Struggling to lose weight as a University Student?

ilovefood9998

All my life I have had an issue with my weight. I remember as a kid at around 8 years old I would cry to my own mother about how I wanted to lose weight and I was never able to. My entire teenage life has been entirely influenced by my body. I became body conscious and I simply didn't want to leave the house and I couldn't and still cannot leave the house without wearing multiple layers of clothing. I figured as I was going to uni this September it was about time that I grew a pair of balls and went on a diet. My diet over the summer was extremely unhealthy I would simply eat one meal a day usually the same microwave curry with fries and bread totalling my caloric intake to around 1200 per day. Then maybe once or twice a week my parents would order pizza and fries which would total to around 1400 calories. That was all I ate from June to September. I can honestly say from June to September I left the house maybe 4 times at most as I have a none existent social life. However I did successfully lose weight for the first time in my life. In June I weighed 196 pounds which is the heaviest I have ever weighed. I currently weigh 177 which is almost 20 pounds gone. Despite me being unable to see any physical changes at all. I am a 5 foot 9 male and a healthy weight for me would be around 150-160 pounds meaning i have a further 17 pounds to go. As I am now at University the structure to my life has changed a lot. I am constantly surrounded by people my age who can eat whatever they want when they want. As I now have money for the first time in my life snacking is such an easy habit to get into. I have started drinking calories again surprisingly not from alcohol ( you need a social life to drink) but from sodas. I had an addiction to sodas in the past and I would drink thousands of calories of it per week. To stop drinking soda I had to practically beg my parents to do the tough love thing and to shout at me or tell me about how i was fat and how i would hate myself. But honestly it worked. But now everything is just going wrong. I luckily haven't gained any weight since I arrived but I haven't lost any either and this was supposed to be a new start for me. I know if I carry on the way I am going I will just put it all my weight back on again. Can anyone give me some tips on how to get everything back on track.

TavistockToad

drink diet coke

join the gym. adding in some resistance training will mean you will like how you look a lot more when you lose 10lbs.

kommodevaran

That sounds exhausting, and the ironic thing is that to lose weight, you just have to eat a little less. MFP can help you, if you are willing to make an effort. Plug in your stats, set your weekly weight loss goal to 1 pound (you will have a choice between 2 - 0.5 pounds; pick 1 pound, and reduce this as you lose weight), and follow the instructions: Log your food intake in your food diary, and aim to hit your calorie goal every day. You can prelog, so that you avoid "eating yourself into a corner".

The clever thing with this approach, is that aiming for a realistic and healthy calorie goal "forces" you to make better decisions overall: You will notice that certain foods (typically soda, fast food, candy etc) are easy to overeat and exceed calorie goal without making you satisfied, while other foods (typically ordinary food - sandwiches, meat and potatoes, yoghurt, nuts, vegetables, fruit), are easy to fit into your daily allowance. You will also feel more energized and strong and calm when you get in more real food. You will possibly start to see how people around you really eat, and stop imagining that "everybody else" can eat "whatever they want whenever they want", and instead observe that they make decisions and have boundaries.

Improving your eating habits and relationship with food will not just give you a healthier body and a normal weight, it will take away a lot of stress and anxiety, and free up time, so you can focus on other important things, including studying and making friends.

bribucks

@ilovefood9998 The first step is to figure out your numbers. What is your TDEE? What is your BMR? From my rough calculations, I would estimate your BMR (the amount your body needs to survive, even if you laid in bed 24/7) is 1800cal. So, you really should try not to dip below that amount, especially not by a lot or for an extended period of time.

Now, for your TDEE (how many calories your body burns in an average day, doing normal things like walking around). Since you are a university student and I assume you walk around campus a lot, I will assume your activity level to be “lightly active.” That puts your TDEE at 2,479.

To find how many calories you should be eating, substract 500 calories from that number (500 a day = 1lb/week). You get 1979cal. That should be the sweet spot for you to lose about a lb a week. If you want to round it off to a nice even number, then shoot for 1900.

Now, let’s say your university has a rec center that you want to take advantage of. Purposeful exercise is not factored into the previous calorie number we found, so you will “eat back” these calories on days you exercise. To leave room for margin of error, eat back 50-75% of exercise calories.

bribucks

Continuing on ...

So, you will see that based on these numbers, you do have room to eat a little more than what you are doing now. Eating 1200-1400 a day is NOT healthy, especially for males around your size/height, and it WILL have severe consequences if you don’t change. I know you just want the weight to be gone already, but you can’t punish your body. Be nice to it. Remember, at the end of the day, food isn’t inherently good or bad - it’s just fuel for everything else you are doing in life. Also, depriving yourself like that opens you up to a greater likelihood of binging and inaccurate logging.

I know it’s hard to stay accountable and healthy while at school. But it’s worth it, and the good news is that right now you are still young, and it is the perfect time to make those small changes.

Can’t quit drinking soda? Then slowly make it less frequent. Every other day, or just on weekends. Switch to diet soda.

Too much pizza? It’s okay to say no sometimes. It sounds like you might live at home, which means access to a kitchen. Make something else. But, it’s also okay to indulge sometimes - just do it LESS. Have a big plate of salad, and only 1-2 slices of pizza. Don’t reach for the fries.

Make a plan for your day whenever you can. If you have it logged ahead of time, it makes it a lot harder to decide “what the heck, why not fast food.”

livingleanlivingclean

Don't use your environment as an excuse.

You choose what you spend your money on and what you put in your mouth. No one can just eat and drink what they like when they like - you're not a special snowflake who gains weight easily. Your friends either eat less at other times, and/or move more than you.

Drink diet soda. Get involved with sports clubs - unis generally have many options. Join a gym. Plan and prep meals to take with you - it's a lot cheaper than buying food out.

Graelwyn75

Most universities have a gym and a pool as well as various sports clubs... I am guessing you are probably an introvert so maybe the clubs might not suit you so well, but there is no excuse to not make use of any gym facilities on offer, or get a bike and get some cycling in. I know unis tend to have a lot of unhealthy options easily available but they also do healthier options and it is a matter of digging your heels in and using your desire to be healthy to dictate your food choices. Obviously, you can still fit in a treat or maybe allow yourself one meal per week that is whatever you desire, but it all starts with you really and what you want more. The food will always be there, even when you leave university, but your health isn't finite.

nw623

Take advantage of your university's gym. If yours is like mine was, you're already paying for the membership, so you may as well use it. Chances are you can also get a free consultation too, based off my experience. The same probably applies to nutritionists at your student health center. They may be able to provide some insight too.

A way I made sure I had no excuses is by signing up for a fitness/PE class as part of my class load. It made sure I went at least twice a week and it was an easy midterm/final. There were a variety of classes, everything from yoga, to dancing/ballet, to swimming and various cardio classes. There was literally no excuse for me not to take a class or be active.

Of course, I know it's easier said than done. I ate like crap on campus most of the time. However, I was able to rely on some healthy options like veggies and hummus available at the gym cafe and various places that served salads/lighter options. Become aware of places that offer healthier options. They are there!

Being shouted at that you're fat probably isn't the most healthy way of going about breaking a habit. Figure out why YOU want to change and start doing it. Start off slow in whatever form that may be. But just start.

ottermotorcycle

I think you should look into counseling.. drastic restrictions, asking for others to fat-shame you, not being able to see a 20lb loss... I really think you should talk to a professional about those things.