How Do I Eat Healthy at University?

Well first, congrats on getting serious about the weight loss.

What to avoid: anything with added sugar! This includes most dessert items, soda, a lot of breakfast cereals, etc.. Heavily processed foods should also be off the list, and this includes anything marked "reduced calorie," "reduced fat" or "reduced carbohydrate". Eating healthy does not include chemistry sets.

What to eat: Be sure you get plenty of veggies, and not the kind drowning in cheese or butter or salad dressing either. Meat is a personal choice, but remember that a portion is roughly the size of a deck of playing cards.

What to be careful about: grains and starchy vegetables like corn and potatoes. Limit portions, and pay attention to what happens when you eat these foods. If you find, for example, that you bloat up when you eat potatoes, don't eat them anymore! By the way, you can drop 70-100 calories in a sandwich by ditching one of the pieces of bread. Also, be very careful of sauces and dressings. A spoon of mustard has way fewer calories than a spoon of mayo!

What else you must do: exercise. If your uni has a gym, take advantage of it. In any event, make your goal a minimum of 3 days per week for at least 30 minutes, preferably 5-6 days a week for up to an hour. If you aren't seriously sweating, you aren't working hard enough. Fair warning, the abs are going to be the hard part.

I'm rooting for you.
--ShortWoman

Instead of the Freshman 15, my son lost 70 pounds his freshman year. He did it by skipping breakfast (not a good idea, but his class times didn't mesh with the breakfast times. For lunch, he had a grilled chicken wrap, which was quite large. He never drank anything but water. (Big plus) At night, his college in Oregon has an all you can eat meal, but it's not very good. He tried to choose wisely at that meal.

Of course, he did exercise, but didn't go overboard.

Good luck on your weight loss. You can do it! If you have other questions about your health, symptoms, etc. go to the website of iTriage at www.iTriageHealth.com. It works from the iPhone, smartphones and from computer desk tops.

Best...Marcia

I'm a senior now in college, and I've managed to lose 25 lbs while eating entire on campus.

I'm 21, 5'6", and have gone from 165 to 140 lbs

First, exercise. That doesn't mean just endless hours of cardio - you need to lift weights or do some kind of strength training. I'm actually taking a pilates class twice a week for credit, and then my uni's gym offers dance classes, pilates, toning, step, etc for free.

As for eating, I eat anything I want, but if I know it's unhealthy, I just limit myself. Simple things like putting half your meal on a plate and taking the rest to go will help you avoid overeating. I log all my calories daily at sparkpeople.com, but any site will do. I aim for about 1300-1600 cals a day, eating a bit more on the days I exercise heavily.

Every school has a salad bar or something close to it. Make this one of your meals daily and use a low calorie dressing. I use balsamic vinegar (not vinaigrette) which is about 15 calories. Just don't load up your salad with cheese and the other unhealthy things they'll offer.

I know we also have an egg station, and I always ask for egg whites in my omelets instead of regular eggs.

You may even have a nutritionist on campus - check the website, ask around, and try to come up with a plan.

The basic rules for eating well are: lots of fruits and veggies, drink at least 8 cups of water a day, try to have mostly complex carbs (whole wheat pasta and bread, brown rice, etc) instead of simple carbs, try to track your sodium intake, and eat lean protein (chicken, turkey, tofu, less fatty red meats.)

If you spend a while tracking your calories but not dieting, you'll be able to see what nutrients you're lacking, what your trigger foods are, and what you need to change to lose weight.

One last thing... give yourself more time! A healthy weight loss is 1-2 lbs per week, but you will hit plateaus and it will get tougher towards the end to lose weight.

I took OrthoTricyclen Lo about six years ago and gained forty pounds within six months. I agree, it increases your appetite and I felt nauseated whenever I was hungry. All of the above advice is good for you, but just keep in mind that the pill DOES have something to do with your struggle to lose weight, and good luck. (I could not shed the excess weight until going off the pill but I am also quite a bit older than you so you do have that big advantage!)

I began eating the simple "No flour, No sugar" approach (See Peter Gott, MD) ten weeks ago and have lost ten pounds. I eat meat, fruits, vegetables, lentils, rice, clear soups, stir fries, etc - I don't eat bread, crackers or any product containing refined flour or added sugar. This is a very easy way to eat and lose or maintain weight. I am never hungry and I feel I eat what I want, when I want. (It works because it cuts calories of the stuff we usually put on breads and crackers, and its a low glycemic index diet - which reduces appetite.)

This might be possible in a dorm cafeteria setting. I've managed okay while traveling and having to eat mystery foods (I also have three food allergies)

Try a simple sandwich with turkey and vegies. Make you get whole wheet bread as white bread contains added sugar. If desired you can cut out cheese to limit your fat intake. Steer towards anything fresh!