I’ve never successfully completed a diet, but I’ve tried my share.

 Diet plans are as easy to come by as the latest fashion trends. Everything from eating dog food to consuming one ice cube per day has been guaranteed to make even the most overweight person shed pounds.

Did you really believe that? Wow — only kidding.

No matter the exact method, dieting has only gotten more extreme. These perfectly calculated plans are also fairly expensive to follow, especially for mere mortals like us college students.

But get ready, because I am about to drop some knowledge on you. It’s something I heard a while ago, and it has completely changed the way I eat and look at food. Try to eat mostly things that grow from the ground, or aren’t concealed by lots of packaging.

This is an extremely simple concept, but deceptively hard to put into practice.

When life is busy, running through the drive-thru seems like a good option. While it’s good for time management, it’s not so great for your health. You would be better off making a quick run to the grocery store or prepping your food ahead of time.

Being mindful of this rule makes eating healthy a lifestyle rather than a diet plan. Diets and cleanses work well for about a day — or in my case, an hour — but they just don’t have staying power.

 This rule can apply to drinks as well as food. By focusing on only what is natural, you eliminate soda completely — definitely a good thing.  

I don’t remember exactly where this tip came from. Otherwise I would give credit to said person. Although it’s not completely revolutionary — I mean, it’s what the cavemen did, in a way — it can have a big impact in this society. Most of the food people are ingesting on a daily basis is so heavily processed with preservatives and chemicals that it doesn’t even go bad anymore.  

I can’t make any huge weight loss guarantees, but I will promise you one thing: you will feel better.