busy college student needs help

[Morthen]

Hey I've been struggling with my weight my entire life. I'm finally starting to get a handle on it, I wish I had done it sooner but luckily I don't have anything very detrimental to my health aside from being extremely heavy.

When I was my heaviest I topped out at about 329 I think. that was a few months ago, since then I'm down to 305.. probably more by this point. All I have done different is drink more water I cut out white bread and almost all the sugar I can think of, and I run every other night for about 30-40 minutes, and walk the other days. Its a slow but steady weight loss.

However with my current college schedule I'm taking 15 credits, meaning i am at school ALOT! Between being at school and homework time I find myself skipping nights on running. I think its a combination of it usually being almost midnight by the time im done with my school routine and homework and a motivation issue.

Any advice that can be given would be greatly appreciated.

[Baldboss]

You're on track by cutting out white bread and sugar but there's one more "white" to cut out...salt.  Cutting out the whites is one of the best keys to good health.

While it may not be in your budget, could you get a stationary bike or treadmill and read while on them?

[Razor X]

You also need to watch your total caloric intake.  Write down everything you eat and keep track of the number of calories. It will make you more conscious of what you eat and how much.  It also provide a record you can refer to in order to see what worked on weeks when your weight loss was successful.

I'd also work on increasing the intensity of the workouts.  Start running faster and see if you can eventually get to the point where you're doing your run in 20 minutes rather than 40.  You'll burn more calories in a shorter, more intense workout and it will also save you time.  You should also work some weight training into your routine, which will help build muscle and speed up your metabolism.

[DJ_Bald]

2 things. Go buy Power 90 for 60 dollars and start doing it. Workouts are short---25-35 minutes. Buy the book "the abs diet" for 11 bux on Amazon.
Thats all your diet and exerxise taken care of. Start with the diet fo a few weeks so you know what to eat to get energy. Then do the P90.
You will drop robably 30-40 lbs in 90 days.

[D.A.L.U.I.]

You''ve gotten good advice--but if students & studies are anything like my days you've got to avoid the temptations, pizza, beer, pasta pigouts--you know the usual, "Let's get a ______, we need it."  You don't.  Keep a supply of apples, some celery, and the like to exercise the jaws w/o the fat and empty calories.  Oh, diet drinks only, and only when water isn't available.  DRINK lots of water. 

[Morthen]

thanks guys. id buy power or something like that but it really isnt in my budget. I dont have basically any money after paying for school and stuff.

[Morthen]

err power =p90 it wouldnt let me edit the post. I wish I could afford something like that but I just dont have money

[D.A.L.U.I.]

Not meaning to challenge, but apples, celery, etc., cost a lot less, a whole lot less than pizza.  Cheap, don't even do apples, drink ice water.

[Larry]

This is a tough one because your body want's to maintain it's current weight and if if doesn't get the calories it wants, you'll go into the starvation mode and you'll feel weak which isn't good so it's like fighting city hall.  I had a weight problem and If I'm not careful, I'll rack on the pounds right before your eyes.  I lost my weight by cutting out all animal products and processed foods but I needed to eats lots of fruits to keep up my calories and of course plenty of vegatables.  The weight came off but I lost 30 pounds in a month and my doctor yelled at me because the heart can reject a rapid loss like that.  Keep the loss to no more than 15-20 pounds a month maximum.  Excersise is good but the heart and joints are under a lot of stress to begin with so it might be better to lose a few more pounds before getting into arobics or anything strenous.  Setting up an appointment with a nutritionist might be a good benefit because a doctor gets about 45 minutes training iin nutrition while in school but a nutritionst makes a living at knowing what they're doing.

[(|8-)]

Exercise in the morning.  Do it first before anything else can crowd it out.  It's a good way to wake up. 

I am always in the best shape when I have a commute where I can ride my bike, because then it's built in. 

Try different things--as a student you probably have access to a gym and a swimming pool and all kinds of stuff.  You might like running in the evening, but some other kind of exercise in the morning.  For example, even though I'm a bike geek, I like swimming in the morning because even if I'm not awake and paying 100% attention, I'm not going to get hit by a car, and if I'm slow, it doesn't make me late for anything because I'm still no more than 25 yards from where I started. 

[honestjohnny]

Congrats on the weight loss and the attitude!  You're half way there by choosing to do something.  The doing is easy.  You're going to be spending a lot of time in your room, whether it's a dorm or a house.  So here are some things you can do in a dorm room:

Chair exercises.  Dips, pushups at various elevations, step ups.  Put your knees under the chair and do situps.  Alternate sets of ten until you can't do them anymore  

Also, do some stretching of your lower back.  Sit in the chair with knees all the way back to the seat.  Bend forward and touch the floor or as far as you can go.  Twist by reaching back and grabbing the back rest with your hands and keep your feet planted on the ground.  Lean back over the back of the chair and clasp your hands, stretch as much as you can. 

I would also recommend you get into yoga.  You don't have to be flexible now--that's what the Yoga's for--or a hippie!!  Get a copy of Rodney Yee's Power Yoga for Strength, Flexibility and Stamina.  Do one of those everyday; they're only 20-30 mins each.  Don't push, just do your best.  Yoga at most requires a strap, mat, and some foam blocks. If you don't think that Yoga can get you in shape, take a look at my avatar...how many people do you know that can do that?  Best thing about yoga is it's real fitness for real people, not gym rats.  You don't have to take protein shakes and other stuff to do it. 

Good luck!!

[RyanJP]

Good to go bro, stay strong and follow through. The most important thing is your diet, limit your complex carbs/starch intake early in the day and make sure your getting some lean protein in you ( chicken, fish, steak ) and eat as much fruits and vegetables as you want. Try to eliminate any food that is high in fat and carbs, like pizza or hamburgers and stay away from anything with HFC ( high fructose corn syrup ) that will hinder any fat loss through out the day and it will signal your body to store fat and as well watch your sugar intake, doing this will stabilize your blood sugar through out the day. Incorporate some weight training into your regime, lifting will help accelerate fat loss, maintain or even gain muscle/body recomposition....start doing pushups, does as many as you can daily. Keep on walking it's good. NEPA ( non-essential productive activity ) like walking to classes, taking the stairs instead of escalators or elevators will
also help accelerate the weight loss as well as keep that blood going through the brain so it'll keep you sharp for hitting the books and studying. Good luck!

[wovercast]

I like that you are running. If you need motivation to get out and run, sign up for a 10k or a 1/2 marathon. I could barely run a mile and signed up for a half marathon 5 months away. It was all the motivation I needed to get my runs in. I also dropped from 340 lbs to 235 and am training for a full marathon in November. Best of luck to you.

[lou911]

     You can alternate running days and strength days. Building muscle speeds up your metabolism. If you do not have access to a gym ,do bodyweight exercises in your room for example do a circuit of 10 pushups 10 squats  10 lunges (each leg) 10 situps or leg raisies , do as many sets as you can for 20 minutes. Good for conditioning too. Start off with that routine . On Saturdays  you can concentrate on strength (no circuit) ,just the basics bench press, squats , military press, barbell rows, dips and barbell curls. Start with 3 to 4 sets for 10-12 reps . Diet should be lean protein ( chicken ,fish ,very lean beef, egg whites)     Carbohydrates should be the fibrous kind ( brocolli, green beans , legumes ) and healthy fats from different sources ( nuts, olive oil, flax). Hopefully that will help you.        

[marty22]

to wovercast: amazing change. Great job!