College Students??

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toeatandrun
toeatandrun Posts: 3 Member
in Introduce Yourself
Hi guys! My name is Marie and I'm a senior in college. I lost 20 lbs last year (Fall 2012), but then gained most of it back in the past year just due to stress, going out a lot, and my binge eating disorder resurfacing.

But I'm trying to get back on track! I think the hardest part is that I'm currently a senior, and I want to spend as much time with my friends as possible! Unfortunately, that often means lots of going out to eat, drinking, and then eating again late at night. I try to be cautious, but it's a huge struggle! Drinking calories really add up....

So basically, I wanted to start this and see if there are other similar people out there! Maybe form a support group? My personal goal is to lose 15 lbs, but I'd love to talk to any other college students! I'm sure we could all help each other.

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  • beastmodebuff
    beastmodebuff Posts: 15
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    I'm in! I'm bianca and also a college student struggling with some extra pounds
    I am new to myfitnesspal and would love extra support!!
  • vaishnavijayasankar
    vaishnavijayasankar Posts: 33 Member
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    I'm also a college goin girl :) also new to MFP wud luv to be in this grp :)
  • echoslug
    echoslug Posts: 73 Member
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    I just graduated and senior year was when I struggled the most with my weight for the same reasons. Friends wanted to go to Pint night at Woodstocks every week, lots of potluck parties and baked goods (one of my roomies is a stress baker) plus I was only getting about 4-5 hours of sleep a night.

    I went from 135 - 158 during this time, not a huge gain but not a trend I was really happy with either as I've always been active and athletic. I started making changes - first with Pint night. I told my friends I'd come but I could only buy beer one week a month cause I was watching my budget - a very valid excuse as a college student. If we got pizza I'd limit myself to one slice or eat first and just get a glass of fizzy water to drink.

    I also asked any of my friends if they wanted to start running with me. Pretty soon there were four of us who would run at least 3 times a week together - since we where seeing each other during the day so frequently the need to 'hang out' at bars dropped. This also proved to be great stress release, especially for our stress baker. Less cookies laying around!

    I started biking everywhere if I could. If we wanted to go to dinner or the movies in spring I'd recommend we'd all bike to the restaurant. Everyone was always happy to agree.

    I also started proposing adventure type outings as an alternative to bar hopping on the weekends. Hike & a picnic, 25 miles bike ride at the beach, beach day ect. Everyone was happy to come and if we where doing something during the day we where usually tired in the evening and just wanted to stay in and talk. We also snacked less if we where out of the day.

    Things like this are pretty easy to do in college. I hope this gives you some inspiration :)
  • albinocuriousity
    albinocuriousity Posts: 5
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    Hey, I'm in too. I've always struggled with healthy eating, which has gotten worse as I've been in college, so now I am trying to eat right and get some exercise in. I am also new to MFP. Thanks.
  • ammeg1234
    ammeg1234 Posts: 37 Member
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    I'm also in college and new to MFP! :)
  • jgoetzz
    jgoetzz Posts: 2 Member
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    Hey guys! I'm Julie and also a senior in college. For me, this year it's been much easier to stay healthy than freshman and sophomore year. I live off campus so it's easier to eat healthy because I don't need a meal plan. As you all know campus food is chalk full of crap. At the grocery store I only buy things that are healthy, and stray away from anything processed. If it's not in my house I won't eat it!

    I was always a person that went heavy on the cardio (I did two half marathons and let me tell you training was brutal). But, in December I decided to focus more on the lifting side of things. It's crazy how much better it transforms your body! Although I haven't been working out for hours every single day since getting back to school like I was when I'm on winter break (I didn't have a job so I had mad downtime haha) I do get to the gym about 4 times a week. Weight lifting has made me so much stronger. With cardio I was never seeing results and they're finally starting to come, so I highly recommend it. Just make sure to keep your heart rate up.

