Many of us hear the phrase “meal prepping” and think of the many fancy blog post focused on “healthy eating” and how we can prep a weeks worth of food. This may discourage people due to the time and resources involved in meal prepping, but this can be easily solved. From personal experience as a student who is always busy, I find that meal prepping can be a great way to stop ourselves from eating fast food and can be done in a way that we can have a variety of options. For example, when grocery shopping, buy things that you like- do not buy items that you think are healthy and you should eat them because they are. This will only waste money and keep you hungry. I would recommend buying a group of foods that you would normally eat and make two meals per day with variety. This will stop the idea that the food is “boring” and provide you with options. According to Bulletproof blog,  “For people who like to cook and serve food all at once, just prep parts of recipes. Chop veggies, mix spices, or marinade meat in advance to save time when you’re ready to cook”. This is great advice because cooking in two separate sessions can discourage us due to the time constraints. Healthline informs us that there are different ways to meal prep, ” here are many ways to meal prep, depending on your goals, schedule and meal preferences. Some options include making large batches to be frozen, full meals to be refrigerated and separate portions to be combined as you see fit” (Petre 1). I recommend picking a day that your schedule is not entirely booked and start cooking for the next week!

There are multiple benefits to exercising and eating healthy. The obvious reasons are for the health benefits. Eating and exercising can treat many cardiac and pulmonary diseases. A study was done at Harvard School of Medicine that measured how people’s improving diet and fitness increased their health. Per the article, “The study, from Stanford University researcher Abby King and colleagues, enrolled 200 people over age 44 whose diets and physical-activity levels were well below healthy standards. They were hoping to improve their lifestyles, but were not specifically trying to lose weight” They go on to say there were three groups: a control that received consoling about dieting, a group who had to diet and a group that had to exercise. They found that “The control group met none of these goals. Those in the diet-first group met their dietary goals.  Those in the exercise-first group met their activity goal. But only those in the simultaneous group met both goals” (DeNoon Harvard Med). This is a great example to show that dieting and exercising does help in the long run.

For me, health and fitness is more than losing weight. There are numerous benefits that come prior to losing weight

• better mood- a busy lifestyle can physically drain us as students and working out will release chemicals that make us happier. I always feel 100xs better after going to the gym after a long day of class. It gives us a happier outlook and we will be able to get out of the “student slump”.
• boosts energy- eating unhealthy foods is linked to fatigue and drowsiness. This is normally because there are no nutrients in unhealthy foods. Foods with fiber and fruits and vegetables will boost our energy and give us more energy to study and pay attention in class. Exercise also helps boost energy levels. According to HelpGuide, “Increasing your heart rate several times a week will give you more get-up-and-go. Start off with just a few minutes of exercise per day, and increase your workout as you feel more energized” (HelpGuide 1).
• longer life- practicing healthy habits over the course of our lifetime will add more years. If we eat better, that means we are protecting our bodies from diseases and foreign bodies.
• memory improvement- exercising also helps with memory improvement! According to a Harvard Medical School study, “Exercise helps memory and thinking through both direct and indirect means. The benefits of exercise come directly from its ability to reduce insulin resistance, reduce inflammation, and stimulate the release of growth factors—chemicals in the brain that affect the health of brain cells, the growth of new blood vessels in the brain, and even the abundance and survival of new brain cells” (Godman 1). Exercising the body also effects our mind and as students, we could use all of the memory space we can get for studying and test taking!
• If we can incorporate a small amount of time to exercise and eat healthy, we will live a more prosperous and longer life. Click here to learn more about the benefits of health and fitness.

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