Newbie

[ChoccyWoccyDooDah]

I'm 21 years old - a student and need to lose about 100lbs (7stone). Any tips for losing weight while studying, and working multiple jobs and on limited student funds please let me know!

[kantara71]

Welcome to the forum. I am wondering how you could have gained so much weight for someone so young? I think you probably know why you have got to the weight you are now and you have come to the right place to help you change to a healthy lifestyle.

As for any tips then yes - stop doing what you are doing and make a start by looking at the 12 week plan on this forum and you will start to see an improvement in your health as well as in weight loss. The 12 week plan works and you will never feel hungry if you follow the guidelines.

Ok make a start tomorrow, weigh yourself and take body measurements all over, including arms, thighs etc. and take some photographs for yourself to see how you are progressing. Calculate your BMI and set yourself some goals to achieve that are not ridiculous.

Work out your Basal metabolic rate and you will find out how many calories you need to be consuming to lose weight safely. Slowly slowly is the mantra here. Cut out any foods with added sugar, processed foods and no crisps, snacks etc. Reduce the amount of carbs you eat and focus on fresh food - go to Lidl or Aldi and you can stock up on so much fresh food for not a lot of money.

You will get lots of support on this forum but YOU have to want to change, you are heading for so many health problems unless you do something now.

Read everything you can about nutrition and how it affects you and become an expert on you and what works for you.

Good luck and join one of the weekly weigh ins on the forum, you will get a welcome message from one of our brilliant admin people.

[kazmal]

Hi I too have just joined and have 8 stone to lose, I think, owing to our BMI we can eat up to 1900 calories a day to lose weight?

[kantara71 in reply to kazmal]

Hi Kazmal, everybody is individual so to say we can eat up to 1900 calories a day can be misleading. I am 6 foot tall, male and my BMI indicates a minimum of 1950 calories, which is also about my base metabolic rate, but i know I have to be in caloric deficit to lose weight so I limit myself to around 1600 calories a day to achieve a steady weight loss of 1-2lbs a week. Weigh everything and calculate the calories etc for everything you consume. Good luck

[kazmal in reply to kantara71]

Hi Kantara 71 its nice to hear from someone that's in the know. I've never counted calories before and there are many ideas out there of how many to eat. I'm ashamed to say through health problems and emotional eating I am now weighing in at 21 stone!!! Shocking isn't it! I am 5ft 10 and have always been around a size 14/16 now I am a 24. I think the more you weigh the more you can eat, but I need to research as I only joined up yesterday. Best wish Kaz x

[kantara71 in reply to kazmal]

You can do this kaz. Read everything you can and find what works for you. It is not rocket science but you need motivation and support .set small targets for yourself and read posts on here, they really help 😊

[Hidden]

Hi ChoccyWoccyDooDah! I am a student too, when first starting out on weight loss it seems like THE hardest thing to do with your limited time & money.

Honestly it becomes so much more affordable than you would expect. Yeah it costs £2 for like 3 strawberries at the moment but most fruit and vegetables are sooo cheap. You just need to prioritise, are you going to go to the cinema or save the money for a food shop? Night out, or food shop? Learn to buy treats like this in accordance to reaching weight goals instead. I'm not sure about you but I used to spend a fortune on eating fast food & takeaways so you can put this money towards a healthy food shop too.

I've found the best was to incorporate exercise around a busy schedule is to go to straight after class/work, this way you're already out of the house and have no excuses! If you have any 24hr gyms join one of those and then you can fit it in no matter what the time.

At the end of the day, if this is something you really want you have to make the time and effort for it. Lose an hours sleep or have more days where you literally don't get a second to relax and you will start to see results when you are committed.

I hope this was useful and good luck!

[alejandra in reply to Hidden]

I like your very useful advice.

[ANewMe2022 1 stone]

I lost my job and had to put my spending in perspective. Buying fruit, veg and meat doesn't cost a fortune. I buy the bigger packs of meat and split them into enough for 2 before putting in the freezer. We have a proper dinner 4 nights a week and have at at least 5 varieties of veg to fill up. The other 3 we have poached/scrambled eggs, or beans/spaghetti on toast, something simple. I've saved about 75% on my food bill each fortnight, and no there's not the crisps, cakes, and biscuits to just go and trough on, but that's what healthy living is all about right?! Not eating as much, and not eating ket is a win win situation...xx

[CaptainRainbow 10 kg]

Hi! I was a student not so long ago, but I still cook frequently in similar ways to how I did as a student. Making things in bulk during time off (I worked weekends, but usually had a day off a week) and putting portions in the freezer is still a thing I try to do now - you can do awesome soups, stews and sauces with lots of cheap and tasty veg. Once it's separated, you can't really go back for seconds, plus it's easy to just reheat once you're back home and knackered, it's not like having to slave away for half an hour. It's not much advice, but I hope it's vaguely helpful