Hi everyone, I hope you have had a great week. Any plans for the weekend?

I had a pretty busy weekend; a friend of mine from one of my previous schools came to visit. I took her around Guildford, did some shopping and had really nice food! Now, I have lots of work to catch up with, but it was lovely to see my friend. 🙂

Studying at university and staying away from home made me realise one thing: it is not easy to stay fit at university. You might wonder: “Why? Don’t you go to boxing and yoga every week?” Yes I do, but the diet part of keeping fit can be a bit tricky. 😛 Studying at university, you found yourself not only spending a lot of time studying, but also spending a lot more time socialising with people and there are just always events you can go to. Most of the time, you bond with people though a night out or a meal together. And to be honest, a glass of wine or a beer is now part of many students’ diet. As a student, managing your time to study and keep up with your course are difficult enough on their own, not to mention that you also need to take care of yourself as in doing laundry, cooking food, cleaning your room and just a lot of little things you need to take care of. Therefore, from my experience, I had come up with a few ideas to share with you all. I am sure it does not only apply to university students, students preparing for their DSE in Hong Kong will also find it useful.

Tip no. 1:

What you put in your plate. It is often very tempting to order a good Indian or take away pizza after a long day of studying and working. Keep in mind that take away meals are usually very unhealthy and are cooked with lots of oil, salt, sugar and additional flavours. So the solution is, try to cook every meal for yourself. This way you know what is in your food and you can also control the portions and the amount of salt and sugar you put in your food. Don’t forget to eat regularly. It can prevent you from binge eating. Always make sure you have at least 3 different kinds of vegetables a day. You can spread them out during the day, you don’t have to have all 3 in one meal or you can have all three in one meal. Drink lots of water and ditch fizzy drinks and unnecessary energy drinks. Limit your intake of sugar not only helps with maintaining weight but also helps with regulating your blood sugar levels. Lastly, consume alcohol moderately. It is easy to have a little “too much” to drink in a night out, or it is easy to sip though a whole bottle of wine. Limit the amount you drink or do what I do only drink during the weekends.

Tip no. 2:

Work out/ exercise. We all know that you should hit the gym once awhile or go for a run during the evening. IRL, we just stay in and watch Netflix while finishing that leftover pizza from last night. It has been proven that exercise is really good for your body and health. Recent research shows that running helps generating new brain cells. Wow, that’s good news for university student! It is suggested that people should exercise for at least 30minutes every day. Set yourself a workout schedule and some goals to achieve. Goals as in like finishing a 10k run in less than an hour instead of lost 10 pounds in a week. Set healthy goals instead of putting yourself in pressure to lose weight, that’s a common mistake that many people made during a life style change. Get a gym membership! The Surrey Sports Park offers surrey students a £210 a year with full access to all the facilities in the sports park and fitness classes. (For more information, please visit: http://www.surreysportspark.co.uk/ ) Or you can join team Surrey. There are over 50 sports societies you can take part in, there is guaranteed a sports that you will enjoy!

Tip no. 3:

Sleep. Getting enough and good quality sleep is very important for your health. A good 7 hours not only help you to wake up to go to your 9am lectures but also helps your body to recover. It has been found that sleep helps to form our memories and organise information in our brain. Moreover, having enough sleep helps us to focus better at lectures and take in more information more efficiently. It is also found out that not having enough sleep can contribute to weight gain. People with not enough sleep tend to overeat and binge on sugary food because they need more energy. So make sure you get a good 7-9 hour sleep if you can.

That’s it from me. I hope the tips above helps. Please leave a comment to share what you do to keep fit and whether you think my tips are helpful; or if you want to know anything about the university or what else I do apart from studying.

EAT. STUDY. EXERCISE. SLEEP. REPEAT.

Diana x