Remember that to lose weight it is simply a matter of using more energy than you consume. By that philosophy I don't think that any particular type of food is strictly hands off. . .it just means that some foods require more activity.
I have never been overweight but I have been out of shape (skinny-fat man anyone?). I find that also being a student I have limited money. Therefore to avoid eating the junk food I try to show a little self control and just not buy it at the grocery store. Rather I spend my money on fruits, vegetables, fresh meat etc. My whole philosophy is that if I don't buy it I won't eat it. It works great! Poverty rules! Anyway, I think you might find that simply not buying the junk food also saves on the grocery bills a bit. Just buy a bunch of oranges, apples, strawberries, grapes, bananas etc. It takes a while to get used to grabbing these things as snacks but you'll get used to it. Also, when you go out for the day bring little snack packs of carrots, orange wedges, apples, soy nuts and the sort.
Running is all well and good for burning excess calories and feeling good but don't overlook weight training. Muscle is key for burning calories. I don't necessarily mean hitting the gym but you should consider push-ups for chest/shoulder/arms, various forms of crunches for core work and pull-ups.
Since you're at the UofC I would recommend the following work-out at the track at the oval:
1) Stretch a bit
2) Jog several laps around the track
3) Walk a bit (a minute or two)
4) Run up and down the stairs at the ends of the track. One lap of these is jogging to the bleachers and go up and down each staircase. Then run around to the other set of bleachers and do the same thing. Rinse and repeat. Try to get up to three laps overtime. Take it slow though this stuff is rough.
5) Do some body weight training exercises. Cycle between sets of push-ups, crunches, pull-ups (palms away from you). Try to get in three sets of each. Pull-ups may be a problem but you'll get there overtime with all the push-ups. Remember for each exercise that control is key. Don't rush the movements and try to focus on muscle tension.
6) Stretch every thing out.
That series shouldn't take much more than an hour and a half but you should alter it to match your abilities.
One last thing is that if you're into a good work-out that builds a lot of muscle quick you should check out the bouldering wall in the basement under the gyms (auxiliary I think). The staircase is beside the squash courts. I'm there a lot but I recently blew a finger so that has been cutting back on my climbing.
Good luck!
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