Well, another week has come and gone – I can honestly say that I have done my best to stay away from fried foods, microwaveable meals, simple carbs and all of those things that critics claim are causing America to be fat.

…And what have I discovered?

1. Most of the stuff that I do like is in fact healthy! Salmon and Avocado are a girl’s best friends – especially when combined in a yummy sushi roll (brown rice of course!).

2. I feel more in control! Being forced to think about what I am putting in my mouth hasn’t stopped me from eating but it has made me more conscious of what I am choosing to put into my body.

3. Eating out can be scary! Especially if you start to pay attention not only to portion sizes but also the sheer fat and grease that makes its way onto your plate – even if you think that it’s the healthier option. Ordering can be a minefield!

4. Sometimes all you really want is a cheesy slice of pizza! And that is no reason to be ashamed – or deny yourself a treat once in awhile.

5. Not everyone is going to be as excited about your health-kick as you are. Now more than ever, it is clear to me how complicated one’s relationship with food can really be. Some people engage with food as though each meal is passionate encounter with a love and for some it is merely the fuel that gets you from point A to point B.  Some people are afraid of food and events that revolve around eating. I think for the majority of us, myself included, it is a combination of all of these things.

So what have I been eating?  Well, here is a list of my trusty favorites:

• Avocadoes (I cannot stress this enough – yay Omega 3s!)
• Eggs
• Olive Oil
• Fish
• Whole-wheat pasta
• Apples
• Kefir – a Greek yogurt/drink that is proven to help with digestion among other things
• Small baked potatoes (Russett & sweet potatoes)
• Sushi

 These foods have definitely been keeping my energy up and my eating clean! Know of any other great foods that would be in keeping with this challenge?

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So we are in a little bit of a predicament, my friends. On the one hand, summer is almost here, meaning bikinis, boats, and (hopefully) cute boys to hang out with in said bikinis on said boats. On the other hand, summer is almost here (wah wah), meaning we are not only spending these weeks studying our little (or big) badonk-a-donks off, but any moment not spent studying (or stress eating) is spent drinking with our pals because hey, we only have a few more weeks left and we want to remember all those good times we spent drinking together until we didn’t remember drinking together. Ah, those times are the greatest. I think.

The only problem is that situation numero dos (the drinking/not remembering eating that entire pizza at 2am) doesn’t help us out with situation number one (bikinis and fitting our booties into one).

When we drink (and we all know this by now), we’re not only consuming a ton of calories from our friend the frozen marg, but much like that fabulous children’s book “If You Give A Moose A Muffin,” if you give me a tequila shot, I’m going to want some mac and cheese/pizza/other late night snack to go with it. And that means may-jor (Rachel Zoe voice) extra fat and calories.

Unless you have some healthier versions of your favorite tasty treats up your sleeve, which – yay! – I do.  I’ve spent some time playing around my kitchen and come up with a trusty arsenal of late night foods that satisfy the late night craving minus the late night calories. Seems too good to be true? Well, whip these up in your kitchen (or dorm room) and you’ll realize that it’s not!

Mac & Cheese:
1 pack of Tofu Shirataki noodles
2-3 wedges of Laughing Cow Cheese (any flavor)

Strain the noodles, warm them in the microwave and mix in the cheese until it gets all gooey and mac and cheesy. Benefit aside from the lo cal count (these “noodles” have about 40 calories in an entire package!)? This recipe is easy enough to make while wasted.

“Pasta”
Okay so by pasta, I mean not pasta. Take any leftover or frozen veggies (I love broccoli or cauliflower), heat them up (oven, stove top or microwave depending on your level of sobriety) and toss them in some tomato sauce and a little Parmesan and you get the taste of pasta minus the muffin top. It’s a win-win.

Sweet Potato “fries”
Take one large sweet potato and slice into thin rounds, toss in a little bit of olive oil, sea salt and paprika, throw on a cooking sheet and bake for about 35 minutes.

“Chocolate” bark
I’ve written before about the amazing benefits of coconut oil - it’s really great for ya! Now I’m going to use it and give you the satisfaction of chocolate….in a healthy way! Note: Make before you go out so you can just nom nom nom when you get home.

