Being in college and eating healthy

chimesalot

Hello everyone!
I need some serious help. I am a senior in college who is graduating in several weeks. I have gained almost 60-70 pounds since August 2014. I am completely miserable. I am at the point where I don't even want to look in the mirror because I can't recognize myself anymore. I am uncomfortable with my body and the new weight that I have put on over the past year. As someone who used to love fashion and putting together outfits every day in the morning - I dread it now because I can't wear the kind of clothes I like to wear anymore. I'm sad and I feel completely lost.
I want to lose weight and I think about it every day but I have no idea how to do it on a college budget. Not only that - the majority of my time is spent running around campus. I never have time to go home and cook fancy meals. I have searched online quite a bit for help regarding weight loss in college but there is just SO much stuff out there and I always get extremely overwhelmed. I have no idea how to grocery shop efficiently (I always end up spending way too much money for one person and I feel like I'm not actually getting my money's worth).
I just feel like it is impossible for me to lose weight because I don't know where to start. I know that it's important to have lean, healthy meals with lots of greens and balance that with exercise (I am currently taking a 1-hour Zumba class 3 times a week). But I don't know what to make, and I need to make meals that are super quick and on the go because I honestly have no time to cook. I also am on a tight budget, so please keep that in mind!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to conquer weight loss in college? Any cheap, quick meals/recipes that you can suggest?

Please help! I am so tired of feeling sad all of the time about my weight.

ryry_

Put your stats into MFP. Set it lose 1 lb a week. Eat whatever you want and log it all. Buy a food scale for accuracy. Eat back 50-75% of your excercise calories. Profit.

All of the things you are worried about are not requirements for weight loss.

KaleiAlanaSmith

Hey there! Another fellow college student here. I am finishing up my freshman year and college and boy....... the freshman 15 is REAL!!!!!!!!!! I gained 10 pounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So I got MFP also and it's been helping a lot so far. As long as you're eating at a DEFICIT, you will lose weight. I eat about 1400 calories a day to lose a pound a week and I've lost 4 pounds in 4 weeks (along with exercise). My college schedule is crazy and leaves me with very little time to workout around class and studying, so I dedicate an hour in the morning or evening to workout. I also have little money, but like I said, as long as you are in a deficit you will lose weight, so don't stress about spending lots of money on everything clean and healthy. Mind you, I do think nutrition is important. So if you can get a bag of lettuce for salad, a couple fruits that you know you will eat, and some good lean meats you will be on the right track, but you don't need to buy the fancy things. If you ever eat on campus, swap that fatty meal out for a salad, or grab some fruit on the way out. Make sure you measure everything you eat with a food scale to make sure you're not going over your limit. Most importantly; make sure you are committed to this new lifestyle and have a positive mindset. It's easy to quit, especially in college. I'm still trying to keep myself up with working out and stop binge eating, but take one step at a time and I promise you will feel amazing. Starting MFP was the best decision I've ever made in my life.

PS: some of my to-go meals are a tuna fold over, a healthy tortilla wrap with eggs and salami, and I also bring my lunch in a container of whatever I made and eat it somewhere on campus. I don't like to cook so I don't really go beyond making omelets (lol).

DrifterBear

You need a plan. You can't be successful if you're running around without one. The fact that you're in college doesn't matter, you just need to think ahead and have meals prepared. Even if you're out all day and don't have a fridge, take a few protein bars and eat one over few hours. Or figure out health places to stop for food.

A goal without a plan is just a wish.

janejellyroll

Eat what you eat now, but eat less of it. Over time, you can incorporate small changes into your diet if you find that it isn't filling enough and you want to switch out some foods. But you don't have to radically overhaul your diet to lose weight.

Put your stats into MFP, get a calorie goal, and begin logging.

Afura

Learn what you like to eat - chicken, pork, some cuts of beef are lean and contain fats, fiber is also a key to helping you feel full. If you can make it from scratch that's great as a lot of pre-made foods can contain salt as a preservative. Ultimately what you eat is up to you, and most importantly if it fits your calorie goals, so don't stress too much over the content of the food.

There are a bajillion (maybe an exaggeration) or websites that have simple/easy/quick recipes to help you learn - Google search cheap eating college and there are lots of helpful sites. If you're not sure how many calories are in a recipe, throw it into the recipe builder and it will tell you to help you get an idea of what will work.

Shop the sales as best you can, and buy extras of things you love while on sale. If you have to question on whether or not you'll eat something before it goes bad, don't buy as much as it will be a waste of money. If you have access to a farmers market, you can get some great deal on veggies there. When possible, buy store brand (at least once to see if you like it) as well, often there's no reason for name brand.

