Lets be real – university life is expensive. Between textbooks, rent, social nights and the occasional cheeky takeaway, budgeting becomes an extreme sport. Add trying to eat healthy on top of that? You might feel like it’s impossible. But here’s the good news: you don’t have to sacrifice your health to stick to a student budget.
Why Nutrition Matters for Students
University life can be demanding – a whirlwind of lectures, deadlines, social events and part-time jobs. Amid all this, it’s easy to underestimate the importance of eating well. Research consistently shows that good nutrition is directly linked to academic performance, mental health and physical well-being – all of which are vital for student success.
Nutrition Supports:
Cognitive Performance: The brain consumes about 20% of the body’s energy, so it’s no surprise that what you eat affects how well you think (Gómez-Pinilla, 2008).
Mental Health: Eating high-quality food nourishes the brain and protects it from oxidative stress (Selhub, 2022).
Energy and Physical Health: Students who regularly skip meals or rely heavily on takeaways often experience irregular energy levels, poor sleep, and a higher chance of illness (Pengpid and Peltzer, 2020).
Long days of lectures, commutes or part-time jobs demand physical stamina. Nutrient-rich foods help (NHS Health Scotland, 2023):
Stabilise blood sugar, reducing energy crashes.
Support immune health, reducing the risk of illness after freshers week!
Improve sleep quality, which is essential for memory consolidation
Perhaps most importantly, university is often the first time students take full control of their own diet. The habits you form now can last into adulthood, influencing your long-term health, risk of chronic disease and relationship with food.
Note: While this slightly exceeds the £20 goal by £2, you can bring it back under budget by:
Swapping Greek yoghurt for a cheaper plain yoghurt.
Buying smaller meat portions or skipping mince.
Dropping optional extras like peanut butter.
Sample 3 – Day Meal Plan
Here’s a realistic, easy-to-cook plan for students:
Day 1:
Breakfast: Overnight oats with banana and peanut butter.
Lunch: Boil pasta and mix with tinned chickpeas and tomatoes. Add garlic or mixed herbs.
Dinner: Pan-fry chicken thighs with oil, garlic and herbs, serve with rice and veg.
Picture Source: (PixaBay, 2016)
Day 2:
Breakfast: Greek yoghurt with chopped apple and cinnamon.
Lunch: Use leftover chicken and rice in a wrap or with bread.
Dinner: Beef mince stir-fry. Cook mince beef with frozen veg and soy sauce or paprika. Serve with rice or pasta.
Picture Source: (PixaBay, 2016b)
Day 3:
Breakfast: Peanut butter toast with banana.
Lunch: Veggie omelette with toast. Just 2 eggs + frozen veg = power lunch.
Dinner: Jacket potato with baked beans and cheese (optional).
Picture Source: (PixaBay, 2020)
Best Places to Shop for Students
Lidl or Aldi – Budget-friendly staples and meat.
Tesco Everyday Value / Asda Smart Price – Affordable store brands.
Local Markets – Cheap fruit and veg (especially near closing time).
Pound Shops / Home Bargains – Good for spices, kitchen tools or tinned goods.
Tip: Sign up to loyalty cards (e.g., Tesco Clubcard) for more deals and always bring your own carrier bags!
Save More with Meal Prep & Smart Swaps
Meal Prep Tips:
Plan Ahead: Know what you’re eating before you’re starving.
Batch Cook: Make dinner, save half for lunch the next day.
Freeze Leftovers: Works well with pasta, curry, soup and rice.
Picture Source: (Dreamdecko, 2025).
Ingredient Swaps:
Use lentils to bulk out mince.
No lentils? Use chickpeas or beans.
Alternate meat days with plant-based protein like eggs or beans.
Buy cheaper cuts like drumsticks or chicken thighs.
Cooking doesn’t need to be perfect – it just needs to work for you.
Bonus: Mindful Eating = Better Living
It’s not just about eating cheap – it’s about feeling better. Cooking your own meals:
Reduces stress
Helps you focus
Saves you money
Builds confidence
If you can prep a week’s worth of healthy food for £20 now, imagine what you can do with a full-time salary later.
Tip: Try pairing your meals with a short walk, water bottle refills, and decent sleep. Small Changes = Big Wins!
Student Voices
“Meal prepping saved me at least £15 a week compared to eating out! Now I find it easier to save money to spend on things I enjoy”
– Josh, 2nd Year Psychology Student
“I Stopped skipping meals once I knew I had food ready in the fridge. Meal prepping helped me become more organised and less stressed”
– Amelia, Final Year Nursing Student
“I used to skip breakfast to save time and money, but once I started prepping overnight oats, I noticed I had more energy for my 9am lectures”
– Cameron, Third Year Physio Student
Try this £20 Meal Plan This Week!
