The Ultimate Dorm Room Diet Guide

Check-out the Dorm Room Diet by Daphne Oz, daughter of Dr. Mehmet Oz.
Our friends over at Online University Review have compiled “The Ultimate Dorm Room Dieting Guide: 100 Tips, Tools & Tricks” to help you avoid college weight gain, including the avoiding the Freshman 15.
Since listing the entire guide might overwhelm our blog column, we have selected our favorite ten dorm room diet tips in no special order.
1. Too Much Sugar Makes You Crazy: Can’t eat a grapefruit without a packet of sugar? Try and do it anyway. That little extra flavor gives calories, crashing energy, and even tooth decay. Diet sweeteners aren’t much better either.
2. No Bedtime Snacks: Because your parents didn’t want you bouncing around during bed time, they wouldn’t let you eat two hours before bed. Because bedtime snacks can both add to stored calories and restless sleep, they should be avoided.
3. Out of Sight, Out of Mind: Keep those candy bars and cookies out of sight while in your dorm room to keep from getting distracted in your diet. If they’re your dorm mates’, get them a container to keep them in.
4. Play Nice: If your dorm mate or other friends are on a quest to achieve a healthy diet, join forces. Having one of the group be responsible for a different meal a week is a great way to stave off the Freshman 15.
5. Go Outside and Play: Because sitting in front of the dorm television, leads to snacking by others and ultimately yourself, go outside. A simple game of Frisbee can keep the snack attacks away while burning a few calories.
6. There Is No Diet In Team: Colleges and universities are full of teams in all sorts of sports at all levels. Joining one can have you burning calories and making friends all while having fun.
7. Hit The Salad Bar: Just about every dining hall has one, so take advantage. A healthy salad at the beginning of a meal can detract from the less healthy, but oh so tempting, options while providing essential nutrients.
8. Don’t Let The Salad Bar Hit You: Overloading your greens with cheeses, lunch meat, dressing, and more can actually make a salad just as bad as any other choice. Stick with the greens, a lighter dressing, and a smaller portion of it.
9. Sub Fruit For Dessert: A tough choice in theory, it becomes more practical when you think that an apple can be eaten on the way to class, while a piece of cake forces you to sit. The bonus of nutrients and fiber also easily beats the empty calories, sugar, and fat.
10. Don’t Drink: It may seem like a “do as I say, not as I do” piece of advice, but again your parents were onto something. Alcoholic drinks, such as margaritas or daiquiris, can be extremely high in calories and sugar. Not to mention the price you pay the morning after and the risks associated with drinking. If you’re of age, drink in moderation and let your body detox the next day.
The Ultimate Dorm Room Diet Guide also includes college healthy eating tips on the best dorm room snacks, the best dorm room breakfast foods, the best fast-food swaps, a guide to mini fridges, the best fitness gadgets and much more.
You can access the complete list through Online University Review.