It’s that time of year where thousands of students will leave home for the first time to start their own independent adult lives. Yet freedom comes with great responsibility. This falls in the form of looking after your finances, keeping up with your uni course and taking care of your own health and wellbeing.
University is a juggling act; while on the one hand you want to excel in your studies, you also want to make friends and have an active social life, plus you still want to look after yourself and maintain your appearance. Something’s gotta give.
Here are our tips to stay healthy and balanced at uni.
Don’t double up
Burpees burn around 100 calories in 10 minutes, depending on your weight, but if you’ve ever done them before then you’ll know that 10 minutes of non-stop burpees is almost impossible.
Bear in mind that one single shot of vodka is around 72 calories. Doubling up and throwing in a mixer takes you to around 250 calories. Four doubles easily takes you to 1,000 calories, which is nearly half of your recommended daily allowance and nearly two hours of constant burpees! Bet those doubles don’t seem as attractive now?
Always opt for singles, you drink them at the same rate as doubles which can help reduce your overall intake. Plus, you’re supposed to drink responsibly anyway, right?
Take up a sport
Sociable activities don’t have to revolve around drinking, you’ll also find a vast array of sports and fitness clubs at university. Join a team, such as football, netball or rugby and make new friends while you keep active. Alternatively, many gyms offer discounted memberships to students, so you can work out for less.
Swap takeaways for fakeaways
Students spend a staggering £925 a year on buying takeaways, research by Hungryhouse (cited on the Student Guide) revealed. This is a huge amount of money to be wasting on food that will make you feel terrible. Instead of ordering a takeaway online, plan in advance and order your ingredients from a grocery store/supermarket to make a fakeaway.
Chinese-style chow mein, chicken curries and homemade pizzas can all be made in the same amount of time that it would take you to retrieve your laptop.
Limit your alcohol consumption to once a week
Student offers can be too good to miss, but don’t end up going to every night out just because you’re AFOMO (afraid of missing out). Instead, choose one big night a week that you are going to drink alcohol on and your body, bank balance and mental wellbeing will be much happier.
You can still go on nights out and refrain from drinking, wake up and bask in the smug feeling of letting everyone know how embarrassing they were the night before!