3 Things I Learned Losing Weight in College
Feeling judged in the gym can really intimidate someone who is just starting to workout. This has been something that I struggled with when I decided to become more active and make changes to my lifestyle.
The college gym environment also has an added stigma around it for individuals who aren’t experienced in a gym or know what to do. Not long ago I myself struggled with the feeling of being judged in a college gym.
The constant feeling of people staring at you to see how early you will quit. What I noticed was that yes you might have someone look at you, but most times they are not focused on you. For college gyms, you have people waiting for the machines or weights you are using because there was never enough. Even for a gym that was two stories and had stairs leading down to the weight room.
The first thing I learned while losing weight was that I didn’t need to run on a treadmill for an hour or more.
When feeling like the gym was too intimidating there were other ways to cope with getting cardio in. For example, walking around campus. For college students, if you live on campus you have an endless supply of sidewalks you could use. 10,000 steps a day is a good goal for someone who didn’t have much experience with fitness yet.
The second thing I learned was I needed much more than just cardio.
For my specific body type, I found out that I had more success with weight loss when I added resistance training and I loved every second of it. I didn’t have a lot of experience with resistance training, but I did find a workout guide I could follow online. Finding the right niche for you can always help increase a willingness to keep trying and exploring new paths.
The third thing I learned when losing weight is progress will show over time and patience is key.
Being consistent with a routine and always aiming to achieve goals that are set will result in progress and change. Having patience is very important when trying to lose weight because no one can’t lose twenty pounds in a week. Just like it didn’t take a week to put on the twenty pounds. I found taking progress pictures really helps because it shows change visually. Also, it’s a great reminder of how far someone has gotten when they hit a plateau.
Don’t let inexperience hold you back from making a better lifestyle change. Having a mindset that promotes growth can lead to more opportunities.
