Mmm. Only 480 calories of fast food goodness.

I can’t lie: I love fast food. So much so that I have mapped out all the fast-food restaurants near my campus and committed all of their locations to memory, as well as the fastest routes to get there. And I may have instructed a cab driver to swing by and grab me a large order of fries and honey for dipping them on the way home from the bar. Twice. Yeah, that’s a bit excessive, but don’t judge; we have all experienced that moment when the dining hall slop is simply too underwhelming and all we want is a Big Mac. And fries. And a milkshake to wash it all down.

It is my firmest belief that fast-food restaurants should be listed as one of America’s deadliest sins. But because I can’t say no to a good drive-thru (Editor’s Note: Don’t try the drunken walk-through-the-drive-thru…they don’t like that), I decided to figure out the healthiest options to order in hopes of keeping obesity at bay. And it’s surprisingly not that hard to find healthy options at grease pits these days.

If you’ve got a hankering for some good ol’ fast food but don’t want to undo that 90-minute Vinyasa class, these are the best options for you:

Wendy’s: I truly believe Wendy’s to be the 4-star restaurant of the fast-food nation. I wish they could all be a little more like Wendy. I would recommend the Mandarin Chicken Salad with Oriental Sesame Dressing and Roasted Almonds. It’s 480 calories and delectable to the last bite. If salad isn’t your bag, try the Ultimate Chicken Grill Sandwich. Only 320 calories and yet still a hearty sandwich. As the name states, it’s the ultimate.

Taco Bell: Taco Bell’s Fresco menu is basically the same items, minus the sour cream. You can get a crunchy taco for only 150 calories. That’s like a 100-calorie pack taco meal. I like the sound of that. But just a warning: You may be saving on calories, but it won’t save you any more time in the bathroom. It’s the curse of Taco Bell. Learn to live with it. Read More »

Ugh...

This summer is my last summer at home. While most of you can relate when I say that I’m ecstatic (believe me, I am), it may not be for the reason everyone expects. Read: living with the parents breathing down my neck.

You see, when I go home, I gain weight. Not just 3 or 4 pounds, but this summer I put on 10. freakin. pounds. Yes, I know this is my own fault, so don’t get on my case for knowing better, but I know I’m not alone. There is something about the summer that just means extra poundage. So how about we take a closer look at what goes on during the summer months so we can stop the madness?!?!

1) The campus gym is no longer 5 min away - Ok, this one hit me pretty hard. I love having a free gym at my disposal! No way am I going to pay buckets of money to use an elliptical in my hometown.

2) When it’s fifty million degrees outside, you want to stay in – I’m one of those people that no matter how far away my class is, I’d rather walk than take the campus shuttle. Well, with no class to go to, I have nowhere to walk. Also, I live in west Texas where it’s been over 100 degrees every day for the past month. Going on a walk for exercise is out of the question; I don’t want to burst into flames! Read More »

My mom does a lot of really annoying things.

She calls me really early in the morning, or really late at night. To talk about reality TV shows.
Whenever I’m on the phone with her, she hangs up abruptly to get another call…without saying goodbye.
She pees with the door open in the powder room on the main floor of our house.
She backed into my car when it was parked on her driveway…

But no matter how much I want to shake her and scream, “MOM IT’S 8AM ON A SUNDAY AND I DO NOT CARE WHAT YOU THINK OF RAMONA!” the woman has given me so much and I can’t forget that.

My mom is one of the most generous people I know, always giving her time and services to other people. She will do anything for me, including moving me and all my stuff from dorm to sorority house to house to apartment to apartment. She’s always in the mood for a trip to the mall and sometimes even throws her credit card down at the register. She’s an awesome cook, she’s pretty good at Scrabble and she did apologize when she backed into my car…

But the thing I’m most grateful for when it comes to my mom is the confidence and self esteem she has instilled in me.

I was a fat kid growing up. And not just baby fat. Fat fat. I was tall and big and had a perm – needless to say, I stuck out. But I never knew it. In fact, I didn’t realize quite how big I was until I looked at pictures from my childhood long after those years were over. At the time, thanks to my mom, I thought I was just like everyone else. You see, she was a plus sized woman, but I never realized there was anything wrong with that. I don’t remember my mom ever talking about her weight. I don’t remember her ever hiding herself or her body out of shame. Read More »

While my own 36-B boobs don’t quite fit the trend, recent research suggests that women’s boobs are getting bigger.

A study out of New Zealand found that “Sales of D to J cup sizes have increased by 53 percent over the past three years, compared to a 2 percent increase in the sales figures of AA to C-cupped bras.”

Whoa mama. That’s a lot of breast in just three years!

Many stores in England have already started responding to the increase in size demand for larger cup sizes, some even stocking up to a K-cup!

Why the sudden increase? Many claim it has to do with diet and lifestyle; the increase in obesity worldwide would naturally mean an increase in breast size. Others argue that the hormones pumped into our food (specifically milk products) could also be to blame.

Whatever the reason, though, it seems that at the rate we are going, small breasts will soon be a thing of the past, much like bell bottoms, a booming US economy, and Full House.

Except for mine, of course. I’ve been waiting for these girls to grow since the 4th grade and they just won’t budge. I’ll just take comfort in knowing that Victoria’s Secret will never run out of my bra size again.

