This is a great post LoLo! I'm loving this group btw!

I'd like to definitely spill some beans out... I noticed when I was really trying to lose weight (seriously trying to a point where I would be so sad if I didn't even lose .1 pounds per week!) I would get so discouraged, but there are a few tips I want to give to some of the ladies out there!

1. Drink lots of water! Girls bloat easily... and drinking water helps that and actually cuts down your water weight! Though there is still some things that aren't quite 100% sure... water is still good to drink! 8 glasses of water a day!
2. Do NOT, I repeat DO NOT weigh yourself anywhere near your period. It will just be a huge disappointment. Girls are notorious for (here it goes again) their water weight on their period. I usually gain a good 5 pounds on my period... So you girls won't be discouraged, just stay away from the scale.
3. If you're feeling like even though you lost 10 pounds n you can't see a difference (that was my biggest demotivator right there... not seeing change) then I suggest going to the success posts on this site. They got me through late nights where all I wanted to do is cry and eat some sweets!

I hope these little tips will help you girls out any way possible. Weight loss is so hard, even for me still... but it does get easier!

I've always been afraid to try diets, since I have heard so much about how women who are on them tend to bounce back when they stop. When I was in high school, it didn't matter because I was in the pool 2-4 hours every day and I could eat what I wanted. As soon as I graduated, though, I kept up with those eating habits because my brain wanted that food and so I gained weight. Now I've come to realize that weight loss isn't sustainable without healthy eating habits and regular exercise.

I can foresee some struggles with this plan: for instance, tonight my boyfriend and I planned on going to a friend's house for a home-cooked meal, but then my boyfriend's cold got worse as the day went on, so now we're at home and the only thing in the fridge is frozen pizza. I told him about this site and he wants to help tailor dinner to meet my goals, but it's still tough to plan for everything. I also didn't exercise as much as I wanted today, which was mainly my fault. Life just gets in the way some times, but you just have to keep going.

To add to SammyPacks' advice...

1) Make sure you're getting enough sleep. We're all in college, and we know how hard it is, but your body will thank you for it. Not only does proper sleep help with weight loss (as some recent studies have shown), but you won't feel as cranky and stressed out the next day.

2) Try not to drink too much. I'm not implying that all of you are hard drinkers, of course, but parties happen, and not only are hangovers not very fun, but even I forget sometimes that alcohol is very sugary and adds lots of calories.

3) If you're going to work out, choose something that you love. The most intense workout DVD will not work if you stop doing it.

Good luck!

Just remembered two more things that help;
5. CALCIUM really really helps as well because it converts some calories into heat rather than more body fat. If you don't get enough Calcium in your diet it could be signalling your body to make more fat!!! so eat at least 3 serves of dairy a day; but make sure its low in fat and ALSO sugar (don't get fooled into think fat free means less calories, it usually has more sugar added to it!).

LOVE this group! One of my biggest challenges is my schedule. I'm a full-time grad student and I have a full-time job. I'm currently preparing to take my comprehensive exams and the praxis in order to graduate and obtain my temporary license to practice after graduation. I find myself grabbing fast food often b/c I don't have time to make or pack my meals or b/c I'm often eating in the car on the go. Also, it's difficult to find time to work out. I know you all can relate because most college students have full, busy schedules! I'm interested to learn what you gals do to make time for working out and how you maintain a healthy diet despite the craziness. Any tips, tricks, or suggestions?

A typical day in the life of me looks like this:
6:30 AM Up to shower, eat breakfast, get ready for the day
7:30 AM Catch the bus to practicum
9:00 AM-3:00 PM Practicum
3:20 PM Catch the bus to work
4:30 PM- 8:30 PM Work
9:00 PM- 12:00 AM Study
12:00 AM- 6:30 AM Sleep

Wow you're busy!

For food... I'd recommend you cook a meal that has multiple servings, that way you can pack your food up and store it so you can have it for tomorrow or the day after (as to save time cooking so much...). I'd also recommend buying healthy grab n go foods such as string cheese, yogurt, nuts, granola bars, etc.

For exercise... it may seem more time consuming than it really is. I like to get at least 20-30 minutes of cardio into my routine, it really isn't that long at all... I'd recommend working out either in the morning before you shower, or before you get ready to take a shower before bed (if you do that).

I'm sorry I don't have more advice

More spilling...
Its also hard for me to work out at school even though my campus has a fully equipped kick butt gym with group exercise classes and all because I feel out of place. Does anyone else feel like this? Im extremely self conscience of my body and since Im older and post baby complete with cellulite and stretch marks I just cant compete with the 18 yo freshmen with perfect bodies!!! Uhhh... Its so depressing!!! Guess I've just got to put my big girl panties on and suck it up!

