Wednesday, September 16, 2009

"The Freshman 15"


College is a time when freshman are away from their parents, really for the first time, and whether we want to admit it or not, many new college students neglect the proper nutritional care for their bodies. There is no one to tell them when or how much to eat and therefore, portion control becomes a huge problem. Eating Ramen noodles at two in the morning after a long night of drinking becomes a regular habit, and suddenly those new clothes they bought for back to school no longer fit.

According to Freshman15.com, women are more vulnerable to gain weight once they go off to college than men. Many of the new students turn to food as a way to comfort the new stressors of roommates and challenging classes and drink excessively to fit in at parties. Although it is said that the "freshman fifteen" should more realistically be called the "freshman five," some of the horror stories tells of new students gaining over seventy pounds.

It is recommended that students don't skip breakfast, eat on a regular schedule, pack snacks to take to class should they be studying all day, exercise routinely and be especially careful about what is eaten and drank on weekends! Everything should be done in moderation!

*Did you gain weight as a freshman? If so, what do you think was the cause? If not, what did you do to prevent it?*

4 comments:

  1. Alyssa this is a great topic although when I was a freshman I gained weight, it wasn't weight that I didn’t want to gain. Being a hockey player when I came to college one of my goals was to put on size so I knew I wasn't going to get destroyed on the ice. Working out and eating a lot but healthy did just that for me and now as a junior I have gained 32 lbs since my freshman year.

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  3. I am a senior now, but last fall was my first semester regularly eating on a college campus. I found that when you are ina buffet setting you tend to eal more...much more! I would eat some pizza, maybe a samdwich, have the specialty, and definetly had to get a cheeseburger. Its like I had no control. Ill admit I was by no means on a diet and I definetly was not concerned with gaining weight, which I did. Afetr that first semester the food got old and lost its "flare". I Lost probably all of the weight that I had because of during football season, and now I usually eat about 1 plate full a day, and maybe a salad. I haven't recently made any huge weight gains or losses.

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  4. unfortunatly for me when i was a freshman i herniated 2 discs in my back and could not move for 2 months. i put on the freshmen 50 instead of 15. i felt terrible all the time and couldn't do the athletic activities that i once could. after i lost almost all the weight i felt reenergized and could once again do the things i loved. my recomendation is to stay away from any weight gain in college.

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