Going to college is exciting and scary at the same time. For the most part, you are finally out of your parents house and living on your own, or with a roommate. Odds are you are probably like most college students, you have to find cheap food. So that means you will be ordering pizza a lot and eating fast food, and lets not forget about all the drinking you probably will be doing too. Here’s a fun fact, an estimated 2 billion hamburgers are consumed by U.S. college students each year. That is enough burgers to circle the earth nearly 5 times. Many college students gain weight in their 4+ years at their school, but how can you not become one of the statistics of college students who gain weight? What are some cheap and healthy ways for you to not lose your high school figure?

Here are 10 tips to help you stay lean or leaner:

Tip #1 – Obviously you do not have a lot of time, so that means you are usually eating on the run, probably at fast food restaurants. How can you eat healthy on the run? Ask for a nutritional guide of all their food items, this will help educate you on which foods are healthy and which foods are not. May Fast food places offer salads, try to eat those instead of hamburgers all the time. Beware of taco salads and cobb salads, they are pretty high in fat.

Tip #2 – Do not upgrade your meal! Try to keep your portion smaller, you do not need a super size meal. All that does is add extra calories and fat to your meal.

Tip #3 – Do not drink your calories. Many people forget how much calories are in soda, beer, and energy drink. Try to limit yourself with the soda pop, that carbonation and sugar is not good for you. Try to stay stick to light beer, or no beer…it’s a waist of money, and definitely try to get yourself off of energy drink…they are really not good for you. Drink water!

Tip #4 – Do not shop for food when you are hungry.  You will make bad decisions on food if you are hungry.  You cannot trust yourself to make good decision with food, when your gut is ruling your mind.

Tip #5 – Shop at grocery stores that have good deals, there are a lot of places like Safeway and QFC, who are just to expensive.  Try to find  a Winco, or if you can order in bulk go to a Costco to help you save money and buy healthy food.

Tip #6 – When cooking your food make sure to drain the grease.  You do not need the grease and fat in your meal, so try to drain it or pat it dry.

Tip #7 – Find fruits to eat that you love.  Many times when you have a sweet tooth, there is nothing better to crave it than some grapes, or some other delicious fruit.

Tip #8 – Try to eat smaller meals, around 5 per day.  Carry around a few snacks in your backpack so you are not always starving by the end of the day.

Tip #9 – Try to extend your meal into a couple days.  When I go to a restaurant, I try only to eat half of my meal, I take the rest home and eat it the next day.  You can save money, plus your are not eating all those calories in one sitting.

Tip #10 – Stick with whole grains and whole wheats.  Bread is cheap, and sandwiches are easy to make.  Make sure you sty away from white breads, they will go straight to your hips.  Whole wheat breads and pastas are way better for your health.