1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
4 packets of Stevia
1/2 tablespoon of agave (optional)

Mix the cocoa powder and Stevia, then add in the melted coconut oil. Pour onto a cookie sheet or into cupcake holders and freeze. Feel free to add a few drops of a Stevia flavor to make it even better, but you won’t need it. This stuff is decadent and tasty and will hit the late night spot.

Peanut butter
Sometimes late at night, I like to eat peanut butter on a spoon. Sometimes with jelly. Sometimes with chocolate chips and sometimes just by itself. It’s true. and it’s good, But it’s not the healthiest of late night snacks. Swap out peanut butter for Better ‘n Peanut Butter as a healthier alternative while still getting that PB taste. (It has only 100 calories per tablespoon!)  It’s especially tasty on a whole wheat pita with sliced banana on top!

For even more healthy alternatives to your favorite unhealthy snacks, click here. And if you’ve got a favorite “late night snack” swap, share it with the rest of us below! 

This past week, I attended the IHRSA fitness convention here in San Francisco. Besides ogling all of the ridiculously ripped trainers, I got a sneak peek at our industry’s latest innovations. Boy, is there a lot of new equipment out there! So long to those boring dumbbells and hello to these quirky new toys.

This post provided by college nutritionist, author, and all around excellent source of healthful info, Melanie Jatsek.

If I were to tell you that eating certain foods in the right combination will make you more alert and focused, would you give them a try?  How about if I told you that some of your food choices are literally draining your brain power? Would you think twice before chowin’ down on them?

The bad news – it’s true!
The good news – you don’t have to completely overhaul your diet in order to get results.

Three factors influence what I like to call your “brain power”:  meal composition (the foods that make up your meal), meal size and meal frequency. Allow me to break it all down for you:

Meal composition:

Carbohydrates:
Seratonin, the chemical in your body responsible for calmness and sleep, is triggered by carbohydrates.  A meal or snack high in simple sugars will produce more serotonin and sedate your brain.  Not exactly what you need when you’re trying to study for that big exam, is it?  Another reason to limit the sweets: they enter your bloodstream at a rapid rate, leaving you “crashing and burning” within the hour.  Simple sugars include foods like: cake, candy, cookies, frostings, fruit drinks, syrups, sodas, sweet tea, table sugar, etc.

Stick with “brain building” carbohydrates like whole grains, fruits, vegetables, legumes, low fat milk and yogurt.  They digest nice and slowly, delivering a steady stream of glucose (your brain’s preferred fuel source) to your brain.

Hint:  If you are really craving something sweet like a piece of candy or cake, eat it after a meal to weaken the serotonin effect.

Protein:
Dopamine is the chemical in your body responsible for revving up your brain, making you alert, energetic and focused.  It’s triggered by protein-rich foods like dairy products, eggs, meats, seafood and soy.  Be careful because a “brain building” protein can turn into a “brain draining” one depending on how it’s prepared- cold cuts, fried or breaded meats and those covered in cream sauces will put you in a slump.

Hint: The American Dietetic Association and The American Heart Association recommend eating 2 servings of lower mercury fish per week.  Salmon and canned or pouched light tuna are two good sources of brain building omega 3 fatty acids that are lower in mercury.  Each serving is 3.5 ounces cooked, or about ¾ cup of flaked fish. Fish with higher mercury levels should be avoided: Shark, swordfish, king mackerel and tilefish.

Fat:
You have a fat head.  Really!  Your brain is made up of two-thirds fat, so eating enough of it is important.  “Brain building” fats include monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.  Monounsaturated fats promote healthy blood blow to your brain and include olives, olive oil, nuts and seed, peanut oil, canola oil and avocados.  Polyunsaturated fats, specifically omega 3 fatty acids, are the main structural component of your brain. Eat them and you’ll have a much higher functioning noggin!  They include herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, trout, tuna, chia seeds, canola oil, flaxseeds, flaxseed oil, soybean oil and walnuts.  Because they are calorie-rich, remember to keep portion sizes small when it comes to oils, nuts and seeds.

Your brain hates trans fats (trans fatty acids), otherwise known as “brain draining” fats.  That’s because it’s not a natural fat, so it stands to reason that it doesn’t act naturally in your body.  Trans fats make their way into your brain cells, line your brain cell membranes and disrupt communication, resulting in diminished mental performance.  In other words, your brain malfunctions in the presence of trans fat.  Possible trans fat-containing foods include:  cookies, crackers, doughnuts, foods fried in partially hydrogenated oils (fried chicken, French fries), frostings, margarine, pastry, potato chips, shortening, snack cakes and tortillas.

