HELP!THE FRESHMAN 15!
Posted by kelly16 on Apr 16, 2007 · Member since May 2006 · 12 posts
Hello all.
So I'm just finishing up my first year of university and looking back at my eating habits this year I am disgusted! :-\ I was super health conscious before I discovered Soy Delicious ice cream! I've really fallen off the wagon...I'm drinking pop again, which I hadn't done for 3 years, and I hardly ever eat vegetables! I keep saying "Okay, tomorrow I'll start eating healthy again and will go to the gym" but I just procrastinate away. I'm tired and hardly can call myself vegan anymore. Help! I want to lose the weight I've gained and get back to my healthy lifestyle but I'm so off track I don't even know where to begin. :(
Any suggestions would be immenslely appreciated! Thanks!
you know what you need to do Kelly
eat less junky food, more fruits and veggies...and exercise more
start slowly and dont get too down when you fall off the wagon from time to time
Hi Kelly,
Get tough with yourself! ENOUGH is ENOUGH. Flick the switch in your head.
Maybe think back to when you first started loosing track and see if you can pick any contributing factors in your life (be honest) ha ha ha.
I am australian living in australia and went to hawaii last year for the first time and oh boy did I eat!
I just wanted to try everything different.....funnel cake,cornbread, burgers etc etc. I put on sooooo much weight. I was disgusted when i realised I couldnt fit into any of my normal clothes I decided that was enough. So maybe focusing on the disgust factor may get you through, its working for me. exercise helps spur you on too......I find Im less likely to pollute my body with something bad after i feel healthy and pumped from a run or gym sesh.
Hope this helps in some way.
Hi, Kelly16 :)
In addition to the advice already given, you could try to start switching out healthier versions of your favorite "bad" foods. Try to make homade sorbets, with organic, natural sweeteners, instead of buying the soy delicious icecream that's already pre-made.
In fact, that's a good tip: Make everything you eat. Try to cut down on takeout, or on frozen foods. Ban anything ready made, and arm yourself with a list of healthy recipes (maybe some good ones from your past) that you know are easy, quick, give you a good balance of nutrients, and are fun to prepare (did I mention cheap? lol). Yes, you will be tempted to make fatty, greasy, or just plain unhealthy foods, but you will also give yourself a chance to take over what's going into your mouth once again. It takes time, patience and energy to make your foods from scratch, but you can go slow, and incoporate homemade goods over time. It can empower you to make better decisions overall.
Your body is probably nutrient starved, and craving fresh veggies, and fruits. Maybe if you give it what it wants, it will stop packing on the pounds and start working in harmony with you.
If you're eating in Commons it's hard, if not impossible, to eat healthy...man even the junk they put on the salad bar is pretty awful! If you're cooking for yourself, use my rule of thumb and buy things as close to their natural state as possible. I always say, if it comes in a brightly coloured plastic or tinfoil bag with big lettering on it, it's not for me! ;) The quicky, junky foods are more expensive anyway. When you stop to think how much by weight you get in those salad bar bags, and then stop to calculate how many tomatoes, a whole head of lettuce, etc. you can get for that same money--and it will last you longer than the one bag, which is gone in a meal or two.
Invest in ziploc bags to keep your lettuce and other delicate veg fresher longer. Wash things like apples, lemons and oranges, dry well--and they'll keep longer too.
I fight the same fight over health and weight except I left it till I was darn near 40. Don't you do that. You have to decide what you want--health or instant oral gratification! (Doesn't that sound awful!! ;D) And as you return to healthy eating the junk food will lose its appeal.
Don't forget to drink plenty of water...it helps clear your system of the toxins and also you won't get the munchies so often. A lot of people confuse thirst with hunger.
Best of luck, especially now during finals.
(((Kelly)))
I am not sure where in the world you are, but if this is exam time for you (it's April so just a guess) than hopefully things will get better once you move out of residence (if that's where you are) either back home or into your own place. I saw lots of people gain the 10lbs and once they were out of rez they began to normalize again. Residence is just an environment where people eat lots of junk, eat late at night, and drink way too much. The weight just kind of happens with those seemingly normal behaviours. Once you do your own grocery shopping some of the weight may go away on its own (provided you make healthy choices and have portion control of course). Campus food can be SOO bad so try not to be too hard on yourself. First year is a big adjustment in many ways.
Try to think of the gym as something that is as imporant as eating and sleeping for your health. You always make time for sleep to some extent, so even if you only have 40 minutes at the gym, it's better than nothing. Make it your summer goal to walk instead of drive, go for a nice morning or evening run, maybe check out a farmer's market for fresh produce...the summer is a great time to get outdoors and start eating healthier again. If you get back on track to your old ways this month the weight can be gone by September.
