The thing about college is that (theoretically) you spend most of your time panicking for exams, studying for exams, or doing something class related. Pretty much 0% of that involves walking/running/jogging/exercise, and it generally involves snacking. (Not withstanding breaks, during which we students can sit all day on our bottoms at computers by choice, skimming Twitter, Tumblr, or various social networks.) And when you're tired out...it's hard to get motivated.
Thought I'd post things that I'd heard of before and tried, in an effort to shed some extra pounds.
So far it seems like it's been effective~
I've been doing these things since the start of June and I went from 136lbs to currently 124lbs. c:
(Hopefully I can continue as much of this as I can, once school starts.)
NOTE: Remember everybody's body is different! It might take different combinations of methods, or completely different methods, to get something that works for you. And what works for me might not have any effect at all for other people. Keep in mind your body type, what kind of diet/foods are available to you. your goal weight, etc etc.
~+~+~+~+~+~
~+~+ W A T E R +~+~
~+~+ E X E R C I S E +~+~
You should get in at least 30 minutes per session. It's tough getting out to do it, especially in the summer heat. At first it's a little difficult to keep consistent, but the effort's visibly worth it after about 2 weeks. This will help build nice muscle tone and definition in both your body as you lose weight c:
My routine:
*run 30 minutes a day, 3X a week
*dance stretches before bed (helps with flexibility and also helps shape your "figure" a little c: )
If you want a less tiring exercise, dancing might be a good option. It builds flexibility, muscle control, and gracefulness/poise, but best of all it's fun so you hardly feel tired. Youtube has a lot of nice dance-based workouts, and if you want to get intense there's probably dance studios in your area that offer classes (so YOU CAN SHOW OFF YOUR SWEET MOVES AND BOD AT THE CLUB YOH).
My routine:
*run 30 minutes a day, 3X a week
*dance stretches before bed (helps with flexibility and also helps shape your "figure" a little c: )
If you want a less tiring exercise, dancing might be a good option. It builds flexibility, muscle control, and gracefulness/poise, but best of all it's fun so you hardly feel tired. Youtube has a lot of nice dance-based workouts, and if you want to get intense there's probably dance studios in your area that offer classes (so YOU CAN SHOW OFF YOUR SWEET MOVES AND BOD AT THE CLUB YOH).
~+~+ D I E T +~+~
"With weightloss, 20% is exercise, but 80% is your diet." <--- my dad.
He's right. Let me give you an example - 30 minutes of running burns on average 200-300 calories, which is about the contents of a bag of chips! :C
Just cutting back (or cutting out, in my case) snacks like chips and chocolate from your diet can make a HUGE difference. Personally my weakness is sweets, so I substitute with things like fresh fruits, or yogurt (but I still have my sweet cereal in the morning).
Things like diet shakes and meal shakes CAN help, but it's not the healthiest thing to replace one meal every day with a shake on a longterm basis. (They've never worked for me, I just feel hungrier after and as a result eat MORE at my next full meal...) A variety of fresh food is much healthier and way more effective, while using meal shakes only occasionally.
Vegetables with lots of fiber consume calories just through your body trying to digest them - some good ones are jicama and celery.
Eating less meat, especially pork, helps. My family makes a lot of meat dishes, though, so it's hard to avoid. So in my case I replaced red meat with chicken or fish whenever I could, and chose leaner red meat cuts. (No bacon or sausages though, crey.)
And avoid fast food & canned/processed foods as much as possible!
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is partly a weightloss post and partly a health post.
It's best to be fully aware of your IDEAL body weight (taking into account lifestyle, height, etc.) as this GREATLY varies between people. And there are people who naturally just tend toward a particular weight - this doesn't necessarily mean anything's up, it may just be how your body naturally is, and there's nothing wrong or worrying about that!
For you guys who, like me, wanted to slim down: being healthy about what you eat and do is most important, and if you keep it up then slimming down naturally comes along AND lasts for the long term.
Patience, persistence, and self control are key! C:
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I am absolutely not, not, NOT encouraging habits leading to or supporting eating disorders or the development of such. They're dangerous and destructive, and very often rebound in the worst ways both physically and mentally. They're also increasingly common, due to images in the media (which more and more recently seem to be taking a turn for the better, thankfully).
If you feel that you may be suffering from an eating disorder, PLEASE seek help - don't let it hurt your body or yourself. If you need somebody to talk to, leave a comment asking for my email - I'm always open and ready to listen, and I'll do whatever is in my power to help you if you want it.
With time, thought, and support, you CAN get through it and learn to love yourself as you are.
