Here at CollegeCandy, we like to think we’re experts in a few key areas: budget fashion, sex, budget sex and college fitness. That’s why when FitSugar asked us to help them put together a post on keeping fit during those tricky undergrad years, we immediately blurted out, “Wear that cute dress you got on sale last weekend and go bang some hot dude until you sweat out all the beer you consumed the night before!!!”

And as soon as the words left our mouths, we realized that our advice wasn’t exactly sage…kinda like the time your older sister suggested you chug a 40 oz. of watermelon Smirnoff Ice. So, in light of our personal inadequacies when it comes to workout tips, we decided to toss this one over to a few of our trusty writers — the real CC fitness pros.

Head on over to FitSugar to see what they had to say about motivating yourself for the gym, scoring stylishly functional duds and fitting a workout into your busy schedule.

Pretty much what I look like now, well give or take a few pounds.

I have always been a fan of any quick fix diet plan. If there was a pill that would melt away pounds within a day, I would be first in line to buy it. So when I was perusing the web one day and happened upon the Slim Fast website, I saw an opportunity and ran with it. After all it has ‘fast’ and ‘slim’ in the name, so how bad could it be?

Within the first day I realized this was going to suck.

First let me just explain to you what it entails. Everyday you eat three snacks that are 100 calories, Slim Fast provides snack bars and the website also offers healthy 100 calorie snacks of real food you can make yourself. Then you also eat two 200 calorie meals, both are provided by Slim Fast and  you can choose between a shake or meal bar. Lastly you have one 500 calorie meal. It doesn’t seem too hard, right?

Getting the meals down wasn’t an issue, the issue was when my parents would bring home Chinese and I was sucking down a shake that tasted like chalk. Now I have a sweet tooth and it’s usually my downfall during diets. But Slim Fast has actually gotten rid of my need for sweet — every single bar and even the shake was so sickly sweet I was wishing for something savory and actually healthy.

By the third day I was ready to go off the diet and just start eating healthy, but for obvious reason I powered through and lost 3 pounds. (Now this was combined with working out, so please don’t think you can sit on your butt all day eating Slim Fast chocolate bars and milk shakes and still lose weight.)

But powering through wasn’t always easy. Or tasty. One of the things I struggled with the most was the taste of the shakes — it was like drinking melted chalk. Luckily they suggest you try it in smoothie form, which makes it much more tolerable. Once I added fresh fruit to the smoothie, it actually start to taste good.

Overall I found it a really good one week diet, I don’t think I could have done it for much longer. The plan is safe and there are plenty of calories to sustain you throughout the day. But if you do start this diet, just know that the first day is going to suck. Although, I will admit after the first day I had a lot more energy than usual.

It gave me useful tools to kick start a new healthier lifestyle. As for whether it works for you, I’ll let you be the judge of that. But when it comes to me, I not only lost weight but also got the motivation I needed to get my butt in gear. So yes, I think it works. If for no other reason then to get me into a very needed “get healthy” mode.

The only problem with going for a run around the neighborhood is that it’s not as easy to gauge the distance I’ve run as it is on the treadmill at the gym. But that’s not a problem anymore, now that I’ve discovered WalkJogRun!

Put simply, WalkJogRun is a tool that helps you plan a running (or jogging, walking or biking) route. Simply find your starting location on the site’s Google Maps interface, then start drawing your route in. Once you put a route in, WalkJogRun will calculate for you the total distance and approximate time.

When you’re done, you can save your route to add it to the database and share with others. You can also browse running routes nearby the start location you specify. Every time you (or anyone else) logs onto the site, you’ll see your route.

From there, the next thing to do is go out on your run!

Have you ever stayed up all night studying for a final? Blood shot eyes, empty coffee cups, pages and pages of notes…you know, the works. Do you remember sitting there wishing you had diligently studied all semester long, gone to class or stayed awake during the Powerpoint presentation?

Yeah, me too.
Every. damn. semester.

Well, I’m here to let you know that just like studying, the same goes for good health and fitness. We can’t expect to do crash diets or spend 3 hours at the gym on one day to achieve our goal body. There’s no way that’s healthy or realistic. Just like school, it takes a little effort every single day in order to see maximum results. And with Spring Break and summer just a few months away, if you want to feel beach body confident by semester’s end you have to start now.

The secret to having the body you want is actually pretty simple. If you know and understand these three key factors in exercising, you’re off to a very good start.

