20s grad student looking for encouragement and advice!

Hi daylily! I'm also a grad student, just turned 26, and I need to lose about 50 lbs (I'm 9 lbs down since I started here about 2 months ago). Looks like we have a lot in common! Grad school is terrible for gaining weight, especially since you're sitting at a desk most of the time (at least I do), and it's just so easy to eat crappily. Not to mention all the free food! I still struggle with all of this, but I've picked up a few tricks. First is to pack your own lunch/dinner. It's a bit annoying, but totally worth it to help keep track of what you're eating. My boyfriend does most of the cooking, and often makes big batches of chilli or stew, and that makes great lunches for several days. Second, I keep healthy office snacks (if you've got an office) on my shelf and snack on them when I'm feeling munchy. I go for almonds, apples and instant oatmeal packages. It stops me from going to the vending machine all the time. If you have access to a fridge, you can keep frozen dinners (most michelina's ones are around 300 calories and I find them quite filling), carrots and other veggies, yogurt and/or cheese strings around. Thirdly, I still go out for drinks with friends, but I often opt for white wine, which is less calorific than beer, and I try to sip it as slowly as possible. Also helpful is to go for a glass of water between drinks. Anyway, hope those tips work for you... and feel free to add me as a friend!

Hey guys, me too, me too! I feel so overwhelmed during the year and even when I've managed to lose 20+ lbs in the summer, it's all come right back during the year because of badly timed (and badly chosen) meals and a lack of sleep and exercise. I also managed to get myself a hip and lower back injury last year that keeps popping up on me. I'm starting AGAIN at 220 and would love to make it to about 160.

I know exactly what you're going through!! I lost a bunch of weight in high school, kept it off in college, and gained it, and more, back in grad school. The lifestyle is very hard. When you're out with friends, try drinking a water for every beer or cocktail you have. Helps your alcohol intake and your waistline! As far as meals and things go, the only thing I can recommend is to make meals and healthy snacks the night before to take with you/snack while you study. Nobody wants to make lunch in the morning before they go to class/work. Take lots of fruits and veggies - fruits are great because most of them don't need to be refrigerated. Almonds fill you up, and you only need a handful! In the morning, eat a lot of protein and you'll find yourself satisfied until lunchtime (I love egg whites and peanut butter toast!). I have lots of little tips and tricks about food, so feel free to add me and pick my brain!

I am a 22 year old grad student and I would also like to lose the same amount of weight! I am going to a new school and I would like to look great and feel great! You can do it! Get a head start on weight loss now, during the summer, before all the school craziness starts so this way you won't be too stressed with school AND losing weight. Are you doing a formal plan or just using MFP?

I am the same age as you and just graduated college last year. Feel free to add me.

Hey! I'm 22 and also a college student. I've fallen victim to the eating at weird hours habit as well. I also plan to loose about 45-50 lbs. Lets be friends!

I'm currently in my 4th year of a doctoral program, and find it hard to maintain some sort of schedule with exercising, getting all my work done, and eating healthy (especially when my schedule changes every semester). There are times when I'm so busy it's hard to find time to eat, let alone make something (and I try to find easy to prepare/freeze meals to throw in the crock pot, or oven, but finding a time to prepare those is a challenge too). I'm particularly concerned not only about the upcoming holidays, but my upcoming internship interviews where I will be traveling/flying to lots of places throughout January, which will likely make it difficult to eat healthy and exercise.

Would love to hear ideas for how everyone else manages/what you've found works for you, and get/give support on this non-overnight lifestyle change. I feel i've tried many things (WW included) and when I start to see some slight progress it halts for long time (despite my continuing with it), and that makes me feel discouraged...hoping to finally find something that works.