Good Morning everyone! I have shared a number of posts on here about my fitness and lifestyle tips along with my current work out routine, however I haven’t shared with you my weight gain that I experienced in college. Today I am going to take the time to explain how I gained 30 pounds my freshman year and what I did to lose the weight. I know weight gain is a struggle for a lot of college students, as there are so many lifestyle changes that take place almost instantly when moving away from home, so I hope hearing my story helps you either prevent yourself from gaining weight or will help you start your weight loss journey.
Just an FYI this might be a longer post than usual! The first half of this post I will explain how I gained so much weight and then second half will detail how I ended up losing it!
So basically up until college, I never had to worry about what types of food I was eating. I could eat anything I wanted without any consequences because I was so active. I played tennis and softball in high school and also worked at a gym, so I was doing some sort of physical activity every day. When I started college, everything changed.
To give you an idea of what I looked like before starting college, I was 5’5 ½’’ and 110 lbs. By the end of my first semester, I was 140 lbs.
Okay, now let me get into how this happened because there are so many factors that led me to gaining 30 lbs.
Dining Hall Food and Snacking
Since I was living in the dorms at Carroll, I kept a lot of unhealthy snacks by my bed. I had Pringles, chips, cookies, popcorn, etc. There really wasn’t any healthy food that I had in my room. I had access to this food at all hours of the day, so when I was up late studying I would snack. Almost every night, I would make popcorn and eat that along with any other snacks that I felt like eating.
Then, when I would go to the dining hall, I would eat the same way. The dining hall at Carroll was a buffet style. Once you paid for your meal plan for the semester, you could basically go to the dining hall, swipe your card, and eat as much as you wanted. There was so much food and so many desserts. The biggest problem I faced was the unlimited amount of cookies that I could eat. Cookies are my weakness, and when I would go to eat lunch or dinner, there was just tray upon tray of cookies, and they were not small either. I would eat two in the cafeteria, and even take three to go. I have no idea what was wrong with me haha I couldn’t help myself! I felt like since this food was free, I should be taking advantage of it. The meal plans were so expensive to begin with, so why not get my money’s worth, right?
Not getting enough Exercise
Okay, so another factor was not going to the gym enough. I loved and still love working out, but starting college, working, studying for classes, hanging out with friends, etc. it was hard to fit working out into my schedule. I was maybe going to the gym twice a week or so. I wasn’t going a lot, and I wasn’t pushing myself either. When I would go, I would run on the treadmill for 20 minutes or use the elliptical, and finish with a couple ab exercises- so it wasn’t a very long work out.
Also, Carroll has a very small campus, so you don’t have to walk very far to go to class, the library, the gym, etc. The farthest class I had to go to was probably a five minute walk. So, none of my exercise was really coming from walking to the different buildings on campus.
Going out
I had no idea how big of an affect going out, even just two nights a week, would have on my body. I just thought, I am thin, and always have been, so it won’t affect me. I was so wrong. Drinking and then going to fast food restaurants late at night was not good for me and probably was the biggest reason why I had gained 30 pounds.
So, I was snacking late at night, eating only junk food at the dining hall, barely exercising, and going out most weekends. There was a reason that I gained so much weight.
January 1st, about a month before my second semester of college started, I knew I had to change my lifestyle. I was not happy with the way that I looked or felt. And worst of all my favorite pair of jeans would not fit over my thighs. I needed to change my current diet, exercise, and daily routine.
How I Lost the Weight
I cut down on sweets
The first change that I decided to implement was cutting down on the amount of junk food I was eating-mainly all the cookies, brownies, chocolate, cake, and candy that I was previously eating ALL the time. I didn’t completely cut out sweets though because I knew that would make it even harder for me. By simply limiting my consumption of these foods, I could still eat one and not feel bad about it. This is how I lost most of the weight. I really focused on not eating more than one dessert a day.
I started taking Zumba classes
I started taking Group Fitness Classes with my mom. My mom already went to the gym most mornings, so since I moved back home second semester of freshman year, I decided to start going with her. Even on days that I didn’t feel like going, my mom was always able to convince me to go along with her! Our favorite group fitness class is Zumba and I love that it doesn’t feel like a work out. I love dancing so I looked forward to going to Zumba every morning! A few nights a week I would also go to the gym to run and do abs. Consistently working out every day made such a difference and I was able to lose weight pretty quickly.
I started going to bed at a regular time every night
In college it can be hard to go to bed at the same time every night, but I made an effort to get all my studying done prior to 11pm so that I could go to bed relatively early every night. By doing this I established a routine. I got used to getting stuff done during the day or early afternoon, so within a couple of months it was easy to go to sleep at a regular time. And now after graduating college and working a full time job I go to bed even earlier haha!!
I tracked all the food that was going into my body
I tried using an app at first, but I didn’t like it because I always had to search for the food that I was eating and then couldn’t find the exact one, so I gave up on that and decided to track it by hand. I had a small notebook that I used specifically to write down all the food that I would eat in a day. It was so easy to track and by doing this I was able to visually see all the food that I had eaten that day. It would make me think twice about eating a piece cake because I didn’t want to write it down. I only tracked the food for a few months, which actually seems like a long time, but it wasn’t. After I lost the weight I stopped writing everything down because I fixed my bad eating and exercising habits. I realized what led me to gaining so much weight and developed a healthier lifestyle and a LOVE for fitness!
I cut down on drinking and ordering fast food late at night
Just by cutting down and now eliminating alcohol from my diet I was able to lose weight pretty quickly. Honestly, I didn’t realize how many calories I was consuming just from liquids alone. This was a major reason why I had gained 30 pounds that first semester. Spending the weekend consuming liquid calories and then getting late night pizza and other greasy food was not good for me and it showed. After making the decision to cut back on late night food and drinks, my body changed very fast.
I did a weight loss competition with my mom
My mom knew that I was trying to lose weight and she wanted to get in shape too so we decided to make it into a competition. We both set a goal that we wanted to reach by Spring break and whoever met their goal or got closest to it would win. We decided that the loser would have to buy the winner a new swimsuit! This was a fun way for both of us to stick to our goals and go to the gym every morning because we were both trying to win! My goal weight to reach by spring break was 120 lbs. I ended up winning and getting to pick out a new swimsuit from Victoria’s Secret! Doing this competition was such a great motivator and my mom and I had so much fun working out together!
Even after my mom and I finished the competition, I stuck to the new lifestyle changes that I had made and over the next three months or so I was able to lose the last 10 pounds.
Four years later, I am happy to say I have maintained my healthy lifestyle, for the most part, since then! It feels so good to look back and see how far I have come and the results that I have achieved. I am so thankful I was able to recognize my unhealthy diet and change my daily routine!
If you are currently struggling with weight loss or maintaining a healthy lifestyle I recommend trying some of the things I did to lose weight! Obviously everyone is different and what works for me may not work for you, so I encourage you to do what feels right for your body!
Wishing you a happy and healthy week ahead! If you have any other healthy lifestyle or weight loss tips to share, feel free to leave a comment below! I love learning new tips!
XO
Cassie
