Staying Healthy During Finals

It's that time of the year again: finals week. This slowly approaching week means stress, overcaffination, and awkward eating times. Staying healthy, mentally and physically is an important part of exams week. There are a number of tips that can allow you to stay focused and perform your best on your exams.

Believe it or not, there are tons of foods that can help you through this stressful time. Blueberries are said to improve learning capacity. Eggs, which are high in choline, helps improve memory functions. Dark chocolate helps brains deal with free radicals, which can have damaging affects on the brain (just make sure to eat it in moderation).

When at the library, you don't want to be running to the vending machine constantly. Some great snacks to bring along with you are:

-Apples and peanut butter (or banana and peanut butter)

-Carrots and ranch dressing

-Cliff bars

-Yogurt

-Whole grain crackers and cheese

Many of these items, such as the yogurt, crackers, cheese, and peanut butter, help stabilize blood sugar and increase the clarity of your thinking. Some foods to avoid, though, are carbs high in starch. These include items such as bagels and bread. High amounts of carbs creates a relaxation effect, which makes you tired. That's is not something you want when trying to cram for that history exam!

The number one rule of staying healthy during finals week, though, is to stay hydrated. Dehydration is an easy way to lose concentration. In the HerCampus article "Survival of the Fittest: Eating Healthy During Finals", they give great tips on how liquids affect your body. Water or non-sugary options like crystal light packets are great choices to stay hydrated. When it comes to coffee and other types of caffeine, drink it in moderation. Large amounts of caffeine cause your blood sugar levels and mood fluctuate, causing you to become mentally and physically exhausted.

And remember, the best thing you can do at the start of your day is to eat breakfast, according to 10 Tips for Healthy Eating During Exams. By keeping your body and brain healthy, you will succeed during finals week! 

Madison

Campus Collegiate

Spring 10 Day Real Food Challenge

While April showers brings May flowers, warm weather certainly brings anxiety over the impending spring dresses, shorts, and bikini season. To get my eating habits back on track for the warm weather, I decided to take the 10 DayReal Food Challenge, created by Lisa Leake. She originally created a blog called 100 Days of Real Food to share how her and her family "pledged to go 100 solid days without eating a single ounce of highly processed or refined food."

I began my 10 Day Real Food Challenge on March 28, 2012. As I live on campus, I knew this would be very hard. Meals in campus dining halls are either already prepared or seem healthy, but have elements that aren’t. I was determined to stick to my plan and share with others how to find healthy options while in college, whether on campus or off!

The challenge has Real Food Rules to follow, which includes what you can and cannot eat. For example, it says to eat lots of veggies and fruit, but to stay away from foods that come out of a box, can, bag, bottle or package that has more than 5 ingredients listed on the label (yikes!).

I sort of had a hard time transitioning into this challenge. When going to eat a meal, it took me a lot longer to figure out what to eat, because I really had to think if it followed the guidelines. But, I actually really enjoyed this process. It helped me really think about the things I was putting into my body and made me more informative about foods that I thought were healthy. I really liked having a strict set of guidelines, but that also made it difficult when eating on campus. Since I couldn't go out and buy what was on the list, I had to make do with what was in dining halls.

While at times I cheated a little, such as when I would get hummus and veggies on a spinach wrap (any wheat products are supposed to be real whole wheat), I gained an overall healthier outlook on my eating habits. I feel so much healthier and as though I have more energy. I have found items that I enjoy eating and don't completely miss the things I had to turn down during my challenge.

I have continued to incorporate this challenge into my lifestyle, even after the 10 days were up. I know it will be easier to follow this challenge more strictly when I am living off campus next year, and am excited about that! I would recommend this challenge to everyone, and think it has been a great way to get back on track to a healthier body and outlook, especially for these upcoming warm weather seasons!

Madison Smith

Campus Collegiate