1. Cardiovascular exercise burns off the layer of fat covering your six pack. You gotta get that heart a-pumping and that sweat a-drippin’ if you want to see some real results! The professionals recommend at least 20-30 minutes of cardio, 3-5 times a week. No, that does not include walking to your kitchen and back. Jump roping there? Okay, now we’re talking.

2. Incorporate strength training or weight bearing exercises into your fitness routine. Sure your abs are hidden somewhere in there, but in order to get them peeking through you have to work on strengthening them. Crunches or sit-ups are a great start! As you get more advanced in your routine, try incorporating full body planks or moves that create muscle confusion, like these challenging (and rewarding!) ab blasters.

3. Muscle burns more calories than fat! This is why #2 is muy importante. Muscles take more energy to function, therefore burning more calories even when you’re not doing anything. If you can build up lean muscle mass, then you are guaranteed to get more from your cardio workouts.

Of course there are more things to ensure a proper fitness routine, but if you want to get started in the right direction, these are the three things you must understand. Combined with a healthy diet, you are on the fast track to your dream body.

I know there are times when you’re going to feel like bingeing (these super cheesy, extra oily fries aren’t THAT bad at 2am, right?) or skipping the gym for a day (or week), but keep in mind how hard you’re working and why you’re doing this. Keep enjoying your life, but vow to make some healthier choices. Whether it be taking the stairs instead of the elevator or banning yourself from the kitchen after 10pm, simply making one change every day gets you closer and closer to your goal.

– Wanna get started? Check out some of my workouts here. I’ll be back next week with more! Tweet me your requests @jackelynho!

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month

After dealing with the turmoil of a breakup, the impending holiday season, the bitter cold and the death of my beloved aunt, the only thing getting me through were my workouts. That’s right, while the rest of the world was going for pumpkin pie, I was skipping dessert and smashing up the elliptical. While everyone threw elbows at their local Target, I was throwing punches (Jillian Michaels style) on the treadmill.

All I can say is: I did it.

Yes, I slipped up last week. But you know what, I pulled through. Even through the holiday season when my plans inexplicably brought me to my relatives in Ohio, I was blessed with a 24 hour gym in my Cleveland hotel. And you know what? I felt amazing skipping the pie and busting my ass on the elliptical. Granted, it might not have been the most fun or indulging holiday, but I felt ten thousand times better skipping out on the alcohol fest of “Thanksgiving Eve” or the “drinking to make my relatives seem normal” tradition of Thanksgiving itself. I burnt off my aggression about my break up, my sadness about my lost aunt and the general grief that this season brings me.

This month challenge has truly inspired me in many ways. Although it seemed like an arduous task at first, I really feel that I gave 100% of myself into this and I want to keep going. From this day on, I want to continue my high-energy motivation for the gym. Albeit, now that I’m not documenting every moment in time of this journey, I will take some time off once a week to rest. I’m allotting 5-6 days at the gym for Gym-cember (doesn’t have as catchy of a ring to it, does it?) and going to keep pushing myself. I do know that 7 days is too much for my body to handle at this point and I deserve a day off instead of just feeling crushing guilt when I skip.

In terms of my fitness routine, I’ve really solidified myself as someone with ADHD. I cannot spend an extreme amount of time on one machine. But, the people I’ve talked to have advised that this is actually a good thing! You can switch from the elliptical to the treadmill to the bike in one forty-five minute work out and it’s perfectly fine. I may never be a distance runner but I finally did a mile in under ten minutes. It may not be a big deal to you, especially if you’re a hardcore runner, but it was a huge accomplishment for me.

I’m proud I did it and I can’t wait to continue my new fitness-concious lifestyle.

So, just wanted to let you guys know that this stupid One Month Challenge is officially cursed. When my sister gave up her penchant for junk food for a month, her and her bf broke up. Fast forward 2 challenges later, I broke up with my boyfriend, who was living with me and my roommate. All drama aside and cutting to the chase: I skipped a day at the gym. Oops. However, I have been getting a significant amount of cardio in from my sporadic post-break up sobbing in public/indiscriminate panic attack dry heaving. I can already feel my abs tightening.

