Students!

emma1972016

I'm a student and I find it so difficult to loose weight and eat healthy

RosieRose7673

Why? What is stopping you? Are you living on campus? With a roommate? With your parents? Are you of typical college age (18-22) or older? There are too many factors to consider.

pzarnosky

Not an excuse. I'm a full time college student and I work a full time job. I made a lifestyle change and made my health a priority. It takes more time, but for me the weightloss and all of the positive side effects that came with it and with eating a nutrient diet make the time worth it.
There will never be a time in your lift that losing weight and eating right become easy. You will always be able to excuse bad habits; school, starting a new career, marriage/divorce, babies, a death, a car accident... the list is endless.
What worked for me: I got portions under control first and maintained a 1500 cal/day limit. I weighed everything. Once I got on track with how much I actually needed to eat, I started encorporating healthier whole food options. Basically, I went from a 175lb moderate smoker/drinker with the typical American diet to a 135lb long distance runner with a plant based diet (supplement meats in every so often, mostly holidays/birthdays).
It can be done You just have to be willing to struggle through it.

bc2ct

Really? I think it's so much easier!

Cheap or free gym pass.

No money to spend on "contingency foods" & it's way cheaper to eat at home. If you are an undergrad & eat in the dining hall you can just as easily pick up healthy options as unhealthy ones.

Social drinking can easily be worked into a diet plan - just don't go crazy on it & stay in control (probably a good idea anyways, ya know?)

If you aren't living with your parents you have full control over your diet for the first time in your life.

all in all... good times!

paymentm

Hi fourth year uni student here! First year gained 15lbs, then lost it all over the summer. Second year gained 20lbs, lost most of it over the summer. Third year gained 25lbs and now trying to lose that lost that and more over this summer.

Basically because studying becomes my sole purpose in life and lose any energy for literally anything else. My belief is if I put my health before everything else hopefully I can a least maintain when school starts again in September. Feel free to add me and we can try and motivate each other

tristen_leigh

As a full-time student and full-time worker, PLANNING is key for me. I plan my meals, prep as much as I can in advance and then plan when I can go to the gym... then I just DO IT. No matter how much I want to talk myself out of it, I just have to do it because I know there is no other time. Good luck!

daniip_la

I get where you're coming from, OP. I found it incredibly hard to lose weight while attending university full-time and working full-time, because I was a stress eater. I managed to lose almost 100lbs throughout my first 3 years of undergrad, and then gained 50lbs of it back during my senior year of undergrad and first year of grad school. I'm now working to get that off and lose the rest during the rest of grad school.

Planning is key. And if you eat your stress like I do, a lot of self-control is needed. But you can do it!

freya9897

I tend to gain during examtime, but I don't have any trouble the rest of the time. I find it's easier than when I'm at home, as I know exactly what I'm eating, and can control my own portion sizes and only have meals when I'm hungry. Yeah, sometimes it's tempting to live off pizza and alcohol and basically nothing else, but there's no reason why you can't eat healthy. As long as you're prepared to be flexible (ie just buying whatever is reduced that week), it doesn't have to be expensive, and it can end up far more varied and interesting. Ie, today for lunch I had 2 mini Lamb & mint kebabs with stirfried Chinese vegetables

choppie70

paymentm wrote: »

Hi fourth year uni student here! First year gained 15lbs, then lost it all over the summer. Second year gained 20lbs, lost most of it over the summer. Third year gained 25lbs and now trying to lose that lost that and more over this summer.

Basically because studying becomes my sole purpose in life and lose any energy for literally anything else. My belief is if I put my health before everything else hopefully I can a least maintain when school starts again in September. Feel free to add me and we can try and motivate each other

Many people on here are very busy as well. For example, I am a mother, a teacher (at work from 7am - 4:30/5 each day - doesn't include the planning/correcting I do at home each night), a team leader, working on my National Board Certification ( much like graduate work), a wife. My husband works nights so I am home alone with my girls most evenings. Personally, I was at my best when I was a student because it was only me I had to worry about.

tristen_leigh wrote: »

As a full-time student and full-time worker, PLANNING is key for me. I plan my meals, prep as much as I can in advance and then plan when I can go to the gym... then I just DO IT. No matter how much I want to talk myself out of it, I just have to do it because I know there is no other time. Good luck!