Well you can start by planin out your meal for each day. I plan out everything . It's much easier and makes me stay focused to that plan. So for breackfeast you can have french toast and orange juice. then 2 hours later a little snack like grapes then lunch like a salad or a soup. I made the jerusalem salad it's so good and healthy. It should be illegal that healthy food is so yummy lol. then an snack 2 hours later thn dinner. Have a small frige iin your dorm so you can keep your stuff like soymilk, yogurt ( silk yogurt is so good with some nuts for protein. HAve some veggies in your fridge so if you having a craving eat veggies and just try to get away from soda. What I did was say soda and water in the same machine wel waters is good so im gonna buy the good stuff and so im slowly going off soda.
Oh my gosh! You discovered where the caps key is! Good job! ;D :D
I know when I first started trying to lose weight about three years ago (I was 171 pounds, now I stay between 130-135) Weight Watchers really helped me. Most groups will let you attend one meeting for free to 'feel it out'.
A lot of people use the McDougall Program to lose weight and "cure" heart problems.
http://www.drmcdougall.com/
There's a yahoo group "vegetarianslimming" that's not very active but has a lot of document files that are useful for soneone whose trying to lose weight.
For myself, I'm struggling. I lose maybe a pound every week and a half or two weeks. But, with my thyroid problems, if I wasn't watching what I eat and exercising, I'd probably weight 300 lbs! I started out as an omni at 234 lbs. last March, started eating more meatless meals in the summer and finally went back to vegetarian in January. I'm at 183 now. I try to eat vegan but I sometimes have to eat something with a milk or egg product or not eat at all, so I don't feel I can call myself vegan.
Good luck, Kelly16, concentrate on your studies. Watch what you eat but please don't let that become your focus. Young women your age, who are vegetarian/vegan seem to be so prone to eating disorders. I'd hate to see that happen to you! :)
Everyone has great ideas.
First, I think it's important to figure out when you eat the really bad for you food (at a certain time of day or during midterms/finals.
If it's daily, prepare some sweet snacks for during that time. If you like ice cream, try frozen red grapes. They're really good. You're still getting your sugar rush while getting off of ice cream.
To then get off of frozen grapes, you could look at what you're eating in the morning. Is it carb heavy, so that you crash in the afternoon and need more carbs? If so, work hard at making sure your first meal is balanced. That may help with the craving.
If it's during exam time, take yourself out of the environment. Take a pair of noise cancelling headphones to the library and find the deepest, darkest study hole you can find. Sure, the headphones don't look cool, but the only people who make it that far into the bowels of the library are the serious students, so it doesn't matter.
Finding extra time during college is hard. Especially if you have to fit in work around classes and studying. So find ways to increase your activity with what you already do. If you take an elevator somewhere, take the stairs instead. If you're walking somewhere, try walking a little faster to challenge your body. That type of thing.
Well you can start by planin out your meal for each day.
But don't feel like you have to stick with a rigid plan. Plan out healthy meals, but if I friend asks you out to coffee, for example, don't worry that a soy latte or whatever wasn't in your plan. I've been there, and that's not fun either. Best of luck!
Good luck, Kelly16, concentrate on your studies. Watch what you eat but please don't let that become your focus. Young women your age, who are vegetarian/vegan seem to be so prone to eating disorders. I'd hate to see that happen to you! :)
Thanks so much for the overwelming replies and support, Yes, I am in the middle of exams so I may have to wait till that stress is over to really buckle down, but I feel much better about self control. I'm going to try those frozen grapes, they sound delicious! Once again, thanks to everyone! :)
I go through phases where I consume loads of junk and feel awful and gain a little weight. This pretty much happens every few weeks, however lately it's gotten worse. I blame the weather, but it's really my loss of control to blame.
I don't have to say a lot because I'd just be re-stating what others have already said. But I just want to emphasize that your "i'll start tomorrow" mentality wont work. You have to say "I'll start today." Even if it's after you just ate 4 jelly donuts and a big gulp of soda, or ate an entire pizza by your self, if you are upset with yourself start the change immediately, take a walk, breath some fresh air and meditate on how you are going to change your habits that very moment. then the next time you eat, try to eat the freshest best for you foods ever! like, maybe a salad, then treat yourself to a fresh fruit for desert. eat slowly and have a snack of veggies later if you get hungry, or drink some unsweetened tea! You really have to start now and work it out as you go. That way if you fall off track you can easily forgive yourself and move on.
just my 2 cents tho.
One thing that helps me when I am travelling, or otherwise unable to eat my way, is to start each day (or if possible, mid-morning) with some soypowder in juice. It helps keep me from eating the wrong junk just because I am over hungry or protein-deficient. Having the proper nutrition in my system helps keep me from being a victim of everyone who offers me junk. And, if I have to make a meal of starches (as happens, unfortunately, sometimes when I can't cook for myself) - I still end up with a healthier balance of nutrients, and have better resistance to junk.
I turns out that Mom was right ::)when she used to tell me when I asked for junk food - "If you're wanting a bunch of junk - you're just hungry! Go eat something healthy!"