Studying and weight loss: Aiming for a healthy lifestyle

Hi there I'm Andi, a mature student going into my final year of a computer science degree. I've struggled with maintaining a healthy lifestyle throughout the last 4 years of studying.

I always start the semester well with great intentions, I even joined a gym one year - what a waste of money that became! The reality is, my income is so low that most of the time fresh fruit and vegetables are outwith my reach. My time is so scarce that if it's not convenience or fast food, I don't have time for it. Between studying and my part time job, I physically couldn't get out my bed any earlier or go to bed any later to fit in exercise. I'm in uni 9-4 for 5 days a week, in work 4.30-8 3 nights a week and work every single Saturday morning. Life is busy. Time is short. But these are just excuses.

So this year I need to make a change. I WANT to make a change. I've got a few weeks left before I'm back to classes so I've started paying attention to what I'm eating and logging everything. I've noticed that I'm trying not to snack and I suspect a huge part of my weight gain or inability to lose has been from the snacking I've done in the past.

I live in Glasgow, Scotland so the weather isn't always the best(!) but I'm going to try and walk to uni each day (2miles) though I'll probably still get the bus home on the days where I'm straight from uni to work. Other than that I've started doing yoga every single day. Some days it's only 10 minutes, others it can be half an hour. It's not just exercise but a way to unwind, prepare, be mindful. I'd like to think I'll get a wee bit more exercise in each week than that but I know once the studying kicks in that it can all go out the window.

So I'm just looking for people who are in a similar situation. People who understand that sometimes you just have to put the studying first but people who will also kick my bum when I'm making excuses rather than genuine reasons like impending deadlines. So yeah, any comments appreciated, friend requests welcome, kicks up the bum as required - and I'll happily reciprocate. Thanks for reading