My post study abroad dilemma! :(

So since last November I'd been trying really hard to lose my freshman 15 (ok so it was more like a freshman 20 or so...) and by the end of may I was almost there, but then I went and studied abroad in England. I originally tried to keep eating healthy and such while there but eventually I cast it off to the wind because I was having too much fun blahblahblah. And I thought it was ok because I was walking everywhere. Long story short I come back to the states and am right back where I started from last november. My question is, will it take longer to take off the pounds than it did to put them on? I mean, it was a really gradual weight gain the first time I put on weight and therefore it took quite a while to get back in shape.. this was only 2 months so will it only take 2 months to shed those pounds? Help!

The EXACT thing happend to me when I went to spain, I mean EXACT. All that delicious bread we ate with meals, I partied alot, not to mention the delicious ice cream I kept eating..

I have no real advice for you other than start over and do what you did at the beginning. Maybe we could be buddies to keep each other on track.

The idea that it gets progressively harder to lose weight if you "yo-yo" has been debunked.

Just make a new start and learn from this. You don't ever really get to go off the diet... even when maintaining, in some way or another, you have to regulate what you eat.  This includes during vacations etc.

Wow, this seems to be a common happening.  Last fall I had been dieting and exercising hardcore, and I was down close to twelve pounds.  I was very careful about calories and very restrictive of "treats" and things like that.  Then my family and I went to Scotland, and at first I was trying to count calories and be careful, but before I knew it I had the "live it up, I'm on vacation" mentality, and was shoveling anything and everything into my mouth that I came across.  I tried to justify it by saying I was walking everywhere and it was freezing cold so I needed extra fat to keep warm!  But when I got home, I had gained about 2 lbs, which really wasn't that bad compared to how I thought it would be, so I was very fortunate.  But on the plane ride home, I just talked to myself in my head and tried to re-orient myself toward healthy living.  I made a commitment to myself that when I got home, I would go back to my healthy lifestyle and running every day like I used to.  And I did, and I lost the two pounds, plus many more.  Once you get back into your old habits, you'll feel great knowing that you're on the path to success, and I imagine the weight will come off no problem.

I gained almost 10 lbs in Japan when I was there for three months.  AND I was walking all over the place.   I kept telling myself that it would be no problem to lose it once I got home.  Unfortunately I haven't been so lucky - I haven't really seen the weight budge in the month I've been back.  I've never had to lose weight before now.  I certainly have a new appreciation for how difficult it is.  I keep asking myself if the weight gain was worth it - in other words was it worth living in the moment and enjoying my time while I was having a once in a lifetime experience?  We'll see how long it takes to get the weight off....

So what do you guys think - was it worth the weight gain to live in the moment?

absolutely, jenna.

It was worth every pound, every piece of meat, each glass of wine, each slice of bread, every piece of fatty delicious ham.

A part of experiencing any culture is enjoying the food. In my case, I was living with a family and the mom was an excellent cook, so I just couldn't turn down the food she made us. Besides, I know that I won't be able to visit spain again for a long time, so I had to "aprovecharlo"..make the best of it, which included indulging in the wonderful food culture.

Even if I could go back I wouldn't change anything, but I am ready to start anew.

edit: i forgot this little tidbit: once when I was talking with the madre of the house we were living with, she said all of her exchange students gained weight (she had been hosting them for 8 years) and she beleives its the drastic change in diet style that leads to the gain. I'm not sure how true it is, but it would make a ton of sense.

I just came back from being in Sweden for a year. I ate whatever I wanted and ate all the time. I came home, found a scale, and realized I put on 25 pounds. I came back three weeks ago and have lost ten pounds already, so it seems to be coming off quickly for me. I know it'll stop coming off so easily soon, but I'll enjoy it while I can :)

Good luck to all the former study abroad people!

Yeah I have to say, despite all the weight I gained, I really wouldn't have done anything different while in London. I mean, the calorie consumtion was bad and mostly alcohol (I'm 19 so obviously I felt the need to take advantage of my ability to drink/party legally and the place around the corner had pizza for only 3 pounds which was insanely cheap, especially in one of the most expensive cities in the world)... I had a blast. I just know that I need to work to get back where I was.  I've already cut the alcohol almost completely and I don't really eat pizza in the states unless I'm in new york.. same with fries. Hopefully I won't take too long. Thanks for your responses and I definitely think we should work on it together!!

That's weird--I studies for a semester in England and came back 15-20 pounds lighter.  Of course, I walked or biked everywhere, and I really cut out most of my snacking, but it's not like my meals were all that healthy.  (The whole house ate communal meals, and the guy who cooked the most was not health conscious at all, to put it mildly.)  And, of course, I gained most of it back when I got back to America.  My body actually kind of spazzed out for a week or so when I went back to American food, even though I was trying to eat more healthily to avoid putting the weight back on.  Weird how different people react differently to the same sort of experience...

Okay, so I'm supposed to study abroad in Thailand for the spring semester and all of the issues you guys just posted about are EXACTLY what I am worried about. How will I live for three months in a different culture with their food (no calorie counting) and *gasp* no gym??

I'm terrified i will gain weight. Do you guys have any good suggestions, looking back with hindsight from your own experiences, for me? Is there anything I can do? Are my fears ill-placed, or am I destined to gain weight again? I've finally lost my "freshman 15" weight and I am in NO hurry to put any of it back on. Thanks, guys, any input would def be appreciated.

I studied abroad in England about ten years ago and came back 40 lbs overweight!

Before I left I was running hardcore everyday in warm weather, so when I got there it was already fall and soon cold and into winter it was dark by 4pm. ugh! Anyway, England is not known for their cuisine and loads of the food is fried, so just get back on track and don't be hard on yourself. It's something that just happens when we're out of our element.

 

Good luck tini!

I studied abroad in Australia a few years ago and gained a lot of weight! I'm guessing about 20-30 lbs. My pants barely fit. 

But you know what, it was worth it. I let myself eat what I want, go out drinking a lot, and I had an absolute blast. And I lost the weight and then some. It is weird looking back at all my pictures and seeing how big I was, because I didn't think I was that big at the time.

A lot of the study abroad students I was with did gain weight as well, so it is not an uncommon thing.

I always loose weight when I go abroad, even for vacations, and it's not because I eat less.  On the contrary, when I went for Christmas to Eastern Europe last year and committed gluttony all the time as I was gauging on delicious foods for three weeks I lost over 10 lb.  Then I got back to the US?

Don?t worry about not having a gym, just walk everywhere (and I don?t mean stroll) and don?t overeat.

Thanks for the support nisao!!

my advice to anyone studying abroad in the future and reading this forum is DONT WORRY ABOUT IT! I had a plan, but once I got there is went flying out the window.

Study abroad is such a unique, special experience, trying to stay skinny is such a terrbibly small detail in comparison to the overwhelming experience you will have. Enjoy all while you're there, and don't look back!