College Students: Want To Keep Each Other Motivated?? **Closed**

Hey!  I thought I'd see if anyone would be interested in starting a group for college students with me to keep each other motivated!  Ideally, this group would be...

...made up of 5-8 college students (or anyone around 18-25, really) who will post at least a few times a week.

...a place where we can celebrate our successes, vent when we're frustrated, and get advice and support when we need it.

...a place where we can get to know each other, and not one of those groups that only lasts for a couple of weeks, or that only consists of people posting weekly weigh-ins.  That being said, I'm all for weekly weigh-ins!

Now, a little about me...

My name's Carrie, and I'm just finishing up my sophomore year of college!  I've found that since coming to college I have a tendency to gain weight during the school year, and then lose it over the summer.  Right now I want to lose the ten or so pounds that I gained this past year, and then maybe lose a little more.  Feel free to friend me!! :)

Edited to add:  This group is now closed.  I want to keep it kind of small so that we can actually get to know each other :).

Hey! I'm Laura, i'm 18 in a couple of months, and want to lose a few "vanity pounds" to get back to my weight before university came about. Damn the cafeteria and their huge servings!!

This group sounds like a great idea :)

Feel free to friend me also!

I would love to be a part of this! I go on CC every day so I will for sure update and be able to talk to everyone.

My name is Nicole (nice to meet you Carrie!). I'm going to be a senior in the fall and I've had the problem of gaining weight since I got to college too, but it's stuck around during the summer and just kept on adding up. A couple weeks ago I got to my highest weight ever and decided that I really need to get on top of it. I had a few times over the past couple years where I kinda tried to lose weight, but never went all-out or was completely dedicated. I am now. I've been 100% dedicated to CC and have lost 5.5 pounds so far, but have been hovering around this weight for a few days. Not too upset about it because I know I'm still doing good with calories and exercising.

So I think it would be a good idea to post stats too so we can get an idea of where we're all at:

20 years old

5'5"

Starting weight: 180

Current weight: 174.5

Goal weight: 140 or lower

I think this was a great idea and I hope we are able to find a few more people! Carrie, and anyone else who joins this little group, feel free to message me about anything. I would love to talk/help/motivate in any way possible. I think that having friends on CC is a great way to help us all get through this journey.

Hi!! I'm Lauren...I graduated from college in December but I'm within your age range...I'm only 21 years old!

I weighed 140-150 in high school, once I went to college I got up to an all time high of 178 and I decided it was time to change.  I have been on here seriously since January 1st and so far I have lost 24.6 pounds so I am weighing in currently at 153.4.

I'm on the site everyday and I am up for updating eachother and staying motivated!!  I think the way to have a group keep up is to limit the members...some get so big and impersonal that there is no point in posting in them.  I hate it when you belong to a group and you can tell that no one reads eachothers posts.

So here we go..

21 years old

5'5"

Starting weight: 178

Current weight: 153.4

Goal Weight: 130-135 around October/November

Hey Carrie! I would love to join! I will be graduating college next May! Growing up I was tooth pick skinny. Towards the end of HS when I went on birth control I started gaining a lot of weight. College hasn't helped. I want to take back control of my body and my health! I have been seriously working on my diet and exercise for 6 weeks now!

Stats:

21 years old

5 ft

Start weight: 165

Current: 155.4

Goal: 105

Look forward to hearing from everyone!

I really would love to join this group. 

I'm 20, and I just finished my 2nd year of college!  I'm trying to lose about 10 pounds and KEEP IT OFF.  Last summer, I was able to get down to my goal, but as soon as school started again, it creeped back on.  :(

I'd love the support as well! When I was younger I had an ED and it messed me up pretty bad, especially now that I'm trying to lose weight the right way. Right before I went into college, my grandfather died which changed my WHOLE life around. I don't really have the appropriate support from my family because of it. I'd like for my college years to be the best, and be able to get passed all this non-sense.

Whoa, I didn't expect so many replies so quickly!  This is awesome!!  So there are seven of us now; do you guys think we should close the group?  And do you guys wanna do weekly weigh-ins, and if so, what day would everyone like??

I'll post my stats as well...