Want to see how far your food budget can stretch? Try this 3-day plan and tag your creations with #StudentFuelChallenge. Let’s normalise healthy eating on a student budget.
Question for the readers: What’s your go-to cheap and healthy meal at uni? Drop it in the comments below!
Losing weight in your 40s and beyond isn’t the same as it was in your 20s or 30s. Even if you’re eating well and exercising regularly, your body responds differently due to natural age related changes but we don’t think you need to pay for it!
The UK has seen over 500,000 starting weight loss drugs and around 95% are paying for them privately (WeightMatters, 2025). A recent poll found that 1 in 5 would start weight loss drugs if they were available on the NHS (Campbell, 2024).
Boots UK charges £199 per month for weight loss drugs (online doctor.boots.com, n.d.), that’s £2,388 a year!
The good news is with a few small changes healthy weight loss is achievable and sustainable! In this blog post we will better understand our bodies and how to fuel them in the right ways. This means you don’t need to spend thousands on weight loss!
Why is weight loss harder after 40?
Here’s three reasons why losing weight becomes more difficult and what you can do about it!
1. Slower Metabolism (The “Metabolic Slowdown”)
What happens: Your basal metabolic rate (BMR), the calories your body burns while resting, declines by about 1–2% per decade after age 30 (www.fao.org, n.d.). This is due to muscle loss (sarcopenia) and reduced cellular activity.
The impact: You burn fewer calories doing the same activities, meaning old eating habits now lead to weight gain.
The Solution:
Strength training to preserve muscle, this can maintain your BMR.
Higher protein intake to combat muscle loss.
Avoid drastic calorie cuts, which further slow metabolism.
2. Hormonal Shifts
For women (Perimenopause & Menopause):
Women often see a decline in Estrogen which leads to increased belly fat storage and harder to lose weight. As well as a rise in Cortisol (stress hormone) sensitivity, making stress related weight gain more likely (Health, 2024) .
For men:
Is it common for Testosterone to drop gradually in men which reduces muscle mass and increases fat storage. Also Insulin resistance becomes more common making carbs harder to process (Krans, 2018).
Manage stress with mindfulness, walking, or resistance training.
Focus on fibre & healthy fats to balance blood sugar.
3. Busy Lifestyles (Less Time, More Stress)
Career, family, and responsibilities leave little energy for meal prep or exercise coupled with convenience foods becoming quick and easy options, it is common to gain weight once we hit 40.
Solution:
Batch cook simple meals for the week
Fit exercise during work! Walk while on calls, take stairs, park farther away.
Short and efficient workouts lasting 20-30 can fit in exercise while keeping it enjoyable
Did you know that people eating home cooked meals more than five times a week were 28% less likely to be overweight (BBC, 2024).
Understanding Your Calorie Needs
Why it matters: Weight loss still hinges on calories in vs calories out, even though our bodies have changed.
Understanding what your body burns at complete rest just to keep your heart, brain, and organs functioning ensures you are keeping your body and mind healthy!
Using the Mifflin-St Jeor Equation is best for this as it is the most accurate for adults over 40. The equation differs slightly for men and women, but it is straightforward.
Step 1: Calculate your BMR
For Men:
(10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) – (5 × age in years) + 5 = BMR
For Women:
(10 × weight in kg) + (6.25 × height in cm) – (5 × age in years) – 161 = BMR
Example:
50-year-old woman, 170 lbs (77 kg), 5’6” (168 cm)
BMR = (10 × 77) + (6.25 × 168) – (5 × 50) – 161
BMR = 770 + 1,050 – 250 – 161 = 1,409 kcal/day
Step 2: Adjust for Activity Level (TDEE)
Multiply your BMR by an activity factor to get your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) the additional calories you burn in a day.
Activity Level
Multiplier
Description
Sedentary
X 1.2
Little/no exercise, desk job
Lightly Active
X 1.375
Light exercise 1–3 days/week
Moderately Active
X 1.55
Moderate exercise 3–5 days/week
Very Active
X 1.725
Hard exercise 6–7 days/week
Athlete
X 1.9
Physical job + intense training
Example (Same Woman, Lightly Active):
1,409 (BMR) × 1.375 = 1,937 kcal/day – These would be her maintenance calories, the amount required to maintain her current weight.
