<p>I managed to avoid the freshman 15 by simply waiting until sophmore year to gain 15 lbs :)</p>
<p>"the picture of that girl on the page in that link is gross. She looks anorexic with fake boobs. I'm sure that site's great but seriously, that picture looks AWFUL."</p>
<p>AUlostchick,</p>
<p>You are absolutely right. A new picture is now being used, what do you think?
Tips</a> on how to avoid the freshman 15 weight gain in college</p>
<p>Thanks for your feedback.</p>
<p>I too lost about 15 lbs. The reason in my case wasn't diet and exercise, though... it was probably a combination of taking up smoking, eating irregularly and relatively little, and a little 'freshman fight club' we got going.</p>
<p>Taking up smoking.... definitely worse than gaining 15 pounds.</p>
<p>Oh man , this topic... I have just discovered that I've gained 11 lbs since the start of this year <em>hangs head</em>. On a 5'3 frame, it really ISN'T pretty-- or cheap, because I'm having trouble fitting into my old clothes... I need to start an intense exercise / eating right regimen soon.</p>
<p>at first when i came here i wasnt gaining any weight at all. when i went home for columbus day, about 5 weeks after school started, i had gained 3 pounds. not too bad at all.. weight like that could be lost in a week if i ate right. but now just looking at myself i can tell ive gained a little bit more. id guess about 5 pounds in all. definetly ahve to start eating better and not getting late night and actually running when i say im going to. i dont think i cna let myself gain anymore then 5 though. 15 pounds for someone who is 5'2 is NOT pretty.</p>
<p>First year I gained about 10 lbs, sophomore year about 5, and then junior year I lost about 30, so I'm currently at a weight I"m really happy with. </p>
<p>What really helped was learning how to cook for myself and taking up running ;-)</p>
<p>lacrosse practice kept all that weight to a minimum my freshman year</p>
<p>I lost a lot of weight freshman year and steadily gained most of it back throughout the next three years, all due to different reasons. I knew a lot of people who gained weight, and a fair number who lost. Yes, you have buffet-style meals available to you all the time, but you're also doing tons of walking and it's often hard to snack. For the most part, it evens out as long as you know how to eat decently.</p>
<p>Bear in mind that "Freshman 15" aside, college-age is a very normal time for bodies to change. It's normal to gain weight around this time, and not just because of beer and pizza. It's a better idea to just focus on living healthfully than on specifically avoiding weight-gain.</p>
<p>So far I think I've actually lost about 10 lbs from the constant bike riding to classes, eating salads more often and having less junk food available to me. I'm not in the clear yet, but no freshmen fifteen so far! :)</p>
<p>Take it from experience- 10-15 pounds on a 5'2-5'3" frame is NOT pretty at ALL. </p>
<p>I gained 10 pounds in my first year because my school was notorious for delicious buffet food AND desserts. I have the sweetest tooth around. I did work out and played tennis for class in my first semester which pretty much kept the weight steady but gained a few pounds. Then second semester I gained more- probably lost control of my portions and getting depressed (heck I was depressed the whole year). I did take up running but it wasn't still enough as my weight kept going up. </p>
<p>Eventually, I learned that what I ate had a lot of oil and the food I ate absorbed oil very, very easily, thus sneaking in additional unwanted calories. So once I left and went on a pretty strict diet over the summer while I was an intern in DC and worked on my running more. I finally lost all the 10 pounds :) Then I maintained that for over a year before gaining a few back from my marathon training (additional muscles). </p>
<p>Now I've gained a total of 5-6 pounds since BUT my pants/dress size has NOT changed. This is where the body-builders argument comes in. I had burned off all the additional fat but gained lean muscle. I did body fat check and I'm within the athletic range so I'm happy. But what's not good is that I can only lose so much more with the body fat I have- I can't afford to lose more than 7 pounds of fat. So for me, as long my body fat is 22% and my size 4 jeans still fit, I'm happy. </p>
<p>It is hard but you can gain weight and not go up sizes. I'm in much better shape and I look better than when I was in high school... those old days of "poochies"... I can't believe I thought that was just fine... maannnnnn. I haven't had a real pooch in 2 years!</p>
<p>I won't have a choice but to keep my weight down... I wear lots of (European style) tight clothes, and I've got to have something to wear! :p I also plan on playin' me some good ol' soccer as a stress reliever... I'm taking a ball and shoes up with me.</p>
<p>I gained 40 in the first year . . . but I only gained 40 more pounds the remaining 3 years. (Yes, I have a weight problem.)</p>
<p>How to avoid it . . .
