College Students

Hello! I am starting a club for college students. It is hard going off to college and making the right food choices...I think we can support each other and talk about healthy alternatives to food choices. I am going to be a senior in college next year and I am trying to lose that weight I gained from college.

A little about me, I'm a biomedical engineer...I'm recently engaged and I love to drink (which is horrible if you are dieting)

about my weight...

I'm 5'10" medium build

started at: 172lbs

currently at: 140lbs

want to be: 140lbs <~~ made my goal!!! took ~6 months

Since College/Classes are done for summer...How did everyone do with the diet??

Oh, the free food they give you the first week of school. Cookies mostly. It's a nightmare. One of the hardest things I find is just finding healthy options, let alone low-cal. So hard to find some quality lean protein around here! Fortunately, my dining hall has declining balance as opposed to AYCE dining halls. Phew!
HW: 123
CW: 111
GW: 105
5'2", small frame, athletic
sophomore in college
Also, don't get mad at me because I know this isn't what this thread is about, but Stephanie (organsplitter) are you sure you want to be 100? That seems pretty seriously underweight for someone of your height. Sure, I understand not wanting to gain the freshman 15, but from someone who has had some ED probs in the past, be careful about continually setting lower and lower goals. Anyone else here have some body image issues? (I probably should be asking who hasn't, considering the audience...)
Liz

its soo hard to just not eat pizza and junk food every day while you're in college, but im trying!  i just renewed my gym membership so it will totally motivate to get going!  i think im going tonight!
CW: 128
GW: 120
5'7" medium frame, athletic!  I really just want to get back into shape (2 years of college definately has had its effect on me!) and lose that extra pudge that I have gotten from eating junk food and drinking!

It is really tough not to just give in to the pizza and delivery food such as that. It takes you a couple of minutes on the phone, and you have it there with little effort. I refuse to fall into that rut this year (and trust me, at the beginning of this week, I almost did).

I've just gotten to the point where I choose to enjoy the exta little time it takes to prepare a healthy meal. It really helps make it easier :)

I live with two roomates who both love to eat out, so that has been a challenge for me.  I've been trying to compromise -- going out with them once a week and ordering healthy, but staying back the rest of the time.  I convinced them to go to Subway last week and I got one of the wraps with no mayo and no chips on the side, so I kept that to about 190 cals and got some skim milk instead of pop.  I thought that worked out pretty well :)

One challenge I've had in the last couple weeks in finding a way to get enough protein on a small budget.  I've been eating a lot of sliced turkey and chicken, but does anyone have any other suggestions?

I'm just starting my sophomore year in college, as a theater major. I gained a "freshman 10" that I truly want to drop. Unfortunately, my busy schedule of performances, school, and 2+ jobs leads me to stress eating.

I am 5 foot 9.25 inches. I currently weigh 160 lbs: at the end of high school I weighed 148 lbs. My goal weight hasn't changed in the past year: 140 lbs, to start, and 135 if that's possible.

Any suggestions on not stress eating, and not obsessing when it does happen would be greatly appreciated.

college freshman! trying to get in shape. I want to LOSE 15 pounds, not gain them :-p

5'6"-5'7" Starting weight: 136 Goal Weight: 120 (by Christmas)

any tips on good cafeteria food? or am i doomed to cambells microwave soup bowls and apples?

hm, it seems like im the only one that didnt gain the freshman 15 at school? during school i eat at the caf. and i dont put on any weight.  all that walking to class, to dinner, to everything. does anyone else find this to be true with themselves?

I'd only gained two pounds before i started the diet and they're gone already, but i'm very scared to gain more. I want to be more in shape than I was when I left. I think college is a great time to make a lifestyle change so I've been working out and eating less dessert :)

its so hard to not eat the ice cream!  in the caf. and my roomie works at carvel so theres ice cream always in the freezer

i agree. thank goodness for frozen yogurt! I eat some of that instead and it's not too bad for you. i don't know what i'd do if i had ice cream in my freezer all the time...its too good.