I totally agree with this. PLANNING is so important. I plan out my day and how I am going to do the many things I need to get done in the limited amount of time I have to do it in. I plan my meals, I plan when I am going to work out, I plan when I am going to help my daughter with homework.

I used to say I didn't have time to work out, or have time to eat right. I said I was too tired to work out. Now, working out gives me the extra burst of energy I need to get me through the end part of my night - making lunches, setting clothes out for the next day, bedtime stories, correcting papers.

AlyssaPetsDogs

pzarnosky wrote: »

Not an excuse. I'm a full time college student and I work a full time job. I made a lifestyle change and made my health a priority. It takes more time, but for me the weightloss and all of the positive side effects that came with it and with eating a nutrient diet make the time worth it.
There will never be a time in your lift that losing weight and eating right become easy. You will always be able to excuse bad habits; school, starting a new career, marriage/divorce, babies, a death, a car accident... the list is endless.
What worked for me: I got portions under control first and maintained a 1500 cal/day limit. I weighed everything. Once I got on track with how much I actually needed to eat, I started encorporating healthier whole food options. Basically, I went from a 175lb moderate smoker/drinker with the typical American diet to a 135lb long distance runner with a plant based diet (supplement meats in every so often, mostly holidays/birthdays).
It can be done You just have to be willing to struggle through it.

This! I gained weight my last year of college and my year off. I made excuses that I was too busy in college and then when I was working full time, I made more excuses. Then I went to law school which was much more work than undergrad and working full time. I decided it was time for a change. I struggled the first semester, but second semester, I mentally committed and I'm down nearly 30 pounds and look and feel healthier. Yes, it was hard because I was busy. As others have said, meal prepping is key. Plan out your snacks and leave a little room for unplanned things. The hardest thing for me is that there is a ton of free pizza in law school. Being poor from being in school + free pizza = danger!

As for exercise, gym membership is free at my school (by "free" I mean I pay for it whether I use it or not in my tuition and fees). I found something I liked (spinning classes) and began to just jog around the neighborhoods by my apartment complex. Put the exercise in your calendar and don't skip it. Skip the Netflix and eating excessive snacks. It's hard, but I think once you mentally commit to a lifestyle change, nothing can stop you.

*i did take a break from working out for 2 weeks of final exams just because I felt guilty even spending 50 minutes in a class, but that was the only time of the semester. I made sure to fit it in!

Best of luck! Feel free to add me if you want!

Seffell

I gained all my weight as a student the last three years and I'm trying to lose it now (successfully).

I noticed that there are several people who replied in this post they are full time students and have a full time job. How does this work?
I was a full time student of particle physics in the UK and I had lectures all day every day and attendance is compulsory (you get checked every lecture). For my 3 years of undergrad so far I've only had free time to sleep from studying - no social life, no nothing. And my fellow students too, not just me. How do you fit a full-time (by full time I understand 8 hours/day) job at the same time?
@pzarnosky , @tristen_leigh, @daniip_la ?

For me it was very stressful and combined with a change of countries (i.e. food) no wonder I gained.
I have a masters year coming up this October and I have no idea how I will stay on MFP successfully without going crazy.

I'm a mature student though and have a family too so this complicated things further maybe.

tillerstouch

bc2ct wrote: »

Really? I think it's so much easier!

Cheap or free gym pass.

No money to spend on "contingency foods" & it's way cheaper to eat at home. If you are an undergrad & eat in the dining hall you can just as easily pick up healthy options as unhealthy ones.

Social drinking can easily be worked into a diet plan - just don't go crazy on it & stay in control (probably a good idea anyways, ya know?)

If you aren't living with your parents you have full control over your diet for the first time in your life.

all in all... good times!

Completely agree

daniip_la

gebeziseva wrote: »

I noticed that there are several people who replied in this post they are full time students and have a full time job. How does this work?
I was a full time student of particle physics in the UK and I had lectures all day every day and attendance is compulsory (you get checked every lecture). For my 3 years of undergrad so far I've only had free time to sleep from studying - no social life, no nothing. And my fellow students too, not just me. How do you fit a full-time (by full time I understand 8 hours/day) job at the same time?
@pzarnosky , @tristen_leigh, @daniip_la ?

Higher education isn't structured the same worldwide. My bachelor's degree program in chemistry was spread over four years, not three. And my classes were not every hour of every day (though I only missed 1 class session in those entire 4 years). So I worked early morning before class, every free hour between classes, and in the evenings/nights/weekends. And I didn't require much studying time.

Now I'm being paid to work on my PhD, and in my second year I actually have more time to take care of myself than I did in undergrad.

pomegranatecloud

alyssadanielle2493 wrote: »

pzarnosky wrote: »

Not an excuse. I'm a full time college student and I work a full time job. I made a lifestyle change and made my health a priority. It takes more time, but for me the weightloss and all of the positive side effects that came with it and with eating a nutrient diet make the time worth it.
There will never be a time in your lift that losing weight and eating right become easy. You will always be able to excuse bad habits; school, starting a new career, marriage/divorce, babies, a death, a car accident... the list is endless.
What worked for me: I got portions under control first and maintained a 1500 cal/day limit. I weighed everything. Once I got on track with how much I actually needed to eat, I started encorporating healthier whole food options. Basically, I went from a 175lb moderate smoker/drinker with the typical American diet to a 135lb long distance runner with a plant based diet (supplement meats in every so often, mostly holidays/birthdays).
It can be done You just have to be willing to struggle through it.

This! I gained weight my last year of college and my year off. I made excuses that I was too busy in college and then when I was working full time, I made more excuses. Then I went to law school which was much more work than undergrad and working full time. I decided it was time for a change. I struggled the first semester, but second semester, I mentally committed and I'm down nearly 30 pounds and look and feel healthier. Yes, it was hard because I was busy. As others have said, meal prepping is key. Plan out your snacks and leave a little room for unplanned things. The hardest thing for me is that there is a ton of free pizza in law school. Being poor from being in school + free pizza = danger!

As for exercise, gym membership is free at my school (by "free" I mean I pay for it whether I use it or not in my tuition and fees). I found something I liked (spinning classes) and began to just jog around the neighborhoods by my apartment complex. Put the exercise in your calendar and don't skip it. Skip the Netflix and eating excessive snacks. It's hard, but I think once you mentally commit to a lifestyle change, nothing can stop you.

*i did take a break from working out for 2 weeks of final exams just because I felt guilty even spending 50 minutes in a class, but that was the only time of the semester. I made sure to fit it in!

Best of luck! Feel free to add me if you want!

This. I worked full time during law school and still managed to find the time to work out regularly.

tristen_leigh

I work 8am-5pm Monday through Friday. And then have a 3 hour class on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. I also teach and assist yoga three times a week. It's crazy. but I plan my week - when I can go to the gym or yoga and what I can eat. It's the only way for me. I have to plan it all out.

RosieRose7673

gebeziseva wrote: »

I gained all my weight as a student the last three years and I'm trying to lose it now (successfully).

I noticed that there are several people who replied in this post they are full time students and have a full time job. How does this work?
I was a full time student of particle physics in the UK and I had lectures all day every day and attendance is compulsory (you get checked every lecture). For my 3 years of undergrad so far I've only had free time to sleep from studying - no social life, no nothing. And my fellow students too, not just me. How do you fit a full-time (by full time I understand 8 hours/day) job at the same time?
@pzarnosky , @tristen_leigh, @daniip_la ?

For me it was very stressful and combined with a change of countries (i.e. food) no wonder I gained.
I have a masters year coming up this October and I have no idea how I will stay on MFP successfully without going crazy.

I'm a mature student though and have a family too so this complicated things further maybe.

During undergrad, I worked full time as a server. I worked mornings and/or nights there. I also was a full time student and was able to stack most of my classes on two days- Tuesday and Thursday. They were hour and a half classes back to back. Worked the other 5 days of the week as a server.

It's completely possible and draining, but when you don't have anyone helping you pay for anything, it's necessary. I received grants from school to cover my tuition but everything else was on me.