How to Avoid “The Freshman 15”

I clearly remember packing up the car, or really watching my father thoughtfully and creatively fit each one of my possessions into our four-door before the long drive to Geneva, NY. I was heading off to my first year of college and could not wait to meet my new roommate, try out for the Sailing team, go to parties, and attend classes – I was excited for it all. All but one thing: The Freshman 15. An ardent runner and a healthy eater in high school, I would have never expected maintaining my weight in college to be so difficult! No one actually ever taught me how to maintain my weight, so I was under the impression weight maintenance would simply just happen.

By second semester of my freshman year, I was already ten pounds heavier than I was when I first arrived. As I began to gain weight, I thought adding more and more miles onto my run would help me lose some weight. Unfortunately, I discovered that running alone would not help me lose the weight I gained, and instead led me to over train and experience two running injuries—IT Band pain and Plantar Fasciitis.

Honestly, I cannot think of a single bit of advice or information my school, coaches, or peers provided me about how to maintain my weight during college. Even as part of the sailing team where weight was an important part of competition – we would be weighed weekly so our coach could determine how competitive the boats we sailed in would be—we did not discuss how to maintain a healthy weight.

So, if you are off to college for the first time (or are a returning student), this is what I learned the hard way about how to manage my weight in college:

1. Keep low calorie foods in your dorm room (my go-to’s were my favorite fruits/veggies - apples, bananas, grapes, strawberries, red peppers and carrots; low-fat Greek yogurt, rice cakes, Kashi cereal, low-fat chocolate milk, oatmeal, and protein bars). It is inevitable you will need to have a late night snack, and you need something filling that is low in calories! It’s also a huge help to keep the high-calorie snacks (chips, cookies, candy) out of the room – if they’re not there, you can’t eat them, right?
2. Eat breakfast. Never go to class hungry, you will regret this. Have emergency snacks in your book bag—fruit, veggies, protein bars—just in case you do wake up too late to prepare a good breakfast. My favorite college breakfasts were Kashi cereal with fruit, protein shakes or smoothies made with frozen fruit and protein powder, omelets (my school had a made-to-order omelet bar and I could ask for egg whites with any veggies I wanted).
3. Walk around the cafeteria first and see what is available before choosing what to eat. Obviously, cafeterias have so many choices and can be pretty overwhelming. If you really take a look around you can identify some great tasting, low-calorie options—that aren’t always at the Salad Bar. Grilled veggies, grilled chicken, and whole wheat pasta with veggies were usually available for dinner at my school. I also frequently chose “vegetarian” foods even though I wasn’t a vegetarian.
4. Fill up on lots of fruits and vegetables first. I found the freshly baked bread and cakes, as well as the option of always having desert available, to be especially difficult to turn down. My advice is to get into the habit of going right to the salad bar first and put together a selection of your favorite veggies or fruit salad and sit down to eat that before anything else—you may find that you fill up on fewer calories, even if you still have some room for other food. It also takes the edge off your hunger, so you’re not starving and walking around without a plan, which is most likely when the bread or piece of cake is going to find its way onto your tray.
5. Incorporate physical activity into your normal routine, and take active study breaks during stressful times. Studies show exercise has many immediate benefits to our brain and memory, as well as our health and overall happiness. Also, students who exercise have higher GPAs than students that do not participate in vigorous exercise regularly. I often added my run, or going to a class at the gym, as part of my “To-Do” list, just like I would write down a reading assignment or group project—this would help me prioritize and make time for exercise. If you don’t have an hour to spare, even a twenty minute study break and walk around the block counts! Try taking a class at the gym, find a walking/jogging partner, bike to class, join an intramural or varsity sports team, or maybe your college or university offers PE classes for credit.

It took me almost all four years to figure out how to manage my weight in college, and since graduating, I have finally lost that extra 15 pounds. The years between my high school graduation and finding my first job after college were an important time for learning how to maintain a healthy weight, fill up on nutritious, low calorie foods, and prepare healthy meals on my own.

Anyone else have some healthy advice for the Class of 2016?
 

by sailGirl on 09/17/2012 | Share Story With a Friend

tags: Weight-Loss, exercise, planning, strategies