Freshman 15

[Twilight]

Hmmm, so I visited Georgetown College today since I had no school. It was pretty awesome. The girl who set up my tour also had lunch with me. When I told her I was an Atkins girl, she told me she was on South Beach. She said that she was actually dieting because she gained 20 pounds in 3 months her Freshman year.

Scary. More so because I noticed that 15 is a rather optimistic name for it. I've heard about people who've gained up to 40+ pounds their Freshman year of college.

What is it that makes it so hard for people to eat in a more healthy way when they're in college? And why, after they realize they are gaining weight, don't they start eating smarter? Why do they let it get so out of control?

I hope I'll be able to make better choices, because I don't want to ruin all my hard work when I get to college. Maybe I'll get a good roommate and we'll take care of each other. =/

How did all of you fare in your early years of college?

[ValidRouge]

Re: Freshman 15

Tori, this is a great topic. I work at a University, one where 90% of our students live (and eat) on campus. I think the following things contribute:
* students are away from home
* away from eating meals prepared by at home by their parents
* easily available "fast food" options (my school has chik-fil-a, einstein bagels, sub shop, pizza, etc.)
* eating these options in the middle of the night
* no structured physical ed--it's up to the student to make sure they get physical activity.
* its up to the student to make sure they are eating healthy--and many of them do not.
* eating junk food causes you to want to eat more junk food...and the cycle is worse at college because everyone is eating junk food. It's a carb FEST.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Freshman 15

yep and don't forget the snack machines close by if not on each floor of a dormloaded with soda and candy. if you want healthy snacks youhave to plan and go shopping or have mom send them from home and then store them were your roommate and dorm mates will not help you eat them up the day they arrive while visiitng.

[Twilight]

Re: Freshman 15

This whole college business really worries me. I noticed that off-campus restaurants are really expensive whereas on-campus dining halls aren't. I was wondering, is it typical of a university to have some sort of on-campus grocery store or something? I've only visited 2 and I haven't been introduced to any so far.

[2big4mysize]

Re: Freshman 15

not a grocery store like you got at home ay all. usually just snacks and smal items for the dorm or laundry. Student stores usually sell books and supplies along wioth junk food.

The cafeteria food can be very healthy of you chose to pick carefully. but many folk just plain over eat when they get to college. Some casue carby foods are cheap and filling and others cause the idea of all you can eat goes to their head.

[higgies]

Re: Freshman 15

The dining hall is typically purchasd and paid for as opposed to you going and paying for a restaurant or groceries. There are plenty of healthy options in a cafeteria, it's up to you to make the right choices. I know for me...

It was overeating in the cafeteria, eating late at night after drinking, and lots of beer...don't forget the beer. Most college freshmen go wild being on their own for the first time. So you get lots of beer. I know on a night of drinking, after eating all day in the cafeteria, we'd get delivery from this pizza shop that had a deal for a 10" pizza and a 6" sub for like $3.50. So needless to say, I had that a couple times a week in addition to the regular food I ate in large quantities.

I gained about 50lbs my freshmen year in college...

[theredhead]

Re: Freshman 15

My DD18 is a freshman at the University of Oklahoma. Now, she's always been slender, but she's very conscious of trying to eat healthy most of the time. OU has an amazing array of places/things to eat on campus. I think I read that they have something like 150 eateries on campus! She can get anything she wants and they really cater to all types of dietary needs and preferences. She vowed not to gain the freshman 15 and has actually lost 3-4 pounds. My point is that there ARE colleges out there (obviously, the larger ones) that have some really good food options. She really loves OU!

[not2late]

Re: Freshman 15

I gained 15 during freshman year...and proceeded to steadily gain every year after that. I kept telling myself gaining weight is normal for college students, I'll lose it over the summer. Well...that didn't work for me.

My advise to any college student is to not be fooled into thinking it's "normal" to gain the Freshman 15. It's not! Don't let "living in the dorms" or "living on my own" be the excuse to let your eating and lifestyle habits go.

Be mindful of what you eat, how much you eat and exercise daily. It'll save you the hassle of having to lose those 15 (and more) pounds later on.

[Twilight]

Re: Freshman 15

theredhead- Whoa, it's good to know that it's possible to avoid the dangers of college lifestyle.

not2late- I'm definitely not going to let any weight gain exceed 5 pounds... not that there will be any gain, of course... **cough**

[not2late]

Re: Freshman 15

Good for you. Go ahead and enjoy yourself, but be mindful for what you eat and how much.

