Eating Habits

Okay, so I know I've been completely slacking when it comes to this blog. Give me a break! It's not like anyone knows about it and is following it religiously. This next blog is about something that I know I had trouble with my Freshman year and am still dealing with: weight gained from unhealthy eating habits.

If you're already a health nut and active, this may not apply to you so much. But during my freshman year (as well as this year) I had a meal plan. Meal plans are basically over priced prepaid meals that make you think you're saving money, when really it's costing you not only you more money, but also potentially your physical health.

At my school, as well as many other larger universities, some of the following restaurants are included (but not limited to) on the meal plan: Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, Freshens, and so on and so forth. Yeah, it seems so nice to be able to get all of these foods on meal-plan so easily, but later on when you're not so active with (what use to be requied) P.E. classes and all you're doing is eating when you're bored, it is eventually going to lead to the well-known "Freshman Fifteen."

Tip three: eat healthy; stay active.

Towards the end of my first semester, I started to realize that I was gaining a bit of weight. Nothing too noticeable, but I knew that if I didn't change my eating habits that I was going to eventually gain more than the infamous FF.

Try to eat less of the fast/fried/sugary food that is offered at your college/uni and eat some healthier choices. I'm not saying cut the crap completely, because cutting junk cold turkey can be difficult and eventually cause a junk food binge.

Buy a cheap scale for your room. Not something too cheap though, because the cheap ones will lie to you. If you're worried about not being able to fight your cravings, try to focus not on losing weight, but simply not gaining weight. If you're a pound down from the morning before, don't allow yourself to cheat just because you're down. Instead focus on not gaining that pound back.

To help out with weight loss I highly suggest MyFitnessPal. You can set a goal for yourself and track food you eat in order to help lose weight. It's free, and in my opinion works better than weight watchers because you're watching individual calories, fat grams, sugars, etc. For example, if you want to lose up to 2 lbs. a week, you should only consume roughly 1200 calories a day as opposed to the suggested 2000.

Hope this helps! Happy studies!

Setting Ground Rules

Okay guys. Second blog. This is probably going to be really short, but that's okay. It's straight to the point. Also, I know this is incredibly late, seeing as I am now beginning my Sophomore year.

Tip 2: Setting the Ground Rules

This can go one of two ways: well, or not so well. You need to make sure that you and your roommate, whether you two are the same person or polar opposites, can find common ground when setting up the ground rules. My dorm actually made my roommate and I make a set of rules and sign a contract to enforce those rules. But not all dorms do this.

Set up rules from the get-go. Compromise a time that no more visitors should be allowed in the room due to study time. If you're in a suite-style dorm, set a schedule or some kind of chart showing when each person will do some type of cleaning duty in the restroom (these things aren't going to clean themselves.) Ask yourselves these questions"

-Is everyone going to take turns buying toilet paper and share, or are we just going to keep the toilet paper we buy to ourselves?

-Who is going to provide a trash can for the restroom, and who is going to take it out when it gets full? (the "whoever tops it drops it" rule doesn't work well, because everyone will deny that they were the ones to top the trash can)

-Who is going to buy what cleaning supplies for the restroom?

-etc?

All of these things are relevant. It's crucial to get rules set up at the beginning of the semester/year, because if something starts bugging you further in, it's probably already too late.

Living Arrangements

Sorry guys, I'm a little late on keeping up with the blog parallel to keeping up with my actual Freshman year. I needed something to keep me sane.

We'll start off with a short introduction. I'm Steigen, I'm currently a Freshman the University of South Carolina, and have been for about two months now. I aspire to be accepted into the International Business Program while minoring in German and Mandarin.

Well...there you go.

ALSO. I'm sure a lot of the beginning tips will be things that your orientation leader or parents or older friends tell you, but I PROMISE, sooner or later this blog will become more personal.

Disclaimer: If you're reading this blog and you're not a college Freshman or younger for the time being, then obviously this blog isn't for you.

Tip 1: Thinking Ahead

To people who are still in high school and going to college soon: do NOT room with someone that you know, specifically your best, or even a close friend.

Why not?

This will most likely result in immediate hermit-like behavior, and later lead to fights that could potentially damage the friendship: for good. If you're already developing a comfort zone before entering college, you'll be less likely to "put yourself out there" and more likely to latch on to your roommate for dear life for any means of communication. Your roommate will get annoyed, they'll tell you to fuck off, vice versa, yada yada yada. It's just not a good idea. People are different when you live with them, no matter how well you think you know them.

As far as choosing a roommate, that's all based upon your personal experience. Taking a survey to find your potential roommate is a good idea, but just because you're made for each other on paper doesn't necessarily mean you're made for each other when it comes to living. Take the survey if you want to try it out, or if you're feeling frisky, allow the school to give you a completely random roommate. I've heard it works...sometimes.

And hey, if worse comes to worse, you can already request a change of roommates. Right?