To check if a food is made with trans fat, look at the Nutrition Facts Label for grams of trans fat and also under the ingredient list for the words “partially hydrogenated oils.”

Hint:  Carbohydrate, protein, and fat are all necessary components of a meal. Take out the carbs and your brain won’t have a reliable source of glucose to function properly, take out the protein and you may not be as alert, take out the fat and it’s just like eating Chinese food…you’ll get hungry in an hour!

B-Vitamins & Choline:
B-vitamins help your body take the energy from the foods you eat and turn it into energy you can use.  Without B-vitamins it would be difficult for your brain to operate at its peak.  Fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products, meats, beans, soy, seafood, nuts and eggs are all good sources of B-vitamins.  As you can see, it’s pretty easy to get your B-vitamins if you follow a balanced diet with lots of variety!

Choline belongs to the B-vitamin family and improves thought, memory and focus.  Eggs, soybeans, wheat germ and whole wheat products are all rich in choline, so be sure to have them on your plate during exam week!

Antioxidants:
Free radicals are harmful substances in your body that cause damage and loss of brain function over time.  Your body naturally eliminates some, but not all of them.  This is where food comes in to finish the job.  Antioxidant-rich foods in particular are what you are after.  Antioxidants literally act like a broom, sweep up these nasty free radicals and eliminate them from your body.  This means a healthier body and brain.  Foods high in antioxidants include fruits (especially berries), colorful vegetables, dark chocolate, legumes, oats, green tea, spices, nuts and garlic.

Meal size:

Larger meals that are higher in calories take longer to digest, contribute to serotonin production, make you sleepy and diminish your mental performance.  Lighter meals with fewer calories, on the other hand, will not only nourish your body and brain, but will keep you energized and with peak mental focus.

You probably have to be at your most sharp during daylight hours, so breakfast, lunch and snacks should be lighter on the calories.

Meal frequency:

If it’s extra energy and more focus that you’re after, it is critical that you “refuel” every few hours.  This includes the most important meal of the day – breakfast of course!  To break the overnight fast that happens when you sleep, breakfast is a must.  When your blood sugar levels drop below a certain level, say after about four hours with no food, your stress hormones go up in an attempt to raise your blood sugar.  This process weakens your brain and your ability to concentrate suffers!

Focusing on that boring lecture and studying for your first exam will come much easier when you:  eat often, eat light, and fuel your brain with a wide variety of “brain building” carbohydrates, proteins and fats.  If you’re dying for something sweet, go ahead and have a small portion of ice cream…after you’ve eaten a well-balanced meal!

Melanie Jatsek is a speaker, author and registered dietitian who teaches college students how to eat to look better, feel better, think better and stress less!  Send her an email at melanie@melaniejatsek.com or connect with her on her new Facebook page for college students: “The Healthy Campus Project.”

Wrong.

I have never fit that description but for 6 months I somehow adhered to veganism, an experience that proved to be much different than I ever thought it would be. So how did I transition from a lifestyle wrought with skim milk and Hamburger Helper to one without any foods from animal sources? Well, by now we all know that college has some very strange effects on the mind . . .

Just before I started college, I cleaned up my eating habits quite a bit. Once there, I stood in line with my plastic tray in hand, standing on tiptoes to see what was waiting behind the sneeze protectors. It dawned on me that I didn’t want to touch any of the meat in the dining hall. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing tastier than a well-stuffed pork chop, but where in the world was this meat coming from? Were the animals coming from a place that would gross me out if I had seen it in person? I couldn’t be sure, and so I decided to bypass traveling tacos and mystery meat until further notice.

Around the same time, I was (unfairly) blaming the dining hall food for the terrible cramps and bloating I had begun experiencing. I talked to a good friend and health food guru about it. “I don’t think it’s the food that’s bothering you,” she insisted. “It’s dairy. You know that stuff’s no good for you. Don’t have any for 2 weeks and see how you feel.”

