Any college girls?
 

Hi guys!
So I posted over the summer, but fell off the diet train when I went back to school. Unfortunately I gained back a few pounds (boo) but nothing too bad since I have been keeping up with my excercise. A good friend came back from break 30 lbs lighter, and has really inspired me to change my eating habits. I was wondering if anyone had any advice for staying OP at school when you don't really have control over the food being made, and are staying up waaay late to get work done. I am tired of being disatisfied with how I look and feel...I have already lost about 25 pounds, and I want to lose another 25 to be at a good weight for my height! Please help!!

Welcome back miss michelle - I remember you! I'm sorry to hear that you've been having a hard time being op when at school. I live off campus so being in school always makes it easier for me to be op because I have to bring my own breakfast and lunch and sometimes even dinner with me, making it harder for me to stray. Also, I use the gym at school and take a pe class.
As for you, I can't imagine that the cafeteria doesn't offer any healthy options. What do you usually eat there? I imagine that it could be very difficult to choose a salad when the mac and cheese looks so much better... Also, schedule in workout schedules just like you would a class or a meeting. Take advantage of all the opportunities a college campus can offer and find out about your school's physical programs.

I know how hard it can be to stay on plan at college/uni.. and not all cafeterias are created equal! The one in the engineering school where I studied specialised in cheap, fatty MENS meals... to go to the healthier cafe would be a 10 min walk and up to $10 more per meal... when you are low on funds and time, this wasn't really an option.. my only advice would be to pack lunches/meals, have a good store of things like rasins, trail mix, dried apricots etc on hand for working late and try not to drink too much coffee.. i don't touch the stuff myself, but had a similar issue with coca cola.. water is actually much better for you and will keep you just as awake, without the sugar/caffeine crash an hour after you finish drinking it. I also found that listening to good cd's whilst I worked on assignments stopped me from getting bored and consequently hungry. Unfortunately i only worked most of this out in my last 6 months of school...

good luck with the studies!

Hey Miss Michelle! I'm new around here and a somewhat recent college graduate so I thought I'd put my 2 cents in. :)

At my school (as at all schools), there were lots of temptations and it was very difficult to maintain a healthy lifestyle. On the other hand, there were lots of resources at my disposal to help in that endeavor. Take advantage of free fitness facilities and free/discounted group fitness classes. Our campus fitness center was free to students and you could join aerobics for $30 a semester, which is really cheap. Your school probably has a nutritionist that can work with you as well. I wish I would have taken advantage of that when I was a student.

As for food choices, that is the tough part - particularly if you live in campus housing. The thing that helped me most was getting into a routine. Schedule and plan each day's meals. I know it sounds silly but if you have a specific plan going in, it's a lot easier to avoid failure. I'm sure your cafeteria has fruit - maybe at dinner in the evenings, you could get some extra fruit for breakfast the next morning. That way you don't have to leave your room in the morning to be tempted at breakfast. That's just one example but you get the idea.

As for snacks, stick to fresh fruit and vegetables, broth based soups, hot tea sweetened with artificial sweeteners, no sugar added hot chocolate, no sugar added popsicles, and other low calorie choices instead of ordering pizza or grabbing that bag of chips. This stuff is relatively inexpensive and it can really fill you up. Those are the things I snack on. :)

I am personally motivated by other people. Everyone's different, but for me there's no motivation quite like seeing all the tiny college girls prancing around in the gym. It makes me want to work that much harder. If the same is true for you, try visiting the gym when there are lots of people there. If you prefer a slower time, try early mornings. It's hard to get up at first but once you get used to it, it's nice to get your workout over with. I've used both strategies, depending on how I feel. :)

I hope this helps. I know it's tough to stay on track in college. Not to discourage you, but it doesn't get much better once you get out. Your metabolism will slow down and life will get busier (believe it or not)! Take advantage of the opportunities you have now - I wish I would have done more.

Good luck!
Jocelyn :)

P.S. I like your Christmas Countdown Crew signature jenicra! I'm going to add it to mine!

These ladies have some great advice - I never lived in a dorm, so I'm not that familiar with campus's food offerings!

Hmmm, well I live on campus, but I'm from Australia. My Hall or residence is non-catered which means I have to make all my own meals myself. Some of the other Halls are fully or part catered and I have no idea what they get fed...but i love to cook so going somewhere like that never even crossed my mind.

I love living in a non-catered Hall! It made it a lot easier for me when I was trying to lose weight and now i am maintaining. We have one HUGE communal cooking area that has about 20 kitchenette bays between about 500 residents. 6pm-8pm in the evenings is certainly a social event!

Anyway, I also have a small bar fridge in my room and keep on hand in there things like yoghurt, fruit, things to make up salads, tins of tuna or beans etc. All healthy things, i never bought any junk. I would make my own biscuits and muffins and things though. Probably the only thing I had to be careful of was the amount of drinking and associated early morning chips'n'gravy attacks :P

All i can suggest is join the gym and/or go walking or jogging around your campus. I did both of those and because I have no car i have to walk everywhere (or take the bus, but i didnt do that much...rather go walking!).