LOVE this group! One of my biggest challenges is my schedule. I'm a full-time grad student and I have a full-time job. I'm currently preparing to take my comprehensive exams and the praxis in order to graduate and obtain my temporary license to practice after graduation. I find myself grabbing fast food often b/c I don't have time to make or pack my meals or b/c I'm often eating in the car on the go. Also, it's difficult to find time to work out. I know you all can relate because most college students have full, busy schedules! I'm interested to learn what you gals do to make time for working out and how you maintain a healthy diet despite the craziness. Any tips, tricks, or suggestions?

A typical day in the life of me looks like this:
6:30 AM Up to shower, eat breakfast, get ready for the day
7:30 AM Catch the bus to practicum
9:00 AM-3:00 PM Practicum
3:20 PM Catch the bus to work
4:30 PM- 8:30 PM Work
9:00 PM- 12:00 AM Study
12:00 AM- 6:30 AM Sleep

You catch the bus alot maybe you should consider walking to practicum and to work instead. Or if that's too far maybe get off a couple stops earlier and walk that!

I used to eat a lot while just sitting at home doing homework or surfing the internet. I was really bad...I would eat multiple swiss roll cakes in one day and eat WAYYY more than I needed to for meals...filling my entire plate with pasta and meatballs.

My college has Dec. 23-Jan. 20 off of classes (unless you take J-term) and I have been dedicating this month to starting to lose weight before I have to worry about classes. By the time classes start again, I will be in a routine and it won't be hard to maintain it.

I weigh myself way too much though, I am only recording once a week (Fridays) and trying to ignore the numbers I see through out the week. I might make my boyfriend hide the scale in the trunk of his car.

I kno exactly what you mean, i want to make the most of this break. When school starts up again why don't you just workout in the morning? Thats what i do. I just wake up a little more early so you can squeeze in a workout.

LOVE this group! One of my biggest challenges is my schedule. I'm a full-time grad student and I have a full-time job. I'm currently preparing to take my comprehensive exams and the praxis in order to graduate and obtain my temporary license to practice after graduation. I find myself grabbing fast food often b/c I don't have time to make or pack my meals or b/c I'm often eating in the car on the go. Also, it's difficult to find time to work out. I know you all can relate because most college students have full, busy schedules! I'm interested to learn what you gals do to make time for working out and how you maintain a healthy diet despite the craziness. Any tips, tricks, or suggestions?

A typical day in the life of me looks like this:
6:30 AM Up to shower, eat breakfast, get ready for the day
7:30 AM Catch the bus to practicum
9:00 AM-3:00 PM Practicum
3:20 PM Catch the bus to work
4:30 PM- 8:30 PM Work
9:00 PM- 12:00 AM Study
12:00 AM- 6:30 AM Sleep

You catch the bus alot maybe you should consider walking to practicum and to work instead. Or if that's too far maybe get off a couple stops earlier and walk that!

I totally agree with this! I take the bus everywhere too and the end of the line for the bus I take to school is a nice 20-25 minute walk away from campus, so I get some automatic exercise Monday - Thursday that I wouldn't get if I transferred to another bus route. It's little things like that that'll really help.

EDIT: Also, riding a bike to and from places would work too, if you have one.

Hey Guys!

I feel you about the obstacles. I had them, and nothing but in the last five months of 2012.

1) Tore my quad in July .. that was THE hugest downer and demotivator for me, because I love running so much.

2) As soon as my quad healed, I started having problems with my running shoes. I have orthodics in my shoes and now for some reason they slip and slide around in my shoes when I run/walk/elliptical/whatever and shift out of place and make it really painful to do cardio, or I have to get off the machine I'm using, take off my shoes, take out the insert, adjust, put back in .. and repeat 10 minutes later. It just became a nuisance to work out. (If anyone has any tips for this, please message me!)

3) My Dad had a heart attack in mid-October and it put me in a huge funk food and exercise wise for the longest time, because they weren't and still aren't sure if he'll live but things are looking up now.

4) I FINALLLY got out of my funk three weeks later and started hitting the gym again. Not two days after, my at the time boyfriend and I were in a car accident on the November long weekend during a road trip. I had a separated ac joint in my shoulder and was told to keep sedentary by the doctor I saw until today actually.

2012 .. lets hope you're better to me .. and fix my shoe problem sooner!

I am also a total compulsive weigher.

hey guys im brand new here! i have gone on plently of diets before and lost weight but keep gaining it back.. and more! i started my diet monday at 215 pounds. i lost 5 already though but im scared of gaining it back.. what are some good tips?