The Freshman Fifteen

How to avoid those dreaded extra pounds your freshman year

Oct 16, 2006 Naomi Rockler-Gladen

Is the Freshman 15 inevitable? Here's a few common sense tips to help students prevent weight gain their freshman year and beyond.

Is it true that students all gain 15 pounds their freshman year? Well, not everybody does, but an awful lot of students find themselves putting on weight. Why? Well, you’re out of the house and completely in control of your food intake for the first time. You’re probably eating at an all-you-can-eat dining hall. There’s plenty of fun opportunities to eat pizza in the middle of the night, and plenty of stressful exams to point you in the direction of Ben and Jerry.

Is the Freshman Fifteen inevitable? Of course not. Here’s a few simple tips to help you control weight gain freshman year.

• Walk, walk, walk. You might not have time for a long workout, but if you’re on a college campus, you have plenty of opportunities to walk from class to class. To burn some extra calories, maximize your walking. If your school offers shuttle service between classes, don’t take it unless you’re in a big hurry. If you have a car, don’t use it if your destination is in walking distance. For faster campus transport and even more exercise, get a bike or a skateboard.
• Limit late night pigouts. Calories consumed at night don’t get as much chance for use as calories consumed during the day. So regular pizza consumption at 3:00 a.m. is not a good idea.
• Limit beer. There’s a reason why it’s called a beer belly. Light beers are about 100 calories apiece, and regular beer falls in the 125-225 calorie range. This can add up fast. Think of it this way: a beer is about as many calories as a Frappuccino. If you drank ten Frappuccinos every Saturday night, you’d gain weight too.
• Don’t skip meals. This is basic Diet 101: if you skip meals, you’re bound to overcompensate at your next meal. Tempting as it is to sleep as long as possible, try not to skip breakfast. Even a quick bowl of cereal or a banana before class will energize you and prevent weight gain.
• Eat well in the cafeteria. Here are some college dining hall nutrition tips.
• Limit emotional eating. When I was in college, what did my girlfriends and I do when someone suffered a nasty breakup? We’d head over to Thomas Sweet for a massive chocolaty Blend-In! I suppose this is better than getting wasted, but it’s still not healthy. It’s better to relieve stress with a brisk walk, or through some (moderate) shopping therapy.
• Limit fast food. Guys, you’re not 13 anymore. Double Whoppers now come with consequences.
• To some degree, accept it. Even if you eat well and exercise, you’re bound to gain a little weight in college because you’re getting older. It’s normal to fill out in your late teens and early twenties. And although keeping an eye on your weight is a good habit, obsessing about it is not. An eating disorder is a much more serious problem than an extra fifteen pounds.

Have any questions, thoughts, or suggestions? Join the discussion!

Related articles:

College Student Health Tips

College Students and Eating Disorders

Clothing Tips for College Girls

College Dorm Room Necessities

How College is More Difficult than High School

The copyright of the article The Freshman Fifteen in Campus Life is owned by Naomi Rockler-Gladen. Permission to republish The Freshman Fifteen in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Mmmmm, pizza.

What do you think about this article?

---

NOTE: Because you are not a Suite101 member, your comment will be moderated before it is viewable.

post your comment

What is 5+0?

Comments

Oct 18, 2006 5:35 PM

Beth Bonnstetter :

While I agree with most all of what Naomi has said both here and on her blog, there's a flip side to this too. Overeating is also an eating disorder, and while the effects may not be as immediately devastating as bullimia and anorexia, they nonetheless can lead to long term and potentially life-threatening effects, such as diabetes, heart disease, certain kinds of cancers, etc. The Freshman Fifteen is no big deal--if it stays at fifteen (or whatever is healthy for your body)! And it might, but it might also be the start of the College-Long Thirty or the Fifteen Year Fifty that results in pre-diabetes.

Absolutely you should eat--but you should make healthy choices as much as possible. I know its hard when there's all sorts of good food in front of you; so one of the healthiest choices you can make is eat in proper proportion and get exercise. A visit to your campus wellness center or your doctor can help you find out how many calories a day you need to be healthy, and how to choose proper portion sizes. And even if its just 30 minutes a day on the weekends, some exercise is still better than nothing.

Also, avoid emotional eating (bordom, loneliness, sadness, socializing, etc.)--part of a healthy relationship with food is knowing that you are eating for some other reason than you're hungry.

Accept your body for what it is--beautiful!--but don't then use that as an excuse to give up on healty eating habits and exericise. You don't want to lose that beautiful body, either.

College is as good of time as any to learn about making nutritious, healthy eating choices and having a good relationship with food, rather than one that puts you in the hospital, either in the near future or in years to come.

1 Comment: