Students!

Why? What is stopping you? Are you living on campus? With a roommate? With your parents? Are you of typical college age (18-22) or older? There are too many factors to consider.

Really? I think it's so much easier!

Cheap or free gym pass.

No money to spend on "contingency foods" & it's way cheaper to eat at home. If you are an undergrad & eat in the dining hall you can just as easily pick up healthy options as unhealthy ones.

Social drinking can easily be worked into a diet plan - just don't go crazy on it & stay in control (probably a good idea anyways, ya know?)

If you aren't living with your parents you have full control over your diet for the first time in your life.

all in all... good times!

As a full-time student and full-time worker, PLANNING is key for me. I plan my meals, prep as much as I can in advance and then plan when I can go to the gym... then I just DO IT. No matter how much I want to talk myself out of it, I just have to do it because I know there is no other time. Good luck!

I tend to gain during examtime, but I don't have any trouble the rest of the time. I find it's easier than when I'm at home, as I know exactly what I'm eating, and can control my own portion sizes and only have meals when I'm hungry. Yeah, sometimes it's tempting to live off pizza and alcohol and basically nothing else, but there's no reason why you can't eat healthy. As long as you're prepared to be flexible (ie just buying whatever is reduced that week), it doesn't have to be expensive, and it can end up far more varied and interesting. Ie, today for lunch I had 2 mini Lamb & mint kebabs with stirfried Chinese vegetables

pzarnosky wrote: »

Not an excuse. I'm a full time college student and I work a full time job. I made a lifestyle change and made my health a priority. It takes more time, but for me the weightloss and all of the positive side effects that came with it and with eating a nutrient diet make the time worth it.
There will never be a time in your lift that losing weight and eating right become easy. You will always be able to excuse bad habits; school, starting a new career, marriage/divorce, babies, a death, a car accident... the list is endless.
What worked for me: I got portions under control first and maintained a 1500 cal/day limit. I weighed everything. Once I got on track with how much I actually needed to eat, I started encorporating healthier whole food options. Basically, I went from a 175lb moderate smoker/drinker with the typical American diet to a 135lb long distance runner with a plant based diet (supplement meats in every so often, mostly holidays/birthdays).
It can be done You just have to be willing to struggle through it.

This! I gained weight my last year of college and my year off. I made excuses that I was too busy in college and then when I was working full time, I made more excuses. Then I went to law school which was much more work than undergrad and working full time. I decided it was time for a change. I struggled the first semester, but second semester, I mentally committed and I'm down nearly 30 pounds and look and feel healthier. Yes, it was hard because I was busy. As others have said, meal prepping is key. Plan out your snacks and leave a little room for unplanned things. The hardest thing for me is that there is a ton of free pizza in law school. Being poor from being in school + free pizza = danger!

As for exercise, gym membership is free at my school (by "free" I mean I pay for it whether I use it or not in my tuition and fees). I found something I liked (spinning classes) and began to just jog around the neighborhoods by my apartment complex. Put the exercise in your calendar and don't skip it. Skip the Netflix and eating excessive snacks. It's hard, but I think once you mentally commit to a lifestyle change, nothing can stop you.

*i did take a break from working out for 2 weeks of final exams just because I felt guilty even spending 50 minutes in a class, but that was the only time of the semester. I made sure to fit it in!

Best of luck! Feel free to add me if you want!

bc2ct wrote: »

Really? I think it's so much easier!

Cheap or free gym pass.

No money to spend on "contingency foods" & it's way cheaper to eat at home. If you are an undergrad & eat in the dining hall you can just as easily pick up healthy options as unhealthy ones.

Social drinking can easily be worked into a diet plan - just don't go crazy on it & stay in control (probably a good idea anyways, ya know?)

If you aren't living with your parents you have full control over your diet for the first time in your life.

all in all... good times!

Completely agree

alyssadanielle2493 wrote: »

pzarnosky wrote: »

Not an excuse. I'm a full time college student and I work a full time job. I made a lifestyle change and made my health a priority. It takes more time, but for me the weightloss and all of the positive side effects that came with it and with eating a nutrient diet make the time worth it.
There will never be a time in your lift that losing weight and eating right become easy. You will always be able to excuse bad habits; school, starting a new career, marriage/divorce, babies, a death, a car accident... the list is endless.
What worked for me: I got portions under control first and maintained a 1500 cal/day limit. I weighed everything. Once I got on track with how much I actually needed to eat, I started encorporating healthier whole food options. Basically, I went from a 175lb moderate smoker/drinker with the typical American diet to a 135lb long distance runner with a plant based diet (supplement meats in every so often, mostly holidays/birthdays).
It can be done You just have to be willing to struggle through it.

This! I gained weight my last year of college and my year off. I made excuses that I was too busy in college and then when I was working full time, I made more excuses. Then I went to law school which was much more work than undergrad and working full time. I decided it was time for a change. I struggled the first semester, but second semester, I mentally committed and I'm down nearly 30 pounds and look and feel healthier. Yes, it was hard because I was busy. As others have said, meal prepping is key. Plan out your snacks and leave a little room for unplanned things. The hardest thing for me is that there is a ton of free pizza in law school. Being poor from being in school + free pizza = danger!

As for exercise, gym membership is free at my school (by "free" I mean I pay for it whether I use it or not in my tuition and fees). I found something I liked (spinning classes) and began to just jog around the neighborhoods by my apartment complex. Put the exercise in your calendar and don't skip it. Skip the Netflix and eating excessive snacks. It's hard, but I think once you mentally commit to a lifestyle change, nothing can stop you.

*i did take a break from working out for 2 weeks of final exams just because I felt guilty even spending 50 minutes in a class, but that was the only time of the semester. I made sure to fit it in!

Best of luck! Feel free to add me if you want!

This. I worked full time during law school and still managed to find the time to work out regularly.

gebeziseva wrote: »

I gained all my weight as a student the last three years and I'm trying to lose it now (successfully).

I noticed that there are several people who replied in this post they are full time students and have a full time job. How does this work?
I was a full time student of particle physics in the UK and I had lectures all day every day and attendance is compulsory (you get checked every lecture). For my 3 years of undergrad so far I've only had free time to sleep from studying - no social life, no nothing. And my fellow students too, not just me. How do you fit a full-time (by full time I understand 8 hours/day) job at the same time?
@pzarnosky , @tristen_leigh, @daniip_la ?

For me it was very stressful and combined with a change of countries (i.e. food) no wonder I gained.
I have a masters year coming up this October and I have no idea how I will stay on MFP successfully without going crazy.

I'm a mature student though and have a family too so this complicated things further maybe.

During undergrad, I worked full time as a server. I worked mornings and/or nights there. I also was a full time student and was able to stack most of my classes on two days- Tuesday and Thursday. They were hour and a half classes back to back. Worked the other 5 days of the week as a server.

It's completely possible and draining, but when you don't have anyone helping you pay for anything, it's necessary. I received grants from school to cover my tuition but everything else was on me.