College + Weightloss = Oxymoron??

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muziclver
muziclver Posts: 145 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm a college student, about to move out of my house and into my own personal apartment and I'm so excited to be in FULL control of what goes into my meals and being able to avoid all the "going out" for my meal sources. I was wondering if anyone had either success stories, or methods that are currently helping you lose weight? College is definitely a weird place to try to lose weight because it seems like everyone's favorite past time is drinking and eating. What kinda gym schedule did you follow while in college and how did you lose weight and not compromise your college experience?

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  • jwdieter
    jwdieter Posts: 2,582 Member
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    I wasn't in a particularly similar situation, but here's what I did in college:
    Had friends who I ran with. Had friends who I lifted with. Played both varsity and intramural sports.
    Ate like crap and got drunk a lot.

    Basically, spending several hours/day exercising in various forms, plus being young, offset the ridiculous calorie intake. As a side note, these eating and exercise habits were not sustainable with adult responsibilities, and I gained weight after college.

    Happily for you, tools like MFP are available so you can track what's going on with intake and exercise. Good luck :)
  • ShannonKN
    ShannonKN Posts: 152 Member
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    I didn't particularly pay attention to my food, other than being too poor to eat at restaurants very often. I danced a lot (swing and ballroom clubs) and walked all over campus because that was the only way to get anywhere at my school. I definitely drank, but I wasn't a hard partier. I think I was about 5'4.5" and 115 lbs when I graduated.
  • ecborders
    ecborders Posts: 13 Member
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    ooh, that's hard. but having your own apartment is gunna be a huge help, i hate eating at the cafeteria because i swear to god they must cook everything in grease fat or something for the amount of calories everything is >:( this semester i'm going to be aware of what i'm eating but also realistic because if i get too anal about it i end up bingeing haha. i'm going to lift heavy 3x a week, and i know some of my friends have enough of a desire to try to lose weight that they will do cardio machines once or twice a week. you'd probably be able to find people as well, and if you initiate going it's not too hard to find a taker who feels guilty about the soft serve ice cream they had for dinner :P as far as eating out, limiting take out to once a week/two weeks shouldn't be too hard. if you go to restaurants you can just order healthier food. and i don't have a problem with drinking because i go to a christian college but even when i do go out with friends, they don't seem to care that i just drink water. and somebody has to be the DD right? :) good luck
  • auntsammy88
    auntsammy88 Posts: 401 Member
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    I lost 20 pounds my first year in college. I occasionally went to the gym, but it was rare and always on a whim. Here's what helped me the most:

    1. I didn't have a car. I walked EVERYWHERE. I also always took the stairs when going to classes.
    2. I wasn't a huge partier, but when I did go out I didn't drink (or limit to 1)
    3. Limited pop (soda)
    4. College students are poor...I ate using my meal plan and there were actually several healthy options there. They had a really good salad bar and several veggie options with the hot meals as well. Just don't eat the fried stuff. I did eat pizza, chinese, and party burritos like everyone else (especially during finals), but that was a treat.

    ETA: My school required that you take a PE credit of some sort. I took walking for fitness, but I had friends who took yoga,etc,. Use this as an opportunity to learn something new,.
  • mjeanae125
    mjeanae125 Posts: 42
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    Hi muziclver!

    I'm currently in college as well and I have a list full of tips on nutrition and exercise! First of all, I lost a total of 195 lbs before joining MFP. My current total weight loss is 207 lbs with MFP.

    My journey begun when I started to exercise on the Wii by playing Just Dance, Wii Active, etc. for at least 30 mins to an hour.

    My current workout schedule is about 1 hour of cardio exercises three days a week (Zumba, walk/run, Hip-Hop Abs, etc) and I lift weights/strength train two days a week. I'm hoping soon I would like to fit in yoga on weekends! (*fingers crossed*)

    Also, I stop drinking soda (yes diet, too) by drinking not-so-good low sugar juices/sweet teas which slowly I eased into drinking water. Now when I go to class, I keep me a bottle of water besides me to drink through the day. I also drink tea and coffee(sometimes) for breakfast and shake-up tea for my water. I currently eat protein, veggies, fruits, dairy, and whole-wheat carbs. I cut out eating potatoes and rice (from everyday to once a week/once every two weeks) and I stopped eating processed candy, cakes, donuts, cookies, unhealthy fats, and loaded coffee drinks. I eat my favorite unhealthy foods once in a while. I now appreciate cooking my own meals which I love doing! When I go eat out I always go to the restaurant's website to see what's healthy before making my decision I will not regret .

    I pretty much describe my current lifestyle. Here are tips a college student must follow!

    1. Eat BREAKFAST!--Big or small you must eat something than nothing at all. By eating breakfast you would not overeat later in the day.

    2. Keeping a food journal--You're taking the first step by keeping a food/exercise journal that will help you with what you eat.

    3. Learn how to read food labels--By following your daily caloric allowance you are learning if you can afford to eat the food you wanted or not.

    4. Always make time for exercise--No matter if you make it to the gym or not due to a busy schedule. Your campus is a walk-friendly atmosphere. Think of it as a another way to get exercise.

    5. Get Plenty of Sleep---Do not stay up all night if you are cramming for a test. Make a schedule and get at least 6-8 hours of sleep every night.

    6. LISTEN TO AND LOVE YOURSELF---Don't listen to cancerous, negative people. Immediately cut them out! Surround yourself with caring, supporting people who really know you or want to get to know you a little better. By doing that you get to learn about yourself by shaping your future!

