staying fit in college

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pozili
pozili Posts: 10
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm moving away to start college in 3 months or so and I'm reaaaaally scared I'll gain weight and stop exercising because I'll be living with my friends who couldn't care less about healthy eating, exercising and stuff like that (not to mention we'll definitely spend our weekends partying). Plus, I know most people gain weight in college, especially in their first year. I'd like to hear from people who are currently studying or have finished college - was it hard to stay fit/skinny/healthy? Tell me everything!

Thanks in advance! :)

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  • CuppieCakez
    CuppieCakez Posts: 1
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    Most colleges have a fitness center that all students are able to use during specific times. Also ask around when you start and there will usually be other people who need workout buddies. You could even make new friends. I did gain 10 lbs my first year but that was because I was eating out for every meal every day. Good Luck! Feel free to add me if you wish I am currently studying pre physical therapy.
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    When you say you're living with friends, are you in a dorm, or an apartment with a kitchen?
  • AtmaKing
    AtmaKing Posts: 145 Member
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    Stay away from the drinking. Easiest way. If you can’t do that then work your *kitten* off more.

    I was an athlete (not the best) so I worked hard every day and stayed away from the parties.

    Not the norm I’m sure but it was effective for me. I didn’t gain weight until I quit sports.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Yes, people gain weight the first year of college because they are eating more food (and drinking more stuff) that they did at home. You do not have to hang out all the time with the people you live with. You can find people who want to stay healthy and fit. Also, among the many good things of college life is that you have lots of exercise. . . . lots of walking, opportunities to work out at the wellness center, . . .
  • RllyGudTweetr
    RllyGudTweetr Posts: 2,019 Member
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    Folks often gain weight in college, traditionally, because their eating habits become less structured by what the family is eating and because many meal plans allow for 2nds, 3rds, 7ths, of whatever they're serving at the cafeteria. While a little bit of gain in college should not raise any alarms for you - many folks, male and female, have a bit more filling out to do between graduating high school and graduating college - real weight gains are avoidable if you make exercise and healthy eating a priority. Most colleges give access to gyms, either on site or through a partnership, so exercise should be readily available should you wish to take advantage. Additionally, most colleges these days either provide nutrition information, or have that information available via the web (many use companies, like Sodexo, that have their nutrition info right here on MFP).
  • DR2501
    DR2501 Posts: 661 Member
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    Stay away from the drinking.

    Yeah, that'll be fun...

    Just make sure you work the calories into your weekly allowance, and use the gym to keep up with your fitness. Aim for 80% compliance with your diet and exercise and you should be OK. Have fun!
  • knollmma
    knollmma Posts: 21 Member
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    Hi - I was in a similar situation when I started college. I was terrified I would gain weight. What I didn't realize is that I was actually increasing my activity level a bit with all the walking I was doing to get between my dorm and all my classes. I was also eating really healthy to counteract my fear of gaining weight.

    Sure, there were times mid-week when my friends wanted to go down to the dining hall to get a huge bowl of frozen yogurt, but I made sure to exercise good portion control. When I felt I overdid it, I made sure to spend a few more minutes on the elliptical the next day. I was also doing a lot of drinking, but it all balance out when I was eating super healthy and getting to the gym at least 4 times a week. Your metabolism is still on your side at this age!

    I'm not sure how your living situation will be set up - if you'll be eating dining hall food or cooking, but either way, you can exercise a lot of control over your own diet. Dining halls usually have a notoriously bad rep, but you can generally always find salads, grilled chicken, fruit and veggies. If you're cooking, you're totally in control.

    My college also had an excellent fitness center with group fitness classes. A group of my new college friends and I would always attend spinning and boot camp classes because it was fun! Not just for the exercise, but for the camaraderie. If your friends really don't care about fitness, maybe you can trick them into going to a few classes with you for fun ;)

    Good luck! As long as you make good choices a part of your lifestyle, you'll be just fine! Have fun - these will be some of the best years of your life!!!
  • SamiDee12
    SamiDee12 Posts: 16 Member
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    Advice from me is probably not going to help much, since I am a commuter student from home, but I hope I can help you a little! I'm in my second semester/first year of college, and so far I have actually lost weight. I think the key to it is to just plan ahead if you think you are going to be put in a situation that is going to cause you to go over your calorie goal. I do not eat anything at my university, and make all my own food and bring my own snacks. You can definitely make some good food on a low budget in college, I would look up some recipes online and see. Also, try to plan to go workout before your classes, I know that I personally am not going to want to go to the gym after sitting in class for 6+ hours a day. I have friends that try to pull me into their unhealthy eating habits too - but I just try my best to find ways around it. If they want to go out to eat, I recommend places that I know have low cal options. Sometimes, if I think I go over, I will go to the gym and work out for a little it. (If anything I think this just helps my mental health ha) Anyways, the key to losing weight in college is to plan plan plan. Good luck!
  • chub_nugget
    chub_nugget Posts: 9
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    Congrats on going to college!

