Where I'm at...
 

Hey guys,
I'm back! Of course I'm feeling even more confused than usual, as always the case when I come back here. I always told myself that once I moved away to college everything would get better - I would be completely on my own, making every decision completely on my own, and I would eat better, exercise more, and just all of a sudden make perfect decisions. Well, that was really dumb. I never calculated in the fact that dorm food is not particularly healthy or that I would fall into the usual lazy trap that leads to the freshman 15.
I'm heavier than ever (I hit 200lbs. Ugh.) and I'm starting to get really out of shape. I was overweight throughout high school but I was also a varsity athlete. I struggled to keep up, but still five hours of practice a week certainly helped me keep from gaining more weight. I'm trying to exercise more, I'm trying to keep playing Lacrosse now that I'm in college, but my school is only starting a team this year & its a spring sport so there isn't much happening so far. So, I have to take the responsibility to do it myself instead of relying on my coach to push me. That kind of sucks.
I know that more than anything its the mental aspect of this holding me back. I've lost weight before, I've kept myself on a healthy eating plan, I've just been able to do this, its just so hard to start, and then not stop. Especially not stop.
I don't know why I'm not fixing it, I just don't know what is wrong with my self-respect to do this to myself. I'm pretty freaking happy and I got over my self-esteem issues years ago, I just haven't gotten rid of one of the causes of those issues - my weight. So, I need to make some changes.

I know there are ways to eat healthy food at the caf. It'll force me to step out of my comfort zone and eat some of the sketchy-looking things that are probably the most healthy. I've been eating way too much pasta and soup since it looks the most legit, but its all really fatty, calorie-heavy stuff so I need to eat some more natural, less calorie crazy foods. It'll be an experience.

I'll have to finish this later, we'll see how dinner goes.

Been there with the dorm food. I'd had the same thought that once I went away to college, I'd be able to make my own (easy and healthy) food choices and the weight would come off. Dorm food is not conducive to losing weight, let me tell you. Not only that, but you don't know the calories in them (I'm a calorie counter now). It didn't work well.

Eat lots of stuff like salads, veggies (with very limited dip), fresh fruits, plain grilled fish and chicken if they'll do it. I loved when they had pita and hummus - it was a treat!

It's hard because everything is processed and seasoned and has like a ton more calories than it would if you were able to cook it yourself. This problem got much easier when I moved into an apartment. Now I can keep unhealthy foods to a minimum and I'm not around it so much. I also have no money to eat out most times, to that's a help (in a way, lol!).

It is possible. You just have to keep extra vigilant. The food is tasty (well, kinda), easy to get and just as cheap as the healthy stuff, generally.

Good luck!

Those are good points for sure. I just need to stop acting like I can eat whatever I want. I obviously want more than I should have, no duh, so I need to just continually slap myself when I reach for stuff until it sets in.

At dinner tonight I ate a lot better. I had a wrap with ham & cheese. Unfortunately the sandwich line people don't understand the meaning of 'a little' mayonaisse and they slathered it. So that wasn't as good as I'd hoped (I was too lazy to unwrap it and fix it, not going to lie, I will next time) but I had that, a caesar salad with minimal dressing, and a kid-sized ice cream cone. So, an improvement. If I eat like that every meal and don't snack in between it will be an improvement. I'm going to try not to stress myself out with calorie counting, I can't do that forever, I know from past experience. The most crucial thing to me succeeding is maintaining awareness and a good mindset until everything becomes a habit.

My goals:
- be aware of choices at every meal and if making poor choices at least make them consciously with an understanding of the consequences
- gradually build up exercising until I am back to running 2 miles (I've slipped down to 1 over the summer, which is frustrating, but I'll get it back pretty quickly if I just start working on it again)
- gym at least 4 times a week
- stay motivated

We'll see how it works out!

I would do whatever works for you and that you can stick to. That's the only way to really make a change.

Good luck! :)