gaining in college... but not for the reason you'd assume

So, I've gained weight since moving into my dorm. But not because of the dining hall like you'd assume, but because of my DORM. At home, if i wanted to eat, I had to go down to the kitchen & by that time I usually had talked myself out of it/decided i was too lazy/etc. But here all I have to do is reach like 3 feet to the left & there's my fridge. & open the drawer of my desk & there's peanut butter.
I'm not even hungry, it's just so... THERE. haha

I've seriously fallen off of the wagon & this needs to stopppp. Has anyone had this problem? suggestions?

I need to have food in my dorm because my meal plan is only for 6 meals a week. I need pb here because it's my fat source. ugh it's so frustratingggg

Is there anywhere else you can store the food (the dry store food at least) that'd be further away? Or, when you want to just grab food for the sake of food, getting up and taking a walk around your dorm?

If you feel like the PB is a particular problem, other fat sources could be from oily fish (I don't know if you are a vegetarian, so I apologise if you are!) - I know tinned mackerel is pretty easy to come by here and stores well - nuts themselves... avocado is good but can be a pain to store. I make facemasks out of that when it gets too ripe, though. >>

But, yeah. If you're boredom eating, put the food as far as it can safely be stored from you, possibly inside baggies or containers so you have to go through the routine of opening them, too, and get yourself to get up and walk about a bit or busy yourself in some other way so you can think: "Am I really hungry, or am I just eating for the sake of it?" I hope this helps! :o

thanks a lot for the reply!

I WISH I could eat oily fish for my fat source, but fish isn't exactly what my roommate wants to be smelling... =/ haha.

I actually ended up locking my pb up, at least for a few days while I get everything back under control. Hopefully that'll work. I've just gotten in such an "I don't care if I gain weight, I'm gonna enjoy college" mindset lately, so hopefully I can break that asap =]

I have the same problem. If there's food in the room, I WILL eat it :) Luckily for me, my meal plan covers all my meals, so I don't need to keep food around.

Here's an idea. Why don't you pledge to yourself that you will not eat food in your room? When you need to have a meal, you can take out the peanut butter, but you can't eat it in the room, you have to go down to the dorm kitchen or lounge or something and eat it there (ie, not on your bed or at your desk).

I do something like this at home, because I'm always tempted to take snacks from the kitchen back to my bedroom and eat them at odd times. Now if I really want to snack, I make myself go to the kitchen, get a plate, fill my glass with water, and eat the food on the plate at the kitchen table with a fork and spoon like a proper meal. No more random mindless snacking in my room!

 

I'm with Warbler on this one... I definitely like the idea of making a snack a "proper meal".

As for tricks that have worked for me in the past...
-- Only keeping "healthy foods" in my room, eliminating the junk
-- Going to my room mates to keep me accountable
-- Only keeping a limited amount of food in my room, so I'd be forced to go "on the hunt" if I wanted food.

I know what you mean by the fridge - my freshman (even sophomore) years in college were just an arm-reach away. However! I've finally done some things that are helping me lose the weight:

- The only food in my room is an apple, coffee, and raw sugar (for coffee)
- I keep tons of bottled water around me; I don't let myself have much soda in the room
- If you need food, get some fruits, nuts; avocados are definitely something to keep in mind
- My fridge is across the room now - makes my laziness reflex kick in a bit, heh
- Don't take the elevator; walk up the stairs (I'm on the 7th floor, so it helps a bit)
- IF your college has a bus system, use it sparingly (I'm at UMass, which has a pretty big campus - I'm also on a hill, so the walk really works out my legs)
- Stay away from the vending machines! No matter how tempting they are

Good luck with everything :)

Locking it up sounds like a good idea, I hope that's helping!

Here are some more ideas:

 

keeping a bottle of water in the fridge instead of the PB and reaching for that instead.

Placing something in front of the fridge so you have that extra couple minutes to think about if youre hungry.

Or rearranging your room so you have get up to reach the fridge.

 

I had the exact same problem during my year in residence. Be strong!

 

 

I've lost a pound and a half since I came to college weirdly...:S I stepped on the scale this morning and BAM.

1.I TRy to avoid unhealthy food in my room...TRY being the key word.

2. I try not to eat when my roommate isn't around. When she's here I can keep my appetite in check. If she's not, there's a chance I'll go kamikaze and eat all the babybel lights in the fridge.

3. I make portions for ONE.... If the things on your food plan are big I'd split it with a friend or save it for later or something? I'm not sure...

4. NEVER give into the "Oh I already messed up I might as well...." mentality. I did that this weekend. :S

....I had another one but I forgot it. D: