Quick and Easy exercise tips for a busy college girl?

Lucypearl92 · April 2012

Hey ladies,My wedding is over a year away, but I don't want to have to stress about losing weight right up to my big day. Does anyone have any exercise tips for a busy college girl? Right now i'm in school full time and i work part time. How and when can i squeeze in a quick but productive exercise routine to drop these lovely love handles and pooch?

Thanks for any advice you can give

anna.oskar · April 2012

You're better off watching what you're eating. It's said that weight loss is 80% diet - 20% Exercise. Hop on a free site like SparkPeople.com or MyFitnessPal.com and start tracking your normal caloric intake. It's an easy way to see what failings your current diet may have. Then come on back and we'll help you sort out the findings.

Also, there are plenty of people on here who are full time students. Many with full time jobs and some with full time children to boot. They find time to do exercise dvds, take walks, meal plan, and still get everything else done. So don't worry. I'm sure you've got enough time to spare.

CH11 · April 2012

You're definitely ahead of the game! The sooner you start, the better your chances of reaching your goal weight. Here are a few of my favorite quick tips for more physical activity:

Stairs-no elevator
Park as far away as you can from the store and walk
Watching tv? During commercial do some wall squats or chair dips
Jillian Michaels has a great 30 min or less workout DVD
Challenge yourself to 50 lunges a night

katehar01 · April 2012

You're smart to start early, but there's really no "easy" way - you just have to be committed. I started P90X (I'm the type who needs a schedule that tells me what to do) and some days, if I have a busy day, I have to get up at 430 to do my workout before work. You just have to make it a priority and find a way to make it work.

That being said, PP has a great point - diet is so much of it. When I started P90X, I didn't really change my diet because I didn't think I ate that poorly, but even doing all the intense exercise, I wasn't really losing much weight. I started tracking food on myfitnesspal, and that helped a lot. It might surprise you, too - I figured out from tracking that most days I'm actually not eating enough fat, but WAY too many carbs. So I cut down on carbs, but now I can have snacks I wouldn't let myself eat before, like full-fat cheese. Just my experience, but you might be surprised by what the tracking shows you, too.

firsttimersluck · April 2012

FOr most of my college career I worked full time and went to school full time. I would go hit the gym for just 30 minutes of cardio after work.. I would change AT work so I wouldn't feel the want to just drive straight home...

It definitely was more about the diet aspect, though. I made sure to bring my lunches to school, dinners to work (or breakfast for when I opened) and never touched the stuff my work had to offer. Of course weekends were the easiest because then I only worked, so those would be my lifting and MORE cardio days.

Sarah5200 · April 2012

Hey Lucy!

Like Anna said, your diet is key. Don't let being a busy student turn your diet to POOP (Poor & Often Overly Processed). Make sure you have lots of fruits and vegetables to snack on, and drink that water baby!

That said, I'm a full time student and work part time as well! While it does seem like you don't have time right now (I know it did for me at the beginning), once you just start doing it and get into the habit you'll realize how easy it is to make time for exercising. If you don't feel like you have lots of time, just start a program where you can do 30 minutes of activity. 30 minutes really isn't much - most people watch at least 30 minutes of TV nearly every day (so, if you have time for TV you have time for exercise). We bought a treadmill off of kijiji for $100 and now we can go on the treadmill while watching TV if that TV show really needs to get watched.

I started Couch to 5K back in January - that's a great 30 minute workout if you are a beginner jogger/runner. The weather's getting great here where I am in Alberta, so going on a bike ride for 30 minutes goes by in a flash and is fun! Working out outdoors is awesome.

Does your school have a fitness center? Most do.. You could easily sneak in a work out between classes or before/after school. It's often a lot cheaper when you're a student than purchasing a gym membership somewhere off campus.

Just try a bunch of different things and find something you actually like doing - then once you get started you'll crave exercising and won't find it so hard to get going or make time.

Good luck to you!

mandysmear · April 2012

Park far away! Walk to your destination! Take the stairs! Always have water on you! Always. And keep low cal snacks for when you're on the go. Fruit. Granola bars. Etc.

Plan ahead with meals, so you don't get fast food.

Quick and Easy exercise tips for a busy college girl?

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