The Smart Student's Guide to Healthy Living: How to Survive Stress, Late Nights, and the College Cafeteria

Fight the Freshman Fifteen, Sleepless Nights, and Other Pitfalls of College Life

Welcome to college life. It's full of possibilities — and pitfalls. Cafeteria food is awful, but there sure is a lot of it. And you can eat as much (or more) of anything — and everything — as you want. And in a single year of study, you can grow a gut that will haunt you for the rest of your life. No one in the dorm is going to tell you when to go to bed, and you can wear each all-night cram session like a badge of honor. But on two hours of sleep a night, the circles under your eyes will make you look like a raccoon before midterms — which you'll then probably fail. And exercise — what's that? Say hello to thunder thighs and saggy bat-wing arms.

Sound awful? Good. It's supposed to. But take heart: With the simple advice you'll find in this book, you can eat right and get the sleep and exercise you need to excel academically and creatively. You'll get the straight story on how to avoid the freshman fifteen, and learn how to make good choices in the cafeteria and make smart snacks on those few useless appliances they allow you to keep in your room. You'll get tips on fitting regular exercise into a busy class schedule and getting enough sleep without being the only one who never — NEVER — makes it to the latest of the late-night parties.

• Eat smart to fight the freshman fifteen, food allergies, and fatigue
• Prepare smart snacks right in your dorm room — without burning the place down!
• Get enough sleep without missing out on too much late night fun
• Build the body of your dreams with smart exercise tips
• Make the grade without succumbing to stress
• Includes delicious dorm-room snack recipes

The Smart Student's Guide to Healthy Dorm Living is a must for any parent sending their student off to college. The book is packed with practical tips for healthy eating. It helps answer the questions I hear from college students every day. This book is the answer to helping teens stay healthy and fit as they transcend the college years into adulthood. Hats off to M.J. and Fred Smith for giving students and easy-to-read survival guide to healthy eating at college.
-Ann Blocker, RD, LD, CDE, director of nutrition at Veterans Memorial Hospital and nutrition consultant to Luther College, in Decorah, IA

A great book, so practical and useful-fantastic!
-Jane Hasek, MSN, Ed.D., chancellor emerita and distinguished professor at Allen College in Waterloo, IA

I've lost another two pounds this week. I know that I'm losing it through exercise and diet. My stamina in exercising is increasing while my appetite is decreasing…I feel that I am working harder and longer without being any more tired. I really enjoy exercising and feel great doing it. My mood is better because I feel better about myself.
-Andy Wannigman, student

I have been using the tips in the book and have a success story. I feel great! It's that plain and simple. I feel better about myself. I'll continue this plan next semester. I liked the results a lot and I hope to get more of the same the longer I participate…
-Dana Roberts, student

Fred Smith graduated with honors in 2003 from Clayton Ridge High School. He served as president of the student body. During high school, he participated in choral and instrumental music, speech, drama and golf. Fred is going to be a senior at Luther College in Decorah, IA and has a double major in communications and political science.

M.J. Smith, RD, FADA, is a registered dietitian and fellow of the American Dietetic Association. She is licensed to practice dietetics in Iowa and has spent twenty years teaching families how to make food choices to manage disease and foster daily vitality. She has written twelve books about nutrition and health, which together have sold more than 400,000 copies. Her book Diabetic Low Fat and No-Fat Meals in Minutes won a National Health and Wellness Bronze Award from the National Health Information Awards Program. Another, Brand Name Low Fat Meals in Minutes, was a Doubleday Book Club selection and sold more than 100,000 copies. Smith's work has appeared in USA Today, Good Housekeeping, Shape, Ladies Home Journal, Better Homes and Gardens Hometown Cooking, Essence, Good Taste, Diabetes in the News, The Lutheran, Today's Health and Wellness and many health and Midwest regional publications.