College Newb

[zach.rominger]

My name is Zach and I'm just finishing up my freshman year in college.

Now that I'm out on my own, I'd like to eat better and lose this

weight I've been keeping for the past... ten years? (gah)

It's always been a dream of mine to be fit.

My goals are to lose some weight at a reasonable pace, to get

into the habit of exercising, and to acquire a healthy diet.

I think the only obstacles I have so far, as a student,

are the required meal plan (forcing dorm food into me)

and the laundry monster that sneaks around and dirties

all of my workout clothes and towels...

[Sethbacca]

The only obstacles are the ones that you place in front of yourself. Maintaining a diet and exercise plan is about willpower and planning. You can do it!

[Steve]

Hey Zach!

Glad to have ya dude, welcome to the squad.

Sethbaca makes a great point - if you REALLY want this, and are willing to work for it, we can make it happen.

As Morpheus tells Neo: "I can only show you the door. You are the one who has to walk through it."

As you hopefully know, your diet is 80% of the battle - lets start by what your options are at your college for food on the meal plan and then we'll see what we can cut out of there. Not sure if you're a drinker, but booze can pack on some serious pounds too in college thanks to the frequency of consumption.

I'm sure you have access to the college's gym though, so that will help in the exercise dept.

-Steve

[Istra]

Ah, college. It is so easy to pack on weight there. Glad you're rebelling against the status quo. :3

Good luck.

[titsworth]

Not sure if you're a drinker, but booze can pack on some serious pounds too in college thanks to the frequency of consumption.

That's why I lived on strait whiskey. Not as many calories. Good workout from angry bar fights too!

[Steve]

Not sure if you're a drinker, but booze can pack on some serious pounds too in college thanks to the frequency of consumption.

That's why I lived on strait whiskey. Not as many calories. Good workout from angry bar fights too!

Truer words have never been spoken.

-S

[naughtygrog]

That's why I lived on strait whiskey. Not as many calories. Good workout from angry bar fights too!

Not sure if you're a drinker, but booze can pack on some serious pounds too in college thanks to the frequency of consumption.

-S

Remember in college it's fun, in the real world we call it alcoholism

[dakaodo]

College is actually a really good place to get active.

Like the other guys have said, the first step is something no one else can do for you: Decide that you will find something physical you like doing. Without that positive internal choice, things will never change.

When I was in college, I would always take the stairs, even when visiting my friends in the 14-story dorm.

Grab a frisbee and get a pick-up Ultimate game going in a grassy quad somewhere with friends.

Rollerblade. Bike.

Walk quickly or jog / trot (but don't feel impatient and rush) to class. This applies the HIITS concept -- 15 minutes of high intensity workout (e.g. a series of 60 second fast runs or sprints, alternating with 30 seconds of rest) is superior to 60 minutes of low intensity workout (e.g. a casual walk around the neighborhood). The concept is that you put a higher peak demand or stress on your body, jumpstarting it to a higher level of metabolic activity to burn more energy and provide you with the juice on demand to flee from physics professors or chase after shuttle buses.

Now be vewwy vewwy quiet, b/c we're hunting wabbits... These absurd scenarios are a white lie we tell our bodies, in order to remind the body that it was meant for running, jumping, whatever.

Or as my GF calls it, workout by sneak attack. The next time you fire up COD5 Modern Warfare 2, throw down as many pushups (good form!) as you can while a level loads or you're in the lobby waiting for players to join. My shooter experience dates from circa 2005-2007, so my jargon may be a bit dated now. The idea is to play drinking games with yourself, with a set of achievable reps (1, 5, 10, whatever is good for you).

Or get an Iron Gym / knockoff. The basic model rocks out. It's a convenient pull-up bar that fits any standard doorframe without screws and installation. Pull ups are really hard to find casual opportunities to do.

And for all this, always do +1 for the gamers who couldn't be with us today. If you could easily do 5 push-ups with good form, throw in 1 or 2 more on each set until you're working it. If you're really huffing and puffing to get that 2nd pull up, hang for 5 seconds, then do a 3rd one. Don't go until it hurts or you fall, though.