Most of the year I am at uni, away from home, living in a flat with three guys and one other girl. My four flatmates are all thin - I am 'the fat one' *sigh*.
Despite this though, my flatmates aren't very healthy. They're all naturally very thin and eat pretty much whatever they want, and don't exercise. One of my flatmates survives almost completely on big bowls of plain pasta. Another orders a large pizza from Domino's every night.
In addition, the gym is a good 20 minute walk away and we live on the top floor of our building, so I can never ever be bothered to go to the gym. It's also a very, very busy gym, and I have in the past gone there only to stand waiting for a machine for half an hour and then giving up and going home.
But on the bright side, I live in Edinburgh, and Arthur's Seat and Salisbury Crags are close by, as is the Meadows, so walking/jogging is easy enough, and I'm also taking an exercise bike and/or a x-trainer into my flat when I move back next week, because my room's big enough to have a wee gym in it.
But how do those of you who are students manage to lose weight while dealing with the myriad setbacks student life is designed for. I'm talking about nights out -> alcohol -> pizza on the way home and being too stressed to work out and being poor so just buying chocolate instead of a proper dinner? I'd love to hear all your great secrets.
I have the same problem and I'm still trying to figure it out. Here are some things that I'm trying to do this semester to make it easier (and which helped me in the past, when i actually did them):
~Many pizza places now offer salads as well, so if you're ordering with your friends, you can get a salad instead. This takes a lot of willpower though.
~Definitely take advantage of your neighborhood for walking or running. Schedule time for exercise, just like you do for other things (I failed at this, but I'm blaming it on the weather getting bad). If you have time in the morning, do it then. That way you can't make excuses later.
~Finding someone to exercise with does help, but you need to be self-motivated in case they back out on you.
~Frozen vegetables and eggs saved my life. Much cheaper than meat or fresh veggies (Although I do love fresh fruit)
~Sometimes I made food ahead of time in large quantities and saved it for later, when I didn't have time to cook.
As for nights out...Some drinks have fewer calories. I skip the beer and the martini and get rum and diet coke, or wine instead. Maybe if you just had one or two, as well. Bring a healthy snack with you for when your friends get pizza on the way home (I like trail mix, which isn't exactly on my plan, but is still better than pizza).
These suggestions sound great, tinycrusader, thanks for your contribution, but seem a little too good to be true, and require the willpower of a saint! We're pretty bad for hosting big flat parties which equal a LOT of drunkenness -I just found out my favourite drink (Sailor Jerry rum) has 69 calories per shot - waaah!
Once I'm back to uni, I'm going to set my alarm for an hour earlier in the morning (because 11am is a little ridiculous!) and get 40 minutes exercise done, which then leaves time for a shower too.
My best friend and I always go for lunch one day a week, but this shouldn't be too much of a setback because I tend to do really well at restaurants, and tend to be more motivated and likely to succeed in a restaurant situation.
Loosing weight at university is hard. I gained a LOT when I first started.
If the gym is a 20 min walk - the screw the gym. run/walk to the gym and back - WALA a work out. Sounds like you're around a lot of hard food - that is a really tough situation, can you tell your flatmates that you'er trying to lose weight, and that they shouldn't let you eat any of their crappy food hehe.
I suggest getting some good work out DVD's the 30 Day Shred is all the rage on the forums right now - it's a kick *** work out - and guess what, it actually works!
Buy everything possible in single serving sizes, and frozen is always good! Prepare foods ahead of time, that helps too.
You say you live on the top floor? Always take the stairs - in fact, RUN UP THEM, and even, take them 2 at a time. little things like this... will make a difference if you keep them up. Change your life style!
As for drinking.... I think a lot of us struggle... 20 somethings trying to lose weight while keeping a social life. It's hard. But - I say it's still important to have fun! I drink diet vodkas (someone told me it's called a skinny b!tch!). Also when you're going to drink that night, compensate with a very light dinner. And if you're prone to dunk munchies - set out healthy snacks ahead of time, cut up and apple and have it ready in the fridge next to a huge glass of water that says EAT ME! hehe. I love that good luck!
I really want to try these Jillian Michaels DVDs - I love the Biggest Loser, but I had a look and they're all Region 1, and I have a Region 2 DVD player. But I do have lots of workout DVDs and when I enjoy them I really enjoy them.
And those stairs - my God they are tough stairs! They're like double normal height and curve round, and even the fittest skinniest people are out of breath by climbing them. But yeah running up them three or four times a day does some good!
I currently attend Junior College at night, work full-time during the day and live in an apartment with my boyfriend, who does the exact same thing. Money is tight, as is time, so some of my favorite time and money savers are:
- The 30 Day Shred (as previously mentioned, it's amazing!)
- Milk, Eggs, Bread (keep in mind the necessities, at least in the US, are government supplemented industries to keep cost down for the consumers)
- Frozen Chicken Breasts, Marinades, Brown Rice, Frozen Veggies; you can make tons of healthy meals with these three things
- Low impact treats such as fat-free pudding, graham crackers, jell-o keep me from feeling deprived when I am around others who are indulging
I stay away from alcohol all together as well as sodas just because they are so freaking bad for your body and there's no way that I can personally justify consuming them.
Losing Weight At Uni
hehe.
