Here are some guidelines to loose weight in a healthy way without damaging your body and still have enough energy to focus on your studies.

Enjoy a variety of foods.

Eat small, regular meals.  If small meals are eaten regularly the body is never starved and a person is less inclined to over eat, because blood-glucose levels stay more stable.

Eat food rich in fiber. Fiber lowers blood cholesterol levels and decreases fluctuation in blood sugar levels.  Examples are:  Unrefined products of wheat, skins of fruit and vegetables, “Digestive Bran”, legumes, oats, apples and citrus fruits.

Eat low Glycaemic (GI) foods.  A low GI diet results in more even blood-glucose levels and does not cause a major insulin response.  Insulin is a hormone that encourages fat storage.  Increased insulin secretion is stimulated when large meals or meals high in refined carbohydrates are eaten.  The increase insulin causes more fat to be stored.
To keep blood-glucose as even as possible and optimise fat loss, when choosing carbohydrates, rather choose foods that have a low GI.  The less refined foods are, the lower the GI seems to be.

Chicken, fish, meat, milk and eggs can be eaten daily.

Eat fats sparingly.  Fat form part of the normal balanced diet as it provides essential fatty acids and fat-soluble vitamins.  Too much saturated fat increases the blood cholesterol level and causes obesity.  Saturated fats should be avoided and occur mainly in food of animal origin such as fatty meat, full cream diary products, cream, butter, and cheese.  Also found in non-animal products such as non-dairy creamers (vegetable fats palm kernel- and coconut oil).  Poly-unsaturated and mono- unsaturated fats should rather be eaten.  These include plant oils, soft margarine, seeds, fatty fish, olives, avocados, peanuts and nuts.

Use salt sparingly. Salt occurs naturally in milk, eggs, meat, fish, vegetables and wheat.
Increased salt intake, increases calcium excretion and increases blood pressure.

Drink lots of clean, safe water every day. At least 6-8 glasses per day to remove waste products from the body.

If you drink alcohol, drink sensibly.  High in kilojoules and provide no nutrients but depletes the body of vitamins and minerals.

Eat food and drinks containing refined sugar sparingly and not between meals.  Sugar provides only one nutrient and is therefore an empty kind of food.

Be active!  Trying to loose weight without doing regular exercise will lead to muscle loss, since the body finds it easier to turn muscle into energy, than to burn stored body fat.  Exercise increases lean body mass, which in turn increases metabolism.