College girl....HELP!!!!

Toribear13

So I am a sophomore in college, I'm 19 and I am 5'3 at approximately 150lbs or so. I'm too scared to weigh to be honest. I am calorie counting like I have done in the past but I am finding it extremely hard to eat well in college. I am on a meal plan with a dollar type thing on it that I can spend at school. There are these restaurants that I can choose to eat from every day: Einsteins bagels, Moe's, A&W, Mein Bowl (chinese), Chick fil a, and a sub place. It is extremely difficult to eat at school (without paying 8 dollars for a sub par salad every day) and I want to feel like I'm not eating 1/3 of the food I want. Is there a good way to cut calories at college that you can suggest? I live an hour away from school so it is impossible for me to eat at an apartment or anything I'd love any suggestion you all have to lose weight and get in shape. I am trying to exercise but I realistically can't more than 3 times a week max at this point with the amount of studying I do. I do not drink alcohol at all so that doesn't factor in. I feel the weight packing on so fast.... Any tip helps!!!!

kshama2001

I went out for lunch with my OH and his family yesterday and was struck by how big the portions were and how much everybody ate. Not so much him, as he is 6'6", but his elderly and much shorter female relatives. I looked at the menu ahead of time, got one of the smallest entrees, and took half of it home.

Do you have access to a refrigerator? Are you commuting an hour twice a day or did you mean you are in a dorm room with no facilities?

Also, I'm not really clear on your meal plan - would you please elaborate a bit?

the3dwizard

I am a big believer in pre-logging your day. If you are not using MFP to log your meals you should give it a try. Use it to calculate you daily calorie requirements. Then take a few minutes each evening and think about your next day, where you classes are, when and where you will be studying etc. Then plan your meals out with your day in mind. For example, if at lunch time you are near the Chickfila try some nuggets and fruit bowl in your daily plan. At each meal look for things on the menu that will put you under your daily calories. There are a lot of food items from most of these places in MFP to help make it a little easier. Then plan your other meals that day, if late nights are an issue save some calories for a snack and put that in your plan. Once you have your eating planned out for the day I find it a little easier to stick to instead of just letting the day happen then logging your calories at the end of the day and finding you went over.

This way you are designing a plan that works for you not one of these cookie cutter plans that require special food, or is very restrictive, etc. Hope this helps.

rileysowner

First remember that the primary thing is calories. Most of those restaurants I am not familiar with as they are not around here in Canada, but the ones I do recognize it would simply be a matter of pre-logging so you know what your calories are before you even order. You should be able to stay within your calorie goal even just eating at them. Having said that, have you considered packing a lunch. It is what people have done for decades. Make it at home and bring it with you.

alyssa0061

I just really like Einstein Brothers Bagels

Toribear13

I live at home with my parents for now and I do have access to a refrigerator. Most of these restaurants don't have a ton of options that are healthy and most of them have a lot of carbs which I'm trying to avoid. My meal plan is basically buying whatever from each restaurant and those are the choices. I will definitely try to bring food from home if I can and pre log my calories. I am commuting an hour twice a day, yes. This makes it difficult to bring a ton of extra food with me to school but it can be done.

Alienique

My main suggestion is to not eat at restaurants in the first place. 1) It's difficult to know exactly how many calories you are getting per portion/serving, even if the place offers you that information (after all, you're not there when they make it, so you're taking it all on faith that they're staying true to the numbers). Making your own food offers you much more knowledge of and control over what you're eating. 2) The portion sizes in most restaurants are bigger than a store-bought suggested serving of the same type of food, and the food itself is much higher in calories (and oftentimes, less nutritionally valuable) than a similar homemade meal. 3) You're spending an awful lot of money for something that's, in all likelihood, hindering your goals.

As a student, I can sympathize with the inconvenience of lugging around bags and/or containers of food (I spend about 3 hours per day commuting to/from college), and the temptation of eating when there's such high variety and access to food (seriously, what is it with college campuses having more food joints than a strip mall?), but if the shortcut ends with my wallet shrinking and my pants size growing, I opt for the long way 'round.

realcalm

What terrible choices your meal plan gives you! My first thought is that fruits are your friends - apples, bananas, grapes all very portable. Tubs of yogurt or cottage cheese. Nuts, string cheese. Maybe get a small insulated lunch bag to carry all this stuff in and minimize your dependence on these restaurants. At least your youth and metabolism are on your side - good luck, dear girl!

SusanMFindlay

Is there no main cafeteria where you might be able to find things like soup? I work at a university and I mostly bring my own food, but if I have to eat on campus for one reason or another, soup from the cafeteria is a great choice (maybe with a bun or crackers depending on how thick/thin the soup is).

There should be decent options at the sub place too. A six inch sub with a protein (turkey, ham, roast beef or cheese will be the lowest cal choices), as many veggies and pickles as you want with mustard as the sauce is only about 300 cals and is a pretty satisfying meal.

A grilled chicken sandwich without mayo from either A&W or Chick Fil A might also be a decent choice (assuming Chick Fil A does those); just skip the fries.

Caroline393

I'm a senior in college with almost identical stats to you, so I'll add you if you want. I'm not going to lie, it's been way easier for me to eat healthier and lose weight since I moved off campus into an apartment last year. I can prepare my own food and cook what I want and control what goes in. That being said, it is possible to lose weight even when you live on campus with a meal plan. 3x a week at the gym is probably plenty, and it's really all about calories anyway. Exercise just helps give you more leeway with how many you can eat. My school gets all their dining hall food from Aramark, who is partnered with MFP for easy logging of everything they make in the dining hall. Try looking into if your dining hall has sometime similar, because that helps with accuracy. Second, avoid eating at the restaurants if you can because it's honestly just a waste of calories. You can find a balanced meal in the DH and if yours is like mine, they've probably got a "lite" section or "healthy" section of lower calorie, gluten/dairy free vegetarian/vegan options. Really just try to make as much of your own food as you can so you can control portion size and what goes in, and accurately log everything else. Try to eat lots of lean protein like grilled chicken or fish in your meals to stay full and make the most of your calories. It can be done, I promise!

JenniferNoll

I vote with bringing your lunch every day. It's the only way I could afford to eat when I was a college student, myself. However, I think that if you use the dining card, your best bet is chik fil e. The soup is very low cal, and the salads aren't too caloric if you don't use the crunchies and go easy on the dressing. Also, they are happy to give you just the chicken breast with the lettuce and tomatoes instead of the bun. They are also willing to prepare the chicken without the butter if you ask. Really, though, brown bag it, and use your card for drinks and low-cal treats!

Queenmunchy

Since you don't live on campus, I would forego the meal plan for the next years. For this year, make reasonable choices and make sure that you estimate and log as best you can.

A dining hall tends to have a fair amount of choices. Salad bar, broth-based soups, usually a baked or grilled protein choice, steamed vegetables, etc. I usually would dress things up with salsa, hot sauce, soy sauce, and any low calorie condiments.

For the chain restaurants, look up nutritional information and make yourself a cheat sheet of things that you'll order that you like and fit into your goals.