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

WEIGH IN:

110.5

Weight Goal for next week: drop to 110?

Work-Out Goal for next week: Walk at least 2 miles on campus with 20 lb bookbag 5x/week; go to gym 2x

Gained 3 lbs since last Holiday Weigh-In

Work-Outs since last Wednesday: Walking an average of 2.5 miles on campus with 20 lb bookbag 5x/week; went to gym 3x and worked out for about an hour each time

Since the university remodeled and re-opened the gym (opened last week) it's AWESOME. The old one had been around since FOREVER and was gross. New work out buddy + new remodeled gym = VERY happy college student!

I just got back from the gym (ran 3 miles, woo!) and weighed myself, and I was 152, but I usually weigh in the morning before I eat anything, so that's probably a little off.  I forgot about weigh in to be honest, lol...I had an organic chemistry exam this morning.  Fun.

Whoops, I just realized I forgot to weigh in yesterday!! But I'll give you my info for yesterday so that I'm still going on an accurate scale... :P lol.

WEIGH IN:

120.6

Weight Goal for next week: Maintain around 120-121ish

Work-Out Goal for next week: Go to gym 3x and keep walking around campus

Work-Outs since last Wednesday: Walking around campus every day, gym 2x

I've been trying really hard to get to the gym 3x a week... I failed because I was supposed to go last night, forgetting completely that LOST was back. And I'm a total nut for that show, so I stayed to watch... Anyway, I'll make up for it before next weigh in! :D

Well, its officially been a year since I joined CC! :) Hooray!

Original Post by hharris9:

Well, its officially been a year since I joined CC! :) Hooray!

Congrats!!!!!

WEIGH IN:

120.2

Weight Goal for next week: Maintain around 120-121ish

Work-Out Goal for next week: Go to gym 3x and keep walking around campus

Work-Outs since last Wednesday: Walking around campus every day, gym 1x, calisthenics and free weights every night (about 20 min)

Well.... I haven't been so good about that getting to the gym 3x/week... but I'm trying really hard to go at least a few times and I've been doing 100crunches/100 butt ups/leg routine/bicep curls/tricep lifts every night plus walking around campus every day. I've been consuming 1600-1800cal/day, and I feel like I'm tightening up a little... (It wouldn't take much, as bad as I've been slacking off!) Anyway, its all about fitness now - I don't want to overdo it and burn out, but I do want to keep healthy and active :D

Congrats Heather!!

Weigh in: 153...ugh.  

It's a few days before TTOM, so I'm blaming the weight gain on that.  I've been really good about getting to the gym lately, going every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and it's getting to the point where it's actually fun instead of just painful.  So that's a good thing.  And I've decided to not eat any more desserts in the dining hall AT ALL, but I bought a bag of yummy dark chocolates so I can have a couple pieces after dinner instead :).  

Congrats on the one year!

I'm up to 188 now and I'm probably looking better than ever - definitely bigger. I'd like to lose BF% for more visible abs. I'll post pictures at the end of the month!

WEIGH IN:

110.5

Weight Goal for next week: drop to 110?

Work-Out Goal for next week: Walk at least 2 miles on campus with 20 lb bookbag 5x/week; go to gym 3-4x

Maintained since last week

Work-Outs since last Wednesday: Walking an average of 2.5 miles on campus with 20 lb bookbag 5x/week; went to gym 3x and worked out for about an hour each time

Work out buddy has been having some back issues and has been given doctor's orders to not do anything "strenuous". I work out "by myself" on Mondays and Fridays and go walking with her on Wednesdays. I think this will work out well until she's better... but then I want my work out buddy back! The new gym is still absolutely amazing!!!

Hi, my name is Celeste and I just had a general question:

How can I be successful in weight loss and in school at the same time?

I only ask because I worked hard last year to lose about 20 pounds, but my grades slipped. This past semester I pulled up the grades to all A's, but I gained a lot of the weight back. Is there any advice as to how to balance my two goals?

Thanks in advance!

