college diets...

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lfrye6
lfrye6 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
hey guys! i'm 21 and a senior in college. I've maintained a pretty steady weight throughout college but now feel like a few pounds have stacked on. i'm trying to lose about 15-20 pounds. the hard part is is balancing eating healthy and being active throughout the week and splurging like a college student on the weekends. constantly battling between having wine and beer and pizza with my friends and roomies or staying committed to losing weight.. any advice?! half of my just wants to not limit myself on the weekends and have fun my senior year but then again, i want to feel better about myself!

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  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
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    When they order pizza, order a side salad and just cut down on the slices you eat. I used to eat 1/2 a large pizza in college and be FINE(oh the good old days of dance classes 5x a week for 2 hours a day, walking MILES to classes....) Now, when my family has pizza, I have a HUGE yummy salad and 1 or 2 slices. Cuts out the cravings, I don't feel left out of the fun and I cut the calories.
    As for wine, beer, etc, do the same. Instead of getting sloshed, have 1 or 2 if you are used to a bunch.

    Coming from someone who was once a young lady in college like yourself, PLEASE take care of yourself NOW. It is a time when you have YOU to take care of. Learn how to do that well NOW so when you get a husband(or wife-whatevs!), kids, a job....you KNOW how to keep yourself as #1. Also, having pizza and beer with your friends and roomies does NOT need to be replaced with eating healthy. You almost sound like if you don't have pizza and beer, you won't have time with your friends. Maybe you can even help them out and you guys can go to one of those all you can eat salad places or go to the grocery store to make a nice homemade pot roast or stew for dinner one night. Invest in a crock pot and you'll make more friends to share the yummy food with!
  • bandsofblue
    bandsofblue Posts: 33 Member
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    I'm literally in the same exact boat as you. It's super hard to stay motivated because my friends always want to go out and eat but I just say I can't afford it when in reality, my calories can't afford it. I'm also a Senior in college and have this lovely bottle of whiskey in my freezer that I'd like to consume but I never have enough calories left over to enjoy it. I'm going on a cruise in July so this is my last chance to lose the little bit of weight that I'd like to see gone. I'm 11 pounds down and 19 more to go so we're in this together!

    & I'm sending you a friend request now.
  • FoodandFitness
    FoodandFitness Posts: 502 Member
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    You can make healthier choices and substitutions, eat lower calorie foods earlier in the day, eat less during the week, and exercise more. Just make small changes here and there and keep logging your food. Its tough in college, but it is definitely doable.
  • mstanleymines
    mstanleymines Posts: 8
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    I'm a sophomore in college in the same boat. Worst part is my roommate is a male who keeps the place STOCKED with everything I wish I could eat :(

    I do keep active - dance practice 2 hours 3x a week, rock climbing once a week, weight lifting with a trainer 2-3 times a week...but exercise does very little.

    Luckily, my calorie budget and cash budget line up pretty well. The fact that I can't afford to eat out (like my roommate) or even just buy whatever sounds good at the store forces me to write out my own meal plan, buy those specific foods, and stick to it. That's not to say I don't have a weekly date night ;)

    Planning in advance is my best tip for you!
  • AzhureSnow
    AzhureSnow Posts: 289 Member
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    I'm a college senior also - I never got the Freshman Fifteen, but instead I ended up with the Senior Sixty (yes, there is sixty pounds difference in my heaviest weight and my high school weight). I have the advantage of having a home life with a husband and son to keep me away from tons of parties, but a lot of the temptations are still there, especially during football games and finals week.

    for me, I stock up on veggies. If I fill up on veggies I eat less of the crap food. It's that easy.

    As for drinking - do you carry a plastic or metal water bottle with you? I have one full bottle of water between every alcoholic drink. It cuts my calorie consumption by about 60% AND prevents any alcohol-related headaches or dehydration. No, I don't end up getting sloshed like the rest of my peers, but my weight is dropping and I'm overall healthier for it.
  • skylarjutte
    skylarjutte Posts: 2 Member
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    I feel you girl! I am also a senior in college. I think in the beginning of starting to lose weight is the time you need to just take some "you" time and focus on eating healthy and working out. That is what I did at least (but I'm very much an introvert so that wasn't hard lol). Now that I have been losing weight, eating healthy, and working out for 4 months now, I find it easier to say no when I get invited to go get ice cream pizza or what ever else it is, but don't get me wrong if I really want to go out to eat with friends I go! With my friend group we go to mexican restaurants a lot. I usually try to eat less than 2 dozen chips with salsa and order the healthiest thing I can find on the menu (usually a grilled chicken salad). Also if I am going out for dinner and drinks I will just have one small margarita and just eat chips.

    Also make sure you have supportive friends around you. My friends know I am trying to eat healthy so I have found that now they don't ask me to order pizza or whatever as often and I usually invite them over to cook a healthy meal which is a fun experiment and I get to stick to my healthy eating plan.

    Sorry this is so long...but if you really want to make this lifestyle change you have to be committed. You don't have to give up all your favorite foods and stop going out with friends, you just have to decide if you really want it before you eat it lol. Plus once you start eating healthy you crave junk food much less and if your like me, it might even make you feel sick.

    Good luck on your journey!
  • karbhat
    karbhat Posts: 50 Member
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    I'm a college sophmore right now - I gained some weight freshman year and now I'm losing it all plus more!

    It REALLY helps me to pre-plan the quantities of things I'm going to eat. Like for lunch, I'll tell myself that I'll have a sandwich, some chips and nothing more. And I usually try to make myself stop at that. Sometimes it's difficult like during midterms week (RIGHT NOW!!!). But if you just tell yourself before you eat that you're only gonna eat so much, it really helps.

    Also, I found that NOT snacking really helped me out. I've been taking a nutrition course and basically learned that when you snack all day, you keep your insulin levels in your blood steady all day...so yea, you have a constant source of available energy. But if you're a student, you're sitting and studying all day. So you don't really need that constant source. So when you have longer periods of time between meals, you're more in tune to your hunger signals, and also you burn a higher percentage of fat during the day (when your ATP levels in your blood stream get lower, you burn a higher ratio of fat to carbohydrates than when you're constantly eating).

    Also, for a few days, just stay the hell away from sweets, fatty, and salty processed foods. It will be SO SO SO difficult, but once you do it for 3-7 days, you just won't crave it anymore. The thing about stuff like that is once you eat it, you just want more....and more and more. Just force yourself to get away from it and after a little while it won't be difficult. In fact, you'll choose healthy things over it. I PROMISE!! Just try it :)

    GOOD LUCK! I'm trying to lose my last 10 pounds too, so feel free to add me!

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