Freshman 15, more like Freshman 30: How I dealt with it
What is Freshman 15
The term Freshman 15 came about because there was an epidemic of College Freshman gaining 15 lbs. Instead of gaining 15 lbs, I gained 30 lbs!!!!
Why I gained weight
It was my first time being away from home. I ate home cooked meals most of the time. At my house, we rarely had processed food. We didn’t even drink juice.
When I arrived at college, I thought the cafeterias were awesome. It was like heaven. I drank all the juice I wanted, ate pizza and ice cream all the time, and would stay in the cafeteria chatting with different groups of friends.
The other issue was that I grew up poor. Eating in the dorm was like eating at a buffet all day long. This meant that I wanted to get my moneys worth and stocked up on all the food I could eat.
The not so safe way I lost the weight
When I went home for the summer, I almost had a heart attack when I stepped on that scale. I thought my life was over.
That summer, I went to the park in the morning and evening with J, doing 3 miles each time. I also counted my calories. For breakfast I drank Slim Fasts, Nutri systems for lunch, and ate sandwiches for dinner everyday. I would do sit-ups, pushups, leg lifts, and so on when I was watching tv.
With this, I lost all 30 lbs before Sophomore year. This isn’t a diet that I would recommend. I would never exercise that much again either.
The healthy way to maintain my weight
The only reason I didn’t gain weight again, was because I cancelled my meal plan and decided to make my own food. I also, till this day, refuse to drink calories, unless it’s a smoothie.
I also tried to be more active by trying to join different clubs (this didn’t go to well with my schedule), I walked everywhere on campus, tried to go to the gym with friends, and didn’t eat out that much.
My advice to all Freshman, exercise (there are plenty of options online)and don’t overeat (don’t linger in the cafeteria chatting with different groups of friends).
Anyone else gain weight freshman year? How did you deal with it? Let me know in the comments below.
-P
