graduate students enjoy alcoholic beverages. Light beers are the easiest low-cal choice because they usually have the same alcohol content as standard beer, but with fewer calories. Use club soda, diet soda or other low-calorie mixers when you opt for mixed drinks.  This simple change can often save you about 100 calories per drink.

•  Drink more water: This is alarmingly simple, but you would be surprised at how much switching from soda to water can save. If you hit the vending machine for a soda three times a week at $1.25 a pop, you will save almost $200 a year by cutting this trip out. Use a refillable water bottle and drink tap water or filter your own to quench your thirst in a healthy way.  Also, instead of drinking 120 calories from soda pop three times a week, those sodas can be replaced with water and save 18,720 calories a year, which adds up to around 5.35 lbs.

•  Use the buddy system and buy in bulk: Food is typically cheaper in higher quantities. If you live alone, buddy-up with someone so you can split the items and the bill.  Buddying-up also offers encouragement to stay on track, since each of you will be doing the other a favor by providing an extra incentive to stay healthy.  If you have a roommate, get someone else in the house or apartment on track. This means that you will also be less likely to waste produce because you’ll be able to use it up before it spoils. 

It is easy to go to college and lose all inhibitions when it comes to food.  The most important thing is to stay level-headed and make good choices for your budget and your waistline.  So eat healthy and get out and exercise too. College provides some of the best years of a person’s life – make sure your body is enjoying those years too.  

— Grace A. Derocha is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan.