College

I agree with choosing the healthier options available. The salad bar, steamed veggies, and roasted/baked meats (ok idk what it's called but not fried.) Also, try buying a few workout dvds and doing them. The 30 Day Shred with Jillian Michels is really popular and it's less than half an hour. I'm sure there's at least 30 minutes of the day where your room mate is not in the room. And you can watch those on your laptop. Another thing to be careful about is eating out and munching. I know I love to snack while studying so I've tried to cut that out. Or, I'll have healthier snacks like veggies and hummus or popcorn.

Does your college have it's own gym?

I went to a dinky community college, and all students had free access to the gym when it wasn't in use for classes.

I'm a college student as well and I'm surrounded by people wanting to go eat out ALL the time and they all have a meal plan. I purposely avoid getting a meal plan because most of the foods on campus are unhealthy. So, I'm forced to go shopping for myself. I don't know what your fincacial situation is, but I get a weeks worth of groceries for anywhere from $40-$50. If you can't go grocery shoping for yourself, simply look for the things that are healthier option. Eat salads, cooked veggies, baked meats, fresh fruits, etc.

As for the exercise, I hardly ever go in the gym. I always exercise outside. The outdoors is a natural gym, so use it.

Don't get discouraged. We've all been through this, otherwise we wouldn't be on this website. Just take one day at a time and keep your eyes on YOUR goal.

Does your school not have a gym thats free to students? Having to pay for a membership does make it tougher.

My freshman year I attended La Salle University in Philly (I recently transferred back home to University of Delaware and am now a sophomore there). When I was living on campus at La Salle, I had to learn self control and actually follow through with my eating routine and not just say "Oh, I'm gonna get a salad for dinner since I ate kinda bad at lunch". I had to actually do it, which I felt like was the toughest part.

It is very hard to control portion sizes. If you can, ask the cafateria ladies for "just a little bit" of that or "extra" of the healthy stuff. That way you're not completely depriving yourself, but you are also controlling whats going into your mouth. Remember: if its not on your plate, you can't eat it.

At every meal, I would always try my hardest to make sure there was some kind of fruit or vegetable on my plate. I would eat the fruit/veggie first to fill me up and also to ensure that I was getting the nutrients my body needed. I found that this made me less hungry, and also less tempted - since I already ate half healthy, I didn't want to defeat the purpose by eating badly. Same thing when I worked out (and even still today) - when I worked out I ate healthier. I didn't want to burn 400 something calories at the gym just to gain it all back in a slice of pizza!

Honestly, my biggest advice to you is to always remember that diet is everything. Even if you can't be as physically active due to lack of gym membership, if you're not eating right, your body isn't going to have the tools it needs to lose weight. There's a saying I heard on the Dr. Oz show once: "Abs are made in the kitchen, not the gym." I think this is very true and something most people should live by.

I am an exercise science major at the University of Delaware with a minor in food sciences. If you have any more questions or need advice/someone to vent to, feel free to message/add me, sweetie! I love talking health and nutrition.

I can definitely relate. Living in the dorms has made me gain so much weight. I don't know how your cafeteria is set up, but I always start off with salad and water, and then go to other foods. I'm a little more full, so I don't tend to eat as much.
I also keep food in my room for snacking or dinner when I don't feel like going to the cafeteria.
My college's gym is free with tuition, but it's a very uncomfortable place to go, so I do basic workouts in my room (squats, jumping jacks, lunges, sit-ups, etc.), and then I run up all of the stairs in my dorm (there are 8 floors, so it's a pretty good workout).
I suppose if you really like the Wii Active, you could ask your roommate if you could borrow it every night at 8 if she isn't using it, or something like that. That way, you wouldn't have to ask each time.

College is definitely a hard place to work on getting healthy. But I'm finding it isn't impossible!
Good luck!

I'm in college, this was my first sem. on campus. I would eat from the cafateria in the beginning, but I stopped and just started bringing my own lunch. But, when I did eat there we were able to get our own food (buffet) and I would pile up on the salad bar and if I was super hungry I would eat a chicken wrap. The plate came with two, I would eat one. I avoided the juices and sugary drinks and just ate water. I jog regularly and if that's wasnt an option, the campus gym would be my second choice. You kinda just have to have that will power and constantly remind yourself of why you're doing it. It is def. H-A-R-D I have two kids and a home life to deal with as well so I def. understand. I know, if you believe you can lose that 12 lbs girl! Just use your resources!

You should look into having you cafeteria meal plan cut. It may take a lot of petitioning to the right people but that should save you the $ you spend on meals so you can buy groceries.

When I was in school (just 3 years ago) I was able to do this my Junior year. Had to get my doctor to write a generic note saying the cafeteria food was bad for me (use any excuse--weight gain, consistent indigestion... whatever your doctor wants to write.)


I HIGHLY recommend walking everywhere, and walking for exercise.

There's no reason why the servers in the cafeteria should complain or whine if you ask for half portions--I had several friends who asked for that every day and it helped.


Good luck!

I gained over 50 pounds!!! Now in my last year, I've lost almost half and shooting to the other half well before I graduate... But I always Powerwalk on campus no matter where Im at.. Trying doing your own exercises in your room.

I gained over 50 pounds!!!

I gained about 15-20 lbs in a span of 1 year in college. Mostly because I used food to treat my stress. I'd study like crazy over the week. My days started at 5am and ended at 11pm. I'd get home late, eat junk food and then binge on more junk food on the weekend and during breaks. Add another 3 years, and that could be another 60lbs, but I didn't let it go that far.

Best wishes to OP!