College Students Out There?-- Anyone with similar stats?
I find it tough sometimes to be doing this on my own, especially because I'm in shape from exercising and I'm not overweight. However, in coming to college, I was the perfect candidate for the FRESHMAN 15.
Not only did I gain the 15, from all-you-can-eat dining halls, late-night pizza, constant snacking, and of course BEER, but I gained 20 pounds that first year. In my second year of college, the trend continued and I gained another 5 pounds.
Now, as my second year is concluding, I'd love to take off the awful pounds I've gained in college and help to keep it off in my remaining years as an undergrad!
If any other college student has experienced this horrible fate, with similar stats to mine, I'd love to keep each other updated as weight loss partners.
Feel free to message me anytime!
5'3 very small build
starting weight (before college): 110
after ONE year of college: 130
(lost about 5 over summer & of course gained it back)
CURRENT WEIGHT: 130
GOAL WEIGHT: 115
Hey! I'm pretty similar... 5'4" and finishing up my second year at school (just finals week to go!! eek!). However, thanks to an eating disorder that I'm getting over, I manage to lose about 8lbs each year (and gain it back over the summer at home, haha). Anyway, I'm about 110lbs usually (108-112, i'm all over the place, it's so annoying), so there ya go!
Anyway, I know that feeling of trying to be healthy with all those college, er, influences. I'll definatley add you as a friend! We can totally rock the healthy college kid thing! :)
Hi, I know how you feel! College can be so exciting and you are so engrossed in just plain life it's hard to watch everything you eat because you're too busy loving life! From your picture I think you're gorgeous and I know from personal experience how much 20 pounds can feel like. Just stay positive. It's good to get a handle on it before you get too much older and have other issues interfering with your weight, but make sure you spend a lot of time loving yourself too :) I am 5'2 and 173 right now with a medium hourlgass build so you can well imagine how I look, lol. I am 22. I definitely wouldnt say I'm small build but smaller than most. I feel like if I was all I could be, I'd be about Jessica Simpson's body size; not small like Nicole Ritchie lol, but somewhere just above it, if that helps explain my build type. At our height everything really shows! But, on the same hand, it makes it easy to feel petite even at bigger weights :) Keep in touch!
I, too, gained the "Freshman 15-20"; however, that was like 3 years ago and I still haven't lost it :( I'm 5'3, currently 122, but would love to be in the 110-115 range again! Ten pounds doesn't sound like a lot to lose, but in a way it's more difficult because there's less room for error.
I could also use some motivation.
Yes, I definitely find it so difficult to lose weight in this range. I know I can easily drop the 5lbs to get to 125 (because my weight fluctuates TERRIBLY with water weight and such). But its those 10-15 lbs I feel are the most difficult. I think its mostly because we are not overweight.. and it can be discouraging that the weight doesn't shed quickly or easily (as it may for those who have a lot of weight to lose).
How often do you guys exercise? I work out regularly (about 3-4 times a week) since I started college with occasionally long-period breaks (of 2-4 weeks break). But generally, I'm in great cardiovasular shape and do the same sort of routine when I work out (running for 30-40min and sometimes some weight training). How about you? Do you often switch up your routines? I've been wondering if switching up routines would help to speed the weight loss process.
How about your calorie intake and calories burned a day? Personally, I try to eat 1400 a day, but on days I work out it tends to go over 200-300 cals easily. And of course, I can't even mention how much it goes over on nights I go out. With drinking and late-night snacking... it's embarassing to log the next morning and see just how much I consumed... I'm trying to get better with that of course...
Do you have set date or time period for when you would like to accomplish your goal? Ideally, I'm hoping to be down to 115 by the end of the summer. But, considering I don't know how quickly this weight will come off... I'm not exactly sure what would be realistic.
Any favorite snacks?? :)
I actually lost 15 lbs during my freshman year to 115 at 5'2". I guess it was because of all the different types of sandwiches I could make at the dining hall, at such low calories haha. Basically I work out about 3-4 times a week burning about 350 cals each time, and for 3 months, and ate at 1300 cals daily. The only downside is that I lost my period =[ So be careful of getting too few grams of fat!