What? My parents practically poured milk down my throat as a child because of how essential it is to “strong bones and teeth.” Surely, you’ve heard the same as me. Not to mention that everyone insists drinking skim milk promotes weight loss.  How could this wonder drink be bad? I was startled to realize that a huge debate is brewing that says milk might not be healthy at all.  After hearing so many horror stories about dairy, I decided that it might be the cause of my indigestion after all. So I ditched it for the recommended 2 weeks. No soft serve (!!), no yogurt parfaits, no milk and cereal. More than that, any baked goods, soups, breads, or anything else that contained milk or eggs was out of the picture. I just about went into withdrawals, literally.

You see, I’m certainly not a chemistry major, so I had to learn from experience that milk contains some proteins that give it an addictive quality (Which must be why I guiltlessly annihilate half-gallons of ice cream with a spoon). For those 2 weeks, I felt anything but better. All I did was crave everything I couldn’t eat. But after those 14 days, I had defeated my demon and my tummy was considerably happier without milk.

It was time to make a decision about whether or not to actually live life as a vegan.

Disgusting factory farms produce meat.
Dairy is pretty much riddled with opioids and can actually cause calcium deprivation.

My head was spinning. If animal-based foods are this gross, should I be vegan?
After much deliberation, I realized the answer for me was no.

Even though I have met many happy vegans, I suspended my foray into veganism after half a  year. Though lightening up on dairy products made my stomach troubles cease, my energy was completely zapped; I didn’t feel as robust and alert as before. My verve was missing, and for me it was no coincidence that my yogurt cups were, too. I let a moderate amount of dairy back into my life, and I felt whole again.

So what now? I eat meat, but I try to do so consciously. I aim for certified organic meat, and I love when I am able to find good meat close to home. Basically, I want to know the animals I am eating lived a good life and were handled by knowledgeable people. I still pass by meat entrees in the dining hall, and when I pay $8 a pack for respectable hot dogs you know I’m not grilling too many this summer. But it works for me. I still drink milk in moderation, and that too is organic.

The war is still waging about whether or not there is any benefit to dairy. While I can’t offer any concrete scientific evidence that milk is healthy, I know it’s healthy for me because of what it gives to me. I can’t say that it works for everyone. The most important message I got out of my eating experiments is that everyone has to find their own food philosophy. We all can’t be omnivores. We all can’t be vegetarians. We can only do what works for our bodies and minds. At this stage of my life, I am turning veganism down. I’m still deciding, though, if I would turn down a Prius or not . . .

5 Questions We Ask Everyone

1. What’s your favorite college memory/the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
I was a bit of a nerd in college, so I didn’t get into much trouble. (I got into enough trouble my senior year of high school and must have gotten it all out of my system.)  I would say that my favorite college memory was taking advantage of NOT going to the Ohio State University football games and going shopping!  There were no crowds and I had the whole campus to myself because everyone (except me) was at the game!

2. Name 5 things you can’t live without:
My running shoes
My Smartphone
Cheese
My earplugs (when I sleep)
Coffee!!

3. What is your favorite song to belt out in the car/at the bar/for karaoke?
Even though I am married, “Single Ladies” by Beyonce

4. What is your motto/the advice you live by?
I have two. The first is that I can choose to be happy and make the best out of any situation or complain about it and be miserable. This always helps me stay positive even during the most challenging times! The other is that everything happens for a reason.

5. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I will have written 3 books for college students and completed my second or third college speaking tour!

5 Questions Just for Melanie

1. What do you think college girls are doing MOST wrong when it comes to their health?
Jumping on the latest “fad diet” train.  There is so much bad advice floating around out there about diet and nutrition that it can be super confusing to know what works and what doesn’t or what’s true and what’s just plain hogwash.  I’ve spoken to so many college girls who are trying fasts, high protein diets, ultra low calorie diets, etc.  Some of these can be damaging to their health and they don’t even know it!

2. What are some quick and easy things we can do now to improve our health?
There are three very easy, very basic things everyone can do to improve their health:

Eat 2 cups of vegetables every day! This is huge because not only do they fill you up and help curb your appetite, they make you feel good because you know you’ve just done something good for your body.  You’re much less likely to follow those veggies with a cupcake or chocolate chip cookie!  Vegetables are loaded with antioxidants, which are substances that protect your body from cancer and keep your skin nice and clear!  I like to take a plastic container and fill it with baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and red pepper strips.  Even if you are living in a dorm and dining in the campus dining hall, you can still get your 2 cups of veggies.  Eat a spinach salad for lunch and steamed veggies for dinner (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, or whatever is offered) and you’re there!  Low sodium V8 juice counts as a vegetable serving.  It comes in packages of 6, 6-ounce cans which store easily in even the smallest dorm room.  8 ounces of V8 juice = 1 cup of vegetables!

