Freshers fifteen...

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midgetio
midgetio Posts: 57
in Health and Weight Loss
I'm hopefully off to University in September, I've just been reading about how most students gain 15lbs in their first year of uni and I really don't want that to happen to me! I've lost 30lbs now and I'm pretty happy with where I am now I just wouldn't be happy if I gained 15lbs...
Does anyone have any tips on how to avoid this? Or has anyone got first hand experience of freshers 15??
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  • kaydensmom12
    kaydensmom12 Posts: 338
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    I stay at home and go to college, but still gained 12lbs during my first semester. It happened b/c before school I would be moving constantly, and then when school started all of the studying caused me to be very sedentary. I also became stressed out and started eating unhealthily, and did not make time to exercise. After that semester I have kept my 3 days/wk gym days, regardless of my schedule, and have not allowed my stress to influence my eating choices resulting in all of the weight + some to come off.
  • midgetio
    midgetio Posts: 57
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    Thank you! I'm gonna join the gym when I'm there and try not to even buy crappy foods so I don't have the option to eat them :p
  • ana137131
    ana137131 Posts: 25
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    HA, i can sadly say I was a victim of this. I believe I went off to college weighing around 130 pounds, give or take. I don't know how much I weight between summer after freshmen year and this summer (after junior year) but I was up to 147 pounds before I decided to take actual action, finally.

    Will you be eating in a dining hall or just cooking for yourself? If you're cooking for yourself, I don't see the problem, just do NOT get in the habit of snacking, at least if its on chips or cookies, or those cupcakes your neighbor made or the chinese delivery your RA got you guys. It is hard to eat healthy at college. Now, if you have dining hall, it's worse. A burger and fries for lunch...and dinner...and tomorrow's lunch and dinner, WILL add up, but it's really easy to forget that in the run to classes, hanging out with friends, eating with a big group. Just make good choices, it's all up to you!
  • midgetio
    midgetio Posts: 57
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    I'm cooking for myself, and I'm not worried in the sense that I know I can cook healthy meals. It's just snacking I'm worried about, and emotional eating cause I'll be missing home, and stressed oh and alcohol calories!
  • ana137131
    ana137131 Posts: 25
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    how did i forget alcohol in my post??? without a doubt the number one culprit. I'm leaving for my senior year soon and trying to figure out how, after a summer of no drinking, I'm going to go back and not start up. I know people say drink tonic with your drinks, or only have one glass of wine, but that never works, at least not for me. So I don't know the answer to that.
  • midgetio
    midgetio Posts: 57
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    *gulp* i'm just gonna have to try my hardest to fight the gain :p Thanks for the help! :)
  • Sarahrunsforbeer
    Sarahrunsforbeer Posts: 3 Member
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    I actually lost weight my freshman year, it was a big campus. I actually was much more active, walking everywhere and having student access to the gym at the rec.
  • ChelseaGoneAwry
    ChelseaGoneAwry Posts: 53 Member
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    I weighed the same at the end of my first semester of college as I did at the beginning. However, when I went home for Winter Break (which lasts a month) I gained like 5 pounds! Beware of trips home, where your mom cooks for you and you sit around with no responsibility. I just finished my Freshman year at school, and my best advice is make friends with the salad bar, AVOID RAMEN NOODLES AT ALL COSTS, and don't be afraid to try out the Rec Center (if you have one!)
  • bloomlately
    bloomlately Posts: 532 Member
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    It's not like you get on campus, inhale the air, and then gain 15 pounds. It's a result of making your own choices and consequently making bad ones. Old fashioned dorm cafeterias are big buffets. It wasn't unusual to see people eat nothing but fries and pizza and chase it down with a few sodas. And then there's the binge drinking at college parties...

    I only gained 5 pounds my first year. It was my sophomore year when I was out of the dorms that a combination of mostly eating out and drinking caused me to pack on the pounds.

    Make good choices and keep exercising. Keep tracking your food. If you do that, you'll be fine.
  • ChelseaGoneAwry
    ChelseaGoneAwry Posts: 53 Member
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    I'm cooking for myself, and I'm not worried in the sense that I know I can cook healthy meals. It's just snacking I'm worried about, and emotional eating cause I'll be missing home, and stressed oh and alcohol calories!

    There's a simple solution to the alcohol problem: DON'T DRINK IT! I know you probably think college is supposed to be when you drink at parties and whatnot, but you WILL regret it. Drinking causes you to gain immense amounts of weight, it interferes with your grades, and honestly, parties at college are not all they're cracked up to be. Being drunk just makes it easier for some guy to take advantage of you.
  • ATOLLIT
    ATOLLIT Posts: 149
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    I definitely put weight on in my first couple of years at uni, and I 100% blame the alcohol. The first month or so I didn't cook very healthily either but I definitely got better at that pretty quickly, and I didn't eat a ridiculous amount of takeaway or anything like that. I've found that this year I don't have the time, energy or money to go drinking much, and it's definitely helped with the weight.

    I think the fact that you have already worked hard to lose 30lb puts you in a much better starting place than an awful lot of people who leave for uni having always been pretty slim eating whatever mum cooked at home, as you presumably have already worked out your eating habits to be pretty healthy.

    I guess you have to accept there is a lot of peer pressure to get drunk, but things like e.g. spirits and mixers are a LOT less calories than a glass of wine or pint of beer. And if you're managing to get some exercise in, I would think that you can probably offset a lot of those calories.

