Most DIGS students have probably finished university for the year. If you haven’t then don’t worry you’re nearly there! We’ve had a handful of glorious days in Spring, but Summer is next month and we are hoping that the best is yet to come! Basking in the gleaming sunshine usually means that we start thinking about how to look our best for Summer and DIGS wants to promote sustainable healthy living in our students and staff. Not just for how healthy living makes us look but instead for how it makes us feel. Being a student is a bit exhausting so we’ve put together that are easy switches.
Don’t look at the numbers on the weighing scales, or the size of your jeans. But think about how your jeans fit and how healthy and energised you feel. And it has some positive effects if you’re a student as eating healthier will make you more focused and less groggy for those late night study sessions.
Running on healthful and unprocessed food is something everyone should try and think about more when throwing shopping in the basket. There is nothing wrong with a chocolate bar or a bag of sweets occasionally, but in moderation!
We’re not encouraging you to embark on an unhealthy and unrealistic lifestyle but rather to focus on making small changes which cumulatively will help you become healthier long-term. It’s these little and often noticeable changes which help us achieve sustainable and even enjoyable healthy living.
20 top tips for student friendly health swaps
– Swap blue milk for green milk or red milk. You may not realise how many cups of tea and coffee you drink a day or how much milk you have on your cereal.
– If you find your Weetabix a little bit bland then skip the spoonful of sugar for a handful of strawberries, blueberries or raspberries. It’s an easy way to incorporate one of your five-a-day but also satisfies your sweet tooth.
– Swap white bread for wholegrain
-Keep the takeaways to once a week- will help you when you’re on a student budget
– Swap creamy sauces for tomato based sauces
– Drink 2 litres of water every day and only drink sugary drinks as a treat when you go out for a meal. Add sliced lemon or chopped strawberries to sweeten up the taste.
– Avoid bland coloured foods, a plate of neutral colours is not good for you! Swap white rice and pasta for wholegrain rice and pasta.
– Swap chocolate spread for peanut butter. Peanut butter is still high in calories but is also full of healthy fats which will keep your heart healthy. It helps subside hunger and is a great source of protein.
-Following some of the healthy eating like Delish
– Eat an orange instead of drinking orange juice. This way you’re cutting out the added sugar, or better still squeeze your own oranges into orange juice.
– Swap milk chocolate for dark chocolate. Dark chocolate has half the sugar.
– Swap wine and beer for spirits. Hard spirits have no added sugar.
– Make your portion size smaller.
– Cycle or walk to work rather than driving or getting the bus.
– Take the stairs instead of the lifts.
– Swap a Netflix binge for an extra walk with your dog, siblings or partner.
– Use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream.
– Swap beef and pork for chicken and turkey, lean meats are less fatty.
– Eat poached or boiled eggs instead of scrambled or fried.
– Play sport instead of watching sport. Instead of watching football, get your mates together and have a game yourself. It’s even more fun!
– When your alarm goes off, don’t hit snooze for an extra 10 minutes – get up and do the plank. Trying to hold it for longer and longer every day. Or do sit ups or press ups for ten minutes every morning.
– Swap laziness and takeaways for home cooked food. You know what is going in it when you cook it yourself.
Staff and students, let’s all health swap together.