Favorite snack is a half cup or so of cereal or a piece of fruit, usually an apple. I find that if I drink the recommended 8 glasses of water a day, though, it really helps me stay full and keeps me from snacking too much.
Ugh, seriously, why does weight jump around so much! On Saturday, I weighed 106.4lbs, and yesterday I was 110.2lbs! (scale at the gym...i dont really trust mine, it does weird things. plus, it said 113.6 last night before bed AND this morning when I got up, grrr so i try to ignore it)... granted, the saturday weight was directly after running 11 miles, and then I started my period of few days ago so HOPEFULLY that's the reason, but MAN! It's FRUSTRATING, you know???
Anyway, to answer your questions...
Exercise: usually 5 times a week. I'm training for a half marathon, so 2 of the days are 5 mile runs, 1 day is just the elliptical, 1 day is 3 mile run/30 min elliptical, and 1 days is my "long run." Of course, I got screwed over and my foot is hurt, AND it's finals week next week, so instead of running 12 miles, I'm taking the day off. And sort of freaking out. But, there ya go. I have a heart rate monitor (which is AWESOME! Because of our height, those machines are wayyyyy off as far as calories burned, I've found!) and all my workouts (except the long run, obviously) burn about 400 calories. I also started doing pushups and crunches about 4.5 months ago, and can now do 45 REAL pushups... It's so exciting. I used to have the weakest, grossest arms EVER. Now, if nothing else, I feel better about them, althouh you can't really SEE any muscle. ;)
Calories: Like I said, I'm getting over ED-NOS, so I'm trying to be OK eating at maintence. On non-workout days, that's liek 1580 or something like that, I think. When I workout, I burn about 1930ish (depending on the day, sometimes more)... This past week I've been eating just about the same as I burn each day, but my weight is going up like crazy (4 lbs in 5 days is not cool!) so I'm sort of unsure if that's smart. But yeah. Otherwise, I aim for a couple hundred under maintenence. Usually that keeps me much more stable, weight-wise. :)
Goal: My goal is to be happy with my weight. And STAY where I am. Especially this summer! I don't want to gain almost 10lbs again, like last summer... so I guess that's my goal!
Snacks: I AM A SNACKER. I have a big breakfast and dinner, but everything else is snack snack snack. Every hour-2 hours, probably! Cereal, fruit... I basically don't eat at the dining centers, so I make up my own weird foods, haha. I'm also OBSESSED with oatmeal... it's so amazing!!! And you can do soooo much with it!
I was an 3-season athlete in high school... volleyball, basketball and track. I ate massive amounts of food every day (probably around 3,000 calories) and I managed to remain 5'4" and 115 pounds most of the time. Sadly to say, after graduation, a sedentary lifestyle took over and I ended up gaining a lot of weight and losing most of my muscle. At my heaviest, I weighed about 155 pounds.
I've been slowly working off (and regaining) those pounds since then. With spans of healthy eating and exercise along with spans of crash and yo-yo dieting, I stabilized around 135 lb at the end of last summer and felt incredibly depressed looking at myself in the mirror each day. I do not carry weight well, especially because it adds a lot of bulk to my face and neck... it took me about 4 months to finally snap out of it, change my eating habits and attempt to lead a healthier lifestyle.
It's so hard in college! Especially in college towns! I go to UCLA and I live right in the Westwood Village... amazing food is everywhere! I can smell In-N-Out from my freaking apartment!
Well, anyways, around February I began eating more whole foods, cutting out junk food, and filling up with fresh veggies and fruits. It's hard counting calories sometimes because I do like to prepare and order Asian foods... blah. But even though Korean food is low-calorie, I gave up eating it on a daily basis because most of it is high-sodium. Not to mention all the white rice.
So after changing my diet and getting back to a stable exercise routine... these are my stats
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 123
Measurements:
Bust: 34 D
Waist: 26"
Hips: 36"
Goal Weight: 115lb by June 10th (though now, realistically, I hope to reach this goal by July 1st)
THESE LAST 10ish POUNDS ARE SO HARD TO LOSE!!!!!!!!! GRAHHHHH!
How often do you guys exercise?
