[Jelbb]

So... I'm having a really hard time keeping my calories low and still getting nutrient wealthy foods.
As made evident by my fitday (Oh god, I had ice cream sandwicheS today >.<) I'm not eating big meals, and that's been keeping my calories low... I'm so petrified to get big full meals whenever I go anywhere, because they always take up like 2/3 of my calorie intake for the day! It's ridiculous, and I'm becoming so calorie conscious... So instead of eating meals, I just snack all day long on rice cakes and eat what would normally be PART of a meal, like a cup-of-soup (lentils usually, yum).

And then tomorrow night I'm going out to the bar with some mates, and I don't need to get plastered by any means, but I wouldn't mind getting a little buzz... but I'm not cheap enough to get much of a buzz on a drink or two, and I know how calorie-rich alcohol is!

I'm going to get really super thin and also become anemic from not getting any iron and get scurvy from lack of vitamin C and a million other varied ISSUES!!! (Did you know that one bottle of OJ is like 200 calories? And they don't even have like.. fresh, sugar-free stuff in residence, because that would be CONVENIENT for me, lol.)

I hate living in residence!!

[SunshineRunner]

Okay - I just checked your fitday - and it looks like the things you are eating could be found with much fewer calories...I don't know your living situation - but an ice cream sandwich with 345 calories? There are tons of them out there with only 100 calories and they taste just as good. For your bagel and cream cheese....switch out the cream cheese for a laughing cow light cheese wedge (35 calories)...not quite cream cheese but hella good You can also save on your bagel by ordering (or if you can find them @ your grocer - mine just started carrying them - yay!) from westernbagel.com - they have low calorie, high fiber alternative bagels(110 calories, 7 gr. fiber, 0 fat grams.) - they aren't quite the bagels I was used to...but seriously? Who really needs that when they can get a low cal/high fiber version? I don't use fitday...but thedailyplate...so I can't really show you my food log - but you can read my blog to see how I get 1400 calories in/day...and I don't pick up a single rice cake.

Hope this helps!
~Amanda

[Jelbb]

Thanks Amanda! Sadly enough, the ice cream sandwiches was two of them. That was just a binge of mine today. *embarrassed*

The problem with bagels is that I need to cut them out, because I don't have a choice in what kind I buy.
I'm a university student, I don't really have REAL MONEY. I have a meal plan, which is a set amount of money on my student card that I swipe like a debit card at the cafeterias here on campus.
On-campus eating is the biggest cause of my weight gain. I have countless complaints, but.. they only have one kind of bagels, they very rarely serve any veggies but carrots and corn (the starchiest veggies) that've had the nutrients boiled out of them, and they tend towards breaded/cheese-covered meats. It's very frustrating not to be able to prepare your own food when you KNOW that all you want is green beans and a plain boneless skinless chicken breast... I've all but given up going down to the caf sometimes because I don't want to be tempted by the mashed/scalloped potatoes and fattening deep-fried junk.

[iconoclast]

Where do you go to school? That's a pain, for sure. When I was at school (UWO) there were always fresh salads and sandwiches and raw vegetables. (Of course, I was all skinny then, so I totally ignored it, as I didn't quite grasp that just because you CAN have ice cream every day doesn't mean you SHOULD have ice cream every day, lol.) Are there other residences at school that you can check out? Maybe their cafeterias have better stuff.

[bodyTOObootylicious]

I feel your pain Jess... actually my freshman year I LOST 10 pounds because the food in the cafeteria was so inedible and greasy and revolting to me that I just refused to eat it, and ate only what I could afford with cash (not much). Fortunately though my school built a mini supermarket that you can use your dining dollars (meal plan dollars) on... of course the selection there isn't AMAZING but anything is better than what they served before, and there is actually a decent selection of fruit and organic products.

Is there no supermarket or anything that will take meal plan? Also, are you paying for school/meal plan, or are your parents? Honestly, before the mini mart, I just called my mom and told her that the food was inedible and I would gain 20 pounds if I stuck to meal plan, would she consider giving me a small amount of money each month (as much as she would expect to spend on me if I lived home) that I promised to spend as economically as possible on groceries. Getting a job is not really an option for me at school (I do research lab that takes up 60% of the time that is not taken by classes/homework... although I do fit in a few babysitting gigs).

