Hello, so I am a college student trying to lose weight but college makes it sorta difficult.

madelinewilliams402

Does anyone have any advice?

nossmf

A lot will depend on whether you have the school cafeteria meal plan or not.

If you DO: take advantage of the foods offered to focus on protein and fruits/vegetables (lots of fiber) which will help to make you feel full.

If you DO NOT: college eating on your own often involves either lots of fast food, or foods simple to prepare at home but with either tons of sodium (retain water) or little nutritional content. Best option here is to dedicate one day per week to cook up 2-3 large meals which can be split up and stored into Tupperware style containers in the fridge, then pulled out and nuked as needed later in the week. Chili, spaghetti, stir-fries are all excellent options which store and reheat well.

I remember lots of student get-togethers (study or party) have free food around, feel free to partake but try to set limits of one slice of pizza or just a couple wings, just enough to feel you took part. In addition, alcohol, coffee and soda typically make up a large percentage of fluid intake for many collegians, so set yourself a rule: you can have another (fill-in-the-blank) after you drink the same volume of water first. This saves money, helps fill you up so you are likely to drink less and thus save calories, and more water in the body is better for everybody. If you really need the caffeine due to all-nighters, you can get caffeine pill over-the-counter at Walmart or most grocery stores for just a few dollars, giving you the jolt of a cup of coffee without the calories of all the cream and various sugars most people add.

lynn_glenmont

nossmf wrote: »

A lot will depend on whether you have the school cafeteria meal plan or not.

If you DO: take advantage of the foods offered to focus on protein and fruits/vegetables (lots of fiber) which will help to make you feel full.

If you DO NOT: college eating on your own often involves either lots of fast food, or foods simple to prepare at home but with either tons of sodium (retain water) or little nutritional content. Best option here is to dedicate one day per week to cook up 2-3 large meals which can be split up and stored into Tupperware style containers in the fridge, then pulled out and nuked as needed later in the week. Chili, spaghetti, stir-fries are all excellent options which store and reheat well.

I remember lots of student get-togethers (study or party) have free food around, feel free to partake but try to set limits of one slice of pizza or just a couple wings, just enough to feel you took part. In addition, alcohol, coffee and soda typically make up a large percentage of fluid intake for many collegians, so set yourself a rule: you can have another (fill-in-the-blank) after you drink the same volume of water first. This saves money, helps fill you up so you are likely to drink less and thus save calories, and more water in the body is better for everybody. If you really need the caffeine due to all-nighters, you can get caffeine pill over-the-counter at Walmart or most grocery stores for just a few dollars, giving you the jolt of a cup of coffee without the calories of all the cream and various sugars most people add.

Or you could just drink your coffee black, the way God intended 😉

mtaratoot

What in particular about college "makes it sorta difficult?"

If it's the temptation of pizza and beer... that won't get better when college is over. This is a great time to start building the habits that will serve you well throughout your life. The "Freshman 15" is something many people experience. Many people don't stop gaining. Start as soon as you can! The best time to start was last year, the second best time is today.

AnnPT77

We could be more helpful if you could be more specific about what in the situation is making it hard.

We don't know anything about your living situation (home with parents, dorm with or without meal plan, off campus with room-mates), your schedule (job or not and what type, transportation situation, availability of workout options and enthusiasm or not for working out), etc.

We don't know whether it's stress making it hard, roommates with snack foods creating temptation, not knowing how to cook, not being able to estimate dorm food calories, or something else entirely.

A high percentage of people posting here will say "X makes it hard", but what "X" is varies, from injuries that limit exercise, unsupportive family, high stress, health conditions, limited food budget, some other household member doing the shopping/cooking, . . . .

In general, there's no point in focusing on the hard unless the specific focus is making a plan that will get us over, around, through or otherwise past the obstacle. Any other focus regarding obstacles is a waste of time and energy, a way of staying stuck (with built in excuses, frankly).

In general, in order to succeed, everyone needs to commit to changing their habits, and needs to make a plan for doing so that's achievable and sustainable for long enough to lose the weight, and that creates an on-ramp for staying at a healthy weight after the loss.

I - and others - would sincerely like to help you, but for that to be practical, we need to know more about what your particular problems or obstacles are.

However you proceed, I wish you success . . . all the way through to creating habits that will serve your health and well-being well for the rest of your adult life.

neanderthin

That's a pretty common catch all excuse. Take ownership of your weight loss and make a plan where college works for you as opposed to against you, that's more of a victim mentality and offers no solutions.

SafariGalNYC

Agree… would be helpful to know what is making it difficult?

Making changes now will be helpful for long term weight maintenance.

If it’s high calorie food/ - choose lower cal options or limit portions.