Drink more water and less calorie-laden beverages like juice, iced tea, soda, coffee drinks.  Calories from beverages count but for some reason we can sometimes forget this.  For example, drinking a 20 ounce bottle of iced tea is just like eating a half of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  They both contain 200 calories but the iced tea won’t fill you up like the sandwich will!

Get moving! Even if you can only fit in 20 minutes of exercise a day, it still counts.  We know how exercise can help manage our weight (that’s a no-brainer), but it is a HUGE stress reliever.  With all of the demands you face in college, stress will be a reality.  Exercise won’t eliminate it but can certainly help you cope with it.  Also, recent studies have shown that college students who exercise get better grades than those who don’t!

3. What is the ideal breakfast for a college girl on the go?
Anything quick and nutritious that contains carbohydrates and protein will do.  Here are 3 great ideas:
* 1 ounce of string cheese, 1 cup of dry whole grain cereal (Quaker Oatmeal Squares are yummy when eaten dry) mixed with 2 tablespoons of raisins.  Total calories:  237
* 6 ounces of yogurt mixed with 1/2 ounce of lightly salted peanuts, 1 small apple or orange.  Total calories:  279
* 1 slice of whole grain bread topped with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter and 8 ounces of skim milk.  Total calories:  267

4. College girls tend to rely on coffee to get them through life. What are some healthier alternatives to give them the energy they need?
I know this is a given, but adequate sleep is SO important for extra energy and a healthy immune system.  Aim for 7-8 hours if possible.  Adequate hydration is also necessary for energy, so be sure you drink at least 40 ounces of water every day.  When you’re dehydrated you will feel sluggish. Also, exercise! When you exercise, your heart pumps more blood throughout your body.  One of the chief responsibilities of your blood is to carry oxygen and nutrients to all parts of your body.  It’s the oxygen that makes you feel more alert and energized!

Coffee isn’t the enemy.  Studies have shown that it helps to keep you mentally alert and sharp.  1 to 2 cups a day will not hurt you if you already drink it. Just watch how you order your coffee!  If it’s made with a lot of sugar (like Cafe Mochas, Frappuccinos, sweetened cappuccinos or lattes) than you may crash and burn sooner than you think!

5. Is late night eating really that bad for us?
No!  It doesn’t matter what time of day you eat.  What matters is how much you eat, what you eat and how physically active you are in a 24 hour period.  Where college students often get into trouble is when they overeat during the late night hours in an effort to stay awake to study.  Let’s say your body requires 2000 calories to stay at your current weight.  If you eat some of those calories late at night but aren’t going over 2000 calories, then you won’t gain weight.  Eating a large meal late at night can interfere with a restful sleep however, so you want to be sure that you aren’t eating and then going straight to bed.

Got some questions for Melanie? Email her: melanie@melaniejatsek.com. Or visit her online at www.melaniejatsek.com to get some cool resources or to sign up for her FREE audio/video newsletter, “The 60 Second Spark”!

Try incorporating any of these five foods into your diet and you will see and feel the positive health benefits. Seems daunting? I’ve even included some ways to sneak these foods into your everyday meals, so now you’ve got no excuses not to get healthy.

1. Fruit: Raspberries
These cute lil’ red things are a great source of fiber, potassium, and Vitamin C. As translation, eating just a cup of berries a day will reduce cholesterol levels, maintain organ balance, and improve your immune system. In fact, studies have shown that these great tasting berries even diminish risks for cancer. Snack on them in between classes, top them on your breakfast parfaits, or cool down in the summer heat with a raspberry-peach smoothie!

2. Nuts: Raw Almonds
Yes, that says RAW. That means no added sugar, salt, “honey-roasted”, or “dipped in chocolate”. If you snack on 20-23 of these organic nuts, you can be guaranteed some heart-healthy fats, 6 grams of protein, and over 35% of your daily need of Vitamin E. Okay, so “raw” and “nuts” doesn’t sound tempting for your belly? Slather some almond-rich, homemade beauty products on your face! Almonds have been proven to create an awesome complexion and soft skin.

