College Life Vs. Fat

Once you get out of college, you'll realize how easy college actually was. I'm in Grad School now, have twice as much academic work, and work 65 hours a week outside of that. You have the time to do it; whether or not you actually do is up to you. I say that as someone who made excuses throughout my college experience.

That being said, consider the walk to the gym part of your workout. Then, get up and do it. That's all you can do. You just have to make yourself go. It sucks, but the rewards are great.

Set some time before you go grocery shopping to meal plan (tons of apps/resources/recipes online). Plan healthy meals and then buy the food you need to make the meals. Have plenty of healthy snacks on hand, so you don't go for the bad stuff when you're stressed or really busy.

When possible, try to kill two birds with one stone...have a reading to do for class? Bring it to the gym with you and read it while you're on the stationary bike! Walking is a workout too, so count that 20 min as kuddos for yourself.

Make going to the gym routine. It's something you HAVE to do for yourself, not anyone else. Make yourself a priority!

Hey everyone, I'm a 21 year old college student who joined MFP last month. I was doing really well at first. Eating in deficit, getting protein in, and exercising 4 times a week for an hour and half.

1.5 hrs is a long time. Are you sure you can't cut that down and get results that are just as good? If you jog to class and to the gym for example you could cut a lot of cardio from your gym routine and focus on strength training or things you need equipment for while you are at the gym.

For future semesters, does your college offer any "leisure skills" courses? I always made sure I had at least one of those each semester. They were generally an easy A, only worth 1 credit hour, and a lot of fun. I did a semester each of ballroom dance, rock climbing, canoeing, etc. One semester I even took two "LS" classes, but that's because one was for CPR+Advanced first aid training. I really wanted archery and white water kayaking, but I never got those to fit my schedule.

Now that the semester has picked up, I have so much more work to do. On top of that I work 20 hours a week and Volunteer 5 hours. I need to keep my focus on school (need the grades to boost GPA to get into Grad School). But now it's hard for me to eat right and exercise.

Oddly enough, my grades and health were always at there best when I was nearly too busy to have any downtime. It forced me to plan ahead and schedule my time, so I procrastinated less. (19 credit hours in my degree--which wasn't education FYI-- + student teaching + working a part time job + marching band + long distance BF, for example was my highest GPA semester). Granted I rarely saw my roommates that semester, but they were underclassmen and I wasn't by then. (I changed majors and picked up a certification to teach, so I was a "super senior" by credit hours).

My plan had me at the gym in the morning before class and this works. I like only to work out during morning hours. And I had convinced friends to go with me because it's always better when you have obligations to go.

Yep. I know that feeling. Hence why I signed up for those LS classes. Yeah sure I could go to the rock wall at the gym on campus on my own, but as a class I got a grade and the occasional field trip (or as they were officially called "tests" and "projects" LOL). Plus I actually did learn stuff. For example, I still stink at rock climbing but I'm now surprising good at knots.

But now my friend cannot go often (sleep more important then working out, she's skinny as hell anyway). And winter makes me less wanting to go. I have about 20 min walk to the gym in snow and all and it's like I'd rather stay in bed.

So the challenge is to find a new obligation. Not sure what that will be for you, but be on the look out for it. You might try joining a group on MFP that has a challenge going "x miles in y days" or "z pounds by q date" etc. Also, if you can condense your workout to something less than 1.5 hours, you might have an easier time psyching yourself up to go.

I also have barely any time to eat so when I do it's not always the best (high carb, fat, calorie). Or worse I skip meals. I have a small budget for food and it's just easier to by the bad stuff. Instead of losing weight, I have actually gained. Though that might be the alcohol.

Ah, yeah, it's hard to plan and budget in college. Do you eat in your own kitchen or on a campus meal plan? Do your room mates ever share cooking and shopping duties with you? While we didn't plan on a healthy meal, my roommates (apartment) and I had a group meal once every 2 weeks. We'd pick something easy to cook for a crowd (baked potatoes, spaghetti, tacos, etc) and invite friends to join us (BYOB). We'd alternate who was responsible (one pair at a time, so each person only had to do half the work once a month). Everyone that came was expected to pitch in a couple bucks (to cover the cost of food, which we tried to keep cheap to start with). We almost always broke even and we always had a great time. Sometimes it was more like a study group and sometimes it was more like a party, just depending on what time of the semester it was.