6 Simple Tricks To Help You Avoid Gaining Weight During A Stressful Finals Week

So, your college semester is coming to an end. I know you're excited to ditch the notebooks and head to the beach for the summer. However, if you're like most college students, you have a whole lot of madness to get through before you can sink your toes in the sand.

Between final exams, long research papers, internship responsibilities and for some of you, actual graduation, it can be tough to take care of yourself.

There's a good chance that you've been pulling all-nighters, stressing your way through classes and falling short on time for healthy food and exercise. Health is important, so if you want to stay fit and healthy during the finals week madness, here are a couple ways to do it.

1. Do background exercises.

While heading to the gym probably isn't that easy for you right now, there is still a way for you to fit in exercise. While you're writing, reading or studying your flashcards, you can still be moving your body.

Try doing leg lifts, squats or crunches with some study tools in your hand. You can memorize vocabulary terms while in yoga positions and do wall sits while you read to get a killer leg workout.

You can even bring your study materials to the gym and walk or bike at a slower pace so that you can read. Your exercises certainly don't have to be intense for you to reap the health benefits. Anything helps.

2. Use your meal plan to do just that. 

It's easy to put off eating while studying and then run to Burger King for a quick fix. If you're always reaching for the quickest solution to your hunger, you may not have the beach body you're hoping for after the semester ends.

Your health might be significantly suffering, making it more difficult to study. Take some time each week to meal plan. You can do it on Sunday and spend a couple of hours preparing healthy meals, putting them into containers and labeling them for the week.

It will also help you with time management so that you can study even longer. If you hate to cook, there are plenty of subscription services out there that mail you boxes of healthy food along with easy-to-follow recipes.

3. Use natural energy boosters.

There's a good chance you're fueling your study sessions with lots of caffeine. Sure, coffee can seem like a tasty little miracle, but it's not healthy for you to drink it constantly, every day. Plus, sugary energy drinks can be an enemy to your waist line and heart health.

Natural energy boosters can help you get assignments done without taking a toll on the body. Try switching your coffee and energy drink for some green tea. Tea actually gives you plenty of natural energy without harming the body.

You can also eat foods that are high in good fats like nuts and avocados, which help the body run with boosted energy levels in a natural way.

4. Take a few personal hours.

Dedicate a few hours each week to personal time. Try three hours a week, split up between the weekdays to just focus on yourself. For one, uninterrupted hour, take a bath, do some meditation, listen to music or color in a coloring book.

Whatever it takes for you to relax, do this for one hour without thinking of anything related to school. Our mental health is just as important to our physical health, so don't forget to take care of them both.

5. Do study walks with a friend.

Keep active and social by taking walks with friends that can help you study. Being around friends is good for mental health, and walking is a great way to get some exercise.

If you're walking outside on a sunny day, this is also a perfect way to get in some important vitamin D. Bring along flashcards or a practice quiz and have your friend ask you the questions. Switch off so that you can help them study for their tests, too.

6. Take one day off.

Take a day off once a week. Whether it's a weekday or weekend, pick one day each week to completely forget about schoolwork. Sure, this means that you'll have to do some time management on all of the other days in order to get all of your work done, but it will be worth it to enjoy a day alone or with friends, doing whatever you want.

Take a day trip, lay in bed with your cat or have a party. Give yourself a mental rest from school and you will be bound to do better and feel better.