Kate Whitaker, 21, didn't gain the Freshman 15 during her first year in college. Instead, by the time the second semester started, she was just a few pounds away from the Freshman 25. Fatty dorm meals and fast food wreaked havoc with her weight.
But she turned her diet around and lost about 40 pounds over two years by eating bargain-basement foods, including peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, diet frozen dinners and low-calorie fast-food fare.
"It was one of the best decisions I ever made to lose weight," she says.
Whitaker was chosen by a panel of experts to be featured in the sixth annual USA TODAY Weight-Loss Challenge in the newspaper and online at dietchallenge.usatoday.com. This year's series, which runs every Monday through mid-May, focuses on how to lose weight on a budget.
Whitaker's weight-gain history is similar to that of many other college students. In high school, she was active in sports and weighed about 125 pounds. Then she went to college at Texas A&M, and by the time January rolled around, her weight had climbed to 145.
She blames the gain on partying and not watching what she ate. "I lived in a dorm, and I would eat whatever they served. If they were serving cheeseburgers, I'd eat a cheeseburger. I didn't think at all about calories."
Then she saw a picture of herself on Facebook, and "I was like, 'Wow, I need to do something. It's time to try to lose weight.' I didn't realize that I'd gotten that big. When I look back now, I can't believe I didn't realize it sooner."
Whitaker went to a couple of Weight Watchers meetings in February 2007. Each meeting cost her $12. The program assigns points to foods, which vary according to such factors as fat and calorie content. The dieter is allowed a range of points each day.
Instead of consuming so much dorm food, she started eating low-cost, microwavable meals, such as Smart Ones frozen dinners. She also bought low-cost, low-point food from McDonald's, Subway and other inexpensive restaurants. "My favorite quick food is the 99-cent beef tacos from Jack in the Box. They are only three points per taco. I could eat those all the time."
Her exercise routine was equally cost-effective. She walked around campus and worked out at the recreation center, using the elliptical machine, running on the treadmill or lifting weights. By the end of 2008, she weighed about 107 pounds.
Whitaker, who transferred from Texas A&M to the University of Texas this spring, is happy with how far she has come. "I feel amazing, wonderful. I feel like I'm more outgoing. I feel so much better about myself."
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