3. Vegetable: Broccoli
Personally, I absolutely love broccoli. Not only does it taste good, but it can also be added to any dish! Put it in pasta, salad, soup; have it sautéed, broiled, eaten raw. Whatever you do, it’s a guaranteed yum. Imagine my great surprise when I learned that this super food was rich in fiber for a healthy digestive system, and abundant with calcium for my bones that endure so much shock from my daily runs. Oh and get this: adding this green healing machine to your diet may even reduce risks of Alzheimer’s. So don’t forget it!

4. Grain: Brown Rice
This replacement for white long grain rice may be difficult to adjust to at first, but the benefits are amazing. Brown rice contains a great source of manganese and magnesium, which can reduce the severity of headaches and migraines (goodbye boy drama!). In fact, studies have shown that when you replace white rice with the brown alternative, you lower not only your blood pressure, but your risk for atherosclerosis, too. Yay for long, healthy lives.

5. Fish: Salmon
Salmon is great because it has low mercury levels (if that’s what you were worried about), few calories (only 127 calories for 3 ounces), and good levels of Omega-3 Fatty Acids (necessary for proper brain development, and more). Bake it, grill it, eat with the above brown rice, make Salmon burgers, put it on top of your sushi…the possibilities are endless.

Let me know what your other favorite super foods are. Better yet, share some of your favorite recipes with me! Body blog cook off, anyone?

The 4th of July is only a week away and the store mannequins have certainly arrived in their starred and striped bikinis to make sure we don’t forget it.

It’s an American holiday that takes barbecues, fireworks, and beach parties to a whole new level and with it coming up fast, it’s time to pledge our allegiance to our diets. These diet shape-ups will have you ready to don your nautical wear from the first notes of the Star-Spangled Banner and beyond.

Smoothie Sailing: If no one has let you in on the secret yet, let me be the first to inform of the word of the day: SMOOTH-IES. Smoothies can be counted as a meal substitute or an afternoon snack and they are absolutely delicious (provided that you put the right stuff in them). These 8-ounce concoctions will leave you feeling fuller longer and they are great for sitting by the pool. Simply add ¾ cup of milk, 1/2 cup of berries, whey powder and peanut butter and sip your way to slim!

Go for the grains: Have you seen the intense high fructose corn syrup commercials on the television? Well this little demon takes up living space in white breads. Switching to whole-grain breads and cereals will give your body the power it needs to fight off flab. And for those who say carbohydrates are not good for you, here is the correction: the right kind (i.e. brown rice, whole wheat bread and pastas) will be your best friends forever if you let them.

Leave the French fries in France this 4th: There is no way around it, anyone looking to majorly shape up their body has got to drop the fried foods. No, you don’t have to make a pact to never touch a burger or fried dough again, but the key is moderation. Stick to grilled chicken, sautéed vegetables, and meals that are not bathed in a tub of oil before they hit your stomach. By slowly erasing these trouble makers from your diet you will find your abs thanking you very sweetly.

Skimmy dipping: Whole milk has long been associated with calcium. And yes, we need our calcium. But why not go for the skim milk? We get the same amount of calcium (even more, actually) without all that fat. At first you might gripe over the taste of skim milk compared to 2% percent but start slow; begin adding skim milk to your lattes or to your cereal in the a.m. and move up from there.

Thank you, Popeye: Alright, with that subtitle you already know what I am about to suggest. But I am about to dish out some diet-saving advice here. We think diets and our minds automatically race to the salad. Hold on two seconds, drop the iceberg lettuce (yea, the cheap lettuce that provides no kind of substantial nutrients), and go for the spinach to make up your salad. The greatest thing about adding this green leafed superstar to your veggies, your stomach won’t be growling at you in .2 seconds. Fills you up and slims you down!

