Came back from college for break and...

That's one heck of a breakfast! And then pasta AND bread and ice cream AND dessert? Yep, I guess you know where those pounds came from now that you think about it!

It's good news that you have no underlying health issues, though. So now you just need to get yourself set up properly here and learn how to weigh your food and accurately count your calories, fit in some exercise where you can, and see the extra weight start to come off. Be prepared for it to take a while, but have patience and it will work.

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10300319/most-helpful-posts-general-diet-and-weight-loss-help-must-reads#latest

Yeah that's likely the cause... that's a whole lot of food and a lot of carbs, sugar, and fat but little nutrition.

Try bacon OR sausage, not both, or eggs or cottage cheese instead would be better. No muffin, no donut, and maybe fruit instead of cereal or at least just 1 bowl of cereal and try something like granola or oatmeal instead of Cinnamon Toast Crunch (more fiber and nutrients, less sugar)

A protein bar or yogurt and fruit for mid morning snack

Salad with chicken or something like that for lunch

No pasta for dinner it's too many carbs and no nutrition! Maybe some type of meat plus potatoes or rice and veggies. No bread, no ice cream, no dessert or just a small one or some fruit instead.

No late night food would be best but definitely not fried chicken, fries or pizza. If you must snack late try low calorie popcorn, turkey jerkey, raw veggies with ranch... something with protein and/or fiber.

SharpSabreSword wrote: »

I guess no amount of exercise can combat my diet.

Yes. Realizing this for myself was my "ah-ha" moment.

Exercise is soo good for you and it helps create a calorie deficit, definitely include it in your plan. But yeah, a short walk will not create a calorie deficit with the diet you've described. Not to be rude, but it's like you were eating five breakfasts in one sitting. You might get really hungry when you first start to cut back, so make sure you're choosing nutritious foods. Protein, fiber, and a little healthy fat will keep you full.

I'd do
Breakfast- eggs and fruit
Mid morning snack- almonds or Greek yogurt
Lunch- protein, veggies, and whole grains
Afternoon snack- same
Dinner- protein, veggies, and whole grains

I have a treat most days, like one fun size candy. Sometimes I even have the calorie budget for a few. But I'm really conscious of the calories and of the fact that the candy will not fill me up and it might be a better choice to pick something nutritious instead.

Just to warn you, ice cream has tons of calories in a teeny serving, so do cupcakes.

At least, you are getting a handle on this now.

I gained my weight after college because I never really learned healthy eating habits. Fast food and takeout (aka calorie bombs) were things I ate constantly and it wasn't unusual for me to call breakfast a fancy coffee drink with a danish.

The only reason I didn't gain in college was because I was too broke to afford to eat more than twice a day and I walked everywhere.

Once I graduated and had steady income and no longer walked the miles I used to in college I steadily gained weight.

Now I'm having to slowly reprogram myself, but I wish I had learned years ago what healthy choices and correct portion sizes looked like instead of wasting years yo-yo dieting.

I think you have a good starting point now that you know roughly how much you were eating on a typical day. Now you can find ways to change and cut back the amount of calories you were consuming.

SharpSabreSword wrote: »

I have gone to a doctor and am not pregnant. I just have a genetic disposition for gaining weight in my stomach. I have been tested for other things like fibroids etc and all came back negative.

There's some evidence that those with your genetic body type ("apple shape") may benefit from a low carbohydrate diet (<25% of calories), and also frequent, vigorous cardio (short sessions are fine).

Do you take any prescription drugs?

That diet pretty much illustrates my point from earlier:

1) University dining halls are offering "restaurant food" to kids because they're "consumers" now and not just students.

2) People eating "restaurant style" often respond, psychologically, with a "Ooh, its a treat, I'm eating out, it's all good, its a special occasion, not how I always eat!"

3) Modern American "Restaurant Style" food has become an enormous caloric blowout with little emphasis on balance and nutrition. Also, portion sizes are crazy. If you do it once or twice a month, it's not going to hurt too much. If you do it once or twice a week, its a problem, and if you do it daily, you're totally screwed.

OP: It sounds like you're in "restaurant mentality" three times a day and often four times a day. Your first step has to be to get that under control. You're eating three different breakfasts rather than just one, and often eating a second dinner at 11pm after your first one.

Pick ONE breakfast per day. Not every options.
If its a heavier breakfast, make sure you pick a lighter lunch, and probably also skip the 11pm Fourth Meal that day.
Dessert should be a sometimes food. Ice cream every night is for people doing heavy labor on 19th century farms. Except that people who did that thought of a "serving" of ice cream as a tiny scoop. A half-cup serving is almost nothing, after you've gotten used to Cold Stone Creamery sized cups.

And that's plain vanilla ice cream with no toppings. It's more calories if it has caramel or toppings etc.

It's not "wasting food" to eat food you don't need that turns into body weight you don't want. THAT is the "restaurant mentality" I was talking about above, too. "But look! They gave me all this food! It must be okay to eat it!"

You're eating three breakfasts every day.. Out of what you mentioned, you might have:
Coffee and a muffin
OR
Coffee, eggs/bacon, a piece of toast.
OR
Coffee, cinnamon toast crunch.

You don't say anything about lunch, which is telling. I've seen student lunches around here and the sandwhiches, even the ones that look small, are all 700-800 calories, and then if you get a "side" of any kind you're looking at a thousand-calorie lunch

Pasta dish PLUS bread - pasta IS bread. And is there a vegetable in there?

Ice cream AND dessert? Ice cream IS dessert.

"Late night" is essentially another meal that may be as many as a thousand calories.

Most moderatly active people can handle having one "larger" meal a day if the otehrs are sized to balance it. You're having SIX full meals most days if you figure that your breakfast is 2-3 times the size of an average breakfast.

Smoothies can be calorie-laden too, so be cautious if you plan on switching to those! Try a bit of online research during your holidays to get a better idea of the amount of calories in the foods you like to eat most often (even if it's just a general guide, since you probably don't know exactly how they make their dishes), and then you should be able to make more informed choices once you get back to school.

I understand the feeling that you shouldn't waste food, and think that downgrading your meal plan is a good idea.

Surely they must provide some healthier / lighter options?

Don't think of value as getting the maximum number of calories per $.

Think of it as getting the best, most nutritionally balanced diet for your own needs.

Ah yes dorm food. I gained a lot in College my dining hall had late night pizza and ice cream Monday-Friday and then mid semester they started to ad late night pasta as well. I went up two pant sizes in a year. You could also go to any dining hall on campus so you could pick whatever was the best meal that night.
You can lose if you try. Good Luck!

Sabre1232 wrote: »

If I divide the swipes by the amount of days in the term you get around 3 swipes per day. However, swipes carry over on my plan and every break I get extra. I finished up using all the ones that came from thanksgiving break and such.

I have issues feeling full and will often feel hungry (especially more recently)

I suggest using some of those swipes for salads (or trips to a salad bar.) As long as you don't go overboard with dressings, bacon bits, etc., salads are fairly low in calories while also giving a feeling of fullness. In my experience, when I ate a lot more than I did now, I felt like I needed that much food in order to feel full. Similarly, many people who eat very little feel full at those low calorie levels. Gradually working down in the amount of food you eat (or up in the amount of food you eat) rather than trying to cut out (or add) a bunch at once will help you adjust to the different amount of food.