I'm a college student.

Please hang in there and do not give up! I put on a lot of weight in college, took it off, put it back on... (you get the picture).

At least you are thinking about this and wanting to do better! I am not offering advice. (I am not one to talk.) Just wondering if there is someone else in the same situation that you could partner with for support. Also, I remember when I was in college that you could request special meals depending on dietary needs. Is that an option at your school?

No matter what, please don't give up. You are not alone. If there is anything I can do to support you, please let me know!

Take care and good luck with finals! A minimum wage job: $7.25 p/hour. An education: priceless.

K.

Here's a few things I'd suggest.

First of all, you just joined recently. Instead of trying to stress about eating better and exercising right now, do what you normally do for a few days or a week. BUT log *everything* ... this will be HUGE in helping you lose weight. You first have to realize what you are eating, how you are eating, and how that affects your body.

Secondly, during finals, cut yourself some slack. Instead of setting your goals to losing 2 lbs. per week, set it to losing .5 a lb. per week. That way, you'll have a LOT more calories to play with and still be able to lose a little bit of weight. I'm in graduate school, and those last few weeks of the semester, I always give myself more leeway than normal because when you're up all hours of the night, you really do need to eat more to stay awake.

Third, the semester is almost over! So that means you'll have about a month to get a "fresh start" ... get into the habit of eating better and when spring semester starts, you'll already have a routine. Even if you don't live in an apartment and can't cook your own food, you can make better choices in the school cafe, and buy things that you can eat for snacks and meals that you can make in your dorm.

As for exercise, I totally understand how hard it is to get to the gym. I think I only went to the gym once or twice when I was living on campus as an undergrad. Granted, I wasn't trying to lose weight at the time. But there are minor things you can do. Take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalators. If you are taking a car around campus, don't- walk everywhere (or bike). If you have some free time to exercise, do it (college is great because you do get to use the gym and stuff for free) but if you can't, don't stress about it too much. It is possible to lose weight by just eating better. I haven't been able to go to the gym barely at all this semester because I've been so busy, and I've still managed to continue losing weight regardless. According to the ticker on your page, you have a decent amount to lose (about the same that I did starting out), so you can definitely work on losing the bulk of the weight now and toning/getting in-shape a bit later on.

Best of luck. You can do this, honest! I'm still in school; graduate school, and I take classes full time, work part time, and teach my own class. It is crazy busy, but I've managed to lose 55 lbs. in 11 months regardless. You can too!! :flowerforyou:

Okay, I totally understand and feel your pain. I, too, am in college. I'm taking 18 hours this semester, plus I live 2 hours away from campus, run my own personal training business, and am raising two teenagers. Personally, I carry a cooler with me everywhere. In it I have fresh fruit, fresh veggies, sandwiches, granola bars, dry cereal, water (because the water from the fountains on our campus tastes terrible!), juice, tuna, crackers, etc. All portable and easy prep and things you can keep in a mini fridge if you live on campus. Our campus dining program also has some healthier options like salads and vegetarian meals. They also keep the nutrition info out on the counter beside the food in the buffet lines so we have the opportunity to make informed decisions about what we consume. Even if you pick something not so healthy for one meal a day, carrying healthy snacks with you throughout the day and having healthy options for the other two meals will help you see results.

As for exercise, take your books with you to the gym. On my long days at school, I leave my house at 6am to make my first class at 8am. I have classes until 2pm, then a short break and class starts back at 4pm. During that two hours, I eat my lunch and go to the gym. While I'm at the gym I'm reading while on the exercise bike or treadmill. Is it my ideal workout? No, but it is better then the nothing I would be doing if I were sitting at home reading instead. I then get out of class at 5:30pm and drive 2 hours home before I can start dinner and dealing with the kids stuff. On my short days, I only have the one 4-5:30pm class, so I spend my morning working on my business, but leave by 1pm to get to the school gym by 3pm so I can workout/read. Again, I don't get home until 7:30pm to work on dinner and such. When I'm home, I'm fixing dinner, helping the kids with homework, planning things with my husband, taking care of animals, etc. The point is that you have to multitask in order to get it all done, but you can put exercise in your day regardless of schedule. Yes, school is stressful and studying for finals is very important. But while you are studying, do some mindless cycling at the same time. If you are a kinetic learner, it may actually help you retain more of the information. Another idea for studying in your room is to get a stability ball to use as a desk chair. That why while you are studying and have to write (which is next to impossible on a bike or treadmill with no desk) you can still be focusing on some exercises for the core. Whenever your brain needs a 5 minute break, bounce on the ball for extra cardio.

You can do this!!! I know you can, because if someone as spastic as me can do it, anyone can. It just takes doing it!

I'm a college student too and it can be very hard, so I understand you completely. When it comes to working out, I do 30 minutes in my dorm room as soon as I wake up in the morning, before my day starts. This way, I can go to class/work without worrying about when I can find time to work out. I also take the long way to class and I'm not using elevators, only the stairs. You know, just small changes here and there to try and get a workout since I can't go to the gym.

My family also likes to eat greasy food. They've been doing pretty well with accommodating me, now that I'm on a diet, and they've been doing a good job at eating healthier food. My advice is to just show your family how dedicated you are to this new lifestyle and to get them involved as well. There's a less chance that they'll buy the fast food if everyone is eating healthy.

You can always message me if you need support! I know it's really hard... there's been at least 3 times over the last week where I've wanted to just give up. But it'll get easier. Good luck with finals!