Dinning Halls *be advised*

Colleges & Universities University of California - Berkeley
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<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>I just wanted to warn all incoming students living in the dorms and all those who are planning on eating the food at the dinning halls (i.e. crossroads, cafe 3, etc). Let me fill you in on my experience.</p>

<p>I am a very healthy person. I work out frequently. I spent only one semester (last semester) eating once or twice a day at the dinning halls and ended up gaining unhealthy weight. First of all, you need to really need to check the nutritional facts before you eat a meal. But beware, some of things do not have thorough ingredients. For example, I checked the ingredients for chicken strips and the ingredients were… “chicken strips”. Most chicken strips contain added salt, eggs, breaded crumbs, etc.</p>

<p>Our daily sodium intake should be around 1500-2300mg. There are a lot of meals offered at the dinning commons that have enough sodium to make you extremely bloated. You will notice your skin puffing up as the semester goes on. </p>

<p>Check out this grilled cheese sandwich at crossroads: [Nutrition</a> Label](<a href=“http://services.housing.berkeley.edu/FoodPro/dining/static/label.asp?locationNum=01&locationName=CROSSROADS&dtdate=7%2F19%2F2011&RecNumAndPort=137008*1]Nutrition”>http://services.housing.berkeley.edu/FoodPro/dining/static/label.asp?locationNum=01&locationName=CROSSROADS&dtdate=7%2F19%2F2011&RecNumAndPort=137008*1)</p>

<p>1423.2mg of sodium! Not good for your health, especially if you’re eating more than just s grilled cheese sandwich. Keep in mind that this is not true for all of the items on the menu. Check the nutritional facts.</p>

<p>Ps. stay away from potato pancakes. I can’t find the nutritional label for it right now but it’s really bad. </p>

<p>My advice:

  1. Check labels, ingredients, nutritional facts.
  2. Shop at the bear market or grocery store, so you can limit yourself to one meal per day at the dinning hall.
  3. Work out (cardio will get rid of all that water you will retain from all the sodium in the food at the dinning hall)
  4. Keep track of how much food you are eating. The small plates they give you at the dinning commons oddly makes it easy to loose track of how much food you intake. </p>

<ol>
<li>The Sandwiches at “The Den” are the best thing I ever ate. It’s located next to crossroads and you can use your meal points there. </li>
</ol>

<p>I’m not writing this to completely talk negative about the dinning halls. They do have salad bars, cereal, and other healthy choices. Keep responsible and you will be okay. Good luck folks.</p>

<p>Sincerely,
a cal bear.</p>

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<p>dining* but thanks for heads up about the sodium.</p>

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<p>dining* oops</p>

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<p>thanks for the heads up haha</p>

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<p>TBF, this is true for any buffet unless you’re at some place like Souplantation (even then, you’d have to watch how much you eat).</p>

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<p>'Tis true. I was bloated as hell for like a whole year eating at Cafe 3…</p>

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<p>Yeah I have to agree with this. Spend your points at places like Ramona’s and The Den as much as you can.</p>

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<p>^how is the pricing at those places compared to the dining halls?</p>

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<p>It’s more expensive for sure. Certainly not as good a deal as the all-you-can-eat dining halls, but the food is much better. </p>

<p>I believe sandwiches at The Den are between 5 and 6 dollars (points). They’re quite tasty, but relatively small. Barely enough for lunch, but not for dinner. </p>

<p>Ramona’s (in my opinion) is a better deal than The Den because you can get the Chicken Rice Bowl, which fills me up for 6ish dollars (points).</p>

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<p>To the OP, are you someone who has a normal metabolism? I have a fast one so I don’t really get bloated unless I purposely bulk up at the gym and eat excessive amounts of calories.</p>

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<p>Yeah, my brother gained like 20 pounds first semester when he went to Berkeley and when he came back home we were like ***! But he lost it eventually. I definitely don’t want that to happen to me lol, thanks for the suggestions!</p>

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<p>Yeah, you’re metabolism must not be that fast like Investment said. I’m pretty sure I lost weight when I was in the dorms and eating at the dining halls. That despite eating french fries for lunch everyday…</p>

<p>I ate at the dining halls (Cafe 3 mainly) for lunch, but I usually got something from Bear Market for dinner, so that’s probably the reason why I didn’t get bloated. Also, don’t get your dinner from Bear Market. Its overpriced and not high quality food.</p>

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<p>It’s ok Conan. Just keep up your four million apm and you’ll burn it all off.</p>

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<p>Hey guys, rising senior and possible UCB student here, is there any way to get your own food to cook yourself at/near UCB?</p>

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<p>@caiacs </p>

<p>:O!!! What’s up ^^ Do I know you irl :D</p>

<p>@Discobiscuits I’m also wondering the same thing, I’d like to cook for myself once every while</p>

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<p>Trader Joes has the best prices for groceries by far around campus. It’s a kind of a walk from the dorms though. It would be best to have a bike or take the AC transit. They have stoves and ovens in each of the Units where you could cook your food. I would suggest buying or renting a frig and microwave. Very convenient.</p>

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<p>I don’t agree with how the original post started out as I said before. His advice shouldn’t just be aimed at DC. It’s any time you’re eating.</p>

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<p>In my freshman year, I lost 5 pounds each semester from eating in the dining commons. I mostly had the sandwiches for lunch though. Well, and I had late night four times a week. And snacks. And smoothies. And–no wonder I ran out of meal points by mid-semester lol -_______- yeah just be careful not to eat too many chicken strips; those things will kill you haha</p>

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<p>Whoa! This thread kinda freaked me out. :|</p>

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<p>The quality of the dining halls is probably my least favorite thing about Berkeley. It’s the only conversation topic with my friends who are going to other UC’s during which I feel inferior. UCD and UCLA, for example, both have insanely good food.</p>