There is a harrowing experience that all college students have unfortunately felt quite a few times. It’s your fourth 75-minute class of the day, and, despite your best intentions, you’ve crashed. I know this experience all too well, and have accidentally “zoned out” more times than I’d like to admit. While this feeling is inevitable for all students, many are probably feeling it more often than they should be. This is because they are not eating enough, or they are not eating what they should be.

Many individuals believe that they “just don’t have the time” to eat. Others believe that the closest eatery is too far away to be worth it. While these excuses might be the case for some students, the truth is that many people just don’t have the enthusiasm at that moment to take that five-minute walk to Talley or Fountain. And they pay for that decision later in the day. 

As many know, the body’s metabolism needs “fuel” to work, and if you aren’t supplying it with enough food to operate, it will slow down significantly. But when your body has taken in the necessary amounts of nutrients to stay energized, you’ll be thriving in all of your classes, even the most sleep-inducing ones. This means that a consistent intake of healthy food is essential to having that last burst of energy that you’re going to need midway through that 4:30 class.

But besides running out of energy, what other repercussions are there to skipping a meal or two? A helpful PDF published by the Health Sciences Center at the University of Louisville lists the dangers of not eating enough, and mentions that headaches and fatigue are common symptoms of undereating. They also state that after a prolonged period of under-eating, your body is much more likely to overreact and overeat in your later meals.

This PDF mentions weight loss as well because your metabolism is what is burning off those pounds. People currently trying to shed that freshman 15 especially need to heed this information. It may seem counterintuitive to some, but you need to eat more to lose more.

But what should you eat? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website states that the best diets are the ones that are chock full of “low-energy-dense” foods. According to the CDC, these foods “tend to be foods with either a high water content, lots of fiber, or little fat,” and include fruits, vegetables, soups and plenty of other examples. The CDC states that many of the “high-density” foods, such as their example of French fries, are not nutritious because, oftentimes, that density is primarily taken up by fats and carbs.

Eating nutritiously can have a massive impact on your grades, too. P.J. Veulegers, a professor at the University of Alberta, found in his study that many schoolchildren who ate a lot of fat-filled and sodium-rich foods usually had significantly less self-esteem than school children who ate nutritiously. And with this lowered self-esteem, Veulegers found, came lower grades, lower energy and higher juvenile delinquency.

So, unfortunately, your best option is to skip that cheeseburger and hot dog bar in Fountain and load up on plenty of veggies and lean meats. NC State Dining has a wide variety of healthy food options across all the dining halls, and they always make sure to cater to those with dietary restrictions and food allergies as well.

Also, it might be wise to keep some fruits in your fridge or some peanuts on your desk, so when that snack craving hits, you have some healthier options to choose from. So, yes, while it might be tempting to fill your plate with steak fries and barbecue sandwiches, or to skip that lunch because a paper you’ve been procrastinating on finishing is due tomorrow, make sure you consider the possible repercussions that you’ll be feeling by the end of the day.