I went to a small college. My meals were included in the room and board. So I didn't have to pay for individual items. My college had set meals and a salad bar. The meals were limited to 1 serving--fine. The salad was unlimited--fine. BUT there was always ice cream----at least 4 flavors. If you wanted to eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was self serve too. So you could take an unlimited amount. Also present was at least 10 varieties of dry breakfast cereal. It was self serve too. And of course, unlimited sodas.

So me being "healthy conscious" rather than eat a few scoops of ice cream, I used to have a bowl of granola for dessert, and I use to wrap another bowl full in a napkin for snacking later on.

As you can imagine, I gained weight as easily as the ice cream eaters.....

So just be careful.

[chase_white_rabbits]

Re: Freshman 15

Hmm, I don't know about my freshman year, but ALLthe weight I'm taking off now was from my college years. I doubled my size in college.

For me, it also had to do with the rampant drinking that happens in college. I hate to link the two, but I was in a sorority as an undergrad and with greek life comes parties. I must put a disclaimer here: I do not associate all sorority women with binge drinking and there were quite a few ladies in my chapter that never drank. I still volunteer for my chapter and it was one of the best experiences of my life. But, I never drank at all before college and for me, it was definitely a few years of over-indulgence. In addition to the drinking, there was also always dinners out, pizzas in, etc. - it may seem like good bonding with roommates and friends, but it definitely adds up!

Also, I think you're at a time in your life when your metabolism naturally slows and it's easier for the weight to creep on. You have to fight it harder than ever.

[sincub]

Re: Freshman 15

I gained the freshman... 40 or 50, I don't remember! It was after those two very large semesters that I decided to go on Atkins. Our dining hall was all-you-can-eat but lame - I got so sick of the gross hamburger patties they offered. I ended up eating a diet of pizza toppings and subpar salads.

But I started buying better food to keep in my dorm room, taking stairs instead of elevators... It all worked out.

It gets tempting, though. There's always a pizza or chips and dip or cookies or SOMETHING present at late-night study groups, or at semester exams (or maybe I just had weird profs - they always wanted to EAT at semester exams)... Try to bring stuff along that you can eat. I brought big bags of beef jerky to one pot-luck exam. I ate pepperonis instead of chips with cheese dip. In fact, my friends started eating pepperoni chips and low carb ice cream because I did.

Don't fret about it. Just keep in mind that when everyone around you is eating major carbs, you are NOT depriving yourself. When my ex started encouraging me to think I was depriving myself, I thought he was right, and, well, I'm back up to 205 now. I'm working on that, though. Just remember you're doing something good for yourself. And you can feel it in your bones.

[Grant]

Re: Freshman 15

I gained the freshman 15 as well. The reason it's so common is that most people at college are in the same situation. For the first time in their lives that have (almost) complete freedom to do whatever they want. The desire to indulge after living 18 years in an environment strctured by their parents is hard to resist.

I know it was for me!

[Angel_Eyes18]

Re: Freshman 15

Reason as to being why it's so easy to gain weight on your freshman year. Well

1. You're not living with the parents anymore so you have more responsiblities.
2. You are stressed out by how much you have to do and accomplish that you really don't give a rats *** what you eat just aslong as you eat.
3. Your health isn't top priority on your to do lists of the day


Just all in general your trying to stay above water and your not really thinking about weight, or health.

But if you are planning on going to that college, if its as pretty as you said it is, you might like to try and do some walking or jogging around the campas.

[julirama723]

Re: Freshman 15

I actually didn't gain weight my freshman year of college--I think I lost some.

I did gain my sophomore year though, because that's when I started drinking. Like others, the correlation between alcohol consumption and weight gain is no coincidence! The more I drank, the more liquid calories I consumed. And when you're drunk, you're hungry, even if you just ate. We'd order pizzas, go to McDonald's, go to the little dorm stores that were open at 2am to buy Ben and Jerry's and an order of nachos or breadsticks. It wasn't so much being "off a leash" and away from healthy eating (we didn't eat healthy foods at home), it was consuming dark beer, mixed drinks, and eating tons of food with them. And then of course, the next day you feel horrible and skip a workout if you've got one planned.

My dining halls had GREAT salad bars, healthy options, and good foods, if you chose them. But they also had the fair share of pizza, burgers, fries, ice cream EVERYDAY.

So, to avoid the freshman 15--
1. Go to the fitness center on campus. They usually offer GREAT classes like kickboxing and pilates, and you can meet some cool people here!
2. Head for the salad bar in the dining commons. Stay away from anything processed.
3. Invest in a fridge, and stock it with healthy foods from the grocery store, NOT from the local carb-infested dorm store.
4. Don't drink! If you do, don't do it often, and don't EAT whatever you want during/afterwards.