Most college students receive warnings from parents and older siblings to beware the dreaded “freshman 15”- a newly independent teenager’s tendency to disregard all the healthy food lessons implemented upon them by their parents so they can indulge in the seemingly endless supply of junk food available to them in the cafeteria. Eventually, this marvelous abuse of independence, while a celebration of new freedom, takes its toll and suddenly your clothes don’t fit as well. No matter our eating habits, it’s something we’ve all found ourselves partaking in, despite daily trips to the gym and seemingly endless hours of soccer practice.
It’s very rare that you’ll find a college student who chooses to use their newfound college freedom to eat healthier and exercise more. Ladies and gentlemen, I am that student.
Not only did I avoid gaining 15 pounds, I lost nearly 40. “Who goes to college and loses weight?” asked my mother’s friend in an incredulous tone. I brushed it off, like most other critical comments I received, but found myself looking back at the 16 weeks of carb-less fun that attributed to my progress.
If you’re like me and have never been completely satisfied with the person looking back at you in the mirror for whatever reason, you’ve probably always dreamt about taking action. But how? So many diets and exercise regimens exist in the world, all for different people of different age, experience, body type and motivational levels. It’s almost impossible to dig through all of them to find a good starting point… almost.
I’ve attempted countless different forms of healthy eating and exercise schedules, and just when I would think “okay, this works, this will be my regular plan from now on,” I find a redundancy, or decide something’s missing and change it. After years of this pleasant on-again off-again relationship, I decided that I would re-attempt this weight-loss adventure one more time before calling it quits for good.
Instead of finding premade eating plans or a tightly planned exercise regime I would have to carefully follow around my class schedule, I decided to just wing it and see where that goes. Thus began my four-month journey without bread.
Meat, vegetables, cheese, vegetables, fish and vegetables. Also water. Like, a LOT of water. Perhaps a handful of almonds or pecans when I needed a snack, but I left myself no room for improvisation. I wasn’t sure where this journey would take me, but I knew one thing; if I cracked in any way, it was all over.
To put it simply, diet-wise I stayed away from carbs and drank all the water I could without getting sick. At the gym, I started with cardio, then went to whatever strength training machines were open for a few reps, then ended with 10 minutes on the treadmill. I kept it simple and easy to remember; I followed the ruled I set for myself, and soon it was second nature.
Was it difficult? Yes, of course. Did it get easier? It did, after a few weeks, but I still missed bagels and pizza and potato chips because I am a human person. But as a media major, one important thing I learned is that the ends justify the means.
September: 200lbs
December: 163lbs
I spent my free time watching endless Tasty videos and reading cooking articles with a lot of pictures. In retrospect, that was probably not a great idea motivation-wise, but those videos are addictive in themselves.
I’m not saying that all those who believe themselves to be overweight should go on a diet; I’m saying that if you want to, know what you are getting yourself into. Surviving off of scrambled eggs and spinach salad isn’t the hardest part of a diet- it’s the long, long commitment. If you do decide to go down this road, just repeat this mantra in your head: “you’re one day closer to your next plate of nachos!”