<p>Okay, so everyone knows about the Freshman 15, but how do you avoid it?</p>
<p>What is the best strategy to maintain weight, or even lose weight, during the first year of college?</p>
<p>Go to a big campus where you have to walk a lot, or maybe not use your car all the time and walk.</p>
<p>Haha, once my dad mistakenly said “the freshman 50”.</p>
<p>I don’t know, eat the same way you do now? Avoid junk/fast food?</p>
<p>Go to the gym or get involved with sports, even if it is just casual intramural sports or a PE class. If you sit around studying all day while eating large meals at the dining hall, you’re bound to gain weight.</p>
<p>Don’t be an idiot. Don’t be lazy.</p>
<p>yeah actually, i didn’t change the way i eat at all, and drank way more than i did in hs, but going to cornell where the campus is huge and you have to walk everywhere actually made a huge difference, i lost like 8 pounds</p>
<p>I stuck to the same eating nd fitness habits I did before when I first started college and gained like 30lbs, it was pretty bad and was really hard to lose. I’m not sure what happened but after high school it got much harder to maintain a good weight even though I ate less and was more active, I’m a senior now and I swear everything I eat goes right to my hips. XD I guess my lifestyle causes my metabolism to take a hit. I second the idea of taking a PE class or joining some kind of a sport. I take fitness classes like pilates or kickboxing or whatever sounds fun so that I have some accountability for going to work out, and I also do volunteer work that gets me up and moving. That is at minimum. I also do a whole variety of other things, like swim laps, hike, bike, etc and so forth and I have to be MUCH stricter about my diet. It used to be as long as I maintained my fitness regiment I could eat pretty much whatever I wanted within reason, and that’s really not the case anymore. I guess it sucks getting old. :P</p>
<p>So my advice would be to pay attention as things change. I didn’t notice the first 5-10lbs and by the time I realized what was happening it took me a long time to readjust and figure out what I needed to be doing differently. Be reasonable with what you eat, and try and stay active. You don’t need to spend hours in the gym or go out for a run every single day if you don’t want to, but you have to make sure you’re doing something. There comes a point where eating and exercising like your typical high school student doesn’t work anymore, and I think the key to avoiding the freshman 15 (or… you know… 30) is to recognize that point and act immediately rather than wait until you have all kinds of bad habits ingrained and the weight is already there.</p>
<p>Don’t be a moron.</p>
<p>Just avoid the buffet eateries on campus. Try to have at least one healthy meal per day. Hit the gym/run at least 4 times a week (I go everyday).</p>
<p>Avoid buffets, you’ll eat more than you need and usually unhealthy foods. Pay for each item and save money</p>
<p>walk everywhere</p>
<p>It depends a lot on your campus. If you have to walk to classes and have bad food in your cafeteria, there’s less of a chance you’ll gain the 15. Also, alcohol. Alcoholic drinks have SO many calories. Unless you’re going somewhere where you’ll be dancing for a few hours after drinking (and even then if you have more than a couple), alcohol is a huge contributor tothe freshman fifteen. </p>
<p>Tips:
- Walk places.
- Don’t keep snacks in your room. I found that because I didn’t have access to food other than during the meal times, I actually lost weight.
- Don’t drink excessively.
- Go to the gym occasionally. This is one of the only times in your life where you’ll have a “free membership” to a gym. Use it.
- Don’t get a tray in the cafeteria, just a plate. You’ll save dish washing/the environment and it’ll force you to fit your entire dinner on one plate.</p>
<p>The freshman fifteen is NOT a definite. I lost 20 pounds without even actively trying (dieting or exercising) my freshman year (I haven’t been this thin since sophomore year of high school when I went on a masssive diet for 6 months.)</p>
<p>I’m not a freshman yet, but this is a life tip. If you are like me and you crave something sweet after eating a meal, just eat something - don’t fight it. A dollop of frozen yogurt or a small cookie diminishes the urge entirely but doesn’t cost you much in the long run. Not eating something sweet after dinner and then submitting to your cravings for a milkshake is going to be bad. Something like a Hershey kiss is also helpful.</p>
<p>Another tip is to only drink a non-water drink once or twice a day (twice if one of them is a healthy drink like orange juice), excluding the occasional party night.</p>
<p>As a freshman it can be easy to gain weight. Just remember, while you are going to have a ton of desserts to choose from at the buffet, try to limit what you eat and eat as healthy as possible. Besides that, try to do some sort of physical activity 3 or 4 times a week. Stay active anyway you can either through IM sports, working out on your own, or taking an exercise class through the university.</p>
<p>Just because all that food is there doesn’t mean you have to eat it. Try to eat “regular meals”- vegetables, fruit, small portion of meat, and a healthy drink. Don’t go overboard on breakfast and lunch. Eat salads at lunch or healthy sandwiches. Don’t get in the habit of eating all the alternatives to a “traditional” dinner the campus might have- like pizza, burger places, buffets, etc.</p>
<p>A calorie and money saving tip: buy packages of bottled water at the store instead of getting coke from the machine everyday. That money adds up- trust me, it was the mistake I used to make! The calories add up too. If you do drink soda, drink diet soda.</p>
<p>Another thing that helps if buffet is your only option, if you can look at the menu ahead of time and decide what you are going to get it makes it easier to prevent overloading your tray.</p>