Art by Brooke Muschott
If you’re fighting stress, fatigue or weight gain you may not have enough on your plate… That’s right! Any of these symptoms could be side effects from not eating often enough.
Eating regularly is crucial if you want keep your metabolism at full speed. And, oftentimes this can be a challenge for college students with hectic schedules.
This is exceptionally difficult for Pepperdine students, according to Registered Dietitian Nutritionist Caitlin Schoensiegel.
“Pepperdine students may have a little more difficulty than other university students because they are notorious for being overcommitted, which leads to inadequate meal planning,” Schoensiegel wrote in an email.
If you’re running out of time in your schedule, missing meals is not the solution. In fact, skipping your snack time can have the exact opposite effect. When you skip meals your body compensates by slowing down your metabolism to conserve energy. This makes it easier to convert food into stored fat.
But, eating regularly can engage your metabolism.
“When you consume meals and snacks at regular intervals, your metabolism remains engaged and at its optimal level,” Schoensiegel wrote.
“This encourages the body to burn fat rather than to store fat because the body expects a consistent intake of energy.”
So how can you fit snacks in your schedule? There are plenty of healthy snack options available to students at many of Pepperdine’s on-campus dining options.
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Follow Shayla Girardin on Twitter: @Shaylagthatsme