College students losing weight...how did you do it?

zen1910

I'm wondering what other college students are doing to lose weight while living in an environment that's famous for causing weight gain? Most people seem to lose weight later in life, but I want to lose the weight NOW and prevent health or confidence issues that can arise from being overweight for several decades. After seeing a family member diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes I realized how important it is for me to no longer put it off, but to adopt healthier habits before receiving a similar diagnosis. Plus, I don't want to look back on my life thinking about how my weight held me back from leading the type of life I want to live--one with energy, confidence, adventure, and a healthy lifestyle!

Share your side by sides and tips for how you did it! If you want, add your favorite benefit of losing the weight!

LumpySpacePrincess1

Well it looks like you're doing great already.
My way of not adopting those college pounds is just by making my own food. I don't eat out and I don't drink alcohol. I have snacks ready for studying, like sunflower seeds, egg salad, veggie rice, etc.
Preparation in advance really helps.

jenkay15

This partly depends on if you're eating dining center food or not. If so, what I did was find a few meals and rotated between them (salad, chili, omelette, hummus wrap, black bean burger) because a lot of the food was a major fat and carb overload.

I'm in an apartment this year and I'm still working on figuring out what works for me here, which is really frustrating since the most cost-effective food is stuff like hamburger helper :ohwell:

Also, if your campus likes to hand out free food at every possible chance, carry a pack of gum. It can help you resist, and other people don't give you so many weird looks if they can understand why you're not eating.

rlp2891

I'm in college and finally losing the weight! I gained most of it in college as well, unfortunately. I only recently realized how unhealthy even the "healthy" choices at the school cafeterias are, so most of the time I make my own lunch (which is cheaper anyway), and when I don't I'm pretty careful on campus. I don't do coffee or take free samples of anything anymore. And I've forced myself to resist all the free food that student orgs serve at their first meetings- wasn't easy but it's worth it!

As far as budget, I was sort of a junk food addict in the past, so while my meals are a bit more expensive than mac and cheese, I'm actually saving money by not buying ice cream all the time :embarassed:

klight1236

Well I have a really good dining center it's like ranked 1-3 in the USA. They post all the caloric info (fat, protein, etc.) on white pieces of paper plus they serve a lot of vegan meals, vegetarian meals , and low Cal meals so it's easy for me to eat better there. I also only go to the commons,dining hall, once a day or like 3 times a week (That food is delicious ). The others I make my own food, whether that means eating cereal or shrimp and rice. And then I just try to hit the gym or something 3 times a week at usually at odd times because of my classes. Plus if your gym offers free classes like Zumba, Turbo Kick, Yoga, Boot Camp, or Cycling. You could try going to those or maybe bike around campus if your classes are far apart, It gives you a workout and saves you time so you don't have to leave for class early. Also my place has a coffee shop within the dining hall so I just make sure to get an iced vanilla latte with fat free milk or sometimes I get it with no syrup just the coffee. Also if your college gives out as much food as mine I still eat the free food but calculate the calories I ate and don't eat anything else that day.

mdcoug

Well, college was a looong time ago for me, but I dropped 15 instead of gaining 15 and all I really had to do was be more active. I walked to all my classes (we had a very, very, very hilly campus) and I took advantage of cheap fitness classes and always made sure to take at least one phys ed class a semester, even though that was far from my major. I was probably eating less too--the dining hall food wasn't that great, from what I remember. Although I must admit that I did consume entirely too many calories in the form of cheap beer!

czechwolf52

I'm currently in college, but I'm living off campus. The way I've been losing weight has been cooking all of my own meals. My roommate and I grocery shop every week and we seldom eat out, it's just too expensive for one meal. I also use my food scale for just about everything now, it's very useful and I would recommend getting one. Home cooking gives you complete control of how much and what is in you food. But if you're living on campus, see if your school posts the nutritional information online. My school has all of their food listed online and on their app. In addition to eating less, I also make use of the great bike trails by my apartment, and I use the rec center, in addition to walking a lot (my classes are all over campus and I have to walk to the bus stops).

Edit: Also, drink alcohol in moderation. Even though I like it, it's very expensive, high in calories, and has no nutritional value. Save them for special occasions. Right now I have mudslides and Jack Daniels in the fridge, but I'm saving them for when I'm significantly under for the day.

alaskagirl5

One thing I have to do as a college student is go to the gym before I go home/to the dorms. If I get there, i relax and just want to go to sleep. No matter how terrible my day, if i didn't workout that morning, I make myself go to the gym before I'm allowed to go home.
You have to make it a priority.