I started off doing 30-45 minutes of intense cardio (nearly max heart rate) a day and 40 minutes of stability ball training.... but after about 3 weeks of that I realized that it was a struggle just to get my feet moving on the bike. My muscles must have been so tired. I cut back to 4-5 workouts a week, and if I'm too tired to do both parts of my workout, I just do one. Or I take an hour-long brisk walk. I'm thinking about rejoining my gym because I'm SOOOOOOOO bored of my workout and I have no motivation anymore.
How about your calorie intake and calories burned a day? I eat around 1200 to 1400 calories a day. I chose all whole foods and fill up with veggies and fruit during the day so I actually eat about 5 pounds of food a day. My estimated calorie burnage is around 2100 calories.
Do you have set date or time period for when you would like to accomplish your goal?
I'd ideally like to be 112-115 by July... but I'm thinking about just going by how I look in a bikini and my pants size. I fit into a brand-new pair of size 25 Joe's pencil-skinny jeans right now but they're tight. I'd like them to sit comfortably on my hips and not cause that .5 inch muffin top.
Yayyyy it's nice to find people in the same situation as me!
Wow...um, yes. yes yes yes. I'm 5'1 and currently trying to get in shape for grad school in the fall.
Wow, the weight I put on in college refuses to leave. Freshman year I was on our college rowing team, and, although I wasn't the smallest, I was still around 150 with good muscle from lots of high school sports. Eventually the team was too time-consuming and I wanted to follow through with other academic interests, so I stopped rowing, and with that, my regular fitness routine was gone.
Fast-forward three years later and I'm at 188, and either in long class or at my boring desk job that lasts all day long (gotta pay for school somehow). Recently (as in 2 weeks ago) I decided to get in shape and start over in grad school. So far, I've lost around 3 lbs, but it is really hard to eat right when you are in college (as in our dining hall has every food you could prob imagine), and it's doubly hard to find time to work out regularly between classes and long hours of work, not to mention other time that goes into homework, papers, etc. That being said, I'm trying my best and so far it's working...I just don't know why I didn't give it a good try earlier.
Niagra, I'm in the oh-no-did-I-actually-eat/drink-all-those-calo ries-last-night?? boat myself today. It's the worst!
Exercise: I rely almost exclusively on my bike for transportation, and ride to work and school three days a week, which totals out to about 40 minutes a day, and do light weights three days a week as well. I used to use the elliptical at the fitness center at school three days a week, but their hours are kind of crummy and they're not open weekends so I recently started jogging with my sister (which so far I'm on the fence about, because it's embarrassing to be left in her dust) 40 minutes three days a week instead.
Calorie intake/burned: I try to eat 1200-1400 calories a day, but have a TERRIBLE habit of waking up several times in the night and eating. Sometimes I wouldn't even remember doing it if it weren't for the incriminating crumbs on my bed or food left out on the counter. I also end up doing some social drinking on weekends, which leads to the social eating of bar food. The counter on here claims that I burn about 2000/day, but sometimes I doubt its accuracy.
Goal Date: I would like to reach my goal by July; I think 7-10 pounds in 2 1/2 months is a realistic goal.
Sometimes your body gets too used to your routine. You need to switch it up. I found I was never sore anymore from working out. My boyfriend suggested I increase the weights and do different exercises. He was right, I'm usually sore almost everytime I work out. If you do the same thing over and over, you are just going to maintain your weight. Challenge your body and muscles, make them work hard.
With the freshman 15, try not to get too stressed out and take it out on food. Try buying healthier items or even switching from eating a white bread sub to wheat. Just doing little things can make a difference
you're just lucky you don't go to Rutgers. The FAT sandwich is god's angry wrath against weight loss in sandwich form. mozzerella sticks, chicken fingers, french fries, cheeseburger patty, mayo, bbq sauce, you name it, there's a fat sandwich made of it. everywhere sells these things around here
5'2, f, 20, started at 133, now at 128, going for 110.
