Fending off The Freshman Fifteen...
For those in college, or those quickly approaching it, beware!!! The Freshman Fifteen - the bane of college calorie counters everywhere - is ready to take a new group of victims on campuses nationwide this fall!
For those who have felt the pain of the 15lbs of cafeteria food, hanging out in the dorm, not having your highschool extracurriculars, and just being too darned lazy to get out and about, join me in losing that weight! :) As an upcoming junior in college, i'm still waging war against the last 10lbs - who's with me?!?
*EDIT*
August 4th, 2008
To anyone just seeing this topic, please know that you're still welcome to join us! There are voluntary weigh-ins each Wednesday if you're interested. Whether you're headed to college, in it, or leaving it we're happy to have you! :D
Welcome back Lea! :) I'm glad you had fun!
Try not to worry too much... while colleges are notorious for their un-nutritious cafeterias, once the sweets are there ALL the time, they become less tempting. It's making sure you don't pick up a few cookies to take back to the room and stuff like that... I think the "freshman 15" comes from a drop in activity combined with the availability of food that isn't portioned 24/7.
It'll be tough the first few weeks, but once you get used to it, its no big deal. 116.4 isn't bad at all, considering you're probably carrying a little more water weight than usual and you weighed midday =)
Have a happy birthday tomorrow :D Don't feel guilty about the cake or food - its only once a year ;) And sushi - mmmm, I'm jealous! Tasty AND nutritious! :D
*EDIT*
Oh! and Lea, if you want to know what to expect with the teachers and all that you've gotten, you should check out Ratemyprofessor.com - it'll give you a good idea of how hard you'll have to work in your different classes. Also, if you want to get your books cheap (the bookstore will be a rip off - they always are) Half.com is great and you should check around the school's campus for local sell-back bookstores. Just make sure the ISBN (or whatever its called...) numbers match. You can save $300 easy on books that way.
I'm going to be a college sophomore next year, so I'm right between you two. Happy birthday Lea! And good luck with starting school - it's such an exciting time!! I'm sure you'll make good decisions once you get into a routine and once you have more options. In the dining halls, at least in my experience, there are usually a decent number of options, and it sounds like you have a great salad bar. Where are you going, if you don't mind me asking? :)
I was fine until winter rolled around last year, and then I wasn't outside as much, I didn't feel like going to the gym because it was freezing cold, and I didn't want to study at all so a lot of times I used eating as a procrastination method. Be super careful about having food in your room - that was a big problem for me!! And for me at least, it was super hard not to at least grab a cookie on the way out after dinner - they never really became less tempting, lol.
As far as starting a new thread - whenever you feel like it, Heather! Maybe something with "group" in the title, so people know? :)
I don't mind at all - I'm going to Boston College. I'm definitely going to use half.com for my books and the rate my professor thing sounds great! I just picked my schedule and I got put in classes with such great times.
Monday/Wed/Friday my first class is at 11, Tues/Thurs my first class is at 12. If I do wake up early (like I tend to at home) I can go to the gym before class even starts! And another good thing is that there's at least an hour between all of my classes for studying/lunch. I'm taking some tough ones but at least it'll be easy to get in a routine. Spending a few days up in Boston made me really really super excited about it, it's such a fantastic city :)
Btw, day one of the birthday celebration, had a delicious and only slightly high in calories sushi meal. I had about half an order of edamame, a miso soup, and my boyfriend and I split two big rolls - one had eel and salmon (not bad), and the other had spicy tuna and lobster salad (a little bit of mayo but what can you do?) I probably didn't end up going over my calorie limit at all and it was my birthday! Today there will be a homecooked meal and a homemade cake so I'll have a little more trouble, but I'm working today (6 hours of standing/walking) and I have gym time planned so there's no way I'll go over maintenance. Tomorrow's going to be the toughest day because I'm going out for a gourmet dinner.
Carrie - Good Idea; we can be a group to fight and prevent the freshman 15 :)
Lea - Mmm! Sounds delicious! :D I wouldn't let the birthday food make you feel bad; it is your birthday, after all! Boston College is a good school - I actually have a friend who's still in highschool who is thinking of going there next year. I'm at the University of Tennessee - I went to DC once when I was like 5, but I barely remember it, and that's the furthest north I've ever been, lol. The furthest west would probably be Dallas. Guess I've been confined to the South all of my life.. :P But hey, at least our winters aren't entiiiiiiiirely freezing, right? Though I wish we got snow a few times a year... hehe.
It's your birthday, who cares! Hell, even when my girlfriend comes out (which is usually like...once a week, now) I let loose a bit. I think giving yourself a break is probably the key to keeping weight off.
Heather - you should try to alternate your lifting! For example, split into three days - chest+back, legs+shoulders, triceps+biceps.
Do that for three weeks, then switch it up to shock your muscles. chest+triceps, back+shoulders, biceps+back.
That's a good idea - I always find it hard to get to the gym, so I guess I feel like when I make it there, I need to do everything. My days are so laid out its sad...
