Customer Reviews

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

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This book was given to me by my boyfriend. Since I'm home from college for the summer, it was on my bookshelf for a few weeks before I started flipping through it as I prepared to head back to the dorm. When I had finished reading it, though, I was pleased with what I found.

As a girl who goes back and forth between "fad" diets and approaching buffets with wreckless abandon, I found the Smart Student's Guide to be something that has long-term potential. The meal plan is more of a "life-style" plan. And it is in wonderful incremental steps--something I found especially helpful! The focus is not only on eating, there is also a pleasant section on dormroom workouts, but the resounding theme was general well-being through choices in food and activities. I would call it "well-rounded" and well researched.

Most helpful to me, was the section on dorm recipes--even though my college is well known for its cafeteria, I love having the option of simple, healthy and well-proportined meals that make me feel a little closer to home.

This book is well-written, focused and deals well with all tangible issues relating to college students. It skips trivial things like stocking up on Kleenex or how to do laundry, and gets to the heart of the matter on issues such as preparing a successful sleep schedule, different diets for different day plans and allowing ways to manage stress. It is a great companion book to "The Dorm Room Diet," but while TDRD is a diet book only, the Smith's manage to write an entire book on issues related to student problems. Both are great books, but I recommend this one more.

The voice of the mother and son is one I think most can learn from, which is why I prefer this book. The son is clearly writing for an audience of his peers, but M.J. knows how to relate diet advice to a younger generation, particularly in the ABC plan. I know I'm giving this book to others over the holiday, after they come home for Thanksgiving to see how much sleep they've lost, or how tight their jeans are.

Using the "A,B and C" lists to help choose foods is an easy way for the college aged set to- find foods they like that are lower in calories but rich in a variety of nutrients. The authors sort thru topics by using stories of college students they interviewed. You feel like you know every one of them--and can identify with their questions and concerns. The Registered Dietitian expertise lends an authority to discussions of disordered eating, exercise and weight management strategies. You may be like me and read it in one setting. Non-fiction that is hard to put down!

I have two kids in college and a third just graduated. Cafeteria eating has been a struggle for all of them. When I gave them the Smart Student's Guide to read, they commented how it presents simple ways for any college student to achieve a healthy life-style--activities and nutrition that can be easily integrated into the crazy routine of a college student.

I'll be giving The Smart Student's Guide to Healthy Dorm Living as a gift to the many kids I know graduating from high school. Why have them get caught in the pitfalls? They need to read how to identify and avoid them ahead of time.

The healthy advice presented in this book easily crosses over to other "walks" of life. I work at a desk most of the day. The freshmen fifteen translates as winter weight. The dorm room exercises work right in my office. The college cafeteria translates as an all-you-can eat restaurant. This book gives insights on what to look for. If you implement even some of the suggestions, it will have a positive effect on your health.

I got a few great recipes from this book but other than that I found the advice to be unhelpful and lame. I don't recommend this book.