    7. RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH---The internet is EVERYWHERE!! If you are not studying, writing a paper, or doing any homework. Look up different exercises, tips, nutrition information, and facts about weight loss!

    8. BE STUBBORN---If someone offers you an unhealthy food, say "NO" because you are committed to your health!!

    9. BE AWARE---When eating out, look for a menu that has healthy options. Be careful, because there are some healthy items that look healthy but it's not!

    10. DRINK UP!!---Water, that is! Try to drink at least 6-8 cups (8 oz.) per day!

    That's my top tips! Good Luck!!

    Here are more tips from this website!
    URL: http://healthservices.camden.rutgers.edu/topics_wellness
  • cheeky0122
    cheeky0122 Posts: 38 Member
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    There's a woman who owns a gym in the same town as my college and she volunteers her time a few nights a week to do like Full Body Boot Camp, Ab Blast, Circuit type classes for free and there is another woman who does yoga one night a week for free as well. It's definitely worth it to see if your campus has these kinds of things, if they do take full advantage. I looked AWESOME my freshman year of school because of it. Do you have access to the gym on campus? Use it.

    Edit:
    Take walks! I always took walks after dinner weather permitting. It's nice, gives you a chance to reflect on the day, get to know the area you're in.
  • muziclver
    muziclver Posts: 145 Member
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    @cheeky: We DO have a gym! And it is a fantastic facility! I absolutely LOVE it. I'm so excited to be able to live closer to it. I was actually thinking about maybe scheduling 2 hours at the gym a day? Perhaps one hour cardio (elliptical, racketball, volleyball, etc) and then one hour of an actual exercise class. I'm not sure if this would be too much but I think once I can work it into my schedule it shouldn't be too hard to handle. As far as taking walks, I do walk to all my classes, but the downside of that is the temperature where I live and the humidity cause about 107 heat indexes and I get exhausted by the heat much quicker than I'm exhausted by the actual exercise.
  • cheeky0122
    cheeky0122 Posts: 38 Member
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    @cheeky: We DO have a gym! And it is a fantastic facility! I absolutely LOVE it. I'm so excited to be able to live closer to it. I was actually thinking about maybe scheduling 2 hours at the gym a day? Perhaps one hour cardio (elliptical, racketball, volleyball, etc) and then one hour of an actual exercise class. I'm not sure if this would be too much but I think once I can work it into my schedule it shouldn't be too hard to handle. As far as taking walks, I do walk to all my classes, but the downside of that is the temperature where I live and the humidity cause about 107 heat indexes and I get exhausted by the heat much quicker than I'm exhausted by the actual exercise.

    Ew to humidity! I think the key is to not like, completely overload yourself. It's hard with classes, friends, clubs (if you're in them) etc. Do what you have time for so you don't burn out, y'know?
  • missveeoh
    missveeoh Posts: 90 Member
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    Well I go to my community college and so I drive back and forth from house to classes and hardly have time to socialize and join clubs. I'm pretty shy so I tend to just focus on my school work and projects. Even if I was living in the dorms, I wouldn't party all the time and one major thing is that I don't drink. I do have a car but I always park it a few blocks away from my classes, it gives me the chance to take a walk and stop by the cafeteria (this is where it gets difficult for some) They usually have big huge banners that announce free pizza with a purchase of a drink and most students are pretty willing to take advantage of this opportunity. I'll be honest here, I don't go for the salads, I usually find things that have variety of things I like and purchase it with water- I hardly drink soda (last time I did was probably 2-3 months ago? and that is quite impressive because I used to love soda) So for example, I'll buy a wheat bread turkey or tuna sandwich that has mixed vegetables and just remember to log that in MFP so I know I don't forget what I had- those are usually around 250-400 calories, but it does fill me up. I always have grapes or a peach before class- I know its not an actual breakfast meal but at least its something- more of a to-go kind of snack (I'm always in a hurry)

    There's a gym available to students and they can sign up for weight training (I always wanted to take that class but I already have a gym membership and it will take up my time since I still have a lot of gen eds to complete. If you are very determined to lose weight or get in shape, try to make the effort to wake up early in the morning before your class starts and just head over to the gym and lift weights for an hour- though you need a schedule and rest days- I'm sure you will see progress overtime.

    Exercising has helped me manage my stress issues and being the procrastinator I am, I do suffer lol Curse those research papers/essays!!!!
  • muziclver
    muziclver Posts: 145 Member
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    Ew to humidity! I think the key is to not like, completely overload yourself. It's hard with classes, friends, clubs (if you're in them) etc. Do what you have time for so you don't burn out, y'know?

    For sure. I just feel like if I don't do it ENOUGH it won't work. I'm just kinda too the point where I'm getting impatient and I need to see results quick so I don't think I'm wasting my time.
  • DiamondL88
    DiamondL88 Posts: 32
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  • corgicake
    corgicake Posts: 846 Member
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    I'm about to finish off my last semester of college.

    Get a bike - riding to school instead of driving will put a dent in your student loans before you even graduate, plus it's a good way to burn tons of calories with a minimal impact time-wise. Depending on traffic and time needed to find a parking spot, it might even be faster.
    Bring your own lunches and don't touch the school food. It's expensive, questionable, and many public schools' cafeterias are run by a company that literally makes prison food. No joke.
    Be the person whose food everyone wants to nom. And have it be healthy food.

    There are ways to pull this off.

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