<p>How hard is it to eat healthy while living in the dorms. It is possible to avoid gaining weight? </p>
<p>Does the weight ever come off?</p>
<p>The Freshman 15 is really a myth IMO, and doesn’t happen unless you don’t exercise good control over what you eat. I only gained one or two pounds because I only ate a plate at each meal and being a vegetarian, I only ate the vegetarian-friendly dishes. Also, the dining commons I frequented at my school mainly served healthy food (and some unhealthy ones as well, though the one I went to refused to serve processed food. The other two dining commons at my school served processed food, the one I went to didn’t), so it was extremely easy to eat healthy, and sometimes they use the vegetables from the student-run garden on campus.</p>
<p>Take advantage of your school’s fitness center. In addition to staying in shape, frequent exercise will also relieve stress and make you feel better.</p>
<p>Yes the 15 is a myth. The average number is 5 pounds. It mainly happens because people are away from home/thus away from home cooking every night. </p>
<p>Actually, people who eat in on-campus dining halls often usually eat healthier. Its more of eating fast food and junk food more often. Many freshman don’t exercise or make use of the gym resources that most campuses have for free (or minimal charge) for students. </p>
<p>Only time I kind of gained wait was 2nd half of my soph year. The fast metabolism I had my whole life suddenly slowed down. I gained about 8 pounds in a semester and got some feedback on it. Within that summer and fall semester I lost it, changed my diet mostly.</p>
<p>I personally did gain a bunch of weight my freshman year, I did kind of eat a lot of junk food, and with drinking and getting on birth control I gained like 25 pounds or so. However, this past year as a sophomore, I lost it all and much more, I’m actually rather skinny now lol. But that’s due to a variety of things, and having to cook for myself this past year, etc. Just watch what you eat, hit the gym, especially if you don’t walk much on campus. And remember that alcohol has calories! A lot of them, lol.</p>
<p>I never gained weight. At one point in time i lost like 40lbs (because i was sick but still >.>), but i don’t suggest that: being sick + dorm food = not good.</p>
<p>I gained a few pounds, actually, but not 15. I ate roughly the same amount of junk food, but at home I eat a lot of fruit and veggies that weren’t available at school. Also, I ate a lot of starch from pasta and fries. The dining halls all (except one) served the SAME food that wasn’t particularly good so it was pasta, grilled chicken sandwiches, plates of knock off Chipotle, fries and more pasta. I noticed my pants fitting a bit tighter that semester and felt like crud. (i usually don’t trust salad bars, especially after working at the dining hall and watching people pick over it all day.)
I’ve lost it all sense and a few more, but it was avoidable. I’m a picky eater and cheap. Since I had to pay $8/time in the hall, I would eat what I thought $8 was worth rather than let money go to waste.</p>
<p>I lost weight my freshman year, actually. You really just need control to not eat from the buffet every night, not get a cup of ice cream/froyo every day, not eat a doughnut every morning with a cheeseburger every night. I still ate pretty normally, just supplement your diet with veggies and salads and water, not soda.</p>
<p>It honestly depends on how good your dorm food is, and whether you’ll be inclined to be lazy or exercise and work it off.</p>
<p>Personally I gained the freshman 15, and worked most of it off by the end of my junior year (this year). My school is also in the top 10 in the nation for food (according to this source, rank 1 actually: [America's</a> top universities for food lovers | Fox News](<a href=“http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/05/06/america-top-universities-for-food-lovers/]America’s”>America's top universities for food lovers | Fox News)) so it’s possible to become lazy and indulgent haha.</p>
<p>I think I lost between 5-10 pounds during my first semester of college. It helps to go to the dining hall alone for breakfast and lunch so you aren’t tempted to linger. Plus, since I don’t eat meat there wasn’t usually much to choose from so I ate a lot of salad. I also didn’t keep much food in my room since I didn’t want to spend money on it after having to buy a meal plan.</p>
<p>Lost like 5-7 pounds my first semester. Gotta love the campus gym.</p>
<p>The freshman 15 is definitely a myth. I lost 22 pounds when I went to college. I would say don’t keep a ton of junk food in your room so you don’t mindlessly snack and take advantage of the fitness center and walk to all of your classes. :)</p>
