How hard is it to stay healthy at uni?

Hey all

Am starting uni in September.. at the moment I lead a pretty healthy life style, not really eating more than about 1300 calories a day and jogging for about forty minutes every evening. Over the past two years I've lost about 3 stone altogether .. ive heard horror stories about people putting on a stone a month when they start uni. obviously its all up to the individual, but how easy is it to keep healthy? is it true you either gain loads of weight or loose loads of weight?

Cheers in advance.

Reply 1

Austin226

im gonna be in the same boat as you, but im assuming so long as i dont start to live of alcohol and kebabbs that i should be ok, besides im going to the UEA which has a 17.5 million pound sports park just a short walk from halls so exercise is never far away! :p:

Reply 2

3xhilaration

1

as long as you don't neglect your diet and exercise you should be absolutely fine.. just remember to spend your money wisely.

Reply 3

sexysax

14

I put on weight when I went to uni. I think that was more to do with the freedom I had and I was allowed to do what I wanted when I wanted, so everything was my choice, therefore I ate more, drank more, and was just downright lazy! :rolleyes:

I want to lose it over the summer, but I won't because I am too lazy :redface:

.

Reply 4

demonbuttercup

1

i'm planning on taking my steamer and living on steamed veg and fish and chicken... haha, it's not going to happen is it? :rolleyes:

I have a lovely big sports centre right by my halls so even if i resort to pizza every day i'll be able to balance it out hopefully! :redface:

Reply 5

jellybaby1

2

I lost weight when I first went to uni, possibly because my cooking is shocking! As long as you're not tempted by takeaways and stuff too often then you'll be fine

Reply 6

Boundy

Well a little exercise and half decent food and you won't be putting much weight on at all.

Just keep it sensible really and don't over the top on kebabs and drink.

Or if you do just exercise more.

Me, I'm joining the OTC (Officer Training Corps) when I go to Uni so I'll get fit that way anyway. :p:

Reply 7

Lady_Darkness

I think I've put on weight since starting Uni... but it'sa mainly exams that are to blame - sitting doing mass revision and snacking way too much. At any other time of the year you've exercising much more, are more busy and have less time to snack or think about being hungry...!
So long as you exercise enough you should be fine... just be wary of snacking!

Reply 8

friendsfreak88

You sound like you live in a strict way anyway with your diet anyway so I doubt you will have that kind of problem.

I would think about upping what you eat though otherwise if you do eat more then you are likely to pile on the weight because your body is in 'starvation mode'. 1300 per day is way too low, especially if you are exercising. On days thtat you are exercising you need at least 1500 otherwise you are putting too much strain on the body and you won't get the results you want.

Reply 9

Shreerac1

10

What makes you think you're going to put on or lose weight when you go to uni? Chances are you'll maintain the same lifestyle.

Reply 10

Love_Hearts

9

to be hones the main cause of weight gain with uni students is the amount of alcohol they drink which is packed full of calories.

Reply 11

xraspberryx

You really aren't eating enough calories at the moment. I found that a put on weight in the first semster but not much after that and i think i may have lost some of that again. I was quite strict about what I ate and the amount I excerised before uni so think going to uni helped me to relax and have a better attitude towards food. Think you could so with adding a few calories to your diet so the odd kebab would't do you any harm and remember university gyms are usually quite cheap.

Reply 12

PrinceOfCats

12

to be hones the main cause of weight gain with uni students is the amount of alcohol they drink which is packed full of calories.

Newcastle being the piss-up centre of the universe, I don't see myself putting on weight when I move to London
then.

Reply 13

supertramp

9

Well, it sounds like you have a lot of willpower at the moment so I can't see you putting on much weight at uni. Ditto to what other people are saying regarding your daily intake though - it's not enough, and your body really will pick up extra weight very easily if you don't feed it enough.

Just remember, whatever happens, that the main thing (other than studying, perhaps) is to have fun! You have the rest of your life to lose weight, so you might as well live it up at uni while you can. Just try and avoid the takeaways and get some exercise.

Reply 14

TomX

14

Anonymous

Hey all

Am starting uni in September.. at the moment I lead a pretty healthy life style, not really eating more than about 1300 calories a day and jogging for about forty minutes every evening. Over the past two years I've lost about 3 stone altogether .. ive heard horror stories about people putting on a stone a month when they start uni. obviously its all up to the individual, but how easy is it to keep healthy? is it true you either gain loads of weight or loose loads of weight?

Cheers in advance.

Eating more than 1300 calories per day is unhealthy? News to me.

Reply 15

wednesburywench

2

i wouldnt call not eating more than 1300 calories healthy...thats nowhere near enough! especially if you jog!

Reply 16

hanadeka2002

1300 calories is fine.If you start to eat roughly below 1200 calories(although this does vary from person to person depending on your metabolism) your body will go into starvation mode and hold on to as much fat as possible.Your metabolism will also slow and when you start to eat properly you will just gain the weight back.

Anyway,if you don't let yourself go and watch what your putting into yourself(yes,that includes the alcohol which has millions of calories) you should be fine.Have a treat from time to time(ie.don't drink EVERY night but maybe once every few weeks get totally trashed,if that's your thing)...and do lots of exercise and you'll be fine.

When I went to uni for 2 months I lost a stone and a half(and got a biiit too skinny)...by watching my diet and going to the gym loads...also I found you do more walking at uni and dancing on nights out and things!

Reply 17

tritogeneia1

1

I lose weight at uni. Mainly because I'm too lazy to go to Sainsbury's, but have to walk around for other stuff. Sometimes I go for ages without feeling that hungry, and thus have even less motivation to go to Sainsbury's (yes, I am fully aware that this is not healthy before someone says it!). I also have really bad sleeping habits as I seem to end up working at night - in bad weeks I will have 2 all-nighters for essays! (again, I know this is bad for me, and I don't do it on purpose!). You should be able to avoid that one by being more organised, or actually just by not taking an entire day and night to write one essay...I've got very slow recently and actually used not to need all-nighters.
Generally, it is up to you what you eat/how much sleep you get so if you take care you should be able to keep healthy. My main problem with it is that I don't put effort into thinking about staying healthy, as I suspect is the case with many students!

Reply 18

Crimson Black

13

Boundy

Well a little exercise and half decent food and you won't be putting much weight on at all.

Just keep it sensible really and don't over the top on kebabs and drink.

Or if you do just exercise more.

Me, I'm joining the OTC (Officer Training Corps) when I go to Uni so I'll get fit that way anyway. :p:

Hmm... OTC. At the ULOTC, they have a once a week fitness training session that I've never attended because I've had a lecture during it. The army alone won't really get you fit. They'll put you through your paces, yes (read = exhausting weekends), but the weekends are less about fitness and more about soldier training. I personally kept fit by doing thai kickboxing twice a week, and also weights every couple of days. The ULOTC also has a fitness room, but (I personally think) it's rubbish.

Reply 19

alisama

1

Anonymous

at the moment I lead a pretty healthy life style, not really eating more than about 1300 calories a day

you can't eat 1300 calories a day and have a healthy lifestyle. the two don't go together unless u were horrifically overweight before or something. being super ultra slim doesn't make u healthy, though it may make u better looking. and if u exercise as much as u do, u really really should be eating more! exercise and a sensible amount of food will keep u slim, and 1300 calories every day, all the time, does not count as sensible.

How hard is it to stay healthy at uni?

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