From the freshman 15 to the sophomore plumps, without the proper nutrition, packing on the pounds in college seems easier than sleeping through morning classes.
From being overweight in high school to developing a healthy eating plan to losing weight freshman year in college and keeping off 30 pounds, author and current junior at Princeton University, Daphne Oz, shares the secrets to her success and gives a “nutrition made easy” approach for college students in her book The Dorm Room Diet.
Oz was overweight despite coming from a family who was constantly telling her what was right to eat; her father and grandfather are cardiac surgeons and her grandmother, a nutritional advisor and complimentary medicine specialist. Using personal experiences and expert advice, Oz developed an 8-step program for college students wanting to create a healthy lifestyle. This lifestyle program not only includes nutritional information, but also gives vitamin information, lists foods to eat to get the daily recommendations of nutritional supplements, develops realistic exercise plans and discusses forms of relaxation such as aromatherapy and meditation to help you de-stress and become a happier you.
Oz states that “The Dorm Room Diet is nothing like the conventional diets you may have gone on in the past. It offers guidelines for creating a healthy lifestyle on you own, without the daunting restricts of a diet. This book will help you stop eating out of emotional need,” (6).
For only $16.95, this book provides a realistic, flexible approach to healthy eating while in college and gives students no excuses for falling into the freshman slump. It addresses specific issues such as why people gain the freshman 15, how to achieve balance between nutritional needs and caloric intake, how to make healthy choices at a school cafeteria and offers illustrated instructions for dorm room exercises while making it all possible with the constraints many college students face such as time and money.
“Creating a healthy lifestyle for yourself is not about deprivation. It’s about consciousness,” (20).
Oz leaves nothing unaddressed and even offers suggestions for healthy snacks and on-the-go food, supplement remedies for the twelve common ailments (such as the common cold, sore throat, stomachache and cramps) and tips on how to “survive” the five danger zones that can destroy student’s healthy lifestyle plans – late night studying, sport events parties, watching television and late night talks.
It isn’t a fad diet and there aren’t restrictions that leave you eating only soup for a week straight. In The Dorm Room Diet, Oz creates a plan based on endorsing a healthy lifestyle; it promotes an understanding of healthy eating and exercise, and whether you’re looking to lose weight, avoid gaining weight or just to create a healthier lifestyle, Oz’s book is not only easy to follow but practical for the everyday life of a college student.
The Dorm Room Diet’s
8-step program:
Step 1: Get inspired
Step 2: Get informed
Step 3: Get started
Step 4: Get a Grip
Step 5: Get Prepared
Step 6: Get Moving
Step 7: Get Your Vitamins
Step 8: Get Happy
Bari Lieberman can be contacted at b.lieberman@umiami.edu.