Now, I’ve started to work out even harder at the gym, pushing myself to my full limits. Actually, skipping a day made me work even harder. I think my body needed the rest. Except this week really, really sucks for working out. There’s nothing I want more than to curl up on the couch clutching my bottle of Pinot Grigio, my two new boyfriends Ben and Jerry and weep while watching “It’s Complicated” because I will never find a guy like John Krasinski. But oh no, I have to take my multi-vitamin as per Jillian Michaels, pound out some time at the gym, do crunches, do my sobbing abs exercise and try my damndest not to skip another day.

Additionally, I’ve thrown my energies into work, pulling 12-hour days just to avoid thinking about it, which leads to more fatigue complications. Alas, I have been plugging through, altering between high-energy workouts and lethargic half-assed push ups.

My plan is to just keep going, forget that I skipped one stupid day and work even harder. I mean, I’ve got to get my body right in order to look hot in that LBD since I’m now back on the market. The timing couldn’t be better as I feel my clothes fitting better and the pounds dropping off the scale. Not to mention, my eating habits have changed completely to accommodate my gym schedule and my breakup nausea. I’m not going to say things are going well. Things are simply going.

[Check out the other One Month Challenges we've taken on. And if you've got a challenge you want to tackle (and be held accountable for), email us and we could feature you next month! We promise, not all challenges end in heartbreak.]

[Everyone’s got a vice, a bad habit, something they know they need to change. Unfortunately, everyone also has a million excuses why they just can’t do it. Not anymore. Every month

So I’ve made it through week two, and surprisingly, it’s gotten better every day. I’ve been pushing myself and have discovered the joys of OnDemand exercise videos featuring Jillian Michaels, which I use to warm up before I put in my time at the gym. I asked you all last week for some tips and tricks to get through this and I was overwhelmed with the responses. The encouragement you guys dispensed made me feel great and it made me feel even better when some of you indicated that you’d be joining me for Gymvember!

One piece of advice that I wish I had heeded this week came from a comment warning me, “Obviously if you are not a morning person do not workout in the morning. You are just going to hate it and your performance will reflect your feelings.” (Thanks “A Dude”!) However, I had a lot to do after work one day and knew I wouldn’t have time to go to the gym at night. So, I begrudgingly woke up an extra hour or so earlier and went to the gym. That was awful. I hate mornings and it absolutely did reflect in my workout. I was sluggish, cranky and felt like a zombie afterward. I think I’m going to stick to my evening workouts from now on; the morning does nothing for me, especially before I’ve had my iced coffee (yes, I realize it’s November… I mean, Gymvember).

Otherwise, I feel freaking great!

I feel like my weight loss and health goals are finally becoming attainable. Although I refuse to weigh myself, I already feel a difference in the way my clothes are fitting. I already see a shift in my eating habits to accommodate what I’m doing at the gym. Even though it really, really grosses me out, I’m drinking protein shakes at the advice of my friend. I even scooped up a Dry-fit Nike sports bra, which I love. As for my questioning of my endorphins? I know they’re there now. I’ve been way less irritable and moody, plus that lethargic feeling (you know, when you just want to drown in your bowl of leftover Halloween candy and immerse yourself in the lives of Real Housewives) only occurs on weekends now.

I know it might sound stupid or like I’m bragging (I’m not), but this is coming from a girl who would rather order food than walk a couple blocks and get it and who avoided the gym like it was the weird snot-nosed kid in pre-school… I’m proud of myself. I haven’t tripped up or skipped a workout in the past two weeks.

Halfway there! Bring it on, Thanksgiving! As always, please leave any advice, workout songs or motivators in the comments!

[Check out the other One Month Challenges we've taken on! And if you've got a challenge you want to tackle (and be held accountable for), email us and we could feature you next month!]

How often do I go to the gym lately? I guess I would use the word “sparingly.” Since starting a full-time job, my fitness has taken a backseat to schoolwork, regular work and all the lovely stresses of living in New York City. Never mind the fact that I live in an apartment building with a gym. I’ve tried to justify my lack of rigorous exercise by walking to and from work every day (30 minutes both ways) but in reality, the only reason I do that is because I have a crippling fear of the subway and all public transportation.

Let’s face it, the only marathon I’ve ever participated in only happens when I’m too lazy to turn off E! and I get suckered into 5 hours of the Kardashians. It was time to make a change and get my ass back into shape and take full advantage of the fitness room in my building. So I’ve begun my month challenge, which I’ve endearingly nicknamed “Gymvember.” I’m not skipping a single day of exercise at the gym and have vowed to go for a minimum of 25 minutes a day. This minimum will ideally be exceeded. And no, Bravo marathons and walking around the city don’t count as exercise.

