Trying to find balance between fitness and college work?

LegacyUser

Not a major thing, but it has been playing on my mind and just wondering have people had issues like this in college.

You see, I have had really bad body issues nearly all my life (now in early 20s), I have always been on the plump side, until I started to get even bigger after junior cert. Always had a terrible diet, Had it not have been for my sister introducing me to Weightwatchers and going on the diet with her and losing my first stone, i dread to think how big I would be today.

Even three years on, I half put back on that weight, diet and health still plays on my mind a lot, even though I yo-yoed the diet a lot over the years, and it has only really been this year when I told myself to cop on and just stick at it.
But see the thing is, I can only really motivate myself to do it when I am at college and not at home, where I keep falling back on bad habits.
I find myself more wanting to go to the gym to workout rather than do college work, which is worrying me. But when I sit at home or in the library working, it worries me sometimes that missing out on a workout or wondering about what to eat plays on my mind more.

So I just want to know if it is possible to find that balance, because i hear of so many people saying they cant go to gym because of college work, and I am afraid that I could be ruining my education by choosing to frantically worry about my weight.

TimeToShine

Diet is a lot more important than gym work for losing weight. I often dropped exercisie for weeks/months on end coming up to exams, as long as you can keep the diet in check you'll be absolutely fine. Staying in shape happens in the kitchen, not the gym.

athtrasna

Exercise isn't confined to the gym. Walk everywhere you can, take the stairs instead of lifts or escalators. Simple exercises like lunges can be done while waiting for a kettle to boil in your kitchen.

As the previous poster said, diet is key. Also look at the timing of your meals. Where possible try to have your main meal in the middle of the day, with something lighter in the evening.

DoYouEvenLift

Exercise for 40-60 mins a day, 4 or 5 days per week and just don't eat above your required caloric needs. There's nothing really time consuming about that. There are people who work two jobs and have a family to look after on this forum who still manage to keep on top of their routine.

Chemical Byrne

The other posters are right, having a good diet is far more effective at losing weight than exercise. A bag of chips would take hours to work off in the gym, so just don't eat bad fatty foods in the first place.

Another thing is that while you can eat very healthy foods, just be aware that you are not having portion sizes that are too big.

Of course it is possible to find a balance. I think you are obsessing about exercise a little . Focus on a good diet, supplemented with a healthy amount of exercise to keep you fit.

EmcD123

Everyones advice about diet being most impportant is definitely correct. As for if you want to work out and mix college work, i found it hard to manage it last semester but this time im doing better. Depending on your course you might start lectures at 10 or 11 on a morning,that gives you 45 minutes to an hour there if you get in at 9. Or you might have a lunch break for an hour or more, just change in the bathroom and go for a quick run,. I find anyway i cant study in the morning and the short lunch break are too little time to get any work done so training suits those time perfectly. Basically make a timetable that includes set times for working out and then fit your extra study time around that.thats whats working for me

LegacyUser

Thanks for all the replies, I know that the diet is more important, it's just that I suppose I like feeling the burn after exercise in the gym, especially since I want to start weightlifting soon.
But will definitely take all this advice on board.

castaway_lady

Yea diet is the more important part of the equation with weight management but do you feel that when you're in an exercise routine its easier to be motivated to manage your diet too? That's the way I typically am.
You can definitely manage both. You just need to optimise gym time or get a skipping rope and kettlebell for home.

Do a warm up and follow it with 20 mins high intensity interval training as follows and youll feel the afterburn until the following evening. If youre not familiar with kettlebell exercises you can follow videos on youtube. Try bodyrock there too for workouts to follow. Otherwise in the gym do:

Skip for a minute
Kettlebell 30secs
Run up and down on a step for 40-60 seconds
Repeat that sequence for 20/25minutes

2-3times per week plus a few walks

Fat will cry its eyes out! You'll still be burning on high in 20hours afterwards.