Trying to lose weight while you’re going to school can be frustrating.
With so many things that can occupy your time like class, homework, and maybe a part-time job…
…how the heck are you supposed to drop even a pound if you can’t exercise?
Despite all those obstacles of a typical university attendee, I’m sharing an inspiring story from a Belgium college student that was able to lose 40 lbs by making only a few tweaks.
How did he do it?
Keep on reading…
This is the Story of Reddit User /r/GeneralPuncake
This particular 19 year old college student hails from Belgium where he describes on reddit how he’s attending school to become a teacher in biology and physics.
Let me start by introducing myself and apologizing for my somewhat broken english.
I’m a 19 year old guy from Belgium, 5’8 (176cm) and now weigh 170lbs (77kg). I play basketball and game occasionally.I’m in college to become a high school teacher (biology and physics in case anyone would wonder/care) and I used to be obese.
And even though his starting point as being “obese” appears grim, he decided to change that.
…but not with the mental approach that you might think…
He Actually Used Weight Loss as a Way to Fix Boredom
Yep, most students find some sort of strong motivating purpose to drive their actions towards weight loss.
Some decide to lose weight so they can be more attractive to the opposite sex.
Others decide to drop a few lbs so they can build their self-esteem and improve their overall confidence.
And while GeneralPuncake could have had those intentions… instead, he decided to lose weight because…
“Why the hell not” lol
Here are his words…
Most people on here seem to have a deep reason as to why they lost weight. They got hurt by a loved one, got health issues or something else that would motivate you.
Then you have me… Summer had just started, I was bored watching some TV (belgian summer isn’t sunshine, don’t judge me for being inside) and I was like “Fuck I’m bored, lemme lose weight or something”. Yeah, you read that right. For some reason my brain thought losing weight would be a fun thing to pass the time, but hey, it worked!
What’s actually really inspiring about this approach is the way he completely separates his emotions from his goals and found what works for him.
Weight loss doesn’t always have to be wrapped up in traumatic experiences or purposes.
Instead, the act of losing weight can be a direct path from uncomfortable to feeling comfortable in your own skin again.
But how did he do it?
Here are his major steps to lose 40 lbs…
He Ate in a Caloric Deficit
Without being too analytical about it, GeneralPuncake basically put himself into a caloric deficit (consuming fewer calories than his body needs to maintain its current weight) by being smart and comparing his daily intake against his calculated basal metabolic rate (BMR).
I averaged around 1200-1400 kcal a day which isn’t a lot but it made me feel good and I wasn’t feeling weak which is what it’s all about…
Look up your bmr (It’s basically the amount of calories your body uses when doing nothing in a day). As long as you stay below that you will lose weight (especially since you actually do something so burn more calories than that!).
He Practiced Basic Intermittent Fasting
Intermittent fasting (IF) is an eating protocol in which you follow flexible rules that dictate when you can and can not eat during the day.
It’s a powerful dieting tool that helps to condition your appetite and stick to a certain calorie allotment without having to use a lot of willpower.
What’s interesting is even though user GeneralPuncake didn’t specifically state that he was following a beginner’s IF setup (skipping breakfast and not eating past dinner), that’s basically what he did.
Skipping breakfast isn’t a deadly sin. Some people don’t eat breakfast, I found that if I eat breakfast I’ll get hungry at the same as if I hadn’t. So just skip it, another 100-200 calories less and no hunger needed!
He Cut Out Alcohol
Now I do NOT promote underage drinking.
Wherever you live, you should be following the laws of your country and state/providence and not consuming alcohol until you’re of legal age.
That being said, alcohol is still a big part of the college experience and while in the past I’ve given strategies to drink alcohol and still keep your six pack, completely taking it out of your diet isn’t a bad idea either.
This was GP’s approach…
AVOID ALCOHOL 1 beer has 150 calories in it easily, there’s a reason they call it a beer belly in dutch. So try avoiding the alcohol guys (I miss it sometimes but whatever).
(They call it a beer belly in the U.S. too.)
But even in addition to alcohol…
He was Mindful About High Calorie Beverages
This is definitely a strategy that I promote and practice in my own diet.
With so many other options for things to drink with or without a meal, why DRINK your calories?
You don’t have to switch to water only. diet sodas don’t have a lot of calories in them, the only downside (from my experience) is that you’ll get a hunger feeling after them. If you can control those urges drink them, otherwise do like me and swap to water anyways!
Like he said, you don’t have to go “cold turkey” and only drink water, but it’s OK to try other alternatives like:
- Flavored water
- Diet soda
- Almond milk (low calorie)
- Black coffee
Use your imagination.
He Swapped Out High-Calorie Desserts for Lower-Calorie
Here’s something simple and awesome that he did…
He sought out a lower calorie dessert so that he could still satisfy his sugar cravings at the end of each meal without making a big deal out of it.
Last but not least, if you rly crave some sugar. Buy those watery popsicles like calipo. they only have 50 calories in one so a nice snack and not too many calories! (I may or may not eat at least 5 a week)
Additional Lessons He Learned…
On top of everything already mentioned, here are some additional lessons that he decided to share with the rest of the/r/loseit Reddit community…
1. The Key to Weight Loss is Managing Your Diet
If you notice in his post, nowhere does he mention that he took up any form of exercise to lose weight.
He even emphasized the point that managing how much and what he ate is the most important aspect to him losing those 40 pounds.
“Exercise is the key to losing weight:” This is completely false, your diet is 95% of losing weight. The only thing exercise will do is add another 200 calories you can consume that day for the same effect or build some muscles, the same way exercise only won’t do anything for your weight.
Now I would say if you want to build dense muscle, that’s another story because you do need a reliable workout plan.
But for the purpose of just losing weight… GP was completely on point.
2. Dieting Doesn’t Have to Suck
In the end, all it took for GeneralPuncake was to make some simple tweaks that allowed him to cut out hundreds of calories every single day of the week.
While taking up a dieting strategy that cuts out foods and beverages you don’t care about while still leaving things that you enjoy, you can lose weight effortlessly while still enjoying the ride.
“It’ll be hell:”* It can be hell but it doesn’t have to be, If you choose to eat healthy food you can easily eat 3 meals a day, stay below your calorie intake and never feel hungry, it’ll only be hell if you are doing a crash diet (which will not work). Don’t make it hard on yourself, losing weight is a slow process, don’t rush it and make it harder for yourself!
What Do You Think about This Student’s Weight Loss Results?
Are you currently trying to lose weight while going to school?
Leave a comment below and tell me if you think this plan would work for you and your goals?
And if you’re a current Reddit user, be sure to head over to the original post and give some additional congratulations to General Puncake.
He definitely deserves it!