6:30AM - Wake up and get ready for work
7:30AM - Go to work (40min drive one-way)
6:30PM - home from work
6:45PM - Hit the tanning bed for my reward :D
7:15PM - come home and have dinner
8:00PM - Dinner over, get online to talk to BF and catch up with friends
10:00PM - BF has gone to bed, change into exercise clothes and go work out!
11:45PM - Home from workout, time to shower
12:00AM - Go to bed!!!
*Repeat*
Some days I just skip the gym all together and go for the extra sleep... I always feel bad going before 10 because my boyfriend and I have been dating for well over a year now, and we're in different cities for the summer. Those 2 hours are all we get to talk and catch up, unless we can drive and see one anoher on the weekend (/curses the gas prices). I wish I could just add 2 more hours to my day, so that I could exercise every day.
I will be *so* glad when I'm back at school and work is over. I won't have to get up so early, and it'll be easier to do things like swim and rock climb.
I definitely think the rotating muscle groups is a good idea - I always end up figuring "Well, since I never get to go for 2 consecutive days, I might as well just do it all while I'm there!" I'll be so glad when it's August 15th!!! :D
Weird/awkward question - is it a good idea for a girl to do a lot of chest exercises? I do the bench press occasionally (just the bar :P I'm a weakling, but I can do about 2 sets of 10 reps with it) but I'm eh... hesitant to "firm up" that area. I don't want a manly looking chest, lol. :P
6:30-6:30? Brutal. I stuggle with my 8-4.
Rotating the muscles is near nessicary - there's a reason everyone does it. If you're having trouble with making sure you get to the gym, do a two day split instead of a three day. Maybe a day where you do "push" exercises, and one where you do "pull" exercises. I don't think you'll be getting enough exercise on each body part if you do them all daily - unless you go to the gym for four hours.
Weird and awkward yes, but a common concern. If you work out chest once a week, light weight, high reps, I think you'll be QUITE alright. Remember - basically, 8-12 reps gains muscle, while over 12 is more of a toning effect. Girls are at risk to lose boobs when they're losing a lot of weight, which is the biggest thing. Very rarely do you see a girl who has a manly chest unless she's like...training for competitions. And you're moreso working out casually for aesthetics, so if you have that in mind, I think you'll be okay!
Also, I weighed 183 yesterday and 184 today. My weight is ALL OVER THE PLACE. Must be entertaining. My diet and exercise has been great both days, however, so we'll have to see if it falls off. I'll probably weight 112 pounds tomorrow.
Guh.
lol, yeah - those were certainly the first thing to go when I started losing weight... I guess I'm scared they'll shrink further! (At least the rest of me has shrunk in proportion now, so its not that different... but there for a while it was kind of weird.) I have done some on the bench press, but not a lot - I can never get anyone to go with me, and since I usually end up there at like 10PM, there's no one there to spot me (This is like a workout facility provided by the place I work at... so its not huge and no one man's the desk at night - its just keyed entry). When my mom or dad comes with me, I ask them to spot me and I'll do some, but that's pretty rare. I may try it with free weights - I bet that'd work just as well. I'll just keep it high reps, lower weight =)
6:30-6:30 is, indeed brutal. Its a full time job, 8 hrs/day plus I drive into downtown with my dad so I have to wait for him to finish work (usually takes 30min-1hr extra) and we usually end up doing errands on the way home from that long commute. But it pays well! And that's what the starving college kids need ;)
Carrie - your new picture is so pretty - I just love your hair! lol, random, but I had to throw that out there :)
In other news... 127.0 this morning! Booya! 2 more pounds, come onnn body, lets do this!
Lea, that sounds like a great schedule! My schedule fall quarter is not so great...I have a four hour bio lab. Not as bad as winter quarter, though - I'll have a four hour bio lab AND a four or five hour o-chem lab!! Shoot me...
Heather, I just had this scary daydream where I lost 15 pounds this summer but I looked exactly the same except I had no boobs. Hahaha that better not happen...I'll probably cry :/. And thanks - I think I've only straightened my hair one time since I've been home from school though, I'm so lazy lol. Congrats on being so close to your goal!! I've been stuck on 152.0 now for the last few days...uuugggh so annoying.
Edit: BTW, I go to Northwestern. That's in Evanston, IL - about a half hour outside of Chicago. And we're on quarters, so I don't go back until September 19th :).
Carrie - Lol, that would be like... my worst nightmare. It was really strange looking until the rest of me shrunk too. I know what you mean with the being stuck - I was on 128 for a whiiiiiile... and then 2 hard workouts tuesday and thursday and bam, 127! But I haven't been working out as much as I should, so that's probably why it effected me so much - plus I think my scale is weird. Its supposed to weigh me by .5's but yesterday, I weighed before I got into the shower and it came up 128.0, and then when I got out of the shower, sopping wet hair (and my hair is halfway down my back..) and clothing, it was still 128.0. I'm starting to not trust it quite so much... especially with it having jumped from 129.0 to 128.0 and now from 128.0 to 127.0 - where are my point fives?!