I personally go for the fudgesicles. Those get me over my sweet tooth, which I have a big one. :)

ok i am a bit different than most of you college students, but i am a callege student none the less. im 21 years old this is the start of my 3rd year but i have about 2 and a half more to go due to my own issues the first year and a half i went to school (i barely made it to class). i have always been overweight but i decided to do something about it. i live at home and commute to monmouth university in NJ, i work, i walk dogs, and i help take care of a very busy household. i am also in a long term relationship. i started at 293 in july and i iam currently holding at 275 for some strange reason. im 5'9" and a pretty wide frame. im looking to get down to about 185. luckily i have access to a stove and stuff unlike i did when i lived on campus. but the key to eating right, i have found, is to not bring the bad food in. keep only those things you are happy to eat. exercise. i am not too avid but 3 times a week on the treadmill burns a good amount of cals for me and makes sure that the weight i lose is fat and not muscle. when it comes to a balanced diet, which is what i aim for but rarely acheive, i choose ground turkey breast over plain ground turkey because it has less fat. i stick with low sodium everything really because salt just packs on the water weight. i drink a ton of water and eat a salad everyday if not twice a day sometimes. i do remember eating at the cafeteria and if ur's offers it: eat at the salad bar! choose low fat dressings and stay away from cheese. if ur going to eat burgers and stuff remove the buns or bread. u cant imagine the cals and fat in stuff like that. refrain from fast food and casual diing restaurants.  may i put into perspective that ruby tuesdays turkey burgers are 470 cals. let's not mention the fries....generally if you put good things into your body your body will be good to you. i used to have a ton of tummy problems that i thought were attributed to a nervous stomach. well, it's been 10 weeks and either im never nervous or it's the good food i give my stomach now. this is the most serious ive ever been about weight loss and healthy living and i plan on seeing it through till i get to my goal weight, and throughout life. i'm pretty knowledgeable now, thanks to my many friends on the site, so if you wanna talk to someone ur own age just gimme a shout. good luck everyone! 

mmm fudgesicles. so one big problem I have is that I hate poultry. that makes things very difficult in the protein department because sliced turkey breast sandwiches make great lunch choices and chicken breasts are great for dinner. Any ideas on good ways to get protein cheaply without settling for shakes?

cottage cheese and other low fat cheeses are a good choice. protein bars can help too (watch the fat content in those though) and i particularly love dannon lightnfit yogurts because they pack NO fat and 6g of protein. there are tortillas from la tortilla factory which u can find at some stores like wal-mart or you can purchase online that are high in fiber (which is important for a healthy body and weigh loss because it keeps things movin lol) and they have 8g of protein. a little high in the sodium department tho, like 300mg a tortilla so keep an eye on that. im not sure about where else to get protein considering im a huge a poultry fan lol but let me get back to you. o0o soy! anything from tofu and edamame beans...beans in general have protein. if i can find more info ill post. :)

i'm first year, all ive done this year is drink and eat badly, so have decided to stop before it becomes a habit or i end up in rehab. how bad is alcohol when trying to lose weight

mmm edamame. I wish they had that here. I don't drink but I heard that rum and diet coke is really low calorie and still tastes good.

Wow, a lot of people here seem to have really low goals... 120 lbs for someone who's 5'7??? That's really low! Please be careful, guys.

haha it's possible. I just want to make sure I get all the vitamins I need. Gotta keep up that shiny hair and glowing skin ;) (not to mention my health of course!)

I just found this bunch, so I guess I'll drag this thread back to the top! I'm starting my senior year, and since I'm very involved in a variety of orgs and committees on campus, there is always so much food! It's as if meetings equate to eatings! In fact, I'm headed to one in a few minutes that is sure to have pad thai, a major weakness of mine.

I've traditionally had a bit of trouble with weight. My dad's family is a little pudgier than most, and I certainly don't fall far from the tree. However, in high school I worked very hard and got down to 120, which on my 5'2" frame I thought was a good weight.

I studied abroad for a year between high school and college, and all the new foods added into my diet-- cheese, wine and beer (northern Europe mainstays) added a whopping 25 pounds! When I moved into my third family, my host mom was on Weight Watchers, and I simply joined onto her eating habits and lost 15 of those pounds.

I worked on a boat during the summers, which between the heat and the effort brought me back to 125. Then I went to Italy for junior year abroad, which I followed by a desk job during the summer. I now weight 138-140, and I'm a little frustrated, largely because I've been dieting and exercising for 3 weeks and have only lost 1 pound. So, I'm hoping that things will pick up soon!

Anyway, good luck to all of you!

I'm sure it'll get easier. it's always tough with stress, too. I find that it makes me retain weight like crazy!