The Dorm Room Diet

Daphne Oz
Writer, College Student
Tuesday, September 12, 2006 2:00 PM

Daphne Oz was online Tuesday, Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. to discuss her book, "The Dorm Room Diet."

Daphne is a junior at Princeton University and the daughter of Dr. Mehmet Oz, co-author of the bestsellers "You: The Owner's Manual" and "You: The Smart Patient."

A transcript follows.

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Daphne Oz: Good afternoon, everyone! And thank you for being a part of the chat today. It's really wonderful to see how many of you are interested in learning about health and how living independently can empower you to adopt a healthy lifestyle that will last you a lifetime! We already have a couple of questions lined up for me to answer, and I can't wait to hear some more. Thanks again!

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Arlington, Va.: Congratulations on publishing this book! I think it is a very good resource for a certain set of college students/eaters, and your tips are very helpful. However, I just wanted to share my own experience that every one of the 15-plus pounds I gained as a freshman and sophomore was due, I believe, to a forfeiture of the WILL to eat healthfully/moderately brought on NOT by late-night study sessions and unrestricted dining hall access, but use of alcohol and marijuana, followed by indulgence in pizza and other non-cafeteria fare. I've just read the review of your book today, not the book itself. While I believe I would agree with all of your diet recommendations (including echinacea, although I think astragalus is probably a more reliable immune-booster!), I do think alcohol consumption is the No. 1 factor in most students' weight gain. Did you decide not to locate it as a central theme because you feel it's alienating to potential readers to suggest as much, or because you truly believe the other factors you referred to are bigger contributors to college weight gain?

Thanks, and thanks for doing the chat.

Daphne Oz: Great point. I actually do touch on alcohol and smoking (though only the tobacco variety) in the book, but you are correct that it is only a small part of the text. My reason for doing this was that I wrote the "Dorm Room Diet" as a way to help my peers navigate the danger zones present on college campuses, rather than avoid them. Never do I recommend any sort of deprivation, since I want the readers to experience college-life fully. Rather, I choose to provide them with accurate and substantial information that will hopefully help them to make intelligent decisions on their own. It is fairly common knowledge that alcohol impairs your judgment (including those decisions relating to food and late night "munchies"), but it is not as well known how many calories even a light beer contains. Providing young adults with the right information should enable them to make life choices that will serve them well.

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Matthews, N.C.: What are some good on-the-run breakfast food/snacks?

Daphne Oz: Some great on-the-go breakfast items include low-fat, low-sugar yogurt (you can add a bit of low-fat granola for a heartier version), any sort of fresh fruit, a piece of whole wheat toast with a thin layer of peanut butter (preferably organic and unsweetened), low-fat cheese with whole wheat toast, instant or regular oatmeal, a bran muffin (though this will most likely have a bit of sugar), or any sort of high-fiber, low-sugar breakfast cereal with skim or 1 percent milk.

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20744: I gained the freshmen "10" just by sitting longer at the cafeteria as friends came in later for dinner. I started finishing my dinner and then grabbing a cup of tea versus another plate of food. Putting myself through college equated to not having extra money to spend on food outside of the cafeteria.

Daphne Oz: Yes, staying in an environment that encourages you to keep eating is dangerous if you can't seem to stop yourself from over-eating. But it looks as though you found a great way to stick around and socialize with your friends without packing in many extra calories. Sipping on a beverage, especially a low-sugar one like lightly sweetened tea or water, is a great way to keep your hands and mouth busy without ingesting more food than you need/want to.

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Arlington, Va.: How much does getting not enough sleep play in putting on weight?

Daphne Oz: getting the proper amount of sleep (at least six to eight hours is recommended) is important in keeping your immune system up to par and making sure that you function properly throughout the day. I'm not sure of any direct correlation between sleep and losing or gaining weight, but I know that it's infinitely more difficult for me to make it to the gym when I'm feeling tired and sluggish from not having slept enough. So if you want to keep your body functioning optimally, and make sure that you have enough natural energy to pursue all your life goals, getting a good amount of sleep is certainly important.

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Manassas, Va.: How do you suggest making time for exercise during the course of rigorous studying? I try my best, but often I feel like I have so much to do that I have to blow off exercise for homework.