    I just graduated from college in May, and gained a lot of weight (over 30 lbs) over my four years there. My main issue was stress, and over eating. I was studying engineering and I found that the brain power and concentration required to do all my coursework and studying made me incredibly hungry. It felt as though I was using a lot of energy without actually burning any calories.

    I have managed to lose over half of that college weight so far, and my only advice would be to continue logging all your calories and you'll be fine. My biggest gains came when I started going out and drinking every night... Drinking is fine, just make sure to log those calories!

    As was noted above, most universities have a gym on campus, and you should definitely use it, not only for fitness reasons, but because they will charge you for it every semester whether you use it or not (at least my school does this). I didn't start going to my university's gym regularly until senior year, I wasted that money my first three years!

    Anyways, as long as you continue to be health-conscience I'm sure you'll do great. Good luck with your studies!
  • pozili
    pozili Posts: 10
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    Thank you all so very much!!
    I doubt my college has a fitness centre, I'll have to check that out, but I sincerely doubt any college in Croatia has a fitness centre haha

    Oh and for the person who asked, I'll be living in a flat, not in a dorm :)
  • Sabine_Stroehm
    Sabine_Stroehm Posts: 19,263 Member
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    Thank you all so very much!!
    I doubt my college has a fitness centre, I'll have to check that out, but I sincerely doubt any college in Croatia has a fitness centre haha

    Oh and for the person who asked, I'll be living in a flat, not in a dorm :)
    That helps a LOT. I think in my case, I gained weight because I was stuck eating dorm. Very starchy, with lots of cream sauces. And then we'd get fed up (because it tasted terrible), but we had limited funds, and no kitchen, so we'd order pizza.
    You have a kitchen! You can decide what to eat AND when!!
  • spara0038
    spara0038 Posts: 226 Member
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    Things that will make you gain weight in college:

    1) Alcohol. I knew some people who binge drank on weekends and could easily add an extra 1200-1500 calories in one night! Keep it under control, and liquors mixed with carbonated water is a good alternative.
    2) Meal plans. All of the veggies at my college were cooked in butter or similarly unhealthy stuff to make it taste better to students. I definitely lost weight when I got off the meal plans.
    3) Busy schedules. I went to school full time for engineering and had 3 jobs (totaling 40-50 hours/week). My schedule was nuts, so convenience foods and prepackaged snacks (high in carbs, sugar and/or sodium) were very easy, tempting fillers
    4) Parties in general. Plenty of munchies, pizza, etc. Esp if you're drunk, it's pretty hard not to indulge in that, and especially if your friends are
    5) Coffee drinks, energy drinks, etc. We had a starbucks on campus where you could get stuff with all of the cream, chocolate, and syrups you wanted. But... those were like 400+ calories. Plus, full-calorie cans of Amp or monster are pretty much 2 servings of soda. Easy to resist when you're well-rested, but a tempting source of energy after an all-nighter
    6) Crappy food in general. Ramen has tonnnns of sodium. Sodium= water retention= extra weight

    Things that will make you lose weight on campus:

    1) Walk everywhere. We had buses since we had such a large campus, so it was tempting to ride the bus to get from one class to another. But, for example if you have 5 classes and your dorm is 20 mins away from the academic buildings (assume 10 mins apart each), you have 20+10+10+10+10+20= 1 hour of walking in a day built into your schedule.
    2) Prep your own food. ... so you control what's in it
    3) Carry a healthy snack with you EVERYWHERE. I used to carry a bag of grapes and a bottle of water. Certainly prevents stopping by the vending machines!
    4) Take classes when you can. Some schools have fitness classes like any gym. I liked kickboxing. It's also a great way to meet fitness-conscious friends who will help, not hurt, your goal of maintaining your weight.
    5) Wake up early. This may be a personal choice for me, but I found I stayed with my goals when I got up earlier. I would go to the gym BEFORE classes, so that way it was always a priority. So many things can come up during your day that may get in the way if you try to leave it until later. Then again, more of a personal choice.

