Staying Healthy as a Student

Pot Noodles and Jägerbombs. That’s the main diet of a student, right? After all, there’s usually a bit of dried veg in a Pot Noodle, so it’s practically a salad, isn’t it?

While a junk-food-eating-booze-downing student lifestyle may be the stereotype, it doesn’t have to be that way. Staying healthy as a student doesn’t even need to be difficult. 

As an added bonus, healthy students save money. 

Here are a few ways students can stay healthy, which won’t only improve their long-term health but will also aid their studies by improving their focus and concentration too. 

Don’t go to the supermarket when you’re hungry 

Going to the supermarket when you’re hungry is a rookie error. All your good intentions of giving the chocolate aisle a swerve and filling up your trolley with fruit and vegetables instead go out of the window. You end up back at your student accommodation with a feeling of remorse and a sizeable chunk of your student loan having just been spent on biscuits. 

Oops.

To avoid this expensive – albeit delicious – error, make sure you eat before you go food shopping so your belly doesn’t end up ruling your head. 

Make a meal plan

Before you skip off to the supermarket with a full belly, semi-confident that, now you’ve eaten, you’ll make better choices, be armed with a meal plan. 

A meal plan means you’ll know what you’re going to be eating for the next week. Without a meal plan, you’ll be staring into the fridge or cupboard at dinnertime and choosing whatever’s there that takes your fancy. Which, let’s face it, probably won’t be the healthiest thing. 

Make a meal plan, draw up a shopping list and take that list to the supermarket and don’t buy anything that’s not on the list. This will not only save you money but will also save you from buying unhealthy food. 

Cook from scratch

This tip will automatically happen if you make a meal plan. How so? Because, unless your meal plan consists solely of ‘get a takeaway,’ ‘order a pizza,’ or ‘go down the chippy,’ your meals will need to be cooked from scratch. 

However, your meals don’t need to be boring – if takeaways are your thing, just google ‘fakeaways’ and you can have all the pizza, curry or noodles your heart desires. The only difference is that you’ll control how much unhealthiness goes into them and they won’t be covered in grease, unlike most takeaways. 

Not only will your meals be healthier, you’ll save a ton of cash, too. 

Get some exercise and fresh air 

A healthy diet alone won’t keep you at your peak though. Along with eating healthily, for optimum health, you need to get some exercise too. 

Your university might have a gym on campus but, if not, your local gym will probably offer a healthy (no pun intended!) student discount. 

If going to the gym isn’t your thing, get your exercise outside in the fresh air by walking, running, cycling or joining an outside fitness class such as yoga or boot camp. 

As you can see, staying healthy as a student isn’t difficult. It’s not only easy but will save you money, too.