There are a number of dietary issues that may crop up when you embark on third level & if they go unchecked they can have a very negative cumulative effect on both your physical & mental health.
So what should I watch out for?
- Skipping meals regularly
- Going on empty for long periods of time frequently
- Relying on processed or convenient foods most of the time
- No access to proper cooking or food storage facilities at your accommodation
- Poor or absent cooking skills
- Restricted budget or no budgeting skills
- High caffeine intake
- High sugar intake
- House share where food items may disappear
- Long commutes
What is the best way to look after my nutritional needs?
- Get a good breakfast/brunch and ensure you have a main meal at the end of your day.
- Carry healthy snack with you so that you don’t become reliant on high sugar/high salt snacks
- Know your food budget for the week
- List out your favorite starchy carbs, proteins and healthy fats & add a portion to every meal paired with fruits and vegetables including as much colour as possible. A cooked chicken a prepared salad box and a cake of brown bread could keep you going for 2-3 days if you are organised enough. A nice tub of curry sauce with the left over meat on day 3 with boil in the bag rice and some prechopped veg will rustle up a nice chicken curry without too much fuss
- Meal prep or batch cook at home at the weekend if possible so you have- some freezer meals to take back with you. This is only practical if you have a freezer space available to you
- Learn the basics of cooking and meal prep from family or friends if you don’t have those skills already – this will save you a fortune
- Is there a canteen on campus? Check it out & get familiar with the options available to you. The prices are usually subsidised
Your ability to study and to retain information will suffer if you are not giving the body what it needs. Include oily fish, tinned fish is a cheap and handy option, fruit, in particular berries, especially blueberries, vegetables, especially, broccoli, seeds, nuts, dark chocolate, eggs and green tea if you like it. A little coffee goes a long way but try not to drink it too often on an empty tummy.
How do I build a healthy routine?
- Look ahead to the next 24 hours when you can. That way you can be a bit more organised
- Plan your opportunities to eat? Will you have time to sit and eat? Will you need to eat on the go? Will you have to wait until you get home?
- Prep in advance if you can, for example if you have an early commute you could prep a smoothie the night before, see https://lucyloobynutrition.ie/breakfast-on-the-go-smoothie-by-lucy-looby-nutrition/ for a recipe idea
- Have handy healthy snacks to eat on the go, for example, fruit and nuts, this is a far better option than expensive, high sugar protein bars. These bars are marketed as healthy but I’ve yet to find one I’d rate. They tend to be high sugar, and high in price too
- Try to avoid launching yourself into your day on empty. Do this when you can. You are not expected to be perfect but every time you manage to get your day off to a good start is a win. Some will struggle in the mornings more than others!! So don’t be hard on yourself. Your best is good enough, always! Self-care is a skill, a very important life skill.
- Make little rules for yourself that you will be able to achieve, for example, no alcohol on an empty tummy!!, eat breakfast every day, drink 1.5 litres of water every day, have healthy snacks with me when on the go
What are the hidden reasons behind unhealthy habits?
- Time pressure or stress
- Poor time management skills
- Helicopter parenting
- Commuting
- Exhaustion
- No planning / poor organisation
- No cooking skills, not learnt in the home from a young age
- FOMO!!! Eating is quite boring compared to meeting friends or getting involved in extracurricular activities. Priorities at third level are different, you are not designed to necessarily think about your health or longevity at such a young age. Self-care may not be high on your agenda when there are so many other things to do & get involved in
How do we as parents adapt to this new chapter and new routine?
- We can prioritise our own self-care – the basics, food, water, rest, fresh air, movement
- We can decide to use our new free time in a positive way
- Start a new hobby
- Acquire new skills
- Engage in further education
- Focus on career development, whether it be progression, starting or restarting
- Use this time as an opportunity for a new focus in your life!
Get busy living. Reconnect with your old self. The person you were before you had kids and a spouse. You’re in their somewhere!
Most of all watch the ass’s!! ASS’S!!
ALCOHOL, SMOKING, SNACKING, SCROLLING
Don’t stop cooking just because it’s just you or you and your spouse. Maintain a meal routine. Attend a cookery course or go to a nutritionist if you are struggling to stay on track and feel good.
What we as parents need to do to help our young adults get off to a good start.
- Teach them the skills they need to wash, chop, cut, prep, how to cook, how to add flavour, how to enjoy your food. These should be tackled as baby steps growing up but it’s not to late to teach the basics
- Show your young adults how to plan, budget, get organised & come up with ideas for meals to eat
- Help them have a ” go to ” breakfast that’ll work for them. Give them some go to meal ideas for their main meal, not all meals have to be cooked if you have all the elements on the plate
- Pick out some healthy snacks for them to have on the run
- Batch cook with them at weekends if that’ll help
- Cooking is not a gender defined skill, make sure you teach your sons and daughters
JUST DON’T TAKE OVER. Let them do it, it may not be perfect to start but you’ll be surprised how capable most young adults are when they are given the opportunity.
My thoughts are with all of you who are waiting results in the coming days. It can be an extremely daunting time for some but it is a new beginning and new beginnings are good. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy but the challenge forms character & character build you up to be the person you are meant to be!!
Written by Lucy Looby, 18th Aug 2023
