Back at it!

Great to hear that you are back at it! I commend you! There is no way when I was in College that I could have been as dedicated as I am now! Please feel free to add me! We can cheer each other on!

Hi, Im new to this but know exactly what you are going through as im a student too, and when im under pressure with deadlines and eams and have little time i find it so hard to steer clear of bad foods and to exercise, what i have realised tho is energy drinks etc are bad news, i will only exercise if i set specific times, eg going to a class etc, its better to tell ur classmates u are trying to be healthy, it makes lunch time easier, drink water all day , walk as much as u can, take ten minutes before bed to do some sets of dumbells or some small exercises and be patient, u will get there

Well, 10 months is definitely enough time to lose 20-30 lbs. I successfully lost 35 lbs at the age of 38 and you're young so your metabolism should still be going strong.

1. If you aren't eating lots of vegetables now...start with 5 servings per day and work your way to 1/2 of lunch and 1/2 of dinner being vegetables.
2. Of course fruit is also important....keep it to low glycemic (since high glycemic raises your blood sugar quickly, then it crashes just as quickly leaving you unsatisfied an hungry again too soon.

Here are a few sites to help with that (b/c there are other foods that are high vs low)

http://www.glycemicindex.com/

http://www.diabetes.org/food-and-fitness/food/planning-meals/the-glycemic-index-of-foods.html

http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/lowglycemicfoodlist.htm

3. Plan, plan, plan....plan your menu for the week on the weekend (or whatever day you have off that you can) and shop. Pack your meals and snacks so that you always have something healthy and within your calories at hand

4. Plan exercise: When, where, how long and the routine you will do (this helps save time)
- How many days of cardio per week and which days? Which cardio are you going to do? Run? Walk? Dance? Aerobics? Take a spinning class? Kick boxing class? Step Aerobics class? Zumba? Swimming?
- How many days of weight training and which days? What is the routine or workout you're going to use? Have a few and rotate every 3-4 weeks

5. Get yourself a exercise partner...who can you be accountable to and they can be accountable to you? This really helps stay on track, if you have a set appointment (even if it is with a personal trainer); you don't want to be rude and skip on them, so ALWAYS (unless you're dying) keep the appointment

6. Get involved in a challenge or register for a race or other event that will give you a goal to work toward. Challenges really get the competitive spirit going in you and you don't want to let your team down (if it's team) and you definitely want to kick butt if it's just you....or if its a new race...you want to compete and do your very best....this really helps to keep focus.

Hope this helps!!!

I know all the above helped me be successful at losing 35lbs in 6 months and like I said; I was age 38 at the time, so I KNOW you can do it (oh, did I mention I was a full time mom, worked 60 hours per week minimum, commuted 3-4 hours per day and I still managed to workout 30-45 every day?)