exercise: despite the temptation I've done pretty ok at college. with previous weight loss experiences, I've found that strating slow and building up is a lot more successful than throwing yourself into daily workouts, if that's not what you're used to. Your stats, Niagra, are almost exactly mine, I'm trying to get down to 110 eventually. right now my minigoals are at 124 and 120. I DON'T run unless being chased, but lately I've started the couch to 5k( http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.s html ) and it's getting me motivated. I even bought running shoes. I also do 8 minute abs. Which is awesome. it's more than abs, of course, but having those small, intesive workouts really helps. I started out doing one every other day, now I do three of them every other day after my jog/walk 20-30 min. I'm sticking with the eight minute abs, but I'll have to increase my workout soon, it's getting to be a bit easier. my running will hopefully keep improving from a hobbling jog to something a little more graceful.
cals: 12-1400, more on workout days. I've noticed even so, I'm going over by about 200-300. it's really bad, I have to get better at that.
goal: I'm trying for 110 by fall.
interesting side note. Really check nutrition info for restaurants if you can't avoid fast food. apparently subway's wheat bread is worse for you (in fat cals and general cals) than its white bread! go figure.
snacks: mozzerella sticks, apples, granola bars (100 cal bars are awesome) strawberries with fat-free whipped cream.
good luck!
interesting side note. Really check nutrition info for restaurants if you can't avoid fast food. apparently subway's wheat bread is worse for you (in fat cals and general cals) than its white bread! go figure.
Actually, the amount of calories are the same, and although the wheat bread is a bit higher in fat, it has much more fiber (4g vs 1g) and more calcium and iron. I think it's still healthier than white bread ;]
I'm currently in my third year of college and living outside of the dorms makes a world of difference. My freshmen year I came in at 5'6" and 140lbs and by the Spring I was 160. It didn't help that EVERYTHING in the freshmen dining hall was deep fried. Over the Summer I lost about 25lbs the unhealthy way and after a week of partying the first week back I was back around 150. Now that I live off campus and prepare most of my food, it's so much easier to maintain weight, but the gym is so much farther away. My goal isn't so much a number on a scale, but being happy with how I look in the mirror. I just dipped into the 130's, but my tummy is still pretty doughy so I'm focusing more on toning than anything else.
Stats:
Height: 5'6.5"
Weight: 139lbs
Goal: 130lbs
Diet: I eat between 1300-1400 calories a day depending on activity level. I eat about 400 calories for breakfast: Cereal, glass of skim milk, scoop of peanut butter, and two pieces of fruit. And then eat a snack every 1-2 hours to keep my metabolism up. For lunch I eat about 3oz of tuna and a salad with cider vinegar. And for dinner I usually eat half a chicken breast, huge portion of veggies, milk, and some sort of rice. If my calories are too low for the day I usually have a breakfast bar or more peanut butter, all before 8pm.
Exercise: I'm currently doing an internship so I don't have as much activity through the day as I did walking all over campus. I try to walk 2 - 4 miles after work and then do about 30 minutes of light weight lifting and anaerobic activity before bed. I make it to the gym 1-2 times a week for more intense aerobic and weight training activities and that's when I get my weekly weigh in.
Goal: I don't have a day per-se that I want to reach my target weight by, but since my boyfriend has been out of state for the past 6 months, I'd like to be more in shape by the time he moves back in June. I saw him this past weekend and already he's commented on how my arms look leaner and stronger. He's on the opposite side of the fence. Last year he was 141 on a heavy eating day and is trying to gain more muscle so we're much more proportionate next to one another.
Just thought I'd check in, see how everyone's being-healthy-in-college is going. Lately I've been working out more (Oregon weather finally decided to shape up), and have found that there is nothing like hiking for a) a good workout, and b) keeping your mind off bad snacks!
Today might be a challenge: Wine Tasting class, complete with food pairings, = makes me want to drink & eat more all night!
Sounds like what happened to me. I just finished first year and gained almost 20 pounds. It was the constant snacking that did me in, and some nights I would just be really stressed (e.g., studying for a test) and would essentially inhale an extra 1000 to 2000 calories in bread, cheese and cookies. And chocolate, if we had any in the house. Some days I would honestly eat 3000 or 4000 calories, and I would feel so bad about myself afterwards. But anyway, I'm fighting back now, and I'm determined to lose some of that weight.
Before first year: 103 lb, 5'3"
After first year: 122 lb at my heaviest, 118 currently
Goal: 110 lb (I was too scrawny at 103, haha)
How often I exercise? Er, not very much. I do a lot of walking and I spend about 15 hours a week constantly on my feet at work, but I don't do much actual exercise. I do some strength training and occasionally dance or hop on my exercise bike. I want to do Couch to 5k once the weather warms up though. (Still a bit chilly in Toronto!)