He's right. Let me give you an example - 30 minutes of running burns on average 200-300 calories, which is about the contents of a bag of chips! :C
Just cutting back (or cutting out, in my case) snacks like chips and chocolate from your diet can make a HUGE difference. Personally my weakness is sweets, so I substitute with things like fresh fruits, or yogurt (but I still have my sweet cereal in the morning).
Things like diet shakes and meal shakes CAN help, but it's not the healthiest thing to replace one meal every day with a shake on a longterm basis. (They've never worked for me, I just feel hungrier after and as a result eat MORE at my next full meal...) A variety of fresh food is much healthier and way more effective, while using meal shakes only occasionally.
Vegetables with lots of fiber consume calories just through your body trying to digest them - some good ones are jicama and celery.
Eating less meat, especially pork, helps. My family makes a lot of meat dishes, though, so it's hard to avoid. So in my case I replaced red meat with chicken or fish whenever I could, and chose leaner red meat cuts. (No bacon or sausages though, crey.)
And avoid fast food & canned/processed foods as much as possible!
~+~+ other tips +~+~
- If you shower/bathe during the day, use cooler water. If you shower/bathe in the evening, use warmer water and try to squeeze your bath in before 9PM. Doing either of these can help steady your metabolism and slim you down, as well as being relaxing and refreshing.
- Coconut water is a good replacement for water, it's extremely hydrating and mild-tasting. They're easy to find in drink cans at Asian markets, and they're becoming common in health-food aisles.
- Sleep at LEAST 8 hours a night, 10 if you can manage it. This does wonderful things for your wellness in general, because you're giving your brain plenty of time to repair your body. And it helps with complexion problems and dark undereyes.
- Cheese is a really fatty food, but also very full of protein and calcium. I LOVE cheese, so one that I like is Feta - it's low in fat and still has lots of good things. (Warning though, it's pretty tart-tasting.)
- Cut down on salt and salty foods - too much salt in your system holds extra water and makes you feel and look bloaty. Cutting back's also better for your heart and blood vessels.
- When you go out to eat, eat smart! A lot of restaurants now offer fresh/healthy menu items, and most places have a calorie chart available.
- Another alternative to plain water is tea, either unsweetened or with a little honey. Tea has tons of antioxidants and good stuff in it, that strengthen your skin against sun damage among other benefits.
- UPDATE: Don't eat after 9PM - your body considers the time after that as the "next day" in terms of metabolism function. Drinking's always fine though. c:
- UPDATE: Sleeping by 10PM and at least before 11PM at night helps regulate your metabolism as well (and getting to bed earlier -> more sleep -> better for you overall). ...Though this is realistically difficult to do during the school year - I try really hard to get stuff done as fast as possible, and sleep at 12 midnight.
- UPDATE: Avoid too much caffeine, and don't drink soda. High levels of caffeine makes you bloated (tea is relatively low in caffeine, so it still gives you a little bit of an energy perk), and soda is UNBELIEVABLY full of sugar. A can of Coke is about 3 tbsp., which sounds small until you try measuring it out. Another thing with soda: when you eat food, a thin layer of fat accumulates on your tongue and eventually it causes your body to send the "full" signal to your brain. Soda actually takes some of that layer off, so you'll end up eating more than you should if you drink soda with your meal.
- UPDATE: Most people who get up by 7AM (as in fully awake and out of bed) are significantly slimmer. A side benefit is it's also shown to give a big mood boost - it's a little contradictory to think that getting up so early makes you happier, but it's true! C:
IMPORTANT NOTE: This is partly a weightloss post and partly a health post.
It's best to be fully aware of your IDEAL body weight (taking into account lifestyle, height, etc.) as this GREATLY varies between people. And there are people who naturally just tend toward a particular weight - this doesn't necessarily mean anything's up, it may just be how your body naturally is, and there's nothing wrong or worrying about that!
For you guys who, like me, wanted to slim down: being healthy about what you eat and do is most important, and if you keep it up then slimming down naturally comes along AND lasts for the long term.
Patience, persistence, and self control are key! C:
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: I am absolutely not, not, NOT encouraging habits leading to or supporting eating disorders or the development of such. They're dangerous and destructive, and very often rebound in the worst ways both physically and mentally. They're also increasingly common, due to images in the media (which more and more recently seem to be taking a turn for the better, thankfully).
If you feel that you may be suffering from an eating disorder, PLEASE seek help - don't let it hurt your body or yourself. If you need somebody to talk to, leave a comment asking for my email - I'm always open and ready to listen, and I'll do whatever is in my power to help you if you want it.
With time, thought, and support, you CAN get through it and learn to love yourself as you are.