So try out these diet shape-ups in the next few weeks as you are looking for routes to be a firecracker this 4th of July. As any nutrition lover would suggest, all of these diet tips work even better with a solid exercise regimen. Hit up the trails, run on the beach, and make the most of the summer sun. Work out, drink plenty of water and try out some of these tips then prepare to slim down and sizzle in your red, white and blue this year.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m exercise’s #1 fan (not really, but I tell myself that trick me into doing it every day). It makes you healthier, happier and hotter. But as my fellow CC gals know, it’s summer time-and that comes with certain duties as a college student. Let’s not kid ourselves here, sometimes day drinking just takes precedence over willpower or dietary discretion- and I don’t know about you guys but I’m still coasting on what’s left of my Spring Break bod.

But alas! Three months fly by too fast, and before we know it, we’re back at school sweet school. And if there’s one goal college women can agree on, it’s that we want to look fierce during welcome week. So put down the margarita and get ready to turn heads on the first day of classes by giving yourself a summer fitness challenge!

First things first: Weigh yourself and figure out your BMI. Set a realistic goal weight and BMI for you to reach by move in day/welcome week/ your first day of classes. Next, determine how many calories you need to eat and burn in order to reach your goal-here’s your secret weapon. The only way to lose weight – the right way – is to burn more calories than you’re eating. To find out how many calories are in whatever food I’m eating (fresh fruit doesn’t have nutrition labels, much to my annoyance) I like to use Calorie King. It has virtually every food’s nutrition facts, along with graphs that show you what percentage of the food is fat, protein, carbs, etc., so it’s easy to make sure you’re getting the right amount of each at every meal. And it tells you exactly how many minutes of various exercises like biking, jogging and rowing it will take to burn those calories off. One warning though, after a moment of weakness I broke down and got Moe’s – seeing how many hours (yes, hours) it would take to completely burn off those calories was slightly traumatic.  I’ll never look at a burrito the same way again.

And speaking of shocking realizations… Losing weight this summer will be so much easier if you actually know what you’re putting in your body, and how much of it you actually need. The best way to keep track of what you’re eating – and how much of it – is by keeping a food journal. It forces you to realize everything that you’re eating, and being brutally honest with yourself (see aforementioned burrito) makes you want to eat healthy. It also helps to keep an exercise journal. I hate seeing a blank day on mine, or even the days when I know I could have done better. Seeing everything in black and white is definitely a huge motivation and there are easy online tools that make it easier to do every day. So let’s talk…

Motivation: Saying you’re going to get in sick shape this summer and actually doing it are two different things. In most cases (well, at least in mine), the biggest problem is motivation. At the end of the day, only you can decide if you’re going to put down that cookie or go the extra 10 minutes on the Stairmaster. Unless you enlist a partner in weight loss, that is. Your partner can be your sibling, boyfriend or best friend, as long as they make the same commitment to summer fitness that you’re making. Find a partner, and you’ve got yourself a fitness challenge!

Schedule workouts for the week ahead of time and write them down, put them in your Blackberry, Google calendar, whatever – just make sure you’ve got a visual, concrete schedule of your workouts. These now function as “dates”. You wouldn’t want to blow off your partner (or have them blow you off), so there’ll be a voice of reason when one of you just doesn’t feel like hitting the gym.

Once you’re actually working up a sweat, decide on fun challenges you can compete in. Think you can kick your bff’s ass at a 10 minute mile? Bet your next pedicure on it. Think you can lap your baby bro in freestyle? Put a week’s worth of dishwashing duty on the line. And if you know you can out-crunch your man, for Pete’s sake bet sexual favors on it!

Finally…

Keep your hot streak going! You’ll feel damn good back-to-school shopping and sauntering around campus come September, but don’t let your summer’s hard work go to waste. Keep in mind the eating habits you developed over the summer. It’s important not to think of healthy eating as a “diet.” Being nutritious should be a lifestyle. Yes, you will occasionally mess up and go to Taco Bell after a long night of flip cup (and flip cup itself isn’t all that great for you, supposedly), but that doesn’t mean you should spiral into the deep abyss of terrible food all the time.

Same goes for the gym. After 3 months of reaping the benefits of daily cardio, your body will most likely be hooked on all those post-gym endorphins. But don’t let the stress of school keep you away from working out. Even if you’re swamped with papers and exam studying, make time to work out. Just 30 minutes of stress relief will be infinitely better than the hour you’ll inevitably spend procrastinating on Facebook. Maintaining the same eating and exercise habits that you practiced all summer will help you stay healthy – and hot – long into the fall semester.