So I've Got a Whole Month to Kick My Butt Into Gear!

Hey there to all the college students on CC!

So we've survived finals week, and now have one whole fabulous month off from school! I'm pledging to take this month to eat right and exercise, and try to make some healthier eating habits a part of my every day life before going back to school. Anyone want to join me? I know the holidays seem like a great time to treat yourself, but it'll be even harder to lose the weight once you're back at school. I was thinking we could do weekly weigh-ins and post healthy recipes. Or just chat about college stuff. :] Post your stats, and major/minor if you're interested!

to all the new people in the group, thanks for joining!

sourapple,

hey there! i'm only supposed to be a senior in highschool (I graduated a year early) so thats okay. Thats awesome that we have the exact same stats. I would be happy getting down 120 too, but 115 would just be amazing. Congrats on making it out to the gym yesterday! The feeling of "getting back in the game" can be super motivating. You're already on your way. :

caronlinamoon,

what routine are you doing to tone up. I'm interested in doing some toning up myself (mostly on my top half)


Thanks for joining to you both! :]

well all i have are some free weights at home so ive been doing many reps for biceps and triceps..I then you some exercises for this site to focus on thighs, but and stomach...pretty basic but i could def. use some advice and tips myself about the best exercises to use.

I've read good things on the forum here about the NROLFW book, which I think focuses on free weights and breaks down all the movements.  I'm thinking about buying it if I get any book store gift certificates for Christmas. 

I've gotta say, I'm finding it much easier to eat well and exercise when I'm not stressed out about classes and have lots of free time.  Right now I'm eating 1800-2000 calories a day and have been really active - lots of hiking, plus going to the gym regularly.  When I go back to school I'll probably go back down to 1600-1800 a day.  I'm really hoping to get solidly into the 160's over the break - I'm currently fluctuating on the border (169.5 yesterday, 171 today, argh)

Weighed in today. Lost 1lbs. I'm sure it's water weight, but it's still encouraging. I do free weights as well, and I googled that book and it sounxds really cool. Thanks for the tip quintanion! By the way, don't worry about the weight flucuation- it happens to me all the time. Just go by your weekly weigh-in, that will give you a better idea of how you did overall.

So, how many credits is everyone taking next semester? I'm taking 15. Which is just one class more than I took last semester, but I'm a little worried I might get stressed out. Lol. I'm taking fairly easy classes though. I'm taking music appreciation, a couple of law classes, and english class, and an acting class. The acting and music classes are for my generals, but they sound kind of fun.

Whats everyone else's schedule look like for next semester?

Awiita,

I'm surprised you found too many young people on spark, I've found the opposite! I seem to find SOOO many young girls on here (like 13-14) who might not even be finished growing! On spark I actually find a lot of old people--which gets annoying because I find very few of them that I can relate to haha.

So anyways! Next semester I'm registered for 18 hrs (YUCK) I took 16 this past semester and it wasn't too bad. I may drop one of my classes during drop/add week though (probably managerial accounting, it's an 8am AND I've heard it's super hard). So my classes are: managerial accounting, principles of marketing (so excited about that one), principles of management, personal finance, intro to operations management, and macro-economics.

So how are you guys dealing with the holidays? losing weight over the holidays seems counterintuitive but I think it's easier at home than at school.

I had my main hanukkah party last night and I didn't do TOO bad. For my meal I had a huge salad with a small amount of pasta and a roll, then I had a LOT of deserts but it could have been a lot worse. Now I just have christmas eve and christmas! Christmas eve is at my house and my mom's making steamed shellfish (lobster and crab legs) with butter which I won't use, baked sweet potato, and steamed veggies = pretty healthy. Christmas day is at my boyfriend's and I can't control it at all and she's a GREAT cook and baker! 

Oh well, it's one day and I'll be sure to exercise lots the days before, during, and after!!

I'm in!

I'm Emily and I'm a junior in college.  I'm a biology major, with a concentration in marine biology and a psychology minor.  I want to eventually get into marine mammal cognition and behavior.  Right now I volunteer at the aquarium near my school with the seals and sea lions (the most amazing animals EVER) and I'm hopefully going to be interning with the beluga whales this summer.

I just got back from studying abroad in Australia which is where my whole weight loss inititive began.  Unfortunately, I had a really cheap scale there and now the scale at my house is funky, so I'm not exactly sure how much I weight, but I think somewhere in the low 150s probably.  I'm hoping to get a digital scale for x-mas, a good one, that I can bring to school with me and give me better, more accurate weights.

I really want to lose ~6-8 lbs before I go back to school in 4 weeks, but I almost find it harder to do that at home than in school.  At school I have way more control over what I eat and I have access to the school gym.  At home my mom always cooks the family meals and I don't have the money to go to the gym (Australia completely cleaned me out).  Running outside is not so good either b/c of snow and there are no side walks so it's kinda dangerous.  I've been using the really really old stationary bike we have in the basement though (but damn does that seat hurt your butt) and since I don't have any free weights I'm hoping to start doing other things like lunges and squats until I can get back to school and the gym.

