While many schools have their urban legends about hauntings in certain dorm halls or statues that come to life — looking at you University of Cincinnati — the freshman 15 is a curse that follows students from all over the globe. Basically, this term has been coined for students who gain a significant amount of weight after being overwhelmed by the freedoms of dorm life. It’s a tragic tale that happens over and over. So how can you avoid this happening to you? Here are some helpful tips to avoid gaining the dreaded freshman 15 during your first year of school.
How to avoid the dreaded freshman 15
Create healthy eating habits for yourself
Now that your parents aren’t keeping a close eye on what you are eating, it is up to you to create your own eating habits that will stay with your for the rest of your adult life. While you may have been used to your teenage metabolism burning off calories like coal to a steam engine, that will start to fade as you get older. By having an understanding of portion control and the nutritional facts for all of the food that is entering your body, you will be able to get ahead of gaining your freshman 15 and stay healthy during your first year of school. Just be mindful and make sure to add in a daily dose of fruits and vegetables with your meals on campus. You’re thirty something year-old self will thank you in the future.
That isn’t to say there won’t be any slip ups. This is college, afterall! But by limiting yourself on certain temptations like fountain soda drinks at the dining hall or high calorie beer, you will be on the right track. To put it in perspective, a 20-ounce can of soda contains 17 teaspoons of sugar and 240 calories. With most dining halls at colleges providing you with free-refills on beverages, that number could swell a little bit larger per visit. Those calories found in sodas are known as “empty calories” with no beneficial nutrients and will only contribute to packing on that unwanted weight during your first semesters. The same goes for beer as the general rule of thumb with these carb heavy beverages is that the higher the alcohol percentage, the higher the calorie count.
Take advantage of the gym
One of the benefits of going to college is all of the free and readily accessible amenities that will be provided for you on campus. While you may have no time to breath between class, studying, and your brand new burgeoning social life — making time to visit the gym each week can be a big help while trying to avoid the freshman 15.
While you may not always want to go, there are certain ways that you can trick yourself into a routine that will keep you on track. By packing your gym clothes with your school supplies in the morning or making plans with friends to go you will hold yourself accountable to make the effort. After a while, it will just seem like “something you do”. Besides, the more you work out the more you will be able to let yourself slide on a day-to-day basis and it will help you to burn off all of that stress.
Make time for sleep
This last tip may seem impossible. But trust us, making sure you get enough sleep is crucial to maintaining a healthy lifestyle while at college. While it may seem like there are not enough hours in the day to finish your coursework and experience everything else college has to offer, getting the right amount of rapid eye movement a night can reset your body to the right equilibrium. If you find yourself studying into the early hours of the morning, your body will be running on low-energy and will require some sort of snack to give you a boost to stay awake. This late night eating habit will only be detrimental to your body as you will not be able to burn it off during a normal sleep cycle.