Daphne Oz: I know exactly where you're coming from. Trying to find time to exercise in between your academic, social, and other obligations can be really difficult. What's important to remember, however, is that especially on those really cramped days, exercise does not always have to take place in a gym. Walking (or jogging) to your classes, doing errands by foot, using the bathroom on another floor of the building, going for walks with friends rather than coffee dates -- all of these are great ways to incorporate extra activity into your daily lifestyle, without taking time away from your other important obligations. Wearing a pedometer (a tiny device that tells you how many steps you take per day) can help you reach the goal number of 10,000 steps per day.

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New York: It's hard to put effort into making healthy options, don't you think? For example, just having a toaster in your room is rare when it comes to making whole-grain toast ... or actually taking the time to mix granola and yogurt ... what kinds of healthful products on store shelves can you think of?

Daphne Oz: If I'm limiting myself to just what I have on the shelves of my university store, open 24 hours a day, there are actually great on-the-go packs of granola and small cartons of yogurt that are easy to grab on even the tightest of schedules. You can also go for an energy bar: I really enjoy chocolate chip CLIF bars when I'm pressed for time. (It's important to remember that these bars are generally high in carbs and sugars, however.) Fruit leathers are a great snack and easy to grab. Small cartons of almonds are also excellent. Fruit or protein shakes, such as those provided by the Odwalla company, are also wonderful options, though again sometimes high in sugar.

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Arlington, Va.: Congratulations on publishing a book before even completing your bachelor's degree! How and when did you find the time to put this together? Were the editors of your book immediately interested, or did they take a while to come around?

Daphne Oz: Thank you! It took me about two years to write "The Dorm Room Diet," working mostly during summers and holiday vacations, though I did do my share of revisions while also trying to cram for exams (yikes!). This book actually morphed out of a manuscript I originally put together covering teenage health and nutrition. But once I got to college and realized what a truly unique environment it was, and also began my journey to use the new independence that going away to school offered to transform my eating habits and take control of my overall health, I decided that it would be more useful to put out a handbook offering the tips and advice I'd collected. My editors were extremely supportive throughout the effort. We all felt it was a really exciting book to work on, and hopefully it will be helpful to the readers!

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Re: Sleep and weight gain/loss: I'm not sure about the benefits of sleep on weight loss, but I do know that if you are going to the gym hoping to put on muscle, your body needs at least seven hours of sleep a night to recover. Even if you are exercising vigorously by playing a sport or participating in a club this recovery time is still needed. As if a boosted immune system and reduced stress level were not reason enough to get enough sleep!

Daphne Oz: Absolutely! all excellent points. When you do strenuous muscle work, you are actually creating tiny tears in the muscle fibers that will require proper nutrients and restorative sleep to be repaired (and to build more muscle). And certainly being well rested will better enable you to cope with stress.

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Josh, Washington, D.C.: Hi Daphne. What an interesting topic for a book! I like your writing style, but I'm curious what your qualifications are for writing a nutrition book.

Daphne Oz: No, I haven't completed college yet, and I certainly don't have an M.D. after my name. What I do have are heart surgeons for a father and both grandfathers, as well as a nutrition expert for a grandmother and vegetarian mother. Needless to say, I grew up being inundated with health and wellness information. Even with that, however, I wasn't able to establish healthy eating, exercising, and supplementing habits until I went away to college. I found that all the new independence let me take control over these parts of my life once and for all. I finally got my weight under control and feel better than ever by following this healthy life plan that is without restriction, a result I was never able to achieve through all the fad diets, etc. This book is really a manual I put together for my friends who knew that I had this interest in health and all this great information and had discovered a way to put it all to good use on a college campus!

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Re: good food straight from the shelf: If you have a Trader Joe's nearby they have lots of nuts and dried fruit combos that I pour into one baggie and eat for breakfast. It tastes great and takes a total of 25 seconds to prepare.

Daphne Oz: Absolutely. A small bag of nuts and berries are a great and portable snack. Dried fruits do have more concentrated sugar than the whole, fresh variety, however, so try not to go overboard, especially if you're combining with high-fat nuts.

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Washington, D.C.: In regards to making time for exercise with a busy course load, I read and study while riding the stationary bike or elliptical. It keeps me busy and it's productive to combine the two. If you can multi-task, its a great strategy.

Daphne Oz: We've had a couple of postings about working out while studying. If you are a good multi-tasker, exercising while reading or listening to lectures on tape is a wonderful way to get everything in at once!

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Daphne Oz: I start the fall semester on Thursday, so I have to get back to moving into my dorm. Thank you all for submitting your questions and I very much enjoyed speaking with you today! Have a wonderful rest of the evening. Best, Daphne

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