Defeating the freshman 15

kenziecole_723

Everyone always told me my senior year: "oh watch out for those 15 pounds" and so on and so forth. I have been a competitive dancer literally my whole life. And left my company in June to start my freshman year of college. Since June I've already gained 10 pounds. I'm very discouraged and could use help to avoid gaining anymore weight and lose this unwanted weight I've gained. Looking for friends, motivation, and advice.

SueInAz

The "Freshman 15" or 20 or whatever comes about as a result of a change in lifestyle. College students, especially those who are away from home for the first time, generally don't eat as well as they did when Mom was doing the cooking and buying the groceries. Junk food, late night eating, less exercise, etc. all add up. Interestingly enough, my freshman year in college I LOST 20 pounds. I quit my fast food job in October and was doing a lot more walking around campus.

Use MFP as it's designed. Log everything you eat or drink that has calories. Stay below your calorie goal every day and you will lose weight. If you only have 10 or so pounds to lose, do not try to lose more than .5 pound per week. Stay active, do strength training even if it's just body weight exercises so that you're burning more calories.

Jacqui_Runs

I struggled with something very similar. To help combat, I took dance classes in my college ( I was a musical theater major), and many of my acting classes just happened to be really physical and started with at least a full half hour of yoga.

Eating right in college is so difficult though, I definitely struggled. Everything is high sodium, or fried, or high carbs. Little changes honey, like grilled instead of fried, eat colorfully, etc. and since you were a competitive dancer, you obviously have the stamina for speed walking or running if there is no gym available on your campus. Lean cuisines and smart ones meals were my best friend in college for weight control.

_emma_78

I actually lost weight during college. I started using myfitnesspal my freshman year and that helped me make the right decisions at my dining hall and if I knew I was going to be going over my limit I would always make time for the gym. I always would spin while looking over PowerPoint presentations in the morning at the cempus gym if I was short on time.

Good luck!

kryss247

It's all in the diet girl lol while your friends on munching on fries and bad food, munch on healthy foods, or go to your school gym and associate yourself with healthier people I found myself eating unhealthy when my friends were.