Teach your kid how to eat at a salad bar healthily and that a salad can be a meal (Really, beans and cheese on top of lettuce and loaded down with creamy ranch dressing isn't any healthier than eating french fries)</p>
<p>Teach your kid how to deal with stress without heading for the ice cream carton (stress is inevitable in college)</p>
<p>If your kid doesn't regularly exercise outside of school now, start walking in the morning or evening with him/her. Set the pattern now and when s/he moves in to the dorms, go for walks the few days you are there with him/her to keep the pattern.</p>
<p>Download the dorm's menus from all of the dining halls and go through each one with your student, looking at the nutrition, fat, and carbs in each. Try to find one thing each meal that is healthy and not loaded with grease or cheese.</p>
<p>If you must have dessert at home, try serving fruit most nights and then saving the sugary stuff for special occasions.</p>
<p>Explain that a diet of pizza and vending machine food will pack it on faster than just about anything else.</p>
<p>Try to come up with game plans for snack urges when everyone else is hitting the high fat/calorie foods: lowfat popcorn, fruit, sugar free cocoa (sans whipped cream), rice crisps, baked chips, sugar-free candy bars.</p>
<p>Talk to/email your student on a regular basis. Be open about food desires and what's being offered. In order to find ripe produce that tastes good, you may have to fork out a few more dollars a month, but it'll be worth it in the long run. (The fruit in most dining halls is usually unripe or bruised.)</p>
<p>gained 17 pounds. 145 to 162. However, I was really skinny at 145 and I intended to put on the weight by doing a lot of lifting and eating more, etc.</p>
<p>I better not gain the freshman 15, crew coach would kill me</p>
<p>Don't drink diet sodas. They taste like crap and aren't any better for you.</p>
<p>I was convinced I'd avoid the freshman 15. but it happened by the time I was home for thanksgiving break.</p>
<p>15 pounds goes on a lot quicker than you might think.</p>
<p>it's really the quantity of food that's the problem. I'm getting my eating habits back to normal again, and the 15 is pretty much gone.
I would definitely advise to avoid snacking and try to limit food to what fits on one plate instead of loading up the tray.</p>
<p>I also thought I would avoid it and didn't (and I was the track captain/health-food obsessive type). </p>
<p>I think for a lot of us, food was a way of filling up time, but also filling the void of missing our high school friends, etc. The first semester, while "fun" and "liberating," is somewhat lonely - you don't form connections in a few months that took years to form for you previously. </p>
<p>Also, those all-you-can-eat places don't exactly help. I like to get my money's worth when I go to them at home, but doing that everyday things can go downhill pretty fast.</p>
<p>Interesting thread haha. I think I actually lost weight freshman year though. I wasn't too fond of the food at my school. Now that I'm out of school I do occasionally miss it though. :)</p>
<p>I can say I did gain maybe 10 pounds last semester. I'm pretty sure that was due to overeating at the dining hall and snacking too much. </p>
<p>I mean the dining hall has every kind of cereal you want, all day and all night. Why not indulge? I would eat a bowl of cereal almost every meal. Most likely because the actual meal I had eaten wasn't very tasty so I wanted something that I actually liked to eat. </p>
<p>I was pretty disappointed in my self by winter break and decided to turn it around. I now don't snack quite as much as I did last semester and try to eat healthier. I try to limit my snacks and throw in some healthy foods like fruits more often. I also have been going to the gym more, I think that really helps so you stay active.</p>