Semi-Independant

A struggle of being a new member of the adult world is that my independence is conditional. Obviously I still rely on my parents (financially and otherwise) and I live at my school, but some rules prevent me from fully making adult decisions. The one I'm particularly irritated with as I write this is the freshman meal plan.

At the university I attend it is mandatory for all freshman to be on the meal plan, and my parents didn't want me to have to go grocery shopping and the fact that I don't have a kitchen led them to purchase for me the largest meal plan possible. I was happy with this- I knew I would always have food when I needed it. However, I unknowingly signed my body away to the freshman fifteen.

While there are a few healthy eateries on campus, there are sometimes hidden ingredients that you don't necessarily realize are in theoretically low calorie dishes. On top of it all most of the dining options on campus are not buffet and come pre-portioned, and the portions are huge! Personally, I feel guilty throwing away food and I always eat what's put in front of me, and when I'm not given the option to take less I end up eating too much.

I don't want to waste food or the money my parents spent in advance to get me that food, and I don't have the option not to eat it. I look up healthy options on line and I've been learning a lot about how to eat better but I can't apply any of them to my current lifestyle, which is incredibly frustrating. Every time I ingest food I know it's not good for me, but there isn't another option.

Right now, I'm working with a nutritionist on locating the best places to eat on campus so I can spend the remainder of my freshman year making less terrible food related decisions. She told me that feeling bad about wasting food or money isn't a reason to punish my body, and I understand that, but it's something difficult for me to get over when there are people in this world, even in the city I live in, who don't have any food at all. Who am I to complain that I have too much?

Love,

Stephanie