Oh, that's such a good question!!  This is something I've really struggled with as well.  One thing that I've started to do this quarter is I go to the gym right after work, when I probably wouldn't be doing school work anyway.  I've found that when I try to go to the gym in the evening, not only does it take up homework time, but I usually don't feel like going.  Also, beware dining hall food!!  If you have to have a meal plan, pay close attention to what you're eating.  I stopped counting calories for a while because I thought I knew what / how much to eat, but that was a mistake!  Something I've started doing now is I don't eat any dessert in the dining hall anymore, but I keep a bag of dark chocolate in my room so I can have a couple after dinner.  Counting calories will keep you from mindless snacking while you study, too.  That's something that really got me in trouble last year.  Good luck!! :)

Hi Celeste :)

I struggle sometimes with balancing my weight and my work... The majority of my weightloss, however, was done from last Feb-May, before school ended. I just started watching my diet, with the understanding that I'd exercise over the summer when I had more time. That doesn't mean that I didn't change my daily habits though.. I stopped taking the bus entirely and started walking/taking the stairs in buildings. You'd be surprised what a difference that makes with a 30lb bookbag!

I would say to use this time to focus on your diet. Eat better, learn about nutrition. Monitoring what goes into your body isn't that time consuming... what takes time is getting your exercise. So until you have time to do that steadily, I'd just take the long way home (walking) and start trying to keep more active habits. If you have time to go work out, do it, but if you don't, don't feel pressured to. Its more about being conscious of what you're doing. Don't be obsessive, just be conscious. If you obsess over your weight, that's where you end up giving up other things - school work, social activities, etc. Keep a firm head about school coming first. At the same time, simply monitor your health, rather than feeling its an all or nothing battle.

Hope that helps?

Thanks for the advice! I think I will take your advice and start by watching what I eat more closely. It's just that I'm majoring in engineering and also aiming for med school, so classes are tough. I guess the heavy working out will have to wait until the summer =/

well i have to say exercising at the gym is the hardest thing for me to do....i am maintaining around 122 and my food habits are very healthy. I always log in that im sedentary b/c besides walking to classes and up flights of stairs, i am basically sitting in class or studying. I try and do a few crunches or lunges when i have the chance but i am always thinking about something else that needs to get done. I am happy with my weight but i look very flabby and untoned from serious lack of exercise. All those trouble areas everyone has (stomach, inner thighs, butt) yea i have them tooo and it sucks.

Weigh-in: 150.4, down from 153 (I think) last week!  

Finally, a good weigh-in!  Since I started counting calories again, eating well has been so easy!  There's so much less temptation to just have a little of this or that, and I've cut down a lot on night snacking.  I stopped counting calories because I thought it would be easier, but I was so wrong.  So, yay for being back on track (and the scale going in the right direction for once).

Now, off to the gym :).

WEIGH IN:

109.5

Weight Goal for next week: 109

Work-Out Goal for next week: Walk at least 2 miles on campus with 20 lb bookbag 5x/week; go to gym 3-4x

Lost .5 lb since last week

Work-Outs since last Wednesday: Walking an average of 2.5 miles on campus with 20 lb bookbag 5x/week; went to gym 3x and worked out for about an hour each time

Congrats Carrie!!!!!!

weighin 151.2 Still sorta maintaining but I went out to eat a lot last week, hopefully this week will go better..maybe I should start counting again, I've been doing more counting in my head which has helped a bit

WEIGH IN:

121.0

Weight Goal for next week: Maintain around 120-121ish

Work-Out Goal for next week: Go to gym and keep walking around campus

Work-Outs since last Wednesday: Walking around campus every day,  calisthenics and free weights every night (about 20 min)

I'm up a little this week, but I've just begun TTOM, so that's to be expected.. It'll be back down by next week, I'm sure! I had my first round of tests this semester this week too, so I didn't make it to the gym... but I'll try to make it at least once or twice this week. On a happier note, this weekend is my 21st birthday! Woo hoo :) So that should be a good time! Congrats on the loss, Carrie! :) And Ashley, I know exactly what you mean... I feel like I'm in the same place. Thin, and healthy in my eating, but flabby from a severe lack of tone. /sigh It's frustrating, because you know the only way to fix it is to get to the gym, which is hard to do between classes, extracurriculars, work, and everything else!! For now, my resolution is to keep walking and to try to do my calisthenics whenever I get time. I know when it gets warmer I'll get into the mood to go a lot more often! :D

Hey, what are everyone's opinions on the whole not eating below your BMR thing?  I calculated my BMR on a bunch of different websites, and got around 1530 every time.  That seems kind of high.  Would it really be detrimental for me to eat less than 1530 calories a day?  Just wondering.  Right now I usually eat between 1550 and 1600 (or try to, at least).

down to 150.4 today! I can't wait to be back below 150 :) but now I'm sick...so we'll see how that goes, good think chicken soup doesn't have too many calories..yum!