20 years old

5'6"

Start weight: 156

Current weight: 156

Goal weight: 135

Laura, I know what you mean about the cafeteria...unlimited dessert is truly a horrible thing!!

Nicole, nice to meet you too :)!  Congrats on your dedication and your progress so far!  I don't know about you, but I've found that I usually lose in chunks.  I'll be the same weight for weeks at a time, then bam - I'll be down three pounds overnight. 

Lauren, congrats on losing almost 25 pounds so far; that's awesome!!  Also congratulations on graduation!

Beamse, congratulations on your progress so far, and on sticking with it for six weeks!  I think the hardest part of any diet or lifestyle change is probably just getting started.

Whatever, I'm in pretty much the exact same situation as you.  I just finished my 2nd year of college, too.  I almost got down to my goal last summer, but then I gained most of it back during the year.

Monroe, your college years should be the best, or pretty dang great, anyway!  In my opinion, at least :).  It sounds like you've been through a lot; but it also sounds like you're on the right track now!  Congratulations on getting healthy!! :)

I'm going to have a little bit of an extra challenge because I'm spending most of the summer in Ocean City, New Jersey, on summer project with Campus Crusade for Christ, but apparently we get a discounted gym membership, so I'm definitely taking advantage of that!!

Hi I'm Hannah! I'm 18 so I'll be a freshman next year and I think this would be a really useful tool for me. Since starting CC I've lost 8.4 lbs. I would really appreciate being part of this group!

Anyways here are my stats:

Age: 18

Gender: Female

Height: 5'7

Start Weight: 160.2

Current Weight: 151.8

Goal Weight: 127 (By next October/November)

Oh I also wanted to mention I'm a vegetarian!

Hey Hannah!  Congratulations on your progress so far!!

Okay, I think that now that there are eight of us, I'm gonna go ahead and close the group...unless anyone strongly objects?

I think you made a good call!! Eight is big enough to get different opinions but not too huge that we lose touch with eachother!!

Hannah! 127?!?!?!?!? Oh my god, I haven't seen that since I was in about 7th grade!!! I'm hoping for 130 so close to you but I'm a big shorter than you!  We're very close right now with weights so we might be on close to the same schedule! COOL!

I'm trying to give myself 3-5 lbs padding room for maintenance! You're only 2 inches shorter haha. :P I also haven't seen that weight since like 9th grade (but I was like 5'6 then I think). I'm trying to be more toned than just skinny, and healthy instead of focusing on losing weight. I'm not 100% sure on my goal, if my body settles at like 130ish and I can't lose any more weight, I'll probably just start maintaining.

I haven't been doing well this past week because I've been so busy this week! I haven't gone over maintenance in terms of calories, but there are a few days this week I haven't gotten my 500 calorie deficit. Oh well, I'll do better next week!

I'm so ready for summer!!

Hannah, I know what you mean about being busy!  I think that's the main reason that I gain weight during the school year; I feel like I don't have time to go to the gym.  And for some reason when I'm not working out I tend to eat worse, too. 

I ended up going to sleep early last night instead of going for a run, but I'm definitely going to the gym today!!  It's weird; I don't have a lot of work right now, since midterms are over and finals are still a couple weeks away (my school's on quarters).  I sort of feel like I don't know what to do with myself when I don't have that constant pressure of oh I have to finish this lab and study for this quiz and I really should start studying for this other exam...it's just weird.  I feel like a slacker, but I don't have anything to do, lol.  So I went to bed at 11 last night, but I woke up at 5.  I don't think my body's used to getting more than 6 hours of sleep anymore, lol. 

I'm sooo ready for summer too!! :)

Edited to add:  Oh, and by the way, do you guys wanna do a weekly weigh-in?  How would everyone feel about Wednesdays??

I normally do my weekly weigh-ins on Saturdays because I started on a Saturday, but I can post my weight on Wednesdays if you guys want to do that.

I'd be okay with Saturdays, too.  I just wasn't sure if you guys wanted to avoid the weekends :).

I weigh myself everyday so whenever is fine with me!!

My Stats:

age:20

height: 5'4

current weight: 130

goal: 115 (well, atleast 120!)

