Need advice on weight loss and a good state of mind!

How much are you eating every day? There's a minimum amount, called your BMR, which is what your body needs every day just to function. It's usually at least 1200 calories a day. You want to eat enough to make sure your body is getting the nutrition it needs. Otherwise, it won't work as well for you. Be kind to it and yourself and give yourself a break. Your first year of college is a really hard transition. But you got through that and you'll move past this too! Just be patient. Imagine if you were your best friend ... would you talk to her the way you're talking to yourself? I'd guess no. You'd give her love and hugs and support. Don't you deserve that same compassion and kindness? I think so!

I would recommend strength training. It'll give you a great sense of power (I can out leg press a lot of guys at the gym at 5'3 and 135) and they HATE it.) And it's great for your body. Save up a little for a personal training session to get you started on the right track to understand proper form and technique and to lessen the risk of injury. For cardio--change it up. Google HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training). It really gets your metabolism revved up. And change up your cardio. Try different machines--the rowing machine is a tough, full-body workout. Or try a boot camp class or a body pump class or spinning (I have my own gel bike seat cover for spinning). I don't have a lot of money, but I have a gym membership. It's an investment in my health and sanity. There's probably a rec center on campus which is covered by fees you already pay when you're in school. And for home, there are workout dvds galore and dumb bells or kettle balls. There are lots of workouts online and on youtube.

Just please realize it took time for the weight to come on and it'll take time for it to come off. It sucks not being happy with how you look (been there), but negative self-talk isn't going to make the extra weight disappear. Be kind to yourself and enjoy eating nutritious, healthy foods that are good for your body. It's fuel--would you put regular leaded gasoline in your car? No! Then why put crap in your body. But just because it's fuel doesn't mean it can't taste good! People always comment at work that my fruit bowls look good. It's frozen fruit. I pour it from a bag into a measuring cup and then into a pyrex dish. It's not rocket science. It can't be, I'm the worst cook EVER.

How much are you eating in a day? It is important for you to figure out how much you need to eat to maintain and then to lose weight. Cardio is good, but it alone is not enough. Try to have variety in your routines. I always have a large weightlifting/resistance component to my scheduled workouts, along with intervals, yoga, and a little cardio. Resistance workouts are a great way to get body fat burning. Plus, they'll shape your body by increasing muscle definition.

Allan