<p>Right around the time I started college, my metabolism decided it wasn’t going to work if I didn’t sleep 8-10 hours a night, which I didn’t. So despite eating well and working out regularly, I gained a lot of weight that WOULD NOT come off no matter what until I started sleeping 8-10 hours a night. Which I didn’t, until after I graduated. So make sure you get enough sleep!</p>
<p>I gained maybe 5 pounds my freshman year. Although I play a varsity sport at school, my school is D3, so I’m only in season for a third of the year (fall). In high school, I had intense practices 7 days a week and since I did two sports often worked out upwards of 2-3 hours a day - plus I worked in a gym (haha) - so I ate a LOT because I was always hungry. Freshman year of college I was good in the fall (in-season), but then I got hurt and couldn’t exercise at all in the winter. This past fall, I was still injured (complications) and it took a lot of time and willpower to change my eating habits. I always ate healthy - I just ate a lot. I probably only gained like 8 pounds total (and I was in really good shape coming in, so I don’t look that different, it just annoys me since I feel different).</p>
<p>One tip - friends constantly have food. My roommates always ordered pizza late at night, or made cookies or brownies. I have a terrible time saying no to people, but in the long run I’ve learned that it’s better to just smile politely and sya “thanks, but no thanks” when offered if you’re not hungry at all.</p>
<p>My dorm is at the top of about 200 steps. The only thing it’s really close to is the Student Rec Center. I’m also going to try to cut red meat and soda out of my diet, to begin with. (trying to use college to turn over a new leaf on bad eating habits) Hopefully this will all lead to a defeat of the Freshman 15/5/however much it is.</p>
<p>It’s not hard to keep off the so-called Freshman 15. Most dining halls have healthy foods, and nearly every colleges do look after students’ health. Just eat some fruits and salads, even you you are eating lots of pizzas or wings.</p>
<p>Control yourself, and the Freshman 15 will not affect you much !</p>
<p>Parent of a sophomore. My daughter had never gained any weight until she started college last year. She lost weight during her first semester of freshman year then gained it all back plus more the second semester. I did notice at the end of the second semester that she looked a bit heavier but I didn’t say anything to her about it. At the beginning of the summer she was eating lots of sweets and snacks here at home. One day I could tell she was quite upset. When I asked her what was wrong she said she couldn’t fit into her jeans anymore. She said she had worn the same size for three or four years. Anyway this was a wake up call for her. She immediately started to go to the gym six days a week and significantly cut back on her snacking. She said that when she lost nine lbs at the beginning of her first semester she was not snacking at all between meals. Then during the second semester she started to have snacks and that’s when she gained the weight back plus more. She was happy to inform me that she had lost all of the weight by the end of the summer. I’m sure that she will be more vigilant this year. I just hope that she doesn’t go overboard and starve herself.</p>
<p>I think I put on a few pounds last year, and definitely lost muscle tone. I lost more weight than I gained in the summer and got muscles back so it’s back to normal.</p>
<p>Like other people, I was super active in high school, I worked out probably about 2 hours a day. The few pounds I gained was a combination of not working out every day, having to eat an extra snack from staying up too late, and not eating as healthy.</p>
<p>I generally avoid scales and just base my diet & exercise on how I look and feel, but from my pre-frosh physical to my pre-soph physical, I’ve gained 12 pounds, which did surprise me cuz I didn’t notice a difference. It was probably a mixture of starting birth control pills and starting to drink alcohol. My diet didn’t change that much, and I’ve never been much for gym exercise but at home I had a restaurant job which put me speed-walking around for like 5 hours 3 nights a week, and on campus I walk everywhere, so I stayed decently active.</p>
<p>The most dangerous thing for me was the soda fountain in the cafeteria…</p>
<p>My daughter started taking the pill during her second semester. That is about the time when she started to put on a little bit of weight. I know that it is controversial whether this actually causes weight gain or not.</p>