    Anyway... Have fun and good luck!!
  • swimnurseteacher7
    swimnurseteacher7 Posts: 24 Member
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    Try to keep a regular schedule of exercise and meals. Don't let yourself get too hungry from skipping meals. That is when you make the worst choices. Kepp the drinking to a very low level or just do club soda at the party. You can exercise by jogging to class or taking the stairs. Just try to stay aware of what you are doing and you will be okay. Don't study with a big bag of chips because you'll finish the whole thing before you realize.. Good luck
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    I'm moving away to start college in 3 months or so and I'm reaaaaally scared I'll gain weight and stop exercising because I'll be living with my friends who couldn't care less about healthy eating, exercising and stuff like that (not to mention we'll definitely spend our weekends partying). Plus, I know most people gain weight in college, especially in their first year. I'd like to hear from people who are currently studying or have finished college - was it hard to stay fit/skinny/healthy? Tell me everything!

    Thanks in advance! :)

    Then find new friends.

    College is an excellent time to find out how fit you can be, cooking isn't an issue, there is near constant access to places to work out. Just don't go super insane with the drinking and you're fine.

    It was extremely easy to lose weight and get fitter during college. Extremely. Only reason I cooked was because I liked it, and I liked that it made it easy to get the finer things in life to spend the night. Everything else was study, eating decently, walking, running, lifting, some sports.

    In fact, what was interesting, in my cohort the only people gaining the freshman 15 were female, the rest of us at worst maintained.
  • writergeek313
    writergeek313 Posts: 390 Member
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    College is a time when you're getting ready for your future in more ways than one. You'll be preparing for your career, but you'll also be preparing to be independent and learn to live on your own and take care of yourself. It's important to learn how to make healthy food choices for yourself and to figure out how to work exercise into your busy schedule. These are two things you're going to have to do for the rest of your life!

    As others have said, meal plans aren't always the healthiest. If you'll be on one, learn what you can now about what options you'll have. The school where I teach has nutrition info and a menu online every day, and that really helps me make smart choices when I don't bring something from home for lunch. They could definitely offer more healthy food, but they're getting better about having fruit, Greek yogurt, hardboiled eggs, and other decent (though expensive) options. When you get to school, if you feel like you're struggling to know what are your best healthy options, check into whether your school has a nutritionist. Another option could be to take a health class if it fits into your schedule. You'll learn a lot about nutrition and will probably meet some people who also really care about their health like you do.

    It's great that you're going to the same school as some of your friends. It will make the transition easier. My experience (which I think was the same as a lot of others') was that once I got to meet more people through classes and activities, I grew apart from the people I was closest to when I got there. That may or may not happen for you, but if you're worried your not so health-conscious friends could be a bad influence, try to put yourself in situations where you can meet new people (again, a great life skill; you'll be in many situations as intimidating as your first day at a new school, and knowing how to strike up conversation with someone you don't know will be such a big help).

    As others have said, walking everywhere while lugging a backpack is great exercise. Take the scenic route when you have time to. Take the stairs whenever possible. Schedule a time to go to the gym and treat it like you would any other obligation. You can use it to recharge both physically and mentally.

    Most of all, have fun!
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    I lived in an apartment during Junior and Senior year of college. It was much easier than dorm living. I cooked for myself and controlled what I ate. Before I was either living with my parents or in the dorm, so I had little choice over the menu. Take advantage of the fact that you can cook for yourself and control your own menu. You can still eat with everyone else if your flatmates go with that style, but eat your own food.
  • SingRunTing
    SingRunTing Posts: 2,604 Member
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    Oh, and I gained the freshman 15 and then some. My new found freedom meant that I ate terribly. After I was cooking for myself, I ate much better and didn't gain (I didn't lose either).
  • runningforicecream
    runningforicecream Posts: 89
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    This may come off as curt, but, you really just have to commit to your goals.

    None of my friends are into this type of lifestyle that I am in, they are more into partying and generally the 'college lifestyle'. But I know what I want, what my goals are. So I do my workout when I should, I eat sensibly most days. That said, I often indulge (party, eat out), too, but just making sure I fit it in. Or I go over, fine, that's just one day. I will get right back on it tomorrow. The thing to be careful of is not to let the one day become one week and then one month and etc.

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