Losing weight while at university?

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HariboHeart1994
HariboHeart1994 Posts: 19 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey there MFPers, I am going back into my second year at University next month and one major issue I have faced since being there is the catering. Don't get me wrong, most of the food tastes okay and is prepared okay, but it is very infrequent that there is a healthy option available and the salad costs extra to add to a meal (which comes with chips/potato substances for free).

My plan right now is to forgo the breakfast (it's only possible to get fry up, toast occasionally, and stuff like pain au chocolat and croissants... I would have cereal such as weatabix but I have to have goats milk on cereal because of health reasons), and eat at lunch and dinner catered only.

Basically I am looking for some food which I can make easily on a VERY tight budget, and any tips you might have? I am hopefully getting a bike and a gym membership when I get back to uni.

I am allergic to NUTS, I have a blender as well as cooker, microwave, hob and toaster and am debating getting a slow cooker in September.

Any ideas? Also any tips on generally losing when back in that setting? I really don't want to lose the momentum I have started.

(Note: I think I posted this in the right forum, but please feel free to move it if needed/tell me and I can repost in the right forum... I haven't started a non-intro post here before!)

Replies

  • fatboyliz
    fatboyliz Posts: 515 Member
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    Agh that is tough!

    I think you should have breakfast, but maybe you could just buy milk & cereal to keep track of cals? Assuming you have a fridge...otherwise fruit, cereal bars etc.

    What kind of food is on offer at the catering place?

    Charging extra for salad is awful, do they have enough veg etc on offer for you to get your five a day? If not, maybe complain?

    Sorry for not being more helpful!
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
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    Eggs are good for breakfast. Does the "fry up" have a vegetable too?
    Eat the cereal dry with a spoon or with juice instead of milk. That's what I did when I was at home because I hated milk.
    Do you have a refrigerator and freezer for the microwaved food?
  • fatboyliz
    fatboyliz Posts: 515 Member
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    Eggs are good, that's a good point! Apparently baked beans are on of your five a day too...egg and beans for brekkie?
  • HariboHeart1994
    HariboHeart1994 Posts: 19 Member
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    Hey there sorry i should have made it more clear! I am wanting to have breakfast (else I would be shattered and starving!). Thank you for your suggestions. The fry up doesnt include salad and there is no option for it annoyingly enough. Egg and beans sounds quite nice! Hadnt thought about using juice in my cereal, might try that.

    I do have a fridge and freezer yeah :) is it worth making something say at the weekend and freezing it to microwave up in the morning? If so what would you recommend? I don't always have the most time in the mornings because my course often demands late night rehearsals!
  • cdoesthehula
    cdoesthehula Posts: 141 Member
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    Food is easy to make, and it will be cheaper than the canteen.

    I recommend two things:

    1. Get down to your local market on the bike. Get to know the fruit and veg places. If you go regularly, you will get fruit and veg for a fraction of the price of buying it in supermarkets. Find a butcher (preferrably, one that doesn't smell too much like a butcher), and get into the habit of just buying enough meat for one meal.
    2. Get yourself a copy of "Cooking in a Bedsitter" by Katherine Whitehorn. The original Penguin paperback with the index, not the useless reprint that is like a novel. Secondhand bookshops are your friend, although you might find one on Amazon. It's a brilliant book with all the basics for people that find themselves living in your situation. It also has a chapter on seduction for people who live in bedsits, handily divided into men's and women's sections. This is one of the other great things about being able to cook. :wink:
    3. Acquire a slow cooker. A device you can leave switched on all day is lovely. The pleasure of coming home to something you've made yourself is almost unbeatable.

    Let us know how you get on. :smile:
  • cdoesthehula
    cdoesthehula Posts: 141 Member
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    Oooh, and do you like porridge? Breakfast of champions. 250 calories for a biiig bowl, and you can make it in two minutes in the microwave. Add some fruit, or go all Scotch and add salt.

    About 75p/kg in any supermarket. Get the own brand one, there really isn't that much difference.
  • dammitjanet0161
    dammitjanet0161 Posts: 319 Member
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    I would resent having to pay for extra food after already paying for catered halls! If I were you I'd get on the university's case and lobby them for healthier catering options, it's not fair to have to pay extra for salad for example.
  • HariboHeart1994
    HariboHeart1994 Posts: 19 Member
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    I have to have some food from the catering place, as I have already paid for it I would rather not pay then extra for every meal (though in third year I am looking to live out, it just wouldn't work out this time). I have been to the local market once and it wasn't awful, I will have to go back again and see how it is in the Autumn instead of Summer! I would lobby them, in fact we do, but it does nothing. It isn't uncommon to find fault with the food sadly - I have had pink chicken more than once and I know someone who once found a woodlouse in their salad so yeah... it's just pot luck really.
  • HariboHeart1994
    HariboHeart1994 Posts: 19 Member
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    A slow cooker is definitely on my wishlist for uni now. And I have never had porridge, might have to try getting some fruit to put with it - is fresh or frozen better with it?
  • cdoesthehula
    cdoesthehula Posts: 141 Member
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    A slow cooker is definitely on my wishlist for uni now. And I have never had porridge, might have to try getting some fruit to put with it - is fresh or frozen better with it?

    Frozen fruit tends to be expensive. If you buy whatever is in season, it will work out far cheaper than buying fruit that's already been prepared..

    Today, I had strawberries. I got them reduced to 50p a punnet.

    I've bought plums for tomorrow, again 50p a punnet.

    Later on, it will be apples.
  • HariboHeart1994
    HariboHeart1994 Posts: 19 Member
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    Oh wow didn't realise that. Well that isn't a problem, just need to work out what times the local market is open. I have actually acquired a slow cooker now so that is one less thing to worry about, just need to get some tasty recipes!
  • jenEphur
    jenEphur Posts: 33 Member
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    Definitely check out Pinterest for some tasty recipes. I find things on there all the time (but guilty as charged...I never seem to make many of them). I had the exact same problem when I went to college. We shifted from a declining balance meal plan (started with $1,400-ish dollars but everything was overpriced (salmon and brown rice was >$15) so I always went over when trying to eat healthy) to a meal swipe plan that had a buffet style option included. There were very few "healthy" options except for a salad, and I was hitting up the pizza section like crazy. I looked online and saw that one slice of cheese only pizza was around 400 calories and nearly died!!

    Long story short, I gained around 140 pounds in college from ordering out all the time and also stuffing my face with the worst things in the dining hall. Some things I wish I would have done differently were:

    1. eat breakfast. It really helps you not feel like you're starving by lunch, so you're less likely to overeat. I make microwave oatmeal with blueberries/warm granola (but it has nuts) with milk and it only takes 30 seconds to heat up
    2. keep a snack handy/on you like an apple or something. I would be so hungry by dinner and would just eat everything and not care.
    3. Just because your friends got up for more didn't mean you had to. I felt like with everyone else getting up to get more food, I had to as well and always ate so much more than I should have
    4. eat in moderation. I felt like I could have had that pizza or that hamburger or whatever if I would have done it in moderation and not all at once, every day.

    I hope this helps at all and that you enjoy your time! Feel free to add me if you'd like.

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