What is this freshman 15 everyone talks about..?

Meal plans and partying. Usually dinner and breakfast are done buffet style, and lunches usually comprise of fast food around the student union. I've seen the freshman 40, and it's not a pretty sight....

They say its when a person starts college & their 1st year of college they gain 15 lbs....

1. Less exercise
2. More alcohol
3. Smaller energy needs (Most college age people have stopped growing by now so they need less energy than when they were teens in Highschool)
4. More meal options / high calorie meals

Factually speaking it is not really a Freshman 15, it is closer to 20 and occurs slowly (about 5 a year) over the course of college.

It also comes down to a differnt lifestyle- you may be used to living at home with your parents- they fix dinner at night, etc...at school you have to make the best choices for your diet (and I'm not using diet as a term in lowing calories but just overall food intake).

You have to remember to get some exercise in between classes, studying and possibly working. You don't have parents to do a lot of the day to day stuff for you so you have to take care of yourself as well as daily chores.

Just remember- not every freshman will gain- but alot will- make healthy choices, exercise and it will pay off at the end of the semester.

They say its when a person starts college & their 1st year of college they gain 15 lbs....

Wow... did you even read the post?

I didn't get the freshman 15, I actually lost 20 lbs. But as others have said it's the increase alcohol and buffet style dinners. Also you don't have your parents telling you what to eat or making you food, you're on your own. Most dorms don't have kitchens/ovens so instead of chicken and brocolli you're probably eating pizza or junk food.

For me it was the fact that I was super, duper active in high school with sports and then going from that to having to sit on my keester and study all the time... coupled with parties, a long commute... led to weight gain.

When I transferred from the branch school to the main campus, I started going to the gym for classes every night before or after dinner if my class schedule allowed it. Dropped weight and then I got so busy with engineering courses that I didnt have time to mindlessly eat all day long like before because I was in lab or a study group.

I don't know about men, but for women I think a lot of it has to do with biology. The late teens and early twenties is often a time when women's bodies build up fats stores for bearing children. I'd be curious to see if women in the same age group who don't go to college also experience weight gain.

Alot of freshman end up staying up late studying and in the process, they are usually snacking or eating really late at night and since their budget is usually limited they end up eating alot of not-so-healthy processed food. The best way to avoid it is to take walks on campus and utilize the campus fitness rooms and gyms, also eat healthier options such as salads vs. high fat fast foods. And drink lots of water instead of sodas and fruit drinks. Let your late night snacks include fresh veggies instead of chips, pizza, etc.

Beer

I lost weight my freshman year, and I was already skinny. Lugging 40# of art supplies and books all over campus will do that.

All of the above, and between 18-20, metabolism usually slows down a bit, too.

I gained the freshman 22. As others mentioned it was a combination of buffet style meal plans, partying and alcohol, and lack of exercise. We also had a Pizza Pizza that was open until 3am in our building so that was trouble for me. I lost it all that summer. My second year I lived on campus again and I ate healthy and didn't gain any weight.

I gained about 15-20 pounds my freshman year and I can tell you exactly why it happened, I was on campus and while I walked everywhere and then some, I also fell in love with the food in the school cafeteria. It was an all-you-can-eat type of thing and I had a meal plan that gave me access to this almost every singe morning, noon, and night. Our dorm didn't come with a kitchen or stove so there wasn't any cooking..unless you ate only microwavable foods and.. blech.. just no. Also, we had another type of cafeteria that used what was called 'bonus bucks'. With these, I could grab a bite from Taco Bell or Chick Fil A (And I adore both of these places) ... or even have a pizza delivered to my room from Dominos. The pizzas were usually something reserved for the weekends though, seeing as the cafe' closed earlier during those times.

Before coming to college, I was used to eating outrageously because it's something I'd been doing my entire life, but now I had twice as many foods to dig into and still noting to yell, 'Enough is enough!'

I didn't gain any weight freshman year and I think I lost about 10 lbs sophomore year. Freshman year I lived on campus and even though I had a car, I walked to most of my classes....that probably balanced out the dining hall. Sophomore year I moved off campus but I was broke and no longer had the "free" food at the dining hall (that I just got done paying for last year, gotta love student loans...lol). I also didn't drink alcohol freshman or sophomore year. jr/senior years I had more money, ate more fast food, started drinking and partying more and picked up those 10lbs I lost plus another 5. So college was pretty even overall for me. I started gaining weight after marriage, but that's another story all together...