ExRx.net

Hey guys, first off I'm "brand new" here, that is, it's the first time I've posted. I've been reading a lot of posts on here for a while, however.

But let's get to my real question - what are the best foods for me to eat while in college? I'm roughly 270 lbs, 6'2", and am tired of being overweight. I have my workout program down, but I'm struggling on the dietary aspects. I really liked ironmaiden708's version of the Atkins' diet (low carb). But my main worry is that, when I go off to college, the foods that are going to be supplied on the meal plan in cafeterias are going to be very restrictive in choice and possibly nutritional value.

So, I was wondering, do any of you have any tips/hints/pieces of advice for what to eat/what to avoid during my meal times? Unfortunately, I have not had the luxury to eat there yet, so I don't know exactly what is going to be on the menu, but I'm going to assume it's just normal, college food. By the way, I'm planning on taking a multivitamin and a fish oil pill daily.


Sorry I can't be more specific. I'll try to update this thread after I go off to college on August 10th with more details.

Thanks in advance for any help you guys can provide!

Eat large amounts of veggies and small amounts of lean protein. cut most fat and all booze and most grains and all sweets. Be strict too. Farting around and cheating will not get it done and will kill your motivation.

I did Nutrisystem and dropped 70 in 5+ months. Had to pay for it, which may/may not work for you given meal plan and all that. For me, it saved money since I cut all booze and restaurants. Even if you don't buy the food, the forums there rock. You can sign up and view them and ask questions. Way more dieters and expertise there, than here.

3...2...1...shaved kitty angry!

Nope, not shaved Kitty, but he's inquiring about a low carb thing, which I've done and have been living for around 50 years. You really get me wild when you answer posts on which you have no background. To the OP, IF your into what Ironmaiden posted on the low carb thing, the WORST thing you can do is go low fat. Pick meats which are typically lower in fat , but don't worry about it. Poly got one thing right, go for fibrous veg. You will typically find them in your college eating quarters salad bars, and sometimes as side dishes. Avoid the sauces and gravies. Go for the chicken, meats, fish. Scrape off the sauce, etc. Avoid the starches. This may be hard at college, as due to economic reasons, they use a lot of noodles, etc, and sometimes they will only provide Mac and Cheese with ham chunks in there. Pick out the protein. Also, get some pocket money together so that you can afford to buy some canned chicken, tuna or other fish to supplement your salds, etc, if needed due to bad protein sources in the entrees.Go for eggs, Olive oil dressings w/o sugars, and go moderate on nuts. Buy a few cans of mixed nuts. I was Navy for 20 years, and eating on ships was similar to eating in college dorms, but a bit worse. Those are the tips I can come up with.
Tim

Poly, you're about one step away from the B word..

Tim

College eating is very problematic and Tim pretty much nailed it. Salad bars are you main source for food volume and eggs will likely be your main source for protein.

I would also recommend you pick up a tub of protein. Keep it in your room and mix up a shake for the times you get the growlies. The last thing you want to happen is to be hungry in the evening and the only option is pizza.

When I'm at Uni I only eat in the canteen between lectures if it's a long day, other then that I eat at my flat but I take it your meals are included?

When I eat low carb at uni I manage it very cheaply, probably more cheap than when I'm not, but a bit more repetitive. I eat more to live instead of eating to enjoy it. The bulk of my food is eggs. I was eating 6-8 a day. Also bacon, it was £1 a pack. Cheese is also very cheap, so most of my meals would be sort of omelette things once the veg was added. In between these omelettes I'd be having protein shakes. I had a butchers downstairs so used to get a lot of lamb as well.

I still drank a few times a week as well and lost weight (whiskey and pepsi max!) but that's what I do at uni. Depending on how fast you want to achieve your goals. I was fine with it taking an extra month or so if it meant I could be sane and have a good social life!

You have some time now before the start of class (I assume you start in Sept) to start getting used to low carb. There are 2 times when this type of eating is hard. That's the first few weeks and then about 6 months in.

Starting out - You're addicted to carbs. Everybody is. You need to approach it as an addiction. Cutting out sugar and grains will be very hard for some people, very easy for others. You need to cut out all sweet tasting stuff since that will just prolong the addcition. This will take about 3 weeks during which time you may feel like it's not working, you feel bad, you're brain's foggy, etc. Then everything will become clear and you start having more energy. You've made the transition to fat burning rather than relying on carbs. You need to reach this stage before school starts because you won't do it after.

Mantainence - The rest of the world is anti low-carb. You will be constantly bombarded with ads for processed foods. The food guides all say eat copious amounts of grains. Your friends will be pushing pizza and junk food on you. Most people last about 6 months then give up. The solution is to keep informed and connected to people with similar views. You need to repeated take stock of your situation and adjust to keep making progress.

Stu

When I was at school, eating low carb would have been easy (note I said would have because I didn't). Our cafeteria was actually pretty good. The hardest thing is that there is so much junk food around and thus a lot of temptation. Re-read TimD's post. He nailed it. You will probably have a buffet style cafeteria. Load up on good food and just don't eat the carbs.

FWIW, I vote yes on the B word.

ya, there is generally a pretty solid salad bar in those cafeterias, couple that with whatever meat you can scavenge off of other dishes, and you have a good eating plan. You likely wont have the option to eat at the cafeteria 6-8 times a day though, so keeping canned tuna/chicken and protein powder in your dorm is a good idea.

Also, Im still not convinced that poly isnt just a really dedicated spammer advertising for nutri system. I keep waiting for links to get edited into his posts.

I'm honestly just getting sick of him commenting on things he knows nothing about.

He honestly gives worse advice than you'd find on bodybuilding.com and it drives me insane. How are you going to comment on deadlifts/squats, for instance, when you don't do either of the lifts? I could see if you had a PHD in kinesiology or something, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't have any credentials in the field at all.

Sorry, I'm ranting. I honestly don't read these forums nearly as much as I used to simply because of how frustrating it is having to correct every post he makes.

Thanks so much for all your help guys! You are incredibly knowledgeable and well-informed!

One question though, you guys mention how I should buy protein for making protein shakes in my room, is there like a specific brand or type I should be looking out for? Am I just going to be buying whey protein or is there a specific type of protein shake formula?

Some people here use 100% Gold Standard Whey by Optimum Nutrition, it's what i use.

Extreme milk chocolate is the best flavor, buy it online at bodybuilding.com or allstarhealth.com as they have the best prices I've seen personally.

Just get one you like the taste of. Some places have samples. The idea is that protein fills you up and can help you lose fat.

Edit: I like Optimum Nutrition as well.

Poly is pretty much the personification of conventional wisdom thinking. That tends to clash with most who actually look beyond the general recommendations for the population at large. I'm not nearly as dedicated to the anti carb thought of most of this board (meaning I partake in too many grains), and poly does get a few things right, but for the most part I have to agree with what everyone else is saying. Especially saying there is no good info here.

But too the OP- in addition to what others are saying- don't neglect peanut butter as well! Cheap and easy to store in the room.

the double chocolate tastes like instant breakfast

I'm a recent strawberry convert - still ON, though,