Anyway, it's nice to meet all of you and good luck with all of your holiday parties!  It's gonna be tough but we got this!

Weighed in today and lost 2 more lbs. I don't know if this is unhealthy, or if it's just water weight. :[ I was only hoping to lose 1-2lbs per week, and I've already lost 3. I mean, it's encouraging, but I don't want to lose the weight too fast and have it come back on. Anyone else having this problem?

toastyocie,

looking back, i was confused. i was on teenspark. which, obviously, would have a lot of young people. lol. i have found there are a lot of young girls on this site as well. i get a little worried when i read that so many of them are on 800 calorie diet. sheesh, when i was 13 i never even thought about calories, i guess i stayed thin because i was active. anyway, i'm glad you can relate to the people in this group since they're your age. :]


lafoutloud1,

i've actually been dealing with the holidays really well. i love to bake, and have a habit of eating half the batter plus whatever i baked. lol. so i brush my teeth or put on white strips before i bake, that way the batter actually tastes gross. lol. i have a christmas eve lunch with my bf's family, and dinner with my family that night. then my mom's annual christmas morning breakfast, then another dinner with family. woofta, thats gonna be a lot of good food. lol. i'm just going to try to watch portion control and choose one item for desert. plus, i don't want to pig out at one place, and then not be hungry at the next. i want to be able to enjoy each party. i wouldn't stress out about it too much, it's just 2 days of the whole year. :]

hey emily!

thanks for joining! i am actually finding it a little harder to lose weight at home too! i'm sort of surprised. i do have a lot more exta time to exercise, which is great. but my family always makes a big dinner, plus great deserts. so i didn't really think about that. lol.

if you don't have access to a gym for the holiday break they have a great home workout online from Shape magazine. Its sort of intense, but it burns 300 calories in 30 min. Plus, it includes squats and push ups, so you get cardio and stregnth training.

ooh, here i found it online. :]

Your mission

You don't need much more than some floor space and a view of a clock to get a heart-pumping total-body workout. To do it, you'll jump rope (if you don't have one, just jump without it) and perform exercises like squats, crunches, and push-ups. These moves use your body weight to strengthen and sculpt your arms, chest, abs, thighs, and butt. And with no dumbbells or other gear to deal with, you can easily move from one exercise to the next without stopping, which will keep your heart rate elevated--and those calories melting away. Stick this plan on your fridge or take it with you when you travel and you'll always be ready to squeeze in some allover toning.

How it works

Simply follow the chart. For the speed skater, see the must-do move (right); for a refresher on push-ups, squats, and crunches, go to shape.com/cheatsheet. If the workout ever feels too intense, march in place until you catch your breath, then just pick up where you left off.

your workout plan time (min.) what to do RPE * (1-10) 0-2 march in place 3 2-4 jumping jacks 4 4-5 speed skater 5-6 5-7 jump rope 7 7-8 crunches 5 8-9 jump rope 7 9-14 repeat minutes 4-9 5-7 14-15 squats 5 15-17 jump rope 7 17-18 push-ups 5 18-20 jump rope 7 20-26 repeat minutes 14-20 5-7 26-28 jumping jacks 4 28-30 march in place 3 workout intensity moderate to hard equipment needed a jump rope total time 30 minutes calories burned 280 ** * See page 244 for RPE chart. ** Calorie burn is based on a 145-pound woman.

Keep your heart rate up, strengthen your thighs and butt, and increase your power with this must-do move.

speed skater

Stand with feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent. Bend forward at the hips and reach left hand toward right foot as you extend right arm behind you. Raise your left foot, shifting your weight to your right foot [A].

Hop to the left (staying low to the ground), landing on left foot and reaching right hand toward it [B]. Immediately reverse the motion, jumping to the right. Continue "skating" from side to side.




thanks for posting everyone!

have a great day,

-Adrea :]

I STARTED THE GROUP *COLLEGE STUDENTS TRYING TO LOSE WEIGHT* TODAY! PLEASE JOIN, THAT WAY WE ALL DON'T HAVE TO KEEP POSTING ON THIS THREAD.

Thanks everyone,

-Adrea :]

REMINDER TO EVERYONE: WEIGH IN'S ARE TOMORROW. TRY TO WEIGH IN THE SAME TIME THAT YOU DID LAST WEEK, UNDER THE SAME CONDITIONS [CLOTHED, OR NOT CLOTHED-WHATEVER]. I'LL PUT UP A SEPERATE FORUM FOR THE WEIGH-IN TONIGHT SO IT'LL BE UP FOR EVERYONE TOMORROW! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE! :]

-Adrea <3