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Nutrition > What is Normal Eating?
What is Normal Eating?
 What Does it Mean to Eat Well?
What is normal eating?  What should I eat?  College students often wonder if they're eating the right foods to stay healthy.  Here are some ideas about what it means to be a normal, healthy eater. 

What is Normal Eating?

  • Normal eating is going to the table hungry and eating until you are satisfied.  It is being able to choose food you like and eat it and truly get enough of it--not just stop eating because you think you should. 
  • Normal eating is being able to give some thought to your food selection so you get nutritious food, but not being so wary and restrictive that you miss out on enjoyable food. 
  • Normal eating is giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad, or bored, or just because it feels good. 
  • Normal eating is three meals a day, or four or five, or it can be choosing to munch along the way.  It is leaving some cookies on the plate because you know you can have some again tomorrow, or it is eating more now because they taste so wonderful. 
  • Normal eating is overeating at times, feeling stuffed and uncomfortable.  And it can be undereating at times and wishing you had more. 
  • Normal eating is trusting your body to make up for your mistakes in eating. 
  • Normal eating takes up some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area of your life. 
  • In short, normal eating is flexible.  It varies in response to your hunger, your schedule, your proximity to food, and your feelings.

(Copyright 1998 by Ellyn Satter.)

What Should I Eat?

  • Eat a colorful variety of fruits and vegetables each day.  Most college students should aim for 2 cups of fruit/day and 2.5 cups of vegetables/day.
  • Choose whole grain bread, cereal, rice, pasta, tortillas, crackers, and cooked grains.
  • Consume 3 cups per day of fat-free or low-fat milk, yogurt, and cheese (or other equivalent sources of calcium).
  • Make sure that most of the fat in your diet comes from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils.
  • Limit saturated fats and trans fats from high-fat meats and dairy foods, fried foods, and baked goods.

(Taken from key recommendations of the USDA's Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005.)

You can consult a registered dietitian (RD) for more specific nutrition information that's tailored to your needs.  Call the RD on campus at 243-6325 to make an appointment.