It’s back to school season and we’re suddenly reminded of our own school days. Things have changed since then- instead of five cups of coffee during late night study sessions, today’s college students are consuming sugary energy drinks to keep their eyes open. With little time in between papers & projects, students are heating up Ramen noodles and squeezing in time to binge on the all-you-can-eat buffets lined with more poor decisions than healthy ones. After a few weeks of this lifestyle, the “Freshman Fifteen” rears its ugly head -- an expression referring to the extra weight college students tend to gain in their first year on campus.

If you've experienced traditional college life, you can probably relate to the transition of priorities and the poor dietary decisions. The stress of new priorities and hard deadlines most likely left you with a less-than nutritious diet, and a schedule so tight you couldn’t squeeze in a phone call with mom, let alone a trip to the gym.
One such student realized the damage her college diet had done, and set a goal to get back to her high school weight in one summer. So after finishing her bachelor’s degree in Biology (with minors in Psychology and Religious Studies) at The University of Pittsburgh, Amy Molitoris visited Perry at PAC Fitness to achieve her weight loss goal of 21 pounds in 12 weeks.

When Amy first came to Perry, she had already locked in a strong determination to shed her college baggage and get back into shape, once and for all. Thus began 12 weeks of intense workouts -- three 1-hour sessions every single week, plus a regimented dietary plan.

Perry’s dieting strategy is a fairly simple one: burn off more calories than you take in every day. It’s a formula with guaranteed results. Perry guided Amy’s diet plan, which consisted of 1100-1200 calories per day, with consideration for “good calories” vs. “bad calories”. For instance, a fast food hamburger may have the same calorie count much more nutritious meal that will keep you energized for much longer.

A healthy metabolism is a consistent one. Perry urges his students to maintain consistent eating habits- eating small amounts every 3 or 4 hours, rather than saving most of it for dinner time. It’s also important not to skip any meals, especially breakfast, and to try not to eat after 6pm. After her work with Perry, Amy also suggests using an app to assist in calorie monitoring called Lose It (available for both iPhone and Android). Lose It allows you to enter a desired weight loss goal, and takes you through the steps to achieving that goal by calculating both your calorie intake and your daily exercises. It even allows you to scan the barcode of a food item to gather it's nutritional information, which it applies right to your daily calorie budget. 

Extreme exercise combined with a strict dieting plan, Amy’s extra college pounds began quickly shedding. This week, Amy is returning to life on campus -- this time she’s heading to Cornell to continue her education in pursuit of achieving a four-year, post baccalaureate doctor of veterinary medicine -- and she’s looking better than ever! Over the course of three months, Amy achieved and surpassed her weight loss goal of 21 pounds- she lost 25 pounds and 25 total inches! Amy plans on keeping off the weight this time! To keep fitness a priority, Amy will keep up with her new eating habits and continue exercising as much as possible at her local Planet Fitness.

We want to wish Amy all the success in the world and thank her for being a huge inspiration to everyone at PAC!