Calorie intake: About 1600. I tried eating less, but it just wasn't working for me.
Goal date: My birthday in July! :)
Fave snacks: Fruit, yogurt, a glass of milk, and whole wheat bread. (Not all at once, obviously...)
Ooooooh man. It's finals week for me. This means EXTREME stres (why am I a freaking physics major?! These are the times I want to switch to communications.... ;) ) Anyway, this has really stirred up old ED thoughts; I totally thought I was done with that! Clearly, not. Anyway, I've managed to eat ok, I suppose, although it's taking some strong persistence! I haven't been to the gym since tuesday, and took an extra day off last weekend, too (usually I go 5x/week...), so I'm sort of going crazy but... I'm moving back home tomorrow, and I'll be back at my AWESOME gym back home, and...yeah. :)
Ok, gotta study for my last final. I am terrified. Sooo screwed. Hope everyone else doing well! :)
(jenpistone -- where do you go to school, if you dont mind me asking? I'm from Seattle, and I have some friends that are in schools down in oregon, that's why I ask. :) )
ahh this is awesome hearing from everyone 
Thanks for all your responses! It's great for us to know we're not alone! It's so easy to slip up in college, but we can do it!
(good luck during finals week rmgarcia! I have another 3 weeks until finals-- But I know how the stress can be!! It's hard to find time for the gym, and eating either seems unimportant OR the eating can go WAY overboard with stress. Hope all goes well-- keep in touch!)
(rmgarcia: U of O in Eugene)
Yes, good luck with finals for those who have them!! Don't feel too bad about skipping workouts in the few upcoming weeks for those who have them--some things really are more important.
(oh, cool! Yeah, I think one of my friends who I went to 2nd-12th grade with is there now. :) I'm at WSU)
Thanks guys; it is SOOOOOOOOOO nice to be DONE! Although it hasn't quite hit me. But I have 3.5 months to now relax and empty my brain before cramming it full of physics again! Haha.
Finally, I have a big huge kitchen agin, and I am sooo excited to be able to have a much wider variety of good, healthy, DELICIOUS food... asparagus? Mmm. I'm definately think that sounds good right now...
Hang in there, guys!
Also, I'm from Thailand and now I'm in USA...the food change..my activity level changed (when I was in Bangkok -- like other main city...traffics are horrible and I walked + shopping A LOT). I tries to run in the gym 3 times a week and I tried to maintain my weight. As an asian...if I was at home I would be considered fat (I'm 16 years old, 5"1 and 106-108 pounds). So...I had ED for like..4 months..I was 102 pounds at the time...I lost my period (still didnt get it back) and now I'm trying to uptake my calories.
Sadly..it turns out to be that I eat NON-STOP!!!!! I ate like 3-5 apples a day plus sandwiches and OMG......I ate too much!! I don't even wan to count calories because I don't want to see how high the number would be!!
And 3 years ago, I went to England and stayed there during my summer time...I gain 12 pounds in 2 months.....
3 years ago..I came to America and spent my summer time here...I gain 12 pounds in 2 months...
The only reason I can actually lost all those weight is because when I was in Bangkok...like big cities..there are sooo many things to do so I eventually don't have that much free timt to eat when I'm not really hungry!! (I have a lot of free time in the dorm and I would eat when I;m bord...so u get the idea..)
I'll be going back home for summer in 3 weeks *happy*
These are how I lost those weight...
1.) Find something to do or places to go....keep yourself busy 2.) Smaller portion. Even though, my portion of food changed since I came to America....they served a HUGH amount of food here. 3.) Try ice-skating!!! I lost an amazing 6-8 pounds in 2-3 months while I eat normally and eat whatever I want (well, I play like 3 hours -- 2 to 4 times a week). It's fun + not that tired + lose weight. And I'm pretty sure that those are fat lost since I didn't gain any of those back.
Well...good luck!!!!
Why can athletes eat so much?
Athletes need adequate calories to offset those they burn in training and competition. They eat to either maintain their body mass or gain muscle... Read more
