I lost 15lbs when I stopped riding the RU buses

When I decided to stop taking the bus, it was a decision I made after the first semester of last year. I had gained the freshman 15 during my sophomore year. Needless to say, after I weighed myself, I made a decision never to let myself go again. The problem I noticed with most people trying to lose weight is that they tend to yo-yo; the viscous cycle of losing 10 pounds and then gaining it all back. If I wanted to keep the weight off permanently, a lifestyle change was necessary. So I asked myself, besides eating habits, what is another crucial element that we as students use day in and day out, that I have to change in order to make sure my body burn more calories than I consume? The Rutgers buses are full of students trying to squeeze in, desperate to spend little energy and get to class conveniently.

January of 2016 was when I weighed 170 lbs, the heaviest I’ve ever been. By the time April came around, my weight slipped down to 155 lbs. When asked how I made this gradual change I told people: “I just stopped taking the bus.” For months, I walked from College Avenue to Livingston, from my dorm to George Street, and from Cook Campus all the way to Brower. The winter months were difficult, but the human body burns more calories in the cold, so that was my incentive. I made a habit for myself to walk from place to place as much as I could, and right now, I weigh 150 lbs.

The experience wasn’t easy at first, especially since the LX and F buses have been my savior since freshman year. I remember walking back from Cabaret theater to College Avenue at night, and a homeless person following me, asking me for money for food while refusing my offer to buy him a sandwich. I remember those cold days where I would walk to class shivering, hoping to sit in a nice warm classroom, only to be greeted by an ice box in Beck Hall. Eventually I got used to all of this, and my body shed the extra weight slowly but surely.

One thing that this experience hasn’t shed is my terrible sense of direction. I will forever need a GPS, and the only reason I know that is because the amount of times I searched “directions from 126 College Ave to Livingston Student Center” will remain infinite. I was only late for class once because of my decision to walk, and in my defense, the February frost was distracting me.

I’m really proud of myself for keeping to the commitment for so long, because I’m sure I speak for a lot of us when I say that New Years Resolutions are usually thrown away by late January. I take the bus a lot now since I hit my goal weight and below, but I now realize the importance of an active lifestyle. I no longer complain about walking distances, and even to this day I will walk from Cook to College Ave if I’m done with work. I am no longer one of those students who NEED to take a bus to get from the Student Center to The Yard.

But, apparently this is too much for some students despite being the age that is the “physical prime” of our youth, which is incredibly sad because it is a bit of a tragedy when it’s considered “normal” to waste away your body’s strength and stamina just because the developed nations have made comfort so attainable. You’re at an age where, if you want to train yourself to do ten pull-ups, you can do that in a month. As cheesy as it sounds, when you’re young, your body is a gift. To throw that gift away just because you don’t want to move is tragic.