college student needs help

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bcarl223
bcarl223 Posts: 10 Member
in Introduce Yourself
I'm a college student living on campus, and sometimes it's really difficult to watch what I eat in our dining hall. I never know exact nutrition information for anything. I know people who have lost a lot of weight by cutting down their carb intake. Does anyone have any basic advice on how to avoid too many carbs when I don't know exact info, and what types of foods I can still eat? Might seem like a really basic, obvious question, but I am very new to all of this. Thanks!

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  • bcarl223
    bcarl223 Posts: 10 Member
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    totally posted this in the wrong place...oops haha
  • mirgss
    mirgss Posts: 275 Member
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    Eat more protein and fat. For real. Fat could make up as much as 50% of your diet...as long as it's good...avocados, seeds/nuts, etc. Even oils - butter, olive oil, etc... For carbs, instead of eating things like white rice and pasta and baked potatoes, sub in green leafy vegetables, squash, sweet potatoes, etc. The other thing you can do is portion control. I've heard a good rule of thumb is that veggies should take up half your plate, protein 1/4, and carbs 1/4. I would probably tend to go more protein than carbs...but that's 'cause I'm weight lifting.

    Too much of anything can make you gain weight, but it's much more difficult to overeat on veggies and protein than it is things like pasta...because they just don't make you feel full.

    For instance, I ate an entire bag of Steamfresh veggies this afternoon...and it was like 140 calories.

    Good luck!
  • bcarl223
    bcarl223 Posts: 10 Member
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    very good advice, thanks!! :)
  • samanthalynndr
    samanthalynndr Posts: 10
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    i'm a college student too. i now have my own kitchen but for the past 3 years i was eating in the dining hall. my best advice is to skip dessert. you never know how many calories are in any of those things and they probably use unhealthy fats and fake processed ingredients. Eat tons of veggies, salads every day, some protein and try to stay away from the bagels, breads, and pastas. alcohol was another huge problem for me weight-wise. empty calories, plus 3am pizzas and chips and candy aren't good for anyone.
  • mirgss
    mirgss Posts: 275 Member
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    Also I've heard "eat the rainbow" - not Skittles but veggies! Lots of different ones! I'm personally still having difficulty with that one, but...there ya have it :)
  • aislingjm
    aislingjm Posts: 2 Member
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    1:Practice portion control, rule to follow the carbs- potato and protein should be no bigger then the size of your fist.
    2:enjoy a good breakfast, do not skip it. breakfast is important for cranking up you metabolism.
    3:eat fruit instead of drinking fruit juice- fruit juice/dried fruit contain higher concentrations of sugar then the fresh fruit hey came from and are higher in calories.
    4:replace half your carbs with veggies. Not only are they low in calories and fat but that way you won't you are eating less.
    5:carry healthy snacks eg: Apples, satsumas or small protein bars so you don' leave long gaps between meals and dont go to the chocolate vending machine.
    6: Eat soup especially as a starter and you'll find it curbs your appetite and end up eating less calories. avoid creamy soups stick to Vegetable soup.
    7: Switch to sugar free yogurt instead of eating regular yogurt.
    8:choose whole grains as your bread choice- white bread are high in refined sugars and pack in more calories than grains.
  • kkjay
    kkjay Posts: 62
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    I too live on campus and have this problem! For me I only drink milk, OJ, occasionally apple juice and lots of water. I also started eating more fruit and having more sandwiches on wheat/whole grain bread only and avoiding the fried foods. It's hard to find out nutritional value of things at school, a lot of it would surprise you. I work in one of the dining halls and found out that a wrap (with nothing on it yet) is 400 calories, 5 mozzarella sticks are 860 and a spinach, tomato, and feta flatbread (seems healthy right?) is at least 600 calories. It's aggravating that nothing is really that healthy, so I know what you mean!
  • bcarl223
    bcarl223 Posts: 10 Member
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    I know what you mean! When the info is actually posted on the dining hall's website (which is rare) I'm shocked at how bad some of it is! I feel like all I can eat down there is salad and I'm soooo sick of it haha. Thanks for your help, and good luck to you! :)
  • bcarl223
    bcarl223 Posts: 10 Member
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    Thanks to everyone for all your suggestions; it's sooo appreciated!
  • finchest
    finchest Posts: 245 Member
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    1:Practice portion control, rule to follow the carbs- potato and protein should be no bigger then the size of your fist.

    that's a great tip! thank you!
  • Nicci93
    Nicci93 Posts: 398 Member
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    I'm a student in the dorm too so I can relate!!

    The biggest thing I noticed was just making sure that you don't eat too badly in the dorm room AWAY from the dining hall. Fortunately most dining halls have some sort of "healthy" option even if you can't calculate it perfectly. It is the snacking afterwards that really kills me because I don't eat enough for dinner worrying about the calorie intake.

    Oh and feel free to friend me ^^
  • CeeJourney
    CeeJourney Posts: 149 Member
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    college students who lives on campus ... BUMP!

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