<p>So how can I go about losing the 20 lbs I've managed to gain first semester through to the close of Christmas break?</p>
<p>I mean, the problem comes in with SOCIAL situations...how can I just say NO to people when they ask me to go out with them or order in pizza or something? I'd much prefer to eat my own prepared food anyway, even if it means looking stupid carrying around a lunchbox or whatever, but I can't just turn down all of these invitations! I've been doing it so far, and it's making me a bit miserable, to be honest. But all of my friends HAVE noticed the weight gain, and I feel like **** because of it. :( Help!</p>
<p>Ugh, wish it was a joke, but I should have cared a LOT more about my weight for first semester…I just completely went out of control in a very ridiculous manner. God dammit.</p>
<p>GTL it? For how long?! It may take the rest of these 4 months to lose all that weight, you know. Even if I just vanish for a month, and possibly lose 4-8 lbs of it, it might still all come back if I start hanging out with people or whatnot.</p>
<p>Just eat when you want to, and when people ask you to go somewhere, just say that you’re not that hungry but you’ll join them–don’t bring money if you need to force yourself to stick to it. If you need to be doing something while they’re eating, order a water.</p>
<p>My metabolism killed itself when I was 19. I was still living at home so it’s not like I had the excuse of cafeteria food or anything, I just grew out of being able to eat the way I did around then… as everyone promised would happen someday. You gotta fit in some workouts and reject an invitation or two, or agree to come along and order something else or just get a cup of coffee or something. It’s better to look silly with a lunchbox or to miss an outing or two than to be 20lbs heavier than you have to be!</p>
<p>Limit yourself to a small portion when you go out with your friends–1 slice of pizza, not more. Stay away from the beer and regular soda–lots of empty calories. Stay away from the starchy stuff in the dining halls like mac/cheese. Choose extra vegetables rather than pasta/rice sidedishes. If having a salad, choose a simple salad with a vinaigrette dressing and skip the creamy dressings, cheese toppings, and croutons. Have the burger without the roll and french fries. Choose grilled chicken over fried chicken. Choose nachos with salsa rather than nachos with the works (sour cream, cheese, guacamole, etc.). Stay away from the all-you-can-eat ice cream in the dining halls. Eat 1/2 of piece of cake rather than the whole thing. Make better choices in the vending machines regarding late night munchies–skip the candy bars and choose the bag of pretzels. Pretzels over chips and candy.</p>
<p>Walk as much as you can during the day. Maybe join an intramural team like coed volleyball or dodgeball. See if you can talk a friend into joining you at the fitness center on a regular basis. When the weather gets nice in the Spring, buy a frisbee, whiffle ball set, or soccer ball and have your friends join you outside for some exercise/fun.</p>
<ol>
<li> Better choices when ordering food<br></li>
<li> Eat appropriate portion size<br></li>
<li>Limit your beer and regular soda intake<br></li>
<li> Exercise–walk, walk, walk.</li>
<li> Set a goal and work towards reaching that goal.</li>
</ol>
<p>Start a detox fast for a few days: don’t eat any processed food; focus on fresh fruits and veg; avoid rice, bread and pasta at all costs. Go hungry if you have to. That usually gets me into the swing of a diet and it really makes you feel better, esp. since you’ll lose some water weight.</p>
<p>After that, avoid white flour and processed food as much as possible. In social situations, just say “I already ate” if people order pizza; at restaurants, only get a small salad or soup or appetizer. If you know you have plans to go out that night, limit your caloric intake during the day but don’t just pig out that evening.</p>
<p>Do an hour of intense cardio several times a week to burn fat/carbs. If your friends have noticed your weight gain, they should be supportive of your diet unless they’re really vindictive.</p>
<p>First, you need to cut out caffeine, soda and alcohol, not only is it bad for you it makes you REALLY bloated. Second, start utilizing your school’s resources. Does you school have a gym? A work out club? Join them! I usually work out 4 times a week for an hour or so. You don’t have to turn down your friends, just order something healthy off the menu or eat before you go out. Take a multi-vitamin; it will come in handy when you aren’t consuming caffeine. Late night snacks are hard to avoid, I try and eat a healthy option like pretzels as mentioned before, celery and carrots, granola bars and so on. I’m Italian, so it’s hard for me to give up my pasta, breads and cheese, instead of cutting it out completely I just don’t have it as often. You have to remember, you aren’t going to loose weight over night, and it takes time. And last thing, there is an app you can put on your ipod/iphone called loose it! And it really helps me. You can set a goal and track your progress everyday. I hope this helps :)</p>
<p>I gained a couple of pounds my first few months at college too. I go to a rural college, so there isn’t a lot of eating out, but I always went to meals with friends and ended up eating until I was way full (and late night munchies, weekend drinking, and a zillion tantalizing desserts everywhere didn’t help). In retrospect, I didn’t gain that much, but I went overboard in my attempts to correct it and I just sort of lost my mind obsessing over food and my weight. Not a fun time.</p>
<p>After going home for winter break, I’m doing a lot better. I’d say to take it easy on yourself. College takes some getting used to. And as mmeliss93 said, losing weight will take time, but you can do it. I think the most important things I’ve learned are </p>
<p>a) the difference between bored eating and actual hunger
b) the difference between satisfied and about to pop
c) finding lo-cal foods/ foods that take forever to prepare and eat so you can still go to meals and hang out with friends and not overdo it (I like to steam veggies from the salad bar in the microwave - broccoli, spinach, carrots, beans, etc. Also, try cutting up whole fruits for a fruit salad, or assembling a parfait with yogurt, granola, and some fruit)
d) Like icanread said, be careful with white flour products (cake, cookies, pasta, bread, sugary cereals, pizza).
