NoS and college life... compatible?

SeekingHealthiness · Post by **SeekingHealthiness** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 2:13 am

Hi all!
I'm a somewhat new NoS-er who absolutely loves the concepts of this diet. However, I am also a college student, and living in college and NoS is not an easy feat (honestly, NoS is hard enough on its own!)

Some background:
I lost about 25 pounds 4 years ago in high school. Had a great weight, was a cross country runner, but I didn't have a healthy attitude towards food.
Now i'm studying engineering in college, naturally i gained back some of the weight over the course of the last 4 years. Now i'm at a healthy weight, but i between studying engineering and social activities and not sleeping, i find it very difficult to follow NoS.

(i should note that over break i started No-S for almost 3 weeks, but now that i'm back in school its soooo hard to follow!!)

Any tips? Stress eating aid? And what do you all have to say about drinking coffee (with sugar and/or creamer)?

Thanks!

Over43 · Post by **Over43** » Sat Feb 11, 2012 1:47 pm

Yes, I believe it is compatible. I think you know the key already as you commented about food and your attitude toward it.

congratulations on your running CC in hs. I was asked a few times to run in those days and wouldn't do it. 30 years later I still wish I had.

Remember one thing, a great quote I heard from Dr. Doug McGuff, "You can't exercise yourself out of a poor diet...". I have been quilts of that over the years and he's absolutely correct.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Tue Mar 20, 2012 12:18 pm

Don't know how I missed this. How's it going?

What exactly is so hard about No S and college? I'm not trying to be patronizing. Just want to know the sticking points, because it seems not only doable, but probably highly desirable to have a reasonable plan that helps combat all the craziness of college. Do you eat in a cafeteria? There are always smart choices there, and even if you don't always make those, it will balance out if you are not letting emotion make all your food choices for you. You still get to have alcohol, and sweets on weekends. I find when I'm awake very late, it doesn't matter. I'm not hungry until the next morning. I drink my coffee with creamer and stevia, though probably less than a college student.

Or are you feeling you don't get to partake in the excesses of youth? Well, that would be true on any other plan, wouldn't it

You might even consider foregoing trying to control your food at all and putting up with extra weight. It is an option.

No S seems like one of the better ways of dealing with stress. It can be a spot of sanity-- or three spots-- every day.

Nicest of the Damned · Post by **Nicest of the Damned** » Tue Apr 10, 2012 4:18 pm

oolala53 wrote:Or are you feeling you don't get to partake in the excesses of youth? Well, that would be true on any other plan, wouldn't it

On No S, you get to partake of any excesses you want, just not all the time. And that helps keep them special, rather than their becoming a normal, everyday thing.

When I was in college (back before the Earth's crust had cooled), the dining hall was only open at certain, limited hours. It was harder to get a meal or snack outside of those hours. Is that not true at your college now? I think that would have helped reinforce No S for me, not the opposite.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Wed Apr 11, 2012 12:15 am

Nicest, we have several college campuses in San Diego. All either have food concessions on campus or nearby--open until late or all night. Just like the rest of our society, at least urban society, food is everywhere. Even Best Buy sells snacks and candy! I'll bet students load up and bring it all back. You've seen the AM/PM ads, no? Maybe they even sit in the parking lot and eat "too much good stuff." Sometimes even the parents of this generation do not know what eating regular meals are like.

I'm pretty sure that restricting all day and then bingeing at night is a relatively common practice among coeds, and possibly an unconscious bonding experience. I know it's much more common on TV now to have scenes in which young women are seen eating ice cream out of the carton after a break up or other emotional event.

When I was in college (graduated '75), there was a donut shop in town that opened at midnight. It was a common practice for a carload of students to go down there then and eat way too many donuts. Miraculously, I didn't do that, but I know we also used to take desserts from the cafeteria to eat later, and there were several coffee shops on campus open until 11 p.m. With pastries and sundries.

I guess I imagine that the culture of excess is quite strong among youth, but I might be wrong.

Is any of this sounding familiar, SeekingHealthiness?

SeekingHealthiness · Post by **SeekingHealthiness** » Mon May 21, 2012 2:29 am

oolala53, you are definitely right in saying that this generation does not know how to eat. food, "s" food, is around everywhere and it can be difficult to forgo that temptation, especially when social gatherings are centered around grabbing starbucks, ice cream or smoothies that have very little actual nutritional content and are pure sugar.
and nightly snacking is part of the culture, midnight trips to ihop, cookies, ice cream and desserts prevalent in the cafeteria. Starting no s can be very difficult, especially since (yes this is silly) you are kinda expected to eat these foods with your friends (it's fun! people definitely bond this way). sometimes you feel judged as some sort of food snob or overly preoccupied person with body image for not eating these foods.

for me it changed when i decided to give up sweets for lent. (my friends were dumbfounded to hear this, what?? that's so hard!!) After fasting for the first time on ash wednesday and challenging myself to give up sugary foods and feel hunger i realized how much i used sugary foods emotionally and how much better i functioned without them.
When lent ended however, and i no longer had something holding me to my no sweets diet, and finals were around the corner/end of the year festivities, i found myself slipping again, but not as much because i realized i really hated that full feeling i got when i ate sweets and that i just didn't like them as much anymore.
Now that i'm on vacation and on not surrounded by the culture of excess, i've been no-sing like never before. I intend to firmly establish myself in no-s so that when i return my eating habits will have been changed such that collegiate food habits will be a thing of the past.

oolala53 · Post by **oolala53** » Mon May 21, 2012 3:59 am

I'm so glad for you. I imagine if you can time at least some of your interactions with friends at meal times and they see you eat real meals and enjoy them, they might back off some when you beg off snacks because you're still too full from your last meal or your saving your appetite. Have coffee.

People will get used to your preferences. Just go for the fun, if you really have the time and just aren't procrastinating. I never got over that one.

sarahkay · Post by **sarahkay** » Wed May 23, 2012 3:01 am

I commute to college which makes it MUCH easier. But I do have trouble in social situations because it's like you aren't being "normal" and part of the group. If everyone goes out for starbucks you feel left out!

I just try to enjoy meals with them, or tell them I've already eaten. I also try to plan things on S days so i can have a treat with friends. It is tough to do this as a college students because we tend to be out with friends whenever we can! I feel like as an adult with a big girl job and a house and everything, I would find myself in more of a routine.

Keep it up! Summer time is a great time for us to build new habits