By Joanna Bowden

According to a study conducted by Slimming World an average fresher gains two stone in their first year of uni and 59 % of students blame stress for this weight gain. Other factors are (unsurprisingly) alcohol (56%) and post-partying grub (59%) – so yes, those cheesy chips you demolished in the early hours of the morning do count, even if you don’t remember eating them.

The results are pretty shocking, aren’t they?

The convenience of ordering a take away or nipping to the corner shop is far too easy for us students but healthy eating isn’t actually as hard as it may seem. All those excuses of ‘I don’t have time’ and ‘I can’t afford to eat well’ are all myths. Healthy eating will not only make you feel better about yourself, it can also improve your lifestyle as a whole. It will give you more energy, help boost your learning ability and save money that you would rather be spending on new clothes. It’s a win/win situation.

Student, Eve Hewitt, decided to become a vegan when moving to university to help keep healthy and save money. “Being vegan deters me from eating things like pizza and cake, it encourages me to cook healthy meals. People always think that being healthy means eating boring food but it doesn’t. If I can eat interesting meals whilst being a vegan then anyone can do it.”

Venturing to different stores now and then will help you save money- especially if you are on a budget. Your local green grocers- such as Longs in Winton- is the perfect place to stock up on fruit and vegetables; not only is it cheaper, there is a wider selection of healthier foods that you can buy to add variation to your diet. If you’re not keen on buying fresh fruit and veg you can always buy them frozen. They have the same nutritional benefits but there’s no faffing about trying to chop them up, as you only need to pop them on the boil for a few minutes.

AUB student, Sarah Woollett, shares her healthy eating tips. She said; “My top tip for eating healthy as a student would be to cook your food in batches. It’s so easy to cook up a healthy vegetable chilli or soup and put into portions in the freezer. When I don’t have time to cook dinner or can’t be bothered I defrost a portion rather than reaching for the takeaway leaflet.”

As mentioned earlier, alcohol is a significant problem for students trying to lead a healthy lifestyle. Obviously, giving it up all together is near to impossible but you can opt for a lower calorie option when choosing your drink. On average a large glass of wine (250ml) contains 288 calories, that’s the equivalent of a slice of cake. Why not have a single Vodka and Tonic instead which only contains 96 calories. Making this small change can make such a difference so you can have an (almost) guilt free night out.

Leading a healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean giving up your favourite foods either – you just need to find a balance. A slice of pizza won’t make you fat, the same way a salad won’t make you thin. Why not make your own pizza using a toasted wrap as the base and top with roasted vegetables? This is a simple healthy alternative to one of your guilty pleasures.

Being active is another way of getting healthy. If you want to get active whilst at university, you don’t have to take out a pricey gym membership, you can start running or swimming with your friends. At Stokewood Leisure Centre in Winton, you can buy six swims for £15, that’s £2.50 per swim – it’s the perfect workout as it works all your muscles and is really refreshing.

If you’re lacking inspiration, check out BBC Good Food. It is full of cheap and healthy recipes to get you cooking in the kitchen. For fitness inspiration, check out @getmydreambody on Instagram. Being a healthy student isn’t as hard as you first thought, is it?