e) eat breakfast!! It really helps keep my appetite under control (try oatmeal)
f) work out. It’s four years of free (or at least really cheap) gym facilities!</p>
<p>I actually lost about 15 pounds my first semester. Some things I did:</p>
<ol>
<li>Exercise. I actually didn’t use the gym since it was always crowded. Instead, I just had classes really far away and was fine walking anywhere I needed to go. If it’s a nice Saturday, why not walk across campus to study instead of staying in your room?</li>
<li>Dessert isn’t mandatory. Wait until you deserve it for acing a hard test.</li>
<li>Whatever fatty food your craving will come back. You don’t have to have it right now if you’re not hungry.</li>
<li>Being sick around exams is AWFUL. How to avoid it? Eat veggies.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li><p>Don’t drink too much alcohol, specifically beer and mixed drinks(ex. jack and coke). Theres a lot of calories in one drink, even if it’s a light beer since you’d drink more than six usually.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t eat past 10PM even if you have the munchies or late night hunger.</p></li>
<li><p>Eat healthier and if you need to, have one or two “unhealthy” foods a week since starving yourself from it won’t help at all.</p></li>
<li><p>Exercise. Exercise. Exercise. </p></li>
<li><p>Walk around campus and don’t be a bum by taking the bus unless it’s pouring like crazy or below 25 degrees.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Weightlift. It makes you stronger and gives you more muscle. More muscle means higher metabolism. Lifting in general increases your metabolism, and you can practically eat whatever you want. In fact, you get the privilege of eating more. </p>
<p>If you don’t want to run it, go to your gym, put the treadmill to 10-13% incline and about 4-4.5 mph. You’ll burn about 100 calories per 5-6 minutes.</p>
<p>It happens, and now you’re just aware and need to watch. I also gained weight my first semester, and to this day, my mother still reminds me about it! I think part of that is a survival mechanism: you eat when you see food, never exactly when you’ll eat next. Then, all that partying and alcohol really does add calories. Finally, it’s not your home cooking. </p>
<p>No need to take more food at the buffet cuz it’s there. Think about the meals you had at home and keep to those same proportions. (My mom must have been a terrible cook, because I LOVED the food at school!)</p>
<p>To put this in perspective, I weighed 118 lbs in the beginning of freshman year. 135 lbs (+18 lbs, +15%<–about) by that December. But now? I’m 122 lbs, and college was in the late 1970s.</p>
<p>Make the gym a daily priority, avoid sugars, don’t overeat (you can calculate maintainance calories if you want to be hardcore about it), don’t eat a bunch of food before you sleep, and try to include lots of lean meats and veggies in your diet. Try to drink water instead of soda, and if you absolutely have to have a soda, get a diet one.</p>
<p>Well, my problem IS overeating…even on healthy food, which I choose most of the time anyway–I actually think it tastes way better, to be truthful about it.</p>
<p>But I CAN’T stop stuffing myself to bursting, especially at buffets, but even alone in my dorm room! I guess my problem is that I eat too many refined carbs, right? Could that trigger these stuffing binges in me? I mean…I love bagels, english muffins, pretzels, rice cakes, and all of those starchy carbs! Gah. What can I do? Do I have to eliminate all starchy breads and things now?</p>
<p>Yep, yep. It really is all about portion sizes. I think I reason why I’m probably so skinny is that I can limit myself when I’m eating. I think I good rule of thumb is to stop eating when you feel about 70% full.</p>
<p>Why are you overeating…loneliness, anger, boredom, tapeworm?
Portion control, limited refined sugars and carbs, daily exercise-all common sense stuff.
You can socialize without pigging out, self control.
You appear to need to feel full before you stop eating-look up Volumetrics.
Good luck-permanent weight loss is not easy, yoyo dieting will only mess with your metabolism.</p>
God dammit.</p>