I felt bad about wasting the food plan money, so sometimes I got meals in a to-go bag and gave them to homeless people on the street (my school is in Baltimore so there's a problem with that there), or let my friends eat on my meal ticket. I realize I was wasting money but it would be an even bigger waste for me to get fat on food I didn't even want, and to me that was worth the money wasted.

[suitejudyblueeyes]

Originally Posted by iconoclast

Where do you go to school? That's a pain, for sure. When I was at school (UWO) there were always fresh salads and sandwiches and raw vegetables.

Oh it's so weird to talk to people who went to UWO. The residence dining halls really weren't that bad -- salad bars and fresh wrap-making and such. Then again, I wasn't trying to lose weight back then, though I inadvertently did anyway...

So you're sure you can't do anything off-campus with your meal card? At UWO we had a ton of places off campus that would accept the meal plan dollars, so you could have sushi or big salads or [greasy bar food] or...

Are you going to be living in rez after this semester? Next year, will you be moving off-campus? I don't have a whole lot of advice, but I do have a whole lotta sympathy. Sounds like you're doing the best you can with limited resources. It sucks. But you're doing really, really well with what you have, so keep your chin up!!

[BrandNewJen]

Can't give you too much help here... but even at my TINY catholic school, where we only had one cafeteria and one area where there were fast foods... there still were OCCASIONALLY good things to choose.

Breakfasts in the morning offered custom-made omelets (you can choose what you want in there) We ALWAYS had a salad bar with a variety of toppings (take the raw toppings and baggie them up and sneak them out for healthy snacks later!) If they don't have light dressings, buy a couple bottles and bring one with you when you go to eat (stash it in your purse or backpack... leave room for those bagged up veggies!)

The year I graduated they also made a panini and wrap station where you could get the healthier alternatives to the fried burger station. Also, there was ALWAYS at least 2 kinds of fresh fruit (apples, oranges, pears) and cereal (several different kinds) to choose from. They also had a "make your own sandwhich" area sometimes where you could choose from a couple types of bread and different cold cuts.

It might not be the best variety but you could certainly survive. If my POOR school could afford that, then I'm sure yours has more healthy choices than you lead on. My downfall was not making good choices in the first place, and then taking advantage of the "all you can eat" aspect of the cafeteria.

If they don't have healthy food all the time, when they DO sneak some into baggies and keep it in your dorm fridge (which you SHOULD get or invest in if you really want to lose weight)

[yesitsmeagain]

That must be a hard situation to be in. Can you get a mini fridge in your room and stock it with fruits and veggies? I hear ya on the juice thing...juice is just as evil as pop in my opinion! Much better to eat the actual fruit. Good luck!

Edit- ooh you had a booster juice! I love those. The regular size ones are a nice "meal" to have, and the small size are a great snack.

[shantroy]

iconoclast & suitejudy I think we've had the discussion before, but I went to UWO too! I have to say that saugeen's caf, had tons of inediable food, there was some healthy stuff, not that I ate it...but it was there. The make your own pasta night was my downfall, well that and the midnight snack bar...

Jelb I rented a mini bar fridge and started just buying fruit and yogurt and stuff like that. I avoid the caf as best I could. My girlfriend is an R.A. at laurier and she buys the glad steamer bags (awful for the enviornment, but necesary for her health and waistline!) and steams veggies a couple of nights a week. There's a microwave on her floor. I also think she's snuck in a george forman grill that she uses on occasion too. Basically, the girl lives off steamed veggies, fruit and yogurt.

Hopefully, you can figure something out. I know how hard it is to eat healthy in rez...

[violaholladay]

I know what you mean about one meal taking up the majority of the calories. It drives me crazy. I'm doing the same thing and snacking. It seems to be working, I started this diet 5 days ago and I've lost 5lbs *shrugs*

[zenor77]

I agree, I would check to see if your dining dollars can be used at local off campus locations. From what I've seen this is pretty common in college towns throughout the US. I'm not sure about Canada though.