    Also I found that to start with I was so busy going out, doing things, learning my way around a big city etc didn't leave much time for getting homesick and emotional eating until I was pretty settled, and by that point being at uni felt like home so for me that part wasn't so much of an issue.
  • bossmodehan
    bossmodehan Posts: 210 Member
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    Snacking has the potential to be my downfall too! I fight it by planing snacks, and when I was at uni I wouldn't leave the house without a healthy packed lunch including pittas, houmous, raw veggies to nibble, nuts etc. No excuses to grab processed food that way, and it works out cheaper (always important to consider as a student!).

    In terms of alcohol, I didn't abstain but it wasn't a regular thing. You could try to restrict your consumption by only taking out so much cash with you?

    Other ways to get exercise in, if there isn't a gym, is to join a sports team. I didn't, but I so regret this, and I know they always welcome beginners. Oh, and exercising is a great way to nip student stress in the bud - endorphins are intoxicating, you dont always need alcohol!

    Best of luck with your studies :flowerforyou:
  • JuneBPrice
    JuneBPrice Posts: 294
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    I'm not living on campus, so I'm hoping I won't gain any weight :smile:
  • ellen_v
    ellen_v Posts: 33
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    This happened to me. It happened slowly and I didn't really notice. I was catered and it was a three course meal every night and all you can eat breakfast every day pretty much. I look at pictures from this time last year and I'm shocked to be honest. I've lost it now and I still want to lose a little more and get stronger. If you are cooking for yourself you should be fine - most people I know who were self-catering LOST weight their first year at uni so don't worry :)

    EDIT: I forgot the major factor. Alcohol. A bottle of wine each before a night out twice times a week? Noooo. I still go out a lot and I do drink when I go out, but I stick to spirits. We dance so much and so crazily when we are out though, we must burn a lot of it off!
  • wxchaser
    wxchaser Posts: 178
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    See, I gained the freshman 15, then the sophomore 20, the junior 25... What I'd do is never find out where the vending machines are. That was my worst enemy when I was going to college. Still is the second time around, but thankfully my new college also stocks healthier options in its vending machines.

    Then find out where the gym is, but you gotta see what your college rules are. For me, since I'm only part time, I have to be signed up in a P.E. course in order to use the gym while full time students are allowed to use it whenever they want. I've actually got a gym membership to a place right by my house so that forces me to go just so I'm not losing money.

    Finally, I'd pack my own lunch/snacks. Much healthier than the cafeteria or going down the street for fast food.
  • PShep17
    PShep17 Posts: 221 Member
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    If you go prepared then that should help. I did gain during my first year but I wasn't really paying any attention to my weight. It's nights out that got me but I wasn't really exercising. Sure you'll be fine if you eat well and exercise.

    Be sure to enjoy yourself though!!! :)
  • AblazeRiver
    AblazeRiver Posts: 47 Member
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    how did i forget alcohol in my post??? without a doubt the number one culprit. I'm leaving for my senior year soon and trying to figure out how, after a summer of no drinking, I'm going to go back and not start up. I know people say drink tonic with your drinks, or only have one glass of wine, but that never works, at least not for me. So I don't know the answer to that.
    ..Well if you're drinking with a purpose, rather than for flavor, shots always work! typically 50-100 cals each
  • Robin_Bin
    Robin_Bin Posts: 1,046 Member
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    On the good side, many campuses are set up for lots of walking. They also tend to have gyms for free or low cost.

    And campus food services have become more responsive to students who want to eat healthy.

    Some places which are still difficult are
    * if you're not used to making your own food choices, some people go wild with the freedom
    * the alcohol (as you've noted)
    * student events that come with food -- an ice cream social, pizza party, etc.
    * late night studying -- when you're up late and tired, it's easy to reach for food to keep your energy levels up

    There are many ways to handle this. Since you'll be doing at least some cooking for yourself and have already learned to track and control what you eat, you've already got a good head start. The alcohol and other social foods just need to fit into your plan.

    The late night studying / energy is hard... Try to do your work in advance, but it won't always be possible. Find other ways to keep fit and your energy level up, and assume there will be some hard times in each term and that you may need to be able to eat something extra, but maybe you can also squeeze in some time for a bit of extra exercise. For instance, if you're taking a foreign language, can you listen to the lessons on a headphone while you exercise? Can you read a textbook while on a treadmill? Instead of a study session with a fattening food, can you plan a healthier food or even practice quizzing each other while out walking instead of curled up on a couch?

    Good luck finding ways to deal with it that work for you!
  • ATOLLIT
    ATOLLIT Posts: 149
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    Other ways to get exercise in, if there isn't a gym, is to join a sports team. I didn't, but I so regret this, and I know they always welcome beginners. Oh, and exercising is a great way to nip student stress in the bud - endorphins are intoxicating, you dont always need alcohol!

    Best of luck with your studies :flowerforyou:

    Only problem with this is, at least in the UK, joining a sports team is an incentive to spend your entire Wednesday evening looking at the bottom of a pint glass that somehow mysteriously just emptied its beery contents into your stomach!
  • bossmodehan
    bossmodehan Posts: 210 Member
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    Other ways to get exercise in, if there isn't a gym, is to join a sports team. I didn't, but I so regret this, and I know they always welcome beginners. Oh, and exercising is a great way to nip student stress in the bud - endorphins are intoxicating, you dont always need alcohol!

    Best of luck with your studies :flowerforyou:

    Only problem with this is, at least in the UK, joining a sports team is an incentive to spend your entire Wednesday evening looking at the bottom of a pint glass that somehow mysteriously just emptied its beery contents into your stomach!

    Hmmm, true! Perhaps that's one of the reasons I didn't join!

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