This is going to hurt.

My first week started out shaky. November 1st was the day after a brutally exhausting Halloween and I was whining all the way to the gym that day. Not to mention, when I came back I was convinced that I’m completely void of so-called “endorphins.” The gym does not make me a happy camper. But as the week progressed, so did my intensity in the gym. I’ve started pushing myself and becoming inspired by my neighbors/fellow gym-goers. My favorite thing is the exercise bike so I usually save that for last after twenty minutes of the elliptical. The other day I even brought myself to do my least favorite thing: running. I’ve never been any good at running. I could be on the elliptical forever, but the second you tell me to run I get flashbacks of running the mile in 6th grade. It’s not pretty. But I did it! And it felt… good?

The worst part is probably the first twenty minutes. Once I hit the twenty minute mark, I feel invincible and like I can go forever. However, getting to that first twenty minutes is rough and I keep thinking, “Okay just 7 more minutes…. just 5 minutes and 23 seconds…. just 4 minutes and 3 seconds…” just to get through that first twenty.

The only concerns I’ve been having so far are as follows:

1. Am I going to get bored with the same workouts? How can I shake things up?
2. What songs can I listen to that get me excited and my heart rate up?
3. When can I treat myself to some cute Lululemon workout clothes?
4. Why am I so much hungrier now than ever?
5. How can I motivate myself to wake up early and go to the gym? So far, I’ve been going at night or in the afternoon.

So far, so good. Not a day missed and all days have been over 25 minutes, even pushing myself to do a couple two-a-days when I have the time! Any suggestions, CollegeCandy readers? I need all the help I can get right now! Not to mention, I’m so ready to do work on those weight machines, but I’m afraid of getting “bulky.” What exercises, routines, DVDs or playlists get you going?

[Check out the other One Month Challenges we've taken on! And if you've got a challenge you want to tackle, email us and we could feature you next month!]

Thank you so much for your concern about my supposed “drunkorexia,” which is apparently the deliberate decision to eat less food on days destined for drunken debauchery. Though this is not an official medical term, it has been noted in Colorado as a recent “growing trend” among college women. However, let me assure you, drunkorexia is not actually real, and the things that appear similar to the nonexistent disorder may actually be conscious dieting choices among university realities.

Any college student’s diet is abnormal and worthy of attention on its own. Our campuses are equipped to fight our appetites with buffet-style dining halls filled with low-quality options, and our kitchens are stocked with frozen pizzas, chips and Cup of Noodles, each drenched in unhealthy preservatives and way too much salt. Our meal times are tightly squeezed into our schedule among study sessions, work shifts, volunteer programs and internship hours – meaning we chow down while running out of our apartments and we treat ourselves to late-night breaks in the middle of all-nighters. It may not be an ideal routine for our waistline, but it works out well for our resumés, academic transcripts and graduate school applications.

With that said, extending our workouts and skipping meals may not be our best bets, but announcing, “I’m drinking, therefore I don’t want to eat so much, so I’m going to have a mixed green salad and a Diet Coke,” seems like a sign of sensible maturity. In a nation expanding quickly with actual medical concerns such as obesity and diabetes, maybe a couple calorie swaps – whether we plan to drink or otherwise – are a good idea!

It is true, there are college women – and people in general – who are seriously battling eating disorders and/or abusing substances. However, anorexia nervosa and bulimia are commonly related to a distorted self-image or fear of losing control, while alcoholism is characterized as its uncontrolled consumption and often inspired by personal reasons. These are both serious conditions, related in some cases, but those who are skimping snacks solely to stay under the recommended daily caloric intake after a few shots should not be diagnosed the same. Or with made-up medical terms like drunkorexia. It isn’t fair for those students who actually need the medical attention, and it’s simply annoying to those who don’t.

We’re in college, we’re going to drink, so we might as well be logical and somewhat healthier about it. This isn’t a problem so much as it’s a solution. Come on!

And to the UNC students who keep “seeing their friends drink on an empty stomach, binge on ‘drunk food’…then feel guilty and vomit” – that is not drunk food, that’s affordable food on a college budget that your friend is eating because she only had a bowl of lettuce for dinner and now, 6 hours later, she’s hungry. Plus, people don’t throw up because they feel guilty, it’s because they’re drunk/hungover. So be a friend, hold her hair back, and buy her dinner next time – there’s probably a better chance she’s saving her money instead of her calories for alcohol!

