College Kids: Tired of the whole thing?

Hi guys!

I'm a sophomore in college, and I try really hard to maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Sure, I like to go out and drink on the weekends, but sometimes I feel like I'd rather not.  I know alcohol isn't good for my body (especially in large amounts) but if I don't go out, my friends give me a hard time.  Sorry for the rant, but does anyone else struggle with this?

:)

hey there :)

i'm a freshman and actually started college only 1 week ago..i have the same issue here but not just about the alcohol it's about the food too =/ none of my friends diet so when they hang out it's so normal to see alot of fries and soft drinks etc.. and me just having anything ''healthy'' is just like O.O to them and they always tell me it's okay to eat what they eat just to share the fun..problem is, not just i'm having this problem with my friends, but also my sis and my bf =/ i always feel weird around them when it comes to food... it's not like i'm starving myself but u know what i mean :( junk junk food!

so yea, most of the time i save the trouble and prefer not to hang out but that makes me down even more coz i cant have fun with them and i feel like not only i'm not seeing much results but also i'm not having any fun with the people i love..

p.s: my friends are all either taller than me or much skinnier so yea.. it sucks -.-

but whatever, i know that even though they r looking good they r not eating well..

hope things get better soon for you too :)

peace <3

You don't have to be in college to be put under pressure to drink alcohol!   Happens whenever you're in the company of morons... any age.

I used to find that slimline tonic water was an excellent choice... Slice of lemon, some chunks of ice - looks just like gin or vodka to the untrained eye.   Another tip.... drink really, really slowly.   People won't pester you if they can see you've got a drink in your hand but an empty glass is like a red rag to a bull.

Last resort options.... a) you're on antibiotics, b) you're muslim, c) you're methodist, d) you're a recovering alcoholic....  Or just tell them you're teetotal and watch their eyes glaze over as they try to remember what that means exactly.

Go out and enjoy yourself.  Be yourself.  If people really are 'friends' they won't care whether you drink or not.

Thanks guys! It's good to know I'm not alone.

 noriita, I can definitely agree with you on the food thing as well.  I don't understand how choosing not to gorge my face with pizza and nachos makes my friends mad?  I love being healthy, and I know that eating that sort of food ALL the time doesn't make my body feel good. 

And gi-jane, the tonic water sounds like an excellent idea!  you are totally right..as long as you look like you're drinking, nobody will give you a hard time!

Original Post by gi-jane:

Last resort options.... a) you're on antibiotics, b) you're muslim, c) you're methodist, d) you're a recovering alcoholic....  Or just tell them you're teetotal and watch their eyes glaze over as they try to remember what that means exactly.

LOL! Or use all 5 at the same time. Antibiotics are always a good excuse.

I've just started uni but I've had this problem for aaaages! Pretty much none of my friends or my bf are students they just like to get hammered of a weekend! It is hard to say no, whether it's for weight or financial reasons. I totally lack self control! Also, it's a lot more fun being around drunk people if you are also drunk :-/

Also can relate to the food thing. I generally just say "I just ate" "I feel ill" "I'm allergic" etc to get round it. Doesn't matter who you are it is NOT socially acceptable to mention diet or watching your weight. Even if you say you just like eating healthily you'll get "But you can afford to eat this" "You don't need to lose weight" etc etc. It's as though people think you're looking down on them because YOU like to eat healthily.

Gah, sorry, ranted a bit there!

Original Post by misscherryjane:

 Also, it's a lot more fun being around drunk people if you are also drunk :-/

Now that's a particularly important and often unappreciated point.  Not drinking does unfortunately mean that you discover what absolute cretins some of your friends are when they're drunk...   It's almost enough to drive you to drink.

i'm in my third year of university,  and i tend to go out with my friends atleast once a week. sometimes i drink, sometimes i dont (i also work weekends).  though, if your friends are giving you a problem about not wanting to drink you may need to have a chat with them.  my friends dont care, and if i really dont want to drink at all (i usually only have a few anything, mixed with dancing as to not completely kill my calories) i just am the one who drives that night.   

if you find you need exscuses not to drink,  just tell them that you have to get up the next morning,  you arn't feeling great and dont want to make it worse, or my favorite (especially for students who tend to be chronically poor)  I dont have the money to drink!  

theres nothing wrong with having a drink once in a while, but if people are pressuring you into it then maybe their the ones who should be examining their lifestyle.  over all just do whats best for you :)

Aside from drinking too much [which I don't do! lol] I hate that I never have time to eat! Even if I were the kinda girl who'd settle for a basket of fries instead of something healthier, I don't even have time for that.. Besides weekends, I'm always either in class, at work, or studying! I get outta class at 2 and work at 330, so I have a little bit of time to grab something to eat, but I usually never have time to finish /: I get off work at 9 and by then all I wanna do is go home and sleep even though I'm starving.. aahh! So my eating schedule's all screwed up. Even so, I feel like most of my paycheck goes to food! boo. I also never have time to work out, but running to and from classes and work kinda takes care of that I think :p