BeYouTiful94

As a fellow college kid, I get where you're coming from. You don't have to eat any particular way. I literally despise vegetables and most days don't even manage 1 serving, let alone 3, and I've lost almost 20 pounds since starting in mid-January. Buy you a food scale, put your stats into MFP, eat what you want, and log everything. Come in at a deficit and you're golden. It's best, of course, to eat foods that'll keep you full longer, instead of 1500 calories worth of candy. You'll find that out and make little changes here and there as you realize that certain foods you eat have you feeling hungry 10 minutes later but were a good 300 calories, while others might be the same 300 calories but keep you full for hours on end.

I'm constantly on the go too, so I tend to buy things like apples that I slice up before leaving to snack on all day, along with peanut butter that I put in a little bity Tupperware thing. Halos (the little mandarins) are also good for on the go. I also bought a packit lunch box, which lets me bring my Greek yogurt, berries and cottage cheese, or little ham wrapped in cheese thingies to campus with me. Peanuts, dry cereal, and protein bars are also some things I might grab before I head out. I used to do granola bars but found they left me hungry too soon, but those might also be a good option for you. Some on the go breakfasts could be boiled eggs, oatmeal in a Tupperware container, smoothies if you make those, or a protein shake. I have Lean1 meal replacements and optimum nutrition protein powder. I can toss the Lean1 in the bottom cup of my shaker and get some water fountain water and have that for lunch and it keeps me full for forever. The optimum nutrition I drink with unsweetened almond milk, so it's usually my breakfast.

stealthq

Well, the good thing is that eating fewer cals generally means you spend less money - unless you deliberately go out and buy stuff that's more expensive than you've been buying.

Honestly, the best advice was already given. Let MFP tell you how many cals you should be eating to lose weight and stick to that. It's helpful to buy foods that are easy transport so you're not locked into campus food. Your basic sandwich works well. Cheese, fruit, veg, hard boiled eggs, pickles, crackers. Make simple meals (since you're not taking much time to cook) like red beans and rice or chicken and veg and bring them in tupperware. Soup in a thermos. If you want to spend more, you can go the single serving pack route and pick whatever you find in the grocery store.

Heck, I lost at least 10 lbs my freshman year of college without trying because 1) I was running all over campus (seriously, it was almost a mile between most of my classes) and 2) I hated the cafeteria food and stuck to Starkist tuna snack-in-a-pack, Wolf brand chili single serving packs, Kraft mac and cheese single serving packs and similar. That included pre-exam all-night pizza-fueled study sessions and the occasional single scoop from Baskin Robbins.

It's definitely doable, though I'd highly recommend you eat more than I did. Looking back, I was probably eating somewhere around 1000 cals/day average which was dumb.

SingingSingleTracker

chimesalot wrote: »

Hello everyone!
I need some serious help. I am a senior in college who is graduating in several weeks. I have gained almost 60-70 pounds since August 2014. I am completely miserable. I am at the point where I don't even want to look in the mirror because I can't recognize myself anymore. I am uncomfortable with my body and the new weight that I have put on over the past year. As someone who used to love fashion and putting together outfits every day in the morning - I dread it now because I can't wear the kind of clothes I like to wear anymore. I'm sad and I feel completely lost.
I want to lose weight and I think about it every day but I have no idea how to do it on a college budget. Not only that - the majority of my time is spent running around campus. I never have time to go home and cook fancy meals. I have searched online quite a bit for help regarding weight loss in college but there is just SO much stuff out there and I always get extremely overwhelmed. I have no idea how to grocery shop efficiently (I always end up spending way too much money for one person and I feel like I'm not actually getting my money's worth).
I just feel like it is impossible for me to lose weight because I don't know where to start. I know that it's important to have lean, healthy meals with lots of greens and balance that with exercise (I am currently taking a 1-hour Zumba class 3 times a week). But I don't know what to make, and I need to make meals that are super quick and on the go because I honestly have no time to cook. I also am on a tight budget, so please keep that in mind!

Does anyone have any suggestions as to how to conquer weight loss in college? Any cheap, quick meals/recipes that you can suggest?

Please help! I am so tired of feeling sad all of the time about my weight.

CICO - eat less (calories in vs. calories out).

Weight is lost at the table - or in the kitchen. Not by what you eat, or if you exercise. Solely by eating fewer calories than your body needs on a daily basis to have a deficit. Presto - the fat melts away about 1 - 2 pounds per week.

Here's your college assignment: Read THIS.