Thank You,
Ashley

You don't need a beard and a ship to discover something (sorta) new.

One fateful day back in the pre-Facebook days,  Christopher Columbus “discovered” America.  Much like you discovered that wearing a scarf around campus on a 75 degree day would not stop the hickey rumors from floating around. And we’re sure that’s not the only discovery that you’ve made since attending college. Just like Columbus discovered America and thought he was onto something pretty big, we’ve all found a few things along the way that wowed us as well. We rushed home, told our roommates, and sat there in shock when we realized that they already knew that it’s smarter to change into sweats before going to a booty call.

So here are a few more awesome discoveries that every college student needs to make:

1. Finding the secret bathroom so you can poo in private: We’ve all been victim to the poop wars in college dormitories.  You enter the community bathroom at the same time as another innocent pooper and each of you sit in the stall waiting for the other to make the first move.  It’s disgusting, but don’t begin to admit it hasn’t happened to you.  I’m guilty as charged, so finding the secret bathroom to do your business is a dream come true.  Nobody goes in there and you have hours to shadoobie in private. Glorious.

2. Finding the class where the prof puts the entire lecture online: This is one of the most wondrous discoveries. Attend class from the comfort of your bed. Just make sure to show up to the exam.

3. How to make a panini in the waffle maker: Or other fabulous cafeteria discoveries. The caf is a place to let your imagination span mountainous regions.  My freshman year, I discovered how to grill a sandwich on our waffle maker. My sophomore year I discovered how to mix the different kinds of cereals (preferably Cheerios and granola). My junior year I discovered the art of burrito making and bringing a Tupperware to the caf for leftovers.  You get the idea, now get out there and be your own Sous Chef.

4. Utilizing the library the 20th Century Way: This is a nerdy revealing moment for me, but while we are so hung up on internet research for projects and papers, we forget about the goodness offered in college library books. My senior year I discovered what it was like to do research from real books. And tell you what: it’s a lot better than crossing your fingers and praying your Wikipedia research is legit.

5. Finding studying serenity in Pandora.com: Seriously, Pandora was one of my most amazing discoveries ever in college. It’s free and you can download your own radio stations based upon artists you enjoy.  I had everything from a Disney Movie radio station to Enya (I’m not kidding, that shiz is relaxing.) You bring your headphones to the library and lose yourself while studying. Or turn it on while you’re pregame in your dorm – whatever, it’s great and I’m so glad I stumbled across it.

6. The Glory that is The Greyhound: Need a cheap drink of choice in college? Chelsea Handler taught me well: grapefruit juice and vodka (otherwise known as ‘The Greyhound’) is the pagan amongst mixed drinks.  It’s relatively healthy, tasty and cheapo.  Those three words pretty much sum up my college career.  Oh and another great drinking discovery?  At your local gas station, fill up a Coke slushy and mix it with Jack – it’s really fun!

7. Discovering Google Docs: Google Docs is a group project savior in HTML disguise.  We all know group projects in college are completely bogus and meeting up totally sucks.  But if you download Google Docs, you can work on one document, in separate locations, at the same time. It’s so amazing and creepy because you can see other group members typing their information.  It’s also fun, because you can type inappropriate words (i.e. FART) to make group members momentarily uncomfortable.

8.The outlet of time nobody is working out: It’s not my number one favorite thing to go bust a move in the workout room when the entire student body is also getting ripped.  I love finding that small snippet of time (usually between 1 pm and 3 pm) where nobody else is working out and I can sweat in my lonesome glory. Not to mention the dude with the B.O. who farts every .3 miles on the treadmill isn’t around either.

9. The Ultimate Hangover Cure: Which usually revolves around something like a Vitamin Water, a multi-vitamin, and a trashy reality TV marathon. And if you can roll out of bed, a solid workout usually helps sweat out that vodka collins.

10.Making the most out of college: This is the number one discovery in my book.  You have to take a moment, sit back and make a blatant attempt at making the most out of your college experience.  Learn from the inevitable moments of misunderstanding, bask in the awkward moments, and benefit from differences.  College is a great place for growth and constructing who you are so live it up.  Four years go by fast and suddenly you’re living in your parents’ basement. Take the time to truly enjoy!