I'm a Junior and don't ever get drunk, but I sip drinks a little (usually only finish 1 drink if I go out) and it keeps people satisfied! Everyone else is usually too drunk to realize that I'm not drunk and if they see a drink in my hand, they just assume I'm drinking and it's no problem. Also, now that you're a sophomore, most of your friends will probably start exercising and eating a little healthier when they realize they've gained weight and their body shape has changed! I know a ton of my friends started working out once they hit sophomore year because the fun and excitement of something new (college) was gone, and they started realizing that they maybe weigh the same, but had gotten different, yucky shaped bodies from all of the drinking and bad food!

Just stick with it, later your friends will admire that you're stubborn and stick to your goals/plans and they will probably be joining in soon!

It's a relief to find other college students going through this!

For me, it's not the alcohol as much because I'm a lightweight (thankfully), so I really only need 2 drinks to put me at a good tipsy/bordering more. I also don't drink every night like a lot of students - maybe 1-2x a weekend? I can't do Wednesday Bar Night or other random nights like that.

However, in regards to food, how do you guys eat healthily while on a meal plan? That's my big problem. My dining hall has good food, mostly healthy, and I've been making good salads with grilled chicken, or getting a chicken & veggie stir fry. It's all good but I'm trying to branch out and find other options so I don't slip into the burrito line or the grilled cheese/pizza area.

I just graduated college, and I felt the same way the whole time I was at school!

But, honestly, the 'resentment' attitude friends have to less drinking/healtheir eating tends to be a bit of admiration, if you maintain a healthy and positive attitude about the situation, I think. After a while, my shocked looking friends began asking for advice. :)

I also felt like I ate a lot of grilled chicken, 24 hour subway, cloudier beers (less refined so SLIGHTLY more healthy), whole grains...

 I don't know why you'd have to make up excuses, just be honest! People respect that!

I'm a Master's student and still having this problem. I've found the easiest way to avoid the junkfood problem is to say greasy foods make me feel sick or break out, and people seem to let it go. Alcohol, on the other hand, is a problem I haven't solved yet.

Party secret:

Drink gin and tonic. "tonic down" the gin before-hand, so like add tonic to the gin so it's like half-and-half (or less), so when you mix your drinks later you are getting less than half the gin people think you have. you can also simply skip the gin altogether, and just have tonic, but seeing as gin has a distinctive smell, you may be caught be the half-sober people.

I think a lot of people in college have this same problem.  I think the hardest thing to do is to not drink just because I used to go out and party like every night.  My friends envy my healthy eating and it just seems encouraging :) The easiest thing to avoid drinking is to just occupy your time with healthy hobbies.  Working early on the weekends is easy in college towns where everyone wants weekends off.

I am glad to see that other people have these same problems though!

Original Post by noriita:

hey there :)

i'm a freshman and actually started college only 1 week ago..i have the same issue here but not just about the alcohol it's about the food too =/ none of my friends diet so when they hang out it's so normal to see alot of fries and soft drinks etc.. and me just having anything ''healthy'' is just like O.O to them and they always tell me it's okay to eat what they eat just to share the fun..problem is, not just i'm having this problem with my friends, but also my sis and my bf =/ i always feel weird around them when it comes to food... it's not like i'm starving myself but u know what i mean :( junk junk food!

so yea, most of the time i save the trouble and prefer not to hang out but that makes me down even more coz i cant have fun with them and i feel like not only i'm not seeing much results but also i'm not having any fun with the people i love..

p.s: my friends are all either taller than me or much skinnier so yea.. it sucks -.-

but whatever, i know that even though they r looking good they r not eating well..

hope things get better soon for you too :)

peace <3

THIS IS EXACTLY THE SAME AS ME hahaha.

i dont drink much alcohol because of the beer belly fear. I'm amazed at all these tiny little freakin things that down gallons of booze and are still sticks. but w/e it'll catch up to them later

I feel the same way.  Like, it's not so much I'm worried about ruining my diet by drinking every weekend, it's just kind of hard on the body/mind after awhile.  And even though I seem to be lucky in that the people I generally hang out with don't care whether you're drinking or not, like another poster mentioned, being around drunk people is kind of one of those "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em." things.

Have you tried discussing this with your friends?  I was feeling really fed up after one particularly brutal (but fun at the time...) weekend, and mentioned it to my friend, and she said she'd been feeling the same!  I think a lot of people feel the same way, but are afraid of being being thought of as lame/boring, so they keep it to themselves.