Hey guys,

I'm new to the forum and I just want to say that I wish I found it sooner...there are alot of great stories, tips and support here.

I just posted this same topic in another area but I meant to post it here.

To make a long story short, I when I moved out of my parents house at 310 lbs. I was miserable (I'm 6'1 btw).

When I moved up to Indy to go to school I took a good look at myself and hated where I was headed so I began to learning how to cook, experiment with exercise routines, and try to live an overall healthier lifestyle and what ya know...it worked! eventually....

8 months later I was down to 235. I've been fluctuating between that and 245 but now I'm back to my regimen I originally started out with.

I had a question though, what is the hardest thing about being a college student and trying to live healthier...

For me it was definitely my schedule, hard to keep up with eating healthy and working out combined with studying (I was a pre-med student)...

What about you guys?

Absolutely schedule. When the semester's going on, I have my fraternity, parties, homework, school, work, etc. By the end of the day, I am just so wiped, or I just have to much to do... it just feels impossible to get into a regimen. Especially when I'm going to events where they're serving food.

Yea the events make it really hard Stephen, I feel the same way when I used to volunteer at the hospital, go to club meetings, hang out with friends, all of those things filled up the "extra" time during the day...

The rest was filled up with books...

The hardest for me is pulling all nighters (happens a lot with design majors) and I'll work at my computer for hours on a project.. and then when I stop to take a break from my work I'm STARVING and I eat everything and anything in sight.

Definitely need to stop that habit next year.

resisting the empty calorie drinks ;)
haha just kidding I swore off drinking hahahaa

um. it's probably just resisting the all you can eat dorm food.. and the endless pastries (since I work at a coffee shop).

@TKM I think what might work well is having prepackaged snacks [either you pack them yourself or buy ones that are prepackaged] like... zip bags of measured cereal, or carrotsticks+peanutbutter, and stuff like that, and when you get hungry while working, just grab ONE. and then don't eat till you get hungry again.
I know just what you mean haha cuz I'm a computer science major, and I spent hella time coding, and give in to midnight burger runs quite frequently...

For me it was working out what foods served at uni are healthy (or healthier) than others.

All my meals at uni are catered because I live on campus.

Most are carb, fat, etc loaded!

So for me it was learning which meal offerings are better than others, and then having the discipline to stick to those!

Well done on your weight loss so far ...... fantastic !!

My greatest obstacle is lack of time. I go to school full time and work over 30 hours a week. Most days I don't eat breakfast because I sleep in, and then have some random lunch meal at school (I try and keep it healthy but sweet potato fries are my weakness) and then I forget to have dinner, and my body doesn't like this whole 1 meal a day thing. Other days I can't stop eating, and try and bring snacks so I don't reach for the chocolate bars and cookies during my classes.

At my job, if I don't bring my own food, I have to send a coworker to get something for me, because I'm not allowed to leave. The only place near by is Wendy's so that's always a bad plan...

I just wish every day had 48 hours in it.

@Tara you should try packing a healthy lunch the night before ^__^ or even like, making a big batch of baked oatmeal and scooping a little in the morning, or even getting a yogurt shake for the road would work! I'm packing lunch now for summer school (i'm at school 10 hours a day and then I come home and have to go work T__T;;) it works wonders I'm too reluctant to waste, so I never am tempted to get fast food when I already have lunch with me.

yup, i would def. have to say time!!! Time is our worst enemy!! Never enough of it. Between classes, papers, work, errands, and personal life- there is NOOO "MEE TIME""!! Time to endulge in our own luxuries like takin a brisk walk or gettin on the wii or headin down to the gym or even preparin a healthy meal. Times like thes call for desperate measures- use Sunday evenings to setup for the entire week!! You can setup your snacks (2-3 daily)for the next 6 days. also use this time to setup breakfast in the fridge for the week- yogurt w/granola or fruit or dry cereal. Dont worry, i tell myself this all the time and it's hard even for me to stick to it but it's worth a try!!

God totally agree. There's just no time during the school year. Juggling school, studying, and work really takes a toll on the willpower. I wish I had enough endorphin addiction so that I have that feeling where going to the gym and exercising is a treat for me after all the studying, but I'm not there yet. At the end of the day I usually go screw it and not exercise. Bad!

@Angie

Agree with the pre packaged snacks... just loaded up on tons of them today.. I'm going to try and make everything in my apartment portioned out somehow so I don't just devour everything in sight...move back in on Sunday! Yikes!

Best thing I ever did was get an electric hot pot (also known as a slow cooker) you can make soups and stews in it which are very healthy (no kitchen required) and take very little actual work.

Hardest thing is finding the time to eat healthy foods and make it to the gym. Most of the time it is much easier to order chinese food and do homework while you wait for it.

I have been on-and-off eating healthy and working out [originally 2 30-min sessions a day, now down to twice a week on average]. However, since starting this 'lifestyle change' July 20th [5 weeks ago] I have dropped 19.6 pounds. From 335 I am now at 315.4 lbs [I am like 6'4, mind you].

Right now it is friday, and all the homework/reading/LSAT prep has got to get done tonight, since this weekend I have to work. Tofu spaghetti is being cooked as I write this.

Why can't a day have 48 hours instead of 24?
Well, I believe most of the students will answer the lack of time!
Since I study in the morning, I generally lunch at home. But I also study at night and that's just terrible! I get home really late and tired, so most of time I'll eat snacks.
But my biggest problem is not that. It's my anxiety, specially when I'm studying! In order to stay focused, I really need to chew something. It doesn't matter how much food is front of me, believe, I'll eat everything!!