<p>chances are.. you'll make a friend who has a car on campus.</p>
<p>I agree with the poster who said alcohol is a big part of the problem...lots of empty calories that you get when you probably aren't thinking too clearly about how many calories you are consuming. I have my fingers crossed that I won't gain any weight--I gained a bit over my senior year just from being too busy to cook something healthy every night and not exercising as much as I should. But I actually sort of needed to gain some weight--but I don't anymore. I think I might end up being healthier with someone else cooking relatively healthy (better than pizza or mac n cheese) meals for me.</p>
<p>I am luckily blessed with a great dining services that have actually helped me to eat a lot more healthy foods (better ways to prepare veggies, more fresh fruit available, etc). But I do agree that colleges like to throw food at you; I did put on a few pounds (especially at the beginning when I didn't realize how much I was really eating). I have a fairly high metabolism, so I found that eating one plate of food and a salad was plenty for dinner, and controlling that portion helped a lot.
I have never been much of one for going out to exercise, but walking to class (rather than taking the bus) and taking the stairs instead of the elevator are simple things that you can do to increase your activity level without taking the time out of a busy day. Also, take advantage of the gym classes your college offers and any campus gyms or intermurals, etc.</p>
<p>Here's a nutshell of the ideas that my high school's "restroom Reader" put out:</p>
<p>You have to learn to discern "hungry" from "want to eat" feelings.
Multiple small meals is good, skipping meals is bad.
When you eat, munch until you are 80% full. I'm not sure how that one works, but at least you won't be stuffing yourself to the brim!</p>
<p>I'll be a freshman soon, but my sister (who will be a sophomore) said that the veggies at her college are gross--stereotypical cafeteria food, if you know what I mean. She never eats them, but she's found that the salads at the cafe she has are a little more expensive but better than the cafeteria food. And lots of colleges have more than one eatery. My guess is that one should spend extra for good food. Being cheap can get you in big food trouble.</p>
<p>BTW, my college assigned the book "Fast Food Nation" as summer reading. Some of the stuff in there is flaming liberal truth-stretching (I suspect), but I will never look at a Big Mac the same way again--their marketing people try so hard, it's just creepy. Beware the lure of the fast food! ;)</p>
<p>Note: Taking the stairs is awesome, but I've been warned to stay away from not-often-used stairs, where unsuspecting gals (or guys, I suppose) can be...well, victimized. Stair-climb with a buddy!</p>
<p>Stay away from the alcohol and I bet you will not have to deal with the 15 pounds..</p>
<p>remove an appendage or two</p>
<p>Haha!! That's a good one...</p>
<p>Here's another one: eat slowly as much as possible... my freshman year world civ teacher told us that it takes our brains a while to register that we're full, so if we start out hungry we might just cram food in and then realize a couple minutes later that we really weren't hungry for everything we just ate... I hate that feeling.</p>
<p>Yeah my brother got the freshman 15.... except there were an extra 10 lbs tacked on. :o </p>
<p>Mmm... later he just swam a lot and ate 5 small meals.</p>
<p>I'm hoping I lose weight in college. my problem around the house is that my mom really stocks up on the soda and gross snacky foods (even when my family tells her to ease off on it). yeah I can ignore it but it's still THERE, you know?</p>
<p>here's hoping that when I buy my own meals, I can control what I eat a bit more. plus I won't have a car, which means a lot more walking around town :)</p>
<p>
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here's hoping that when I buy my own meals, I can control what I eat a bit more
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</p>
<p>As a lifelong snack addict who is reforming her ways (now that she lives with a Junior Olympian boyfriend who is fanatical about what he eats): just don't buy snacks. You will be a little annoyed when it is 8 PM and you want some freaking chips to eat while you watch TV, but they will not be there, so you will not be able to eat them. Instant diet. ;)</p>
<p>It's actually easier to maintain weight or lose weight at college depending on how you look at it...more walking, plus a free gym and sports that you can go to everday (you can always find someone to play tennis or racquetball with). </p>
<p>On top of what everyone has already been saying, GET SOME SLEEP!!! Don't sleep too much, but don't skimp on sleep...TRUST ME. Getting 6-8 hrs of good sleep every night on a regular schedule helps to keep your metabolism and your energy in check. You'll also get stressed out if you're losing sleep. I'd say that the 2 biggest contributors to gettin' big is too little sleep and yes, too much beer. </p>
<p>*Vitamins and supplements are a good investment for getting all your nutrients to stay healthy...mentally and physically.</p>
<p>I actually lost weight during my first year. But so did alot of people in my class cause my school eliminated the "swipe-all you can eat cafeteria's". But my best advice is to go to your gym at least 3-5 times a week. there will be lots of times where you wont want to go, but make it a priority, it's the only thing that keeps you sane in college.</p>
<p>I wish I could eat more. Well, I could, I'm just to lazy to actually get food. Maybe that's why I didn't gain anything in college last year. Well...here's to another year of trying to gain that 15...the sophomore 15!</p>
<p>MatthewM04 is right, freshman 15 generally is about drinking habits... not unhealthy food. if you go from drinking every now and then in HS to beer more nights than not, you will gain weight... beer is basically the opposite of the atkins diet.</p>
<p>People also forget that there is a long time for dormmies between dinner, which usually ends around 7 pm and breakfast, which starts around 7 am. They get hungry and often end up eating late night pizza, chips, doritos or other junk food. Back in the day, it was always beer (or other alcohol) and pizza between 11 pm and 1 am.</p>
<p>Man just hit the gym and work on those abs, delts, and biceps.. you should be fine... o yea hit the treadmill for about 15-25 mins a day..</p>
<p>keap it realz</p>
<p>who are YOU?</p>
<p>It's Mr. Universe.</p>