Weight Loss for Beginners

Ok, I am a second year college student, and that freshman 15 really got me. More like the freshman 25. I was a nice weight to begin with, in the ideal range for my body type. Now that the second year is starting, I realize how much I have gained in one short year. I want to lose about 15-20 pounds and I am not sure how to do it exactly.

I dont drink soda, rarely have sweets...all the weight probably came from alot of greasy cafeteria food and coffee (darn you Sodexho).  I walk around campus alot, but other than that, I dont exercise. Basically, what I am asking is where do I begin? How do I cut calories and what types of exercise should I start doing? (I hate my stomach, the weight went there and my butt). Help is appreciated!

Oh, and I know part of the problem is my TINY school where I l ive on campus. Cafeteria is only open for a 2 hour period from breakfast, and lunch, and only an hour and a half for dinner. So if you dont eat when its open, you lose out...I used to follow these rules, but they went out the window:

Eat only when you are hungry, eat until your satisfied (not stuffed), and eat what you want, and have water with meals...yeah, college totally kicked most of that out. And no, we didnt have our own kitchens...only a small fridge for the apples and yogurt.

A good place to start is using the tools on this site to give you a range of  calories you need for your height and weight. 

walking is a good start.  Lowering you calorie intake will probably do you alot of good.

Strength training is always a good way to build muscle that will burn more calories. They may let you use the weight room at the colege. It may increase your weight at first because muscle weighs more than fat.  In the long run it will make you toned and burn more calories.

haha. we have sodexho too!   I gained the freshmen 25 my first year of college also.  The best advice I could give you...don't eat their already prepared dishes, pizza, waffles, or desserts. Everything that they make is loaded with salt, butter, and white sugar.  Try to come up with your own creations.  The salad bar is generally good, and you can make your own sandwiches at lunch (at least at my school you could), and they have toasters and whole wheat bread.  Now that it is summer,  reinforce good eating habits, try to aim for 800 calories under your current expenditure. I'm telling you, it works.  I'm now back to what I weighed my junior year of high school.  It just takes dedication!

Best of luck :)

It's downright amazing that you can carry around $700 worth of books day after day, for four years.... and still gain weight!

I still haven't figured that one out :)

The hardest part it making a start, and you are in here, so you obviously want to make a new start, so good for you!  If motivation isn?t coming easy, make a short term goal for yourself, and don?t make it about the scale.  They say it takes 7 days to break a habit, or to make new ones.  Tell yourself that for the next 7 days, you will make smarter choices, get a little exercise, and stay away from any pitfalls you have trouble with, like junk food.  Seven days is a very short time, you can do anything for seven days if you put your mind to it.  If you can manage seven days, you will be more used to the healthier habits, and the next week will be easier.

What plan you do really should be up to you.  You know your lifestyle best.  I suggest you explore the web and look for something that appeals to you.  Look for plans that have a healthy amount of calories for your weight and height.

Here?s a very simple ?rule of thumb? site that you can use to calculate how many calories you need on an average day:

http://www.annecollins.com/dieting/calorie-ne eds.htm

I checked it against my own stats, and it gives a reasonable estimate.  Now, that is how many calories you need to maintain current weight.  To lose, you should have 500-800 calories less than that number.  For example, mine comes to about 2500 calories, so I have to stay under 2000 to lose weight.  On a typical day, I eat between 1700-2100 calories, depending on how much I exercise.  On days I exercise more, I eat more, so that my calorie deficit doesn?t get too big.

Look for plans that don?t eliminate whole food groups.  If a diet says you can only eat fruit and vegetables, or no carbs at all, or nothing but cabbage soup, it?s nothing but a fad diet.  98% of people who lose weight on such diets gain it all back, and then some.  Stay away from fads, look for a plan that has a healthy balance of all the food groups.

Set a reasonable weight loss goal.  Here?s a good site to tell you what a healthy weight range is for someone of your weight and height:

http://www.halls.md/ideal-weight/body.htm

Don?t expect weight loss to be fast!  There are no healthy ways to lose weight fast.  It took time to gain the weight; it?s going to take time to lose.  A healthy steady weight loss helps insure that you won?t gain all the weight back when you start to maintain.  Health professionals recommend a loss of 1-2 lbs a week.  It?s normal to lose a bit more than that in the beginning.  Proper hydration causes the body to release water it?s been retaining. 

Speaking of hydration?

Make sure you drink enough water or other suitable beverages each day.  You don?t have to drink gallons, but good hydration helps the body to function, and helps in weight loss.  At least, it does for me!  Be wary of ?healthy? drinks like fruit juice.  Fruit juice is fine in moderation, but it is so concentrated that the sugar content is almost as bad as soda.  Chose fruit over fruit juice if possible.

Get some exercise!  It is 100 times as hard to lose weight with diet alone, or exercise alone, than it is if you do both of them together.  Exercise doesn?t have to take a huge chunk out of your day.  30 minutes a day of an aerobic exercise (walking, swimming, biking) is enough to really benefit your weight loss.  Being busy is not the same as exercising in oxygen within your fitness level.  So find time to have 30 minutes of actual exercise in your day.  Anaerobic exercise is also helpful (weight training, that sort of thing).  Weight training exercises should only be done every other day, to give your muscles a chance to rest and build in between times.  Personally, I focused on aerobic exercise at first, and added a little anaerobic later.

Many people advocate ?baby steps? or small changes in your lifestyle.  That sort of beginning benefits many people.  It doesn?t work for me and I know it, so I jumped right in.  For me, the baby step approach leaves too much room to justify bad choices.  Now, I?m not militant.  There is no food in my life that is ?off limits? in moderation.  I just make sure that what I eat everyday fits into my calorie allotment, and nutrition goals.  (I go for 20% calories from fat/ 20% from protein/ and 60% from carbs)  I do find that by making healthier choices (lean meats, low or non fat dairy, complex carbs like whole wheat over white flour and brown rice over white rice) I can eat more food during the day and still remain under my calorie allotment.  So no bacon cheeseburgers for me!  I don?t want to waste so high a proportion of my daily calories on one sandwich!  If I want a burger, I have one.  I make it at home, and choose extra lean beef, or ground turkey.  I slap it on a whole grain bun with onions, ketchup, lettuce, and tomato, and I still get my burger fix without all the fat and crap.  It?s not about deprivation; it?s about making healthier choices.

Man, I?ve rambled on forever!  I hope this helps you get started!

I'd also like to suggest this post, here, that was put together to help answer alot of the "Beginner" questions people have :)