Motivation in college problems...

Khakkigirl

Hey everyone!

Okay, so I'm new at this (REALLY new, I've only been on the site for a week although I've tried to get healthy before), but every time I try to eat healthier and get in shape, my motivation only lasts about a week!

I think it may be the repetitive food... but I don't know how to change that because I'm at college (I either buy a lot of the same or I eat in the dining hall where I'm only guessing at the number of calories I'm eating... and I hate not knowing exactly what I'm putting into my bod). Fresh fruit and veggies are hard to find, and I'm sick of the same 'ol same 'ol... Anyone have any suggestions for how I can get back my motivation and how I can have a healthy diet on-campus? Thanks!

lmalaschak

Probably the number one thing it takes is some planning ahead...write out your grocery list and plan each day for the week, what you'll eat for all your meals. Keep some dried fruit on the list every week to eat if you aren't able to find fresh fruits and vegetables. Look online for some suggestions about simple, healthy things that can be microwave-cooked (if you don't have access to a full kitchen). Sometimes my lunch consists of something like: fresh or dried fruit; half a serving of nuts; a reduced-fat cheese stick, or cottage cheese, maybe; and a celery stalk with half a tablespoon of peanut butter. Most of those would be things you could keep around, as long as you have a refrigerator available. Then in the evening my meal can be a little larger because my lunch didn't have that many calories. Hope this gets you started

Lukazetta

I tend to make 5-6 meals at a time and just store them in the fridge. Kinda sucks that you can only eat 1 fresh meal but when you are busy it's the only thing you can do.

I tend to make the meals on weekends so I won't /have an excuse not to eat a good meal during the week when I'm busy w/ school

mcva929

I'm in your same boat. I've lived on campus for the last 3 years, and as has been said before, planning ahead is really your only good option. I buy my groceries on the weekends and try to plan out my meals for the week. With breakfast and snacks planned out for sure, I can log the calories and have a good guess at what I have to work with for the day. Try to stick to the obviously healthy options in the cafeteria (fresh fruit, salad, broth-based soups) and limit anything deep fried, greasy, or that looks like it would have ten million calories. Our school cafeteria is owned by Aramark, so I can look up nutrition information from their website. If you eat a lot of the same foods, you can always ask for the nutrition information from the food service staff. They're supposed to have all of the information on file in the main offices.

Basically, plan what you can, and make educated decisions about the rest. With a little practice and tweaking, you'll have your food figured out in no time

AmateurSurgeon

yea im not too good at this either, but the only thing i can suggest is just change your whole lifestyle. everything from your eating habits to working out. then once you get those down, the body will follow, then the confidence. and forget diets, those never last long. instead of eating less just eat healthier alternatives instead.

for staying motivated, i like to set small realistic goals and then the big end goal. having someone to do this with you like a friend or a coach helps too. good luck!

Khakkigirl

Thanks so much everyone!

The biggest problem is that I was forced to get a meal plan this year, so if I buy food off-campus at grocery stores I'm just basically throwing my money away... And that makes preparing meals in advance pretty impossible.

I am going to see if I can find nutrition information in my dining hall though, so that may help.

I'm feeling much better about this now! I'm going to set smaller goals for myself and see how I do. Thanks for giving me the extra push I needed! :]