/shrug
Lol :P
Yeah, the really frustrating thing is I ran Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday in the morning this week, but I'm still stuck. Oh well, I just have to remember that it'll pay off eventually. I was going to run again this morning but then I woke up late and it was already almost 80 degrees outside. It's probably better for me to take today off anyway and run tomorrow instead.
Scales can be really annoying when they do stuff like that. Ooohhh well...what can ya do :P.
Where's everybody at? :)
So I've been in the habit of weighing myself everyday, but I think I'm about to start TTOM so I decided to put the scale away for a few days. Dang water weight.
On another completely random note, I painted my room basically by myself yesterday because my mom was too sick to help (she was really dizzy...something to do with allergies). It's pretty light blue now :). It was kinda cool because I didn't know I could paint a whole room by myself in one day.
Freeweights are even better - I use them exclusively.
Hey guys! Sorry I dropped off the face of the planet for a few days - I was at my Grandmother's house this weekend. That usually means trouble... I always gain when I go there because there's nothing but bad food in the house... but this time was different! Their garden (which I helped plant for HOURS at the beginning of the summer) finally started producing! It was great, I cut up cucumber or ate cherry tomatoes or carrots whenever I got hungry and it kept me away from the bad stuff. =D I've never wanted to be a farmer, but I'm really considering it as good as that stuff was :P hehe! I actually LOST some weight! :D (Not a lot, but this close to the goal, I'm counting every little bit as a win!)
That's cool about your room, Carrie! I've never painted a house, inside or out! My room was ballerina bunnies from the age of 2 through leaving for college. My mom just never would let me change it :P I bet that that burned off a lot of cals - painting is hard work! And even better, now you have a pretty blue room! And yes, TTOM = evil and deceitful.
Yay for staying away from the bad food Heather :)!! And I agree, veggies fresh from the garden are soooo good! Unfortunately, no one at my house really has time to maintain one, but we did have a cherry tomato plant for a while.
So we finished moving furniture and stuff yesterday, so now I'm enjoying my new room, which is slightly bigger than my old one :) (me and my sister switched). Now we have to paint her room later...I'm not looking forward to that so much, lol.
I ran two miles for the second morning in a row today! Go me! I'm pretty happy considering before this summer the farthest I ever ran at once was the mile we had to do in gym class.
Ohhhhh man. Let me tell you about my weekend.
Over the half half-week, my weight has went up - 182, 185, 185.5, around there.
So anyway, what did I do on saturday to fix this? Naturally I went to every bar in my entire town.
Me, my brother, my girlfriend, and a few more of my friends did a pub crawl - hitting ten bars from 1PM - 2:30AM. Some twice. Drinking at least a couple drinks at all - no light beer, either. Nor diet soda. I just forgot. I did drink a good few shots but it had nothing to do with trying to eat well.
Not to mention my saturday eating consisted of:
Breakfast: Tons of Bacon, French Toast covered in syrup, and a beer.
Lunch: Greasy **** pizza from a local pizzeria (GIGANTIC slice) and a Dr Pepper.
Supper: Mixed Bar Food Platter - everything from fries to onion rings to chicken fingers - everything. And two beer.
Dirty little secret: I ate breakfast at 12:30, lunch at 5:30, and supper at 6:45.
WOW.
So anyway, I wake up the next day sick as **** and have more french toast and bacon. Not sure why. I proceed to feel sick but can't seem to puke (eating disorder, here we come) and I give in at 9:30 PM and go to McDonalds and get a double cheeseburger meal with six nuggets on the side.
I am an eating machine.
So anyway, the next day, I go to the gym for an hour, I play a game of soccer, and this morning I weigh 181.5 pounds.
Live. Love. Life.
Wow Matt...sounds like a fun weekend :)!! Except the getting sick part.
hehe Matt I feel like that never happens for girls! We eat beer and pizza and the next day we balloon!!
Anyway I'm doing a pretty good job losing the birthday bloat, it's TTOM and I'm only 114.4. I should be back to my normal weight pretty soon (and hopefully go below it)
So it's Wednesday, and I'm 151.2 this morning, down from 152.0 (before my run) last week. I keep thinking I'm going to start TTOM but I haven't yet...it's making me a little nervous that I'm still losing slowly. I'd almost rather be maintaining or even gaining a little bit right now so I could blame it on TTOM and expect to see a big drop once it's over. I hope my weight loss isn't just slowing down...*sigh*. I don't know if that made any sense, lol.
Poor Matt. Sometimes I feel like girl stuff is all we talk about on here :P.
well that didn't happen considering during my fall semester I dropped from the 180's into the 150's.....
in other words, it doesn't have to happen if you don't want it to .....amidst all the changes that occur around you, stay conscious of what you eat (and drink hahaha) and you'll be abolsutely fine and don't have to fall into this trap...of course if you don't mind and feel like it's part of the experience go for it lol
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