Livi

Thanks for all the great advice! I usually can do my workouts ok since I tend to enjoy them..eating right is really the problem for me. I overeat when I am stressed and eat too many carbs during the day that leave me feeling yucky. I will try taking some healthy snacks with me all the time to resist the treats at the coffee house ;) I hope everyone is having a great night!

Try the Balance Gold Caramel Nut Blast bars. They're really good and you can get them around 99 cents apiece at Wal-Mart. Those are great to throw in your backpack for really busy days - they're full of vitamins and they don't have as much sugar as some of the other bars.

I subscribe to a daily email newsletter called Hungry Girl - you should check it out. It's very informative and has lots of suggestions for new healthier food options. The author swears by Vitamuffins and there was a feature today on Nana's Cookies. I haven't tried either of them but they both look good.

You can do it!
Jocelyn :)

howdy all i'm off to uni next september over hear in the catered halls there is a fairly good range of grub but if you are weak willed you'll always choose the greasey stuff lol. i'm going self catered cos i can save money on the food and 2 there is no way on earth that i'll be up to eat at 8am lol there is no flexibility in the eating times.
do you get involved with any clubs at school? martial arts for example or outdoor adventure? i'm a keen martial artist most places do classes for all ages and are great social events that provide alot of people assistance with weightloss i lost 90lb at a thai kickboxing club

hi miss michelle, when i was in college (wow has it really been a year and a half since i graduated?) we didn't really have very good food in the cafe. i always relied on really basic things - salad, sandwiches. i also always tried to not eat late at night.

but i wanted to just comment on something - try really hard to keep your self image in check while you're at school. i always had a hard time being around tons of skinny, girls, many of which are my best friends, many of which would whine about being "fat." at one point my best friend lost a lot of weight and i felt like i was in competition with her all of a sudden. i was always amazed of how much better i felt about myself when i was home vs when i was at school. of course, im not saying that these things will happen to you, but you've lost a lot of weight and should be really proud of yourself.

you can do it!!

great advice Tanny...

Miss Michelle, another great snack/study food....Popcorn!

I'm w/ you on the school thing, nothing like stress to ignite the munchies. I feel ya, I work full time and attend school....I have finals in the next few days...you can do it lots of us have been there. Just modify your eating, when you catch yourself eating wrongly, stop yourself. It's baby steps, they all add up eventually.

Megan, I know how you feel - I graduated almost 4 years ago!!! My advice is probably a little dated. :)

To your skinny "fat" girl comment, I agree to a point. I probably won't be popular for saying this, but be careful when you feel tempted to make comments to those girls (i.e. "you're so thin, why do you think you're fat", etc). Some of them are admittedly annoying but remember that they may have problems you don't know about. Just silently roll your eyes when they talk about being "fat" and move on.

Believe it or not, naturally thin people with a negative body image hurt as badly inside as anyone else. Remember that those last 10 pounds are the hardest to lose. It's especially frustrating when that's all you have to lose. The weight comes off very slowly... There are many days that I sit here and cry because it seems hopeless. I normally don't like to post my weight on sites like this because I feel like people don't take me seriously.

I hope you're not offended in any way - this isn't directed toward anyone in a negative way. I just thought I'd mention that! :)

Hope everyone met their goal today!
Jocelyn :)

its amusing how the different ends of the spectrum both look at each other and there points of success. fat people see thing people moaning that they are fat as self obssive and shallow where as thin people see fat people as lazy overeaters. yet in the end we are all inside suffering from poor self image and insecurities with ourselves which is why we are dieting and feel the need to form and oppinionated view of others.

i admit having lost 80+ pounds and with still about 25ish to go that yes i feel fat and just as bad as i did at 322 but when i see someone of the size i was i form the oppion that there fat lazy slobs because i was at that weight which is why i was that weight. and on the flip side i see people who are slim and look great complaining there fat. im' in the middle and get it both ways big people say i look really good but slim people call me fat which is rather amusing really

Thanks for all the fantastic advice! I am trying really hard to have a positive body image...sometimes I forget how much weight I lost and how far I've come...on the pressure from friends thing...i have two friends who have lost about 25 lbs since the beginning of the summer with diet and excercie (one is doing weight watchers)...it has been frustrating for me b/c I have been telling myself they have more time for dieting...they take fewer classes, dont have jobs, dont have a boyfriend (he takes time though i love him!) ...but i need to realize these are just excuses i am making to keep myself from really making a commitment. i feel so much better when i eat right! thanks for the advice everyone!

miss michelle - I have the same problem with excuses. It doesn't stop when you graduate, unfortunately. I travel for my job and use that as an excuse quite often. My husband works as a graduate assistant for a college sports program and most of the coaches wives are tiny. I always say "if I had all day to work out and money to have routine liposuction, I'd be that small too".

The important thing is that we realize that this is a bad behavior and that we want to change! You have made some excellent progress so far - let's stop the excuses and get to work! :)

Jocelyn :)