Staying Healthy

   It seems to be a major stereotype of university students that we all become incredibly unhealthy very early on, due to not being bothered to cook for ourselves and not wanting to get up an hour early to have a morning workout. I'll admit that during freshers I didn't care much for fruit and veg and would much rather turn to greasy fast food after a night out to absorb some of my alcohol consumption. However, now I want to get back to eating healthily like I do at home and to start a proper exercise regime so that I can tone up and look good for my birthday and Christmas.

   Food shopping is obviously a major contributory factor in order to be able to stay healthy. As I've said in a previous post, Aldi is by far the cheapest shop local to me, and you get some absolute bargains in there! It's not hard to be able to get a reasonable amount of meat, fish, fruit and veg for under £10, which is probably about the same amount as I'd spend on a pizza after a night out! Buying cook books or looking online for recipes is the best, and easiest, way to be creative with your meals whilst still eating healthily. Lemon and chilli can make any meal delicious, and chucking it all in a bowl with some pasta will provide a hearty meal that isn't breaking the bank or your daily calorie intake!

   I've recently signed up to the free membership at the university gym, however, I haven't gone to book my induction yet, so I can't actually use it. Definitely look into your university gym and the gyms around your university, as many of them will have student deals on. Exercising releases endorphins and I genuinely am looking forward to going to the gym after a long day of lectures or when I'm particularly stressed or angry, and being able to relax and forget about it all for an hour or so. Exercising for an hour takes up hardly any of your day, so there's not really any excuse not to go to the gym!

   Similarly, I've joined the rowing society, and will be training with them four times a week, twice on the water and twice doing circuits. Hopefully, this will help me get a lot fitter and raise my stamina, as well as helping me tone up and get fitter in general. I highly recommend joining at least one sports society at university, there are so so many to choose from and it'd be a waste not to! It's something to look forward to during the week and another great way to make new friends.

   Basically, it's totally acceptable for you to slack off during freshers and put on some freshers weight. However, you can't then moan about it afterwards if you're not willing to do anything about it! Eating healthily and exercising isn't going to break the bank at all, so it's time to refute the stereotype that all us university students are slobs!