Maintaining during college

mylovelyremedy

I'm 5'6" and 115 lbs. I am sedentary for the time being. I generally eat 1500 calories and I maintain my weight great.

I am moving to a college dorm for my freshman year of college next Saturday. I have a meal plan that will allow me to eat in the dining hall for 2 meals a day, 5 days a week.

I keep hearing people telling me things about the dreaded "freshman 15." I thought that is what happened when people pile on the plates in the dining hall, drink alcohol every night, and order pizza at 11 pm.

What is your advice to maintain weight during college?
I am starting a list of dorm room healthy snacks for my pantry and mini fridge. So far ...

kettle corn
progresso soups
bananas
oatmeal
peanut butter
stevia extract packets
Powerade Zeros
crackers
tuna in water
potatoes
sugar free pudding cups
snack bars
cheerios
dried fruit


I have free access to a YMCA, I feel like it'd be worth checking that out, right?

Anyways. I'm pretty nervous for all of these changes. Any helpful advice for dining and working out during college?
Thanks!

KatiePapaya

Hi, can't offer much help since I'm about to go to college on meal plan myself (the food is pretty healthy looking though, which is a plus!) but I'm interested to see what people say I'm joining the gym and a few sports societies anyway-- I'd definitely make the most of a free YMCA!

nxd10

I'm a professor and many students do gain weight.

Good news is that there are almost always healthy eating options in the cafeteria. My problem was always that the longer I sat and chatted with friends, the more I eat. I learned to eat lots of salad.

Other good news is that there are many opportunities to walk that you should take advantage of. You might think of getting a pedometer or fitbit and MAKE SURE that you are getting enough exercise.

Problems are not sleeping - which tends to lead to over-eating - and munching a lot. Go with the basics. Take advantage of the good meal plan. Exercise. Sleep reasonably. Log your munchies.

Good luck!

abatonfan

I am wondering the same thing. I will be beginning in a week, but I will be commuting to and from school. Though I will most likely bring in my own lunches to save money, I still want to indulge in the amazing bakery that's less than a mile from the campus.

shrinkingbrian

I was a poor college student and didn't have a car so I had to walk every place I wanted to go so this helped. I also didn't get a meal plan and ate on $40 a week (back in 1992-1996). I ate a lot of frozen veggies, pasta, and rice. Rice and beans are super cheap and good for you. You could make lots of beans and rice and then just re-heat it.

theCaityCat

If you're walking to and from classes, the dorm, etc. then you will be burning more calories than you currently do. Also, rice and beans make a good meal! Tofu is also often cheaper than its equivalent weight in meat. I ate a lot of tofu and veggie stir fry in grad school for this reason.

Wookinpanub

I entered college at 160 lbs (too skinny as I am 6-3) and left college at 210 with a nice beer gut. Good luck!

AustinRockall

I'm 5'6" and 115 lbs. I am sedentary for the time being. I generally eat 1500 calories and I maintain my weight great.

I am moving to a college dorm for my freshman year of college next Saturday. I have a meal plan that will allow me to eat in the dining hall for 2 meals a day, 5 days a week.

I keep hearing people telling me things about the dreaded "freshman 15." I thought that is what happened when people pile on the plates in the dining hall, drink alcohol every night, and order pizza at 11 pm.

What is your advice to maintain weight during college?
I am starting a list of dorm room healthy snacks for my pantry and mini fridge. So far ...

kettle corn
progresso soups
bananas
oatmeal
peanut butter
stevia extract packets
Powerade Zeros
crackers
tuna in water
potatoes
sugar free pudding cups
snack bars
cheerios
dried fruit


I have free access to a YMCA, I feel like it'd be worth checking that out, right?

Anyways. I'm pretty nervous for all of these changes. Any helpful advice for dining and working out during college?
Thanks!

Before making any plans about eating right. Make sure you can handle the two meals a day ordeal. I was a student for seven years and its not easy. Sleep patterns are all over, Some night studying keeps you up until 5 am. Get into a rhythm with your meal plan and then make your next step. The beer doesn't help either but you can't avoid it.

molson55

Most college cafeterias have healthy options like salad bars and fruit/yogurt bars. I know in some of the cafeterias at my school they had "healthy options" sections! You just have to be careful what you're eating and understand what you're putting in your body. It's okay to have mac n' cheese every once in a while, but don't get into the terrible habit I did my first semester of school and have easy macs or burgers from the cafe every day! You can do it, just be smart

365andstillalive

I put on about 20lbs in my first year of university... and I didn't have a meal plan.

I have taken a few courses at the main campus of my university which does have a meal plan, and realistically, I was a lot better off. Theirs was like a mall food court. It really depends what options you have. Do your best to eat healthy, but keep in mind the majority of it will be full of sodium.

You can maintain, and the gym will help, just be mindful and for the first while do your best to log your calories so you can see the nutritional info of the new foods you'll be eating on a regular basis.

Erilynn93

It's definitely hard staying healthy at college. My school has a few good salad bars and they have 'healthy choice' meals in the freezer sections, however, last semester I went and gained about 10-15 pounds. But this was also because the store underneath my dorm room sold ben and jerry's 0.0

Just take it slow and try to make good, healthy choices. I found out recently that my school had entries on my fitness pal under Sodexo campus/health or something like that. There are always healthy choices, it's just up to you to choose the right ones.

thingofstuff

My best advice is to not drink too much, and premeasure your liquor into however many shots you can budget into your caloric intake for the day or something not too killer (pour your liquor into a separate water bottle or keep an extra mickey or pony kicking around that you can decant into. Drink hard liquor, not beer, and mix with diet soda. Drink lots of water between alcoholic drinks. Try to only party hard one night of the week. Sleep as much as humanly possible and defs make use of the gym.

In first year university, I drank a lot. Like copious amounts of a lot and partied Friday and Saturday consistently. Somehow I didn't gain weight but the hangovers were not conducive to productivity. Somehow I also still got straight A's but would not recommend taking that gamble to anyone.

Good on you for planning ahead, it sounds like you're gonna be just fine!

ana3067

I'm a commuter, so I make all my own food. I've seen a lot of residence students buying their own groceries though, presumably to make their own meals.

I only gained weight this past year, during my first 3 I was pretty stable for weight. It really has nothing to do with university itself but simply with your choices and your habits. Meaning you could easily gain the "freshman 15" when you're 30 years old settling into a new job and not monitoring your activity levels and food intake.

So just.. keep doing what you're doing now if it's been working. Exercise as you are, eat similar portions, and monitor how things are going. If you notice weight gain then consider eating less or exercising more.