I've gotten fairly lucky for professional school. Our class is almost 70% female , which leads to healthy snacks in our lounge such as fruits and veggies and yogurt.
We're also lucky that there's a pretty good graduate program in exercise science. Campus Rec. offers tons of group exercise and their facilities are open 24/7.
I also understand the alcohol problem. We're constantly ranked one of the top party schools and that does not just mean the undergrads. I've learned to just limit it to one night a week, if that, sip slowly and avoid the late night run to the greasy spoon.
It might sound drastic but I've just sworn it off (for now) and stay away from any of those environments I used to be in a lot (clubbing, frat parties, house parties, pre gamming, etc) because I've found that me and "just one drink" don't mix. One turns in to two, into seven and on and on and on. Not all of my friends understand why I won't do what I used to do all of the time any more, but I've decided oh well I understand and that's good enough.
It's true, sometimes it's a good idea to avoid the parties and such, it removes the temptation and the peer pressure.
Though... I find that the pressures I feel to "have another drink, Jess!" are abated when I drink clear vodka coolers or beer with a tinted bottle-- my trick is that I just have one, then sneak off to the bathroom and fill it up with water. No one ever second guesses it, I don't have to deal with people asking why I'm not drinking-- I find that drunk people aren't very supportive of weight loss being the reason behind my not double-fisting 26-ers.
Anyhow, that way you CAN still attend parties and such if you want to. If you really love getting drunk with your friends though, this might not be a decent solution. (Unless you're gonna get drunk off that one beer/cooler, and if you're that much of a lightweight, I envy you!)
If you live on campus, or near campus, walking to your classes would be a good workout. And as for healthy meals at school, try to eat a big(healthy) breakfast, that way you won't be as tempted to snack before lunch. Oh and going out is ok . Maybe you could offer to be the DD (designated driver).
that is a great idea about re-filling bottles. you can oreder a number of drinks and get away with not it looking like somthing alcoholice, lemonade, can be vodka and lemonade, coke in the dark can look like red wine, or just coke and vodka.
i think the social side of drinking is a pull in, but im getting better, i have found these 'kalm' tablets, which natually lift your mood, help you not get depressed, which i often do when dieting, just i only take them when i reaaaly have to, bcause i dont want them messing to much wit my metabolism, or weight.
gracey- I agree that just having the mix (ie diet Sprite or diet Coke) makes a great substitute! No one has to know what is actually in there. I'm not a huge drinker, so I'll often have one drink at the beginning and then drink just mix the rest of the night. I HATE it when people bug me about what I'm drinking- like, they'll ask "Oh is there anything in that?" like they're accusing me of being "uncool" for not drinking? Sheesh, I am way too old to care about whether or not drinking makes me cool!
hehe yes, im a fresher (1st year uni student) and everyday its, where we guys going out to dirnk tonight. if i was ain a drom with everyone else, this diet would never have happened. its sad really isnt it.
for the alcohol question:
I try to only drink once a week, and when i do drink, i either save my weight watchers points to "spend" on drinking or i extremely limit myself and get things like bacardi and diet or vodka water limes. I prefer to mostly be the driver for my friends and that way no one asks me why i'm not drinking. luckily, i hate beer so i don't have to worry about that large amount of calories.
hehe yes, im a fresher (1st year uni student) and everyday its, where we guys going out to dirnk tonight. if i was ain a drom with everyone else, this diet would never have happened. its sad really isnt it.
Oh, no way sweetie. I've lived in a dorm three years in a row... EVERYONE gains when they live in dorms, at least 5 little lbs.
(We call them "residence.") I'm an RA or a don, or whatever you call them, so I live there even though I'm in my third year... and I'm on this diet because I started uni at 137, then gained up to 155 in my first year in res... went back down to 145 in the summer at home.
In my second year in res, gained back up to 158-59, then went to IRELAND for the summer, came back at 166, moved back into residence and made it up to 176.
Residence does NOT help the diet, because everyone around you stays up super late and eats really junky food at really random times...
The number of times I've heard this conversation at 2 am is baffling:
"Hey, you hungry?"
"No, not really."
"Want to order a pizza?"
"Yeah, sure."
Ahh, the freshman 15! It’s funny because my freshman year I LOST 10 pounds, and I lived in university housing with a sad excuse for a kitchen (stove and a tiny fridge haha). Of course my workload was tough and of course there were temptations and I went out drinking a lot, but like others have said I never really questioned whether or not I could manage school and a healthy lifestyle—it was automatic. Also, I used the gym to make MORE time—I read text books on the cross trainer, and I worked out around 10-11 pm, which would make me totally hyper and energized for about 3 hours after my workout, and used that time to study/do hw.
Since then, it has been a different story. I started slowly gaining the weight back at the end of freshman year, and eventually I gained 30 pounds. I hit my highest weight (within the last few years, that is, not highest ever) about a month ago, and I finally decided it was time to take control again. I am at home on break now but I will be back at school in 6 days, and I do not have the least bit of fear that I will gain weight because I know now that you can’t use a busy lifestyle as an excuse to live unhealthfully. College and work are important but your LIFE is more important. We all can make time for it, we just need to know that its not negotiable.
Oh, and as for the drinking? If you can stomach it, just do straight shots chased with diet cola. That’s what I always did.
The number of times I've heard this conversation at 2 am is baffling:
"Hey, you hungry?"
"No, not really."
"Want to order a pizza?"
"Yeah, sure."
Oh geez. That was me and my roommate all the time last year, it was awful. The pizza place nearby is open until 4am and you can't go into the lobby without smelling pizza from someone who just ordered. Argh. The temptation... ^_^ Being half-drunk at the time does not help matters AT ALL. Another reason I am not drinking at all this year while school is in! (I had a couple over New Years and Christmas, but not much and that was different. I mean I am not going out to the bar and then getting my food-inhibitions and common sense thrown out the window so I order pizza before bed anymore).
i live in the dorms and only have a microwave and mini fridge, but I've found that vegetable soup is my big kick right now. we have several options at school-- progresso, healthy choice, campbells, and maybe another and some are in cans but others are in bowls so all you have to do is remove the metal top and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes. it's great because it's low-cal, filling, has veggies in it, and some are even low sodium too. I'm also doing a lot of yogurt (it's really overpriced on campus though--over 2 dollars for 6 oz!) like the light and fit ones that are only 60 calories. Another thing i like to do is put some salsa on my veggies to add a little flavor. right now, i'm about to go mix some canned corn, peas, and fresh salsa for a little snack!
for exercising, i hate going to our campus gym plus it's freezing here and a very long walk to get there so i invested in a mini stepper for $40. i like it, but it is pretty challenging for me and i've only managed to do 10 minutes in a row so far, but it is a good workout. I also have a set of 5 pound free weights and a couple of workouts i do. some are from self magazine, some from a book called 6 minute morning, and others form toning for teens. I really like toning for teens but it's designed to be 20 minutes a day and you switch upper and lower body so that you can workout every day like monday 20 minutes for upper body, tuesday 20 minutes for lower body, and so on, but the closest time i've gotten it to was 30 minutes and i didn't do all the reps. i recommend it, but i have a hard time making myself lift weights so i usually don't do it like i should.
i live on campus, but my roommate transfered so i have the room to myself which means it's now or never! i know if i don't lose weight now, i'll be too busy or surrounded by people to do it. i'm still having a hard time committing to doing the work though :P
