Any Ideas for a College Student?!

Jstrothers92

Does anyone know a good exercise to do at the gym?? I am a college student, and I usually go for about an hour every other day, should I make it longer?? Oh! And what do college students trying to lose weight usually eat?? That is, with the schools meal plan =/

sc1572

Hi! I'm a college student as well. Feel free to add me! Everyday, unless for some strange reason I can't, I do an hour of various cardio, plus strength/conditioning. I mix up my cardio because I found it surprises my body, and if I do the same thing over and over, my body gets used to it and I lose weight slowly.

Meal plans SUCK. I had it freshman year, but thankfully this year I have an apartment off campus and do all of my own meals. Try to estimate serving sizes and input them as best as you can on here. Also, fill up with healthy stuff like veggies, fruits, whole wheat, salads (but watch the dressings), and stuff like that. Sometimes, you can even sneak out some food from the dining hall! Also, watch their veggies. What may look healthy, might not be! A lot of my favorite veggies they offered wound up being drenched in butter. Instead, I would end up just getting something small at the dining hall, and then filling up with stuff from my dorm fridge.

My must have list all year for food in my dorm was Fiber One bars, Light and Fit yogurts, bananas, apples, carrots, edamame, 100 cal packs, natural peanut butter, wheat bread, oatmeal bars, peaches, Smart One/Lean Cuisine steamers, almonds.

I hope I helped, if any! Also...I was a sucker for the desserts at the dining hall. So, I started keeping Skinny Cow, Weight Watchers, and Smart Ones frozen treats in my dorm. They're so good and I still use them!

novaboi24

1. Stop eating school meals and make your own. This means that you know what goes into your food.

2. Reduce the portion and increase the number of meals. The result will be a more balanced routine.

3. Drink lots of water. Increase in consumption in water increases your body's metabolism. Drink an hour before and throughout your workout.

4. Cardio, if you want, running and skipping are a few of the best cardiovascular exercises. Brisk walking (fast walking) is less intense but easier to maintain for a long time; more time consuming. You should be maintaining a high heart rate for at least 20 minutes for an intense and effective cardio session.

5. Accept my friend request so I can help you out more in the future lol

nkziv

Haha all great questions. I'm curious to hear what other people say, too. I'm a sophomore in college and still have not perfected my healthy meal/exercise routine yet, but I'm trying every day! Here's what I do:
When I go to the gym (about 3 days a week, usually), I do the elliptical machine OR stair-master. Usually I do about 45 minutes of that. Then I do some weight machines--hip abducter, adducter, tricep extension, overhead press, and some free weights (like 5lbs raising them out to the side for a few sets). Then I usually get a mat and do bicycle crunches, a few 1 minute planks, stretching, and maybe some other ab exercises if i'm feeling ambitions. That usually ends up being a little over an hour in total.

On days I don't get to the gym, I'm either at a horseback riding lesson or yoga class (both off campus). You also might want to check and see if there are some fitness classes offered in the athletic center where you are. Those can be good sometimes, too!

As far as eating is concerned, I'm a vegan (which prevents me from getting most desserts), and I try to fill up on veggies and salads before I go crazy with whatever vegan meal they're offering, which can often be kind of high-Cal. Oh, and I eat oatmeal for breakfast and snack on apples if I get hungry during the day.

Hope that helps!

3GKnight

Get your own apartment. You will not be able to afford any food.

lyssaloo

Hey, I'm a college student too! It is difficult to be healthy while in college, my first year I gained 50 pounds. Now I have 61 to lose to get back down to my high school weight. I was a big dummy for not keeping track of what I ate the first year and not exercising. Anyway, something that you could do is a work out program like p90x. Some people think this program is too expensive, but it is so worth the money. If you live in a dorm room, it will be hard to work out space wise. If they have dvd players in the gym you could do the work outs there. Otherwise an hour sounds like a good work out. Just make sure your heart rate is really up and you're really working! Also, instead of working out every other day, i'd recommend working out 5 days a week in a row and then taking the weekend off. With my school's cafeteria there is probably 85% of bad,greasy, fried, sugary, salty, and fatty foods to eat. The only things I usually eat there are a big salad with boiled eggs, shredded chicken, lots of veggies, and some low-fat salad dressing, sandwiches - tuna, deli meat and cheese, chicken salad, or egg salad, and on whole wheat bread, fruit - bananas, apples, oranges, low fat cheese sticks and sometimes a grilled chicken sandwich. I don't know how your school meal plan is, but that's about all the types of healthy foods mine has available. I usually eat really healthy throughout the week and then cheat a little on the weekend. So far it has been working, i've lost about 10 pounds but have a long way to go. Good luck to you! Hope I helped at least a little.

rileysowner

If the gym is anything like the ones I have been to there are lots of people who can help. I would suggest doing cardio and strength training. Again, if you ask people can help. Look at bodybuilding.com which has some good resources.

As for eating. It has been a long time since I was in college, but if they have nutritional information it will help a lot toward figuring out what to eat. If not, I really don't know. The difficulty is figuring out what is not so calorie dense that it will put you over you calories for the day in one meal.

klynnwalker4

What about doing a workout video in your room instead of spending so long in the gym? Lots of people have great results with P90X-type programs. I haven't tried it, but it's on my to-do list.

thecrossfitter

I'm only two and a half years out of my undergrad. If i could redo anything in my exercise portion of college, I would seriously take back every minute I ever spent on the elliptical. Now, I want to be clear that I'm not hating on anyone who enjoys the elliptical, or uses it as their main form of exercise. The reality is, we all come from different places, and for some of us, it is a great starting point (you have to start where you are, right?) But the reality is, once you get into fitness/exercise, etc. it truly isn't all that effective compared to other things.

I have no idea about your background or where you are starting, but I'd say make sure you add strength training in addition to cardio. Myself included, and many of my friends in college, only did cardio and I wish I would have added strength training long ago. Honestly, I'd say if you're comfortable to head over to the scary boy part of the gym with the heavy, free weights, however I realize this is something you need someone to teach you. (I'm only 3 months in to weight training and learning myself - I only lift with my coaches!) However - this can be a great starting point to strength training:

http://nerdfitness.com/blog/2009/12/09/beginner-body-weight-workout-burn-fat-build-muscle/

AND, you don't even have to go into the smelly gym
Hope this helps some!

jskaggs1971

OK, college was a while ago for me, but it's when I was in the best shape, so I'll tell you what I did.

First off, get the minimum meal plan the administration will let you get away with. I had a ten meal a week plan with some discretionary money for a la carte food purchases.

Hit up the salad bar a lot, and add a protein, preferably one without sauce or gravy. Try to eat less of the starchy dishes they serve (starches are cheap, so they use them a lot). Load up on vegetables, and limit your trips to the soda fountain.

More importantly, find some friends to play with. You're in a great group of young people with disposable time to play games like soccer or ultimate or volleyball or whatever. Use your gym -- I bet you have free access to a pool and racquetball / squash courts. Buy a bike, or borrow one.

Lastly, always check the spoons in the cafeteria. Yes, the spoons. See, if they're out of spoons, it's because dinner sucks and everybody's eating cereal for dinner.