IF is about when you eat, not what you eat. So if you can find an IF schedule that works for you, you can do IF.
The three important parts of weight loss are diet, good sleep, and stress management. The last two can be tough in college, but try your best. As for your diet, go for foods that are baked or grilled, not fried. Watch out for the extra calories in sauces and dressings. Meat/tomato sauces are better options than milk based ones (like for pastas.) Don’t drink your calories - those coffees that are just desserts, or energy drinks and sodas that are high in calories should be cut back on.
And if you’re microwaving a lot of frozen foods, find ones with higher protein.
Exercise is good, too. Do something as often as you can. It’s not necessarily for weight loss, but for general health.
And if you want to know your caloric needs, use a tdee calculator like https://tdeecalculator.net and aim to eat under your resting/maintenance number.
Food cooked in a microwave isn’t inherently bad for you. It’s just that we’ve come to associate it with pre-packaged highly processed but convenient foods, like ramen noodles. But you can cook frozen vegetables, instant brown rice, and reheat something like rotisserie chicken or deli turkey, preferably something lower in sodium. And then maybe a few sauce options to drizzle on so it’s not so monotonous. Or just skip the microwave for say Greek yogurt, fruit, and some low sugar granola.
Try and find a few decent protein options. Some good complex carbs. And non-starchy veggies.
Also add non starchy fresh veggies as snacks in your eating window. You don’t need to cook everything, which makes it very easy. Fantastic for vitamins and nutrients, plus will fill you up for very little calories
IF itself doesn’t specify what to eat — only when to eat. However, it is true that IF is easier when you can eat better. Think about bumping up protein and vegetables, and bumping down starches, sugars, and alcohol. You’ll feel less hungry that way.
There is plenty you can do even limited to a fridge, freezer, and microwave.
You can microwave frozen vegetables and canned beans. You can make salad with fresh vegetables. You can eat canned tuna, canned chicken, canned salmon. You can eat deli meat. You can eat tofu (seriously — cold tofu topped with soy sauce and sesame oil is delicious — add some chili-garlic paste if you like spicy). You can even get pre-hard-boiled eggs — a good protein source. You can microwave canned soup — focus on the ones without noodles or rice. A can of black bean soup or lentil soup is full of fiber! Or a can of meat chili for protein.