[Life isn’t black and white. As much as we wish we simply loved or hated things, there is often that whole annoying gray area in the middle. Like, we hate how Walmart treats its employees…but we love the low prices! Or, we love how that boy makes us laugh….but we hate that he has no motivation in life. Damn you, gray area; you make decision-making that much more complicated!

There are so many difficult choices in life (do we love or hate high heels??), so we thought we’d sort through ‘em right here. Every week we will discuss another issue we are torn up about. Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!]

Whether you call it the caf, the d-hall or the sh*t hole, you definitely have one. The dining hall is a place to meet with friends, grab a bite to eat or flirt with the sandwich guy. As college students, we spend endless amounts of time there, whether by choice or because our schools force us to pay for meal plans. And, just like every other serious relationship in our lives, this one has a lot of highs and a lot of lows. Read More »

Last week one of the CollegeCandy writers asked a question that I have been thinking about since I started crushing on boys in the 4th grade: would you date someone who weighs less than you?

Many people weighed in (tee hee) on the topic via the comments, and most of them seemed angry that we even brought up the issue. I mean, weight shouldn’t matter! But I really felt that a lot of people were missing the point.

This is not a question of body image or beauty, but rather a question of comfort, societal expectations and the role of men and women in a relationship. I was curious to see if weight was something guys considered when dating someone (beyond the whole preference for a girl with big boobs and a negative waist).

And based on what this guy said, I think weight and size matter more than most people are willing to admit. Read More »

In today’s society, the most appealing man is one that is big and manly, one who is there to protect his “weak” woman. And the ideal woman? She looks like Barbie: petite, busty… petite. The ideal pair, then, is a big, strong man and his teeny, frail little lady. Because of this unrealistic ideal that we have all been socialized to expect and strive for, women want to feel small and cute in comparison to their men.

Yes, we want to weigh less than our men.

It makes sense, right?

I know it is stereotypical to say, but I like strong men who are bigger than I am. I think girls feel this way for many reasons, one being the constant feeling of insecurity and body image. I know I would feel insecure about myself and have the constant feeling that I needed to lose weight if I was dating a man who weighed less than me. I also think, politically correct or not, I’d like to be with someone who could protect me. I’m not saying that I can’t stand up for myself, but I like the feeling of security that a nice big pair of arms provides me.

And, let’s be honest here, it is hard to feel feminine and ladylike when you are bigger than your boyfriend.

So as much as I would like to say I would date a guy who weighs less than me, the reality is that I probably wouldn’t. But I’d like to know: am I alone?

Would you date someone smaller than you?

Nearly every first year student worries about putting on the dreaded “freshman fifteen” upon entering college, which makes the dining hall and food options offered by a university a major focal point of conversation among its student body. While most colleges across the nation have a variety of options in their dining hall and the students are satisfied, a lot of colleges simply suck in the food programs they provide for their students. However, while those programs may not be ideal for the student body, administrations often work with students to get insight into creating better menus, offering more variety, and improving overall healthiness of the food.

My university is not one of those schools that eagerly works to improve the situation in the dining hall, even though it is overwhelmingly a huge issue on campus.

From day one, I have heard nothing but complaints from my peers, and even my professors – and now, two and a half years later, complaints and concerns of the dining program (created by Sodexho – a program which works with many schools across the nation) still circulate on a day-to-day basis.

As a campus, Hollins students are indisputably guilty for interminable complaining about the issues with Sodexho as a program and the administration taking responsibility (or lack thereof) for student concerns over food issues, but I don’t blame anyone for their incessant pressure on trying to improve the situation. Hollins doesn’t offer a varying meal plan; its unlimited access to the dining hall from breakfast until the cafeteria closes at 7pm binds students to the meal-plan, making getting off the meal plan nearly impossible. Read More »

A recent poll on CollegeCandy showed that many of us know people in our lives who are suffering from an Eating Disorder. Not only did those results remind me of a very sad truth for our demographic, but they also made me realize that the only way to change that truth is to provide people with the tools necessary to help a friend in need.

I was anorexic and then bulimic for about two years before ultimately recovering. I have also had a few friends go down the Eating Disorder path, so I feel like I have been on both sides of the predicament and truly understand the best methods for reaching out to someone who is suffering from this brutal and debilitating disease.

The most important method for helping people help their friends is awareness, so first let me dispel some E.D myths. Read More »

[Every week our style guru takes a celebrity look and breaks it down for you, our poor college fashionista. What does that mean? It means that while the celebrities are spending $5,000 on an ensemble, you don’t have to.

All you have to do is click on the goods and - boom - you can buy the entire ensemble. Yes, we know; there is a spot for her in heaven.]

The fact that people are saying Jessica Simpson is FAT is baffeling to me. She was way too thin before and she is still thin now. The media obsession with calling her fat is only perpetuating a society of anorexics and girls ripping other girls apart. I agree with our gal Jess when she said that “I feel like in our world, we focus on so many things that are unimportant. And I really just wanted to say this.”

So instead of focusing on her weight, I decided to focus on her fashion, because curvy or thin, blonde or brunette, this is one cute celebrity look that I wanted to find on the cheap.

Celebrity Chic on the Cheap: These Leggings Are Made for Partying And That’s Just What They’ll Do. Read More »