Step 3: Determine Your Weight Loss Calories
The final step is to reduce your maintenance calories to start losing weight. A modest deficit, 300–500 kcal/day, is recommended as it leads to 1–2 lbs of fat loss per week (Hennessy, 2023).
This level of weight loss is sustainable, aggressive deficits, 500 kcal or above, risk muscle loss, metabolic slowdown, and rebound hunger, this is likely to lead to weight gain over losing weight!
There are many free tools for calculating BMR, we would recommend this one
Volume Eating: To Feel Full While Losing Weight
Why it matters: Hunger is a major reason people quit diets. Volume eating is filling up on low calorie, high fibre, high water foods (like veggies, fruits, and lean proteins) to feel full while consuming fewer calories. This helps you eat more and reduces your hunger while losing weight.
Best foods for volume eating:
Non-starchy veggies (spinach, broccoli, zucchini)
Lean proteins (chicken breast, fish, tofu)
High fibre foods (berries, legumes, oats)
Move More: Exercise for Weight Loss & Health
Why it matters: Exercise preserves muscle, boosts metabolism, and improves insulin sensitivity all are key for weight loss past 40!
We want to focus on sustainable exercise, ensuring you can fit it into your week is vital. The key is to focus on low impact exercise such as walking, swimming or cycling. Starting fitness classes can be too intensive causing injuries or reducing enjoyment as well as increasing hunger.
The key for sustainable change is consistency small, daily habits matter more than occasional intense workouts.
Conclusion
Losing weight after 40 may come with challenges, but it’s entirely achievable with the right approach and without the costly weight loss drugs.
By understanding your changing metabolism, adding some light exercise, being aware of your calories and adopting practical strategies like volume eating you can achieve sustainable results while saving £199 a month!
Remember, small, daily habits like batch cooking or short workouts, add up over time. Avoid drastic measures; instead, focus on gradual progress that supports long term health.
Ready to take the next step? Start by calculating your BMR today and make one small change this week, whether it’s adding more veggies to your plate or a 20-minute walk.
Share your weight loss tips and tricks in the comments below!
Clockwise Nutrition: Master Your Meal Timing for a Healthier, Happier You
1st may 2025, make sure to leave a comment!
The body’s clock: Why timing matters
The majority of healthy eating recommendations centre on dietary choices, such as “eat more fruit, cut down on sugar,” but an increasing amount of research indicates that timing is just as important. Hormones, digestion, and calorie burning are all regulated by the 24-hour circadian rhythm that our organs follow (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2024). Skipping breakfast and snacking till midnight are examples of eating against that internal clock, which confuses metabolism, increases blood glucose, and encourages fat storage (Scheer et al., 2022). To put it briefly, the timing of your meals can either reinforce or contradict all of those healthy eating decisions.
Breakfast, fuel for the day
Following an overnight fast, your brain requires glucose, cortisol levels are at their highest, and your liver’s glycogen stores are low. Compared to habitual skippers, regular breakfast eaters have a 12% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes and lower LDL cholesterol (Jakubowicz et al., 2019). Try to eat no later than two hours after waking up. For mood and focus, a bowl of porridge with berries and peanut butter on top offers slow-release carbohydrates and protein. Caffeine suppresses appetite and can conceal true hunger, which frequently results in compensatory overeating later (Harvard Medical School, 2022). Coffee by itself is insufficient.
Easy win: Stock up on high-protein yoghurt containers for “grab-and-go” mornings.
Metabolism’s Prime Time: Power-Up Your Mid-Day Meal
Around midday, both insulin sensitivity and caloric expenditure peak (Morris & Zemel, 2021). Lean protein (chicken, tuna, and beans) and whole-grain carbohydrates are the key components of a healthy lunch that keeps you energised and avoids the 3 p.m. slump. Adding vibrant veggies to your lunch helps you reach the 5-a-day goal without having to have a big dinner.
A turkey and salad whole-grain wrap is a smart substitute for a noon meal deal croissant since it has more fibre and less saturated fat.
sunset Suppers: Slim Down by Dining Before Dark
The saying, “eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper” may seem obsolete, but it is supported by contemporary research. Food consumed later has a higher likelihood of being stored as fat per calorie than food consumed earlier (Scheer et al., 2022). Despite having the same calorie intake, participants in a Spanish weight-loss trial who ate their main meal before 3 pm lost 25% more weight over 20 weeks than those who ate it later (Garaulet et al., 2020).
Useful translation? Choose vegetables, pulses, and fatty fish over red meat or thick, stomach-sticking cream sauces, and try to complete dinner at least three hours before bed. Eat half of your meal at 6 p.m. and the remaining portion as a small snack at 8 p.m. if your schedule demands a late evening.
