The Freshman 15

College life is very much on my mind these days. I sent my previously homeschooled high schooler off to take community college courses as part of a high school dual enrollment program. My partner works on a university campus so I deal everyday with traffic caused by the return of students. And of course, there's the dreaded freshman 15 and concerns about unwanted weight loss caused by college life.

It's pretty easy to find college students complaining about their dining halls. It says something when Ramen is still considered the perfect college food.

But there really are some colleges serving good food. Some dining halls are offering a wide selection of food. Other students found it hard to find food at all in those early move in days.

And yesterday I went to go get some dinner, seeing as i hadn't eaten in over a day only to find out that i couldn't use my id like they said i could, so i figured no problem i've got money i'll go to the cafe or one of the stores. Yeah they were closed, and i was very unhappy. So i couldnt eat till like a half hour ago. That's like 2 days without food, pssht freshman 15 my ass!

Some students are cooking for themselves for the first time. I was interested in the schwag sent to students by their school housing and dining services. Check out this blog by Wesleyan students, what a great idea.

You can also find some pretty good advice from former students and current students, if you look hard enough and long enough. At the bofe blog:

Overconsumption was the roughest for me. Acquiring a taste for Amber Bockâ€™s 166 calories per bottle, (ouch, 8% of your recommended daily caloric intake is gone) living off of cafeteria food, and being seduced by organizations that want my time offering free pizza were a big part of the weight I gained in college. The only effective way Iâ€™ve found to lose weight and keep it off is to burn more than you consume. It sounds simple â€“ but simple does not mean easy.
Donâ€™t forget about vitamins. A good way to not get sick is to take plenty of Vitamin C. I take 2000 MG daily. I donâ€™t know if this is good or notâ€¦ but I am hardly ever sick. Iâ€™ve also found that having some sort of a multivitamin can supplement nutrients that you donâ€™t get when youâ€™re on the go so much and you donâ€™t have time to set up a food pyramid compliant meal.

What is your advice for college students trying to avoid the freshman 15 or trying to keep from losing weight or most importantly, trying to stay healthy during the school year?

~Denise
Daily Dose of Denise and Fast Times @ Homeschool High

Image Credit Elon School of Communications

Submitted by Denise (view blog

) on Sun, 08/27/2006 - 10:55

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Health & Wellness

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The number 1 thing I have to say is

Eat breakfast! Not only does it fuel you for the day but it tends to be the one meal that most cafs don't totally destroy. I usually opted for the "cold breakfast" of bagels or cereal and fruit.

I could write a long post on my dorm food experience. But that's the big one. Eat breakfast.

Sassymonkey, Sassymonkey Reads, and Sassymonkey Eats

Submitted by sassymonkey on Sun, 08/27/2006 - 09:06

Breakfast is good!

I definitely second the breakfast suggestion! I didn't eat breakfast at all my freshman year, but after prodding from my friends, I started going my sophomore year. It's amazing how much better I felt when I ate breakfast. While sleeping in may seem like a good idea, it doesn't really help you in the long run.

Because I didn't eat really well during my freshman year, I ended up losing five pounds. While that may seem like a good thing, when you're already under 100 pounds, losing five pounds is NOT a good thing. Make sure that you're eating regularly. Pay attention to the cafeteria's hours. I missed many a weekend dinner because I simply forgot that the cafeteria closed early on Saturdays and Sundays. Don't make that mistake!

Sara
silent-cacophony.net

Submitted by anachronism on Sun, 08/27/2006 - 09:26

Ditto the Breakfast & The Other Meals, Too.

I was that strange percentage that didn't gain weight. I was so consumed with my classes (finished my freshman year with a 3.98) and wanting to do well (read: be perfect) that I often skipped meals. My hall mates would go off for lunch, ask me to come and I would say that I had to work on a project. And, truth is, I WAS working on a project. I WAS getting great grades. But I was also wasting away to nothing. When I did eat, I was tempted into awful weight loss ideas by only eating salads with no dressing. I never ate breakfast. I'll tell you: eating lettuce and carrots is healthy but only when combined with a WELL ROUNDED diet. I didn't learn this until my junior year. My sophomore year resulted in some unwanted weight gain because my body basically shut down and I spent some time in the hospital.

My basic reminder to college students, especially my over-achievers: EAT YOUR MEALS. Your health is more important than ANY grade. I promise you.

Family Living; Hatfield Style
Jenna

Submitted by JennaHatfield on Sun, 08/27/2006 - 12:10

For sure, eat your meals. I

For sure, eat your meals. I also lost an unhealthy ammount of weight my freshman and sophomore years. I had been home-schooled up until then, as well, and on top of just being so much busier than I was used to, not having easy access to food was a big part of it. My dorm was a very long walk from the dining hall, and often it was just easier to skip a meal than 'waste' an hour walking there and back. Also, I wasn't comfortable going for a sit-down meal if I wasn't with my friends or roommates, and that deterred me from a lot of meals. I eventually learned what my body needed, and that I could focus better if my stomache wasn't growling, so I adjusted my habits

Submitted by nikki23 on Sun, 08/27/2006 - 14:28

Wow! This never happens

I love all of you people who talk about losing weight at collge rather than gaining the freshman 15. It's sooo hard to find blog posts, or articles, about unwanted weight loss and it definitely DOES happen.

Thanks so much to all of you for sharing these comments. The Freshman 15 gets a lot of press, and it is a valid problem, but we who run toward the underweight/not eating at all side of the fence are seriously under-represented!

~Denise