    All that being said, I do have one downfall. Drinking. Since it is my last semester my friends and I go out twice every weekend and sometimes during the week. I know that drinking isn't a necessity, but I enjoy it and have a great time going out. Usually I will try to figure the drinking calories into my allotted calories for the day when I know I'll be going out, but it doesn't work very well. I'll count my drinks/shots during the pre game but once I'm drunk and I go out everythings out the window. If someone buys a drink for me I gladly accept regardless of the calories. And when I order a drink in the middle of the bar calories are definitely not on my mind.

    I'm not willing to give up the drinking, because even if my fitness level suffers a little bit, college is the time to make memories and have fun. With one semester left I refuse to give myself restrictions, but at the same time there has to be something I can do to make sure I'm using minimal calories. When pregaming I only take shots and never mix with soda. If I need a chaser or a mixer I always use crystal light.

    Any suggestions?

    And also, I'm totally down for a support group lol. Any help is good help!
  • toeatandrun
    toeatandrun Posts: 3 Member
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    So glad there are so many of y'all in similar situations!!!

    Julie, I can TOTALLY relate! That's one of my biggest issues, too. If anyone has advice, it'd be greatly appreciated. Echoslug had some pretty good tips, but I guess my problem is that I don't really want to give up drinking, either... not now, anyway. I also just drink liquor and crystal light... this sounds bad, but my mindset is that if I'm drinking, I'm getting drunk because I don't want to waste calories on just one beer or something. That's why liquor, for me, beats out those low calories beers because they don't really do much to me.

    Maybe this might help: if you make mixed drinks instead of just doing shots, you'll drink more slowly and maybe drink less?

    Also, good to know about lifting. I've heard that so many times, but I'm just so set on my cardio ways... what kind of lifting circuits do you do?
  • aless820
    aless820 Posts: 101 Member
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    I'm a college student!
  • tararag
    tararag Posts: 38 Member
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    im in college too! im looking to shred these last 11 pounds!
  • xLoveLexi
    xLoveLexi Posts: 29 Member
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    In college as well. I find it hard to not eat out so often. So many options that I didn't really have before, my gosh. I also have a bit of a binge eating problem. I working on avoiding the foods that cause me to over eat, and then when I have my diet in place I might try to re-introduce those foods in smaller, well controlled portions. The stress is killer for me... I currently have a lot of over-due work, haha D: And I work part time. I would love to be a part of this group, it's nice to have people your age on MFP :) Anyone, feel free to add me, my diary is open to friends.
  • jackieomara
    jackieomara Posts: 119 Member
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    I'm a senior in college as well! Feel free to add me :)
  • lizardlizzie1
    lizardlizzie1 Posts: 2 Member
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    I just transferred to a University from Community College. This came with moving out of my parents house. I thought moving out would make it easier to eat healthier because I just wouldn't buy unhealthy things so their would be no temptation to eat those foods. Well my problem is now getting some variety in my eating healthy diet. I bought fruits and veggies, but I'm finding it hard to find simple recipes to use these fruits and veggies in.
  • lemonsnowdrop
    lemonsnowdrop Posts: 1,298 Member
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    College student here! I start my first semester of Nursing in August. I'm excited and nervous at the same time!!
  • jgoetzz
    jgoetzz Posts: 2 Member
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    If you look up Ashley Conrads 21 day clutch cut on bodybuilding.com I get a lot of moves from there, and I literally just pinterest different exercises all the time so I can keep some variety in my workout, because I know that's what the body responds to. There is so much muscle building moves you can do with just the resistance of your body and without weights! I also usually workout my whole body when I do workout instead of focusing on one group a day. I don't know if this is good or bad, but it's easier for me to do a full body workout than for example just working on my arms. Because by the end my arms would literally be unable to function haha.

    Good tip for the drinking! I'll have to try it out tonight and start using mixers and see if it helps me drink less. I also think it will help if I limit how much money I bring to the bar because then I'll be unable to buy unlimited drinks. And just a tip for mixing with crystal light or anything with artificial sweeteners…it makes you drunk faster! It's a proven study. Our bodies don't know how to process the artificial sweetener correctly like anything natural, so when mixed with alcohol it takes longer to digest them…which means that the alcohol is sent more quickly to the bloodstream. It is said it will make you about 20% drunker so be careful guys!

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