After 9 p.m., red flag items include fried snacks, pizza to go, and huge desserts. High fat, refined carbohydrates, and horizontal digestion all contribute to the potential for acid reflux (Mayo Clinic, 2017).
Appropriate snacks can help maintain blood sugar levels; inappropriately timed ones can cause problems. Mid-morning (10–11 am) and mid-afternoon (3–4 pm) are good windows because they are not too late to cause calories to spill into the night, but they are also far enough from main meals to avoid raging hunger. Combine protein with vegetables, such as carrot sticks and hummus, apple and cheese cubes, or a handful of walnuts. At 11 p.m., mindless TV munching has the reverse effect: your melatonin levels are increasing, your metabolic rate has decreased, and there is little possibility that those empty calories will be burned (British Heart Foundation, 2023).
Timing strategies for sugar, alcohol, and caffeine The half-life of caffeine is approximately six hours. To preserve deep sleep, stop drinking coffee after 2:00 pm.
Alcohol: According to Wang and Reutrakul (2018), a glass of wine with dinner is better metabolised than a “night-cap” around 11 p.m., which disrupts REM sleep and raises blood sugar levels the next day. Sugar hints: Eat a modest piece of cake after lunch, when insulin sensitivity is higher, rather than right after lunch if you must.
Give your body a listen but teach it a beat. Ghrelin and leptin, the hormones that regulate hunger and fullness, adjust to routines. After two weeks of eating at regular times, you will begin to feel hungry at the appropriate times. There is a greater chance of overeating “because I might not get time to eat later” when people are hopping around erratically and their signals become unreliable. Since your body is aware that the next meal is approaching, structure really allows you to relax when it comes to eating.
Extra videos for those visual learners View: ” What Takes Place When You Eat at the Correct Time?” Dr. Satchin Panda’s 5-minute YouTube video provides a fascinating synopsis of chrono nutrition.
View Netmeds’ Circadian Fasting infographic, which highlights five scientifically supported advantages of eating between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. (videos included in references)
Are you prepared to see the difference? Choose one timing change today and maintain it for seven days, such as eating dinner before 7 p.m. or having a proper breakfast again. Encourage someone else to eat clockwise by sharing your success in the comments section below. Your health will fall into rhythm if you line your plate with the internal timer that your body is already using.
In this article we will be exploring what mental wellbeing is and ways that you can keep it healthy.
What is Mental wellbeing?
Mental wellbeing is our internal positive view that we are coping well psychologically with the everyday stresses of life and can work productively and fruitfully. Good mental health means we can realise and reach our full potential , feel safe and secure and thrive in everyday life. It is especially important to care for your mental wellbeing while in university.
Here are 10 ways that you can help manage your mental wellbeing:
Regular exercise
Yes! most of us hate the idea of exercise, but study have shown that it is one of the most beneficial ways to maintain a healthy mental state. Exercise is a powerful way to improve your mental welling for various reasons, it encourages all kinds of changes in the brain, including neural growth, reduced inflammation. new activity patterns can promote feelings of calmness and well-being. it also releases endorphins in your brain and can also count as a distraction from life stresses. Not sure where to start? click here to start your fitness journey.
2. Get enough sleep
Adequate sleep is crucial for emotional regulation and resilience. We spend approximately a third of our lives asleep, it is an essential and involuntary process which allows us to function correctly. getting roughly 8 hours of sleep each night is important, some benefits include:
get sick less often
stay at a healthy weight
lowers your risk of health problems
reduced stress and improved mood
clear thinking
3. connect with others
Meeting new people and connecting with friends is important, not only to maintain your social life but to also improve your mental wellbeing. Keeping in touch With others can help create feelings of belonging and being loved, cared for and valued. Being connected with others amazingly helps to protect agains serious illness and disease as people with stronger social bonds are more likely to live longer, healthier lives. Meeting new people is definitely easier said than done, introverted people who struggle with socialising with others may find this more challenging. If this is you then check out this video.
4. Practice mindfulness or meditation
Mindfulness allows us to pay attention to what is going on inside and outside ourselves. Sometimes we spend so much time focusing on everything around us that we forget to ground ourselves and look within. Meditation is a great way to improve wellbeing as it allows us to easily:
reduce stress
controls anxiety
supports emotional health
enhances self-awareness
lengthens attention span
reduces age-related memory loss
generates kindness
ease addiction
improve sleep
reduce pain
what’s even better about meditation is that unlike exercise, where you may need special equipment or large spaces, you can do meditation from the comfort of your bed.