I weigh myself everyday, so anyday works for me.  I know I'm still in the "healthy" range, but I do not hold "extra" weight well.  I really need to start making better eating choices/stop overeatting because it's really showing.

Every morning I wake up and tell myself.. THIS IS THE DAY I WILL NOT OVEREAT.. but somehow I always manage to eat sooo much (usually toward late afternoon/night).  It's really showing, and I just don't want to gain anymore.  None of my clothes fit, and my family constantly comments about my weight gain :(

My name in Liz btw.  I really need a group of people to support/push/TOUGH LOVE (i.e. NO DO NOT PICK UP THE PEANUT BUTTER, etc).  My 'real life' friends don't care about their weight or what they eat (they are either really skinny or can eat anything or overweight themselves and still don't care).

I'm not eating anymore tonight! and tomorrow morning I'm going to get up at work out, then eat well the rest of the day. I PROMISE! this is my word to you guys! I won't break it!!!

Why does food control me?!?!??!

Liz, I know what you mean about not holding "extra" weight well.  I'm in the top of the healthy range right now, and my clothes are not fitting well either! :/

Food doesn't have to control you!  I feel that way a lot, too...I've found that I can't have things in moderation, so just not having them at all is better.  I'm bad about night eating, too.  Make sure you're not overrestricting during the day - I've tried keeping my calories lower than normal during the day to compensate for my night eating, and it REALLY doesn't work.  I just end up going way over my calorie limit anyway. 

I hope you kept your word! Good luck!! :)

Carrie, thank goodness you know what I'm talking about. 

It's especially frustrating when my jeans don't fit.  I sqeezed into a pair of jeans that USED to be loose on me, and they were so tight that they left 2 bruises on my hip bones! LOL! A lot of my weight goes to my stomach/hip area, with some going to my thighs.  My wrists look super skinny as always... I was my weight would even out on my body a little better, but oh well... MORE motivation to lose that extra weight I guess.

I think maybe I have been trying to keep my day eating low after a lot of night eating, creating a bad cycle that keeps going.  restrict on day... eat at night...restrict on day.. etc etc. 

I have to be careful about what I eat because a lot of things I really cant have in moderation.  It's actually better if I dont really like what I'm eating all that much so I dont eat too much of it! haha.

I will definitely let you guys know how I do tomorrow with my diet.

Liz I know what you mean, I need someone to tell me to stop eating that and all but 2 of my friends are  size 0-00s (literally), and the other 2 are definitely obese. While I wouldn't trade them in for anything, it's frustrated that they never care or have had to... I feel like I'm the only one trying to make a transition to be healthier but I don't want to be like "oh I can't come to dinner tonight, I can't eat any of that"! I love them and I love spending time with them and it's hard to show them that I care about being healthy. I don't want to be snobbish or rude about my weight loss or what I eat or make them feel uncomfortable.

Also I definitely cannot have things in moderation (yet!)... I'm trying to get better at it. Last weekend I only ate 1 slice of pizza instead of my usual 3-4 and I felt really good after because I didn't over-do it but I still got to enjoy the pizza and the rest of my day was healthy and I only went over my 'diet' caloric value by 200 calories so I was still at a 400 calories loss that day! That was the first time I did that lol.

Hannah, I know what you mean about not wanting to make people uncomfortable...I always feel so self-conscious checking labels on stuff when my friends are around.  I know they're thinking, "oh, just don't worry about it, just eat it!"

I wish my friends would tell me to stop eating, lol!  My problem is that when food is in front of me, I can't not eat it!  Like last night, we watched a movie, and my friend made popcorn, and I just kept eating it and eating it.  It also seems like I can just eat so much more than most of my friends.  Like last night my friend had one oreo and a couple bites of popcorn and was like "I'm so full I feel sick."  I was like, seriously? Lol.  So my friends will make something for themselves, have two bites, and then it will be sitting there and I'LL end up eating it, lol. 

I'm NOT going to let myself go over my calorie limit today!  No more mindless night snacking!!!

Oh, so are Saturdays good for everyone for weigh-ins??  Let's do our first one tomorrow!! :)