5. Eat a healthy balanced diet
What you eat doesn’t just dictate how you look on the outside it also plays a significant role in how your mental health functions. Check out this article on how to establish a healthy diet, doing so will protect you among many noncommunicable diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer. eating a variety of foods and consuming less sugars, salts and saturated fats are essential to step into a healthier diet.
6. Reduce alcohol and avoid drugs
Alcohol and drugs may be viewed as something that can help mental well being, when in fact they do the complete opposite. They can increase stress, anxiety and cause a myriad of health problems. Recreational drugs can even lead to long-term mental health problems such as depression and schizophrenia. Instead, consider some healthier options that will benefit you in the long run rather than harm you and learn about the harm here.
7. set realistic goals
Setting realistic goals is important because it helps to create a sense of purpose through structure and achievement. When you set goals that are achievable they build confidence and motivate you to achieve your best. If you set unrealistic goals they can lead to frustration, burnout and make you feel like you’ve failed. When setting goals for yourself use the SMART acronym to allow yourself to set realistic and achievable goals to improve your life.
8. Do things you enjoy
Participating in your favourite hobbies can be an amazing way to reconnect with yourself and greatly contributes to a better mood and overall wellbeing. Hobbies not only prevent feelings of stress, but they also provide an effective outlet in which to project anxiety and worries through mental and physical stimulation. Also, learning a new hobby can create a sense of accomplishment which therefore promotes feelings of confidence and increased self-esteem. let us know your favourite hobbies!
9. Keep a journal
Journaling is a powerful tool for managing stress, anxiety, and depression. By writing down your thoughts and feelings in a journal can help you to process complex thoughts and feelings. As you journal you can notice any patterns or triggers which can lead to improved self-awareness and allow your to regulate your emotions better. Expressive writing helps to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression by allowing individuals to confront and make sense of their experiences.
10. Seeking professional help
If all else fails, being able to recognise when you need to seek professional help is crucial for mental wellbeing. Mental health professionals such as therapists an councillors are trained to help you navigate though these challenges. Early interventions can prevent issues from escalating and provide you with effective coping strategies. In the UK, organisations like Mind offer resources and helplines to assist those in need. There are also many other resources for help such as NHS services. It is important to remember that seeking help is a sign of strength.
Taking care of your mental wellbeing is an ongoing journey and may not be a one-time fix. Take some of the suggestions above and incorporate them into your daily life, experiment with which ones work for you and which don’t. Through your journey you will build resilience and improve your overall quality of life to result in a better you.
Let us know your thoughts below and let us know what worked for you!
The majority of healthy eating recommendations centre on dietary choices, such as “eat more fruit, cut down on sugar,” but an increasing amount of research indicates that timing is just as important. Hormones, digestion, and calorie burning are all regulated by the 24-hour circadian rhythm that our organs follow (Johns Hopkins Medicine, 2024). Skipping breakfast and snacking till midnight are examples of eating against that internal clock, which confuses metabolism, increases blood glucose, and encourages fat storage (Scheer et al., 2022). To put it briefly, the timing of your meals can either reinforce or contradict all of those healthy eating decisions.
Following an overnight fast, your brain requires glucose, cortisol levels are at their highest, and your liver’s glycogen stores are low. Compared to habitual skippers, regular breakfast eaters have a 12% lower incidence of type 2 diabetes and lower LDL cholesterol (Jakubowicz et al., 2019). Try to eat no later than two hours after waking up. For mood and focus, a bowl of porridge with berries and peanut butter on top offers slow-release carbohydrates and protein. Caffeine suppresses appetite and can conceal true hunger, which frequently results in compensatory overeating later (Harvard Medical School, 2022). Coffee by itself is insufficient.
Around midday, both insulin sensitivity and caloric expenditure peak (Morris & Zemel, 2021). Lean protein (chicken, tuna, and beans) and whole-grain carbohydrates are the key components of a healthy lunch that keeps you energised and avoids the 3 p.m. slump. Adding vibrant veggies to your lunch helps you reach the 5-a-day goal without having to have a big dinner.
Appropriate snacks can help maintain blood sugar levels; inappropriately timed ones can cause problems. Mid-morning (10–11 am) and mid-afternoon (3–4 pm) are good windows because they are not too late to cause calories to spill into the night, but they are also far enough from main meals to avoid raging hunger. Combine protein with vegetables, such as carrot sticks and hummus, apple and cheese cubes, or a handful of walnuts.
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