<p>D is home for fall break and just went for her yearly physical. We were shocked to learn that she's gained 16 lbs and I think most of that has been in her two months away at college. (I tried hard not to look too shocked.) She said the food is good. I guess so! ;) I told her not to worry about it, as she's been very thin all her life. I know most freshmen experience weight gain, but is it usually so sudden?</p>
<p>There’s a break already? wow!</p>
<p>I know there’s usually a lot of walking that takes place on college campuses to offset the carbs or grill food. ? get a nutrition consult to help assist with a better diet?</p>
<p>The only other thing that’s reasssuring is I think most kids lose the weight by the time they graduate.</p>
<p>I know for several of my D’s friends who were skinny minnies in HS, college became the time when they didn’t get “fat” but gained some weight, filled out a little and got more “curvy”. Kind of lost that skinny teen look and looked a little more womanly. </p>
<p>Do you think she’s eating enough of the good (as in healthy) stuff and not just the not-so-good stuff?</p>
<p>Ok, and good for you for not looking shocked!!! 
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<p>If her clothes still fit and she’s not bothered, maybe she’s just gained a little over lots of places so she’s still proportional and it’s not so noticeable.</p>
<p>Alcohol.
Too much after hours eating, snacking
No getting daily exercise
Needs to learn portion control, number of daily calories needed for someone her height
Forgetting there will be soft serve ice cream again tomorrow so no need to over indulge
Aren’t her clothes uncomfortable?
Maybe she’s too embarrassed to work out at the gym, hire her a trainer for a few months
Use the school’s nutritionist, she can make an appointment</p>
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<p>The stop before the doctor’s office was the mall, for 3 new pairs of jeans. But the pair she’d been wearing was 2 year old. We’ll just hope these new jeans will still fit her at semester break!</p>
<p>To the above poster, I would add ordering pizza and breadsticks with floormates at 1:00am. I would suggest joining an intramural sport (especially something she has never done like frisbee golf) to stay in shape.</p>
<p>Is she on a small campus? S2 lost weight freshman year. I’m sure it wasn’t great eating habits. It was because he is at a big state u. and has quite a hike to class. </p>
<p>Is your D bothered by the weight gain? You mentioned she was really thin to start with.
If she’s OK with it, I wouldn’t worry unless she continues to put on pounds. She might start dropping some weight on her own when the newness of the all you can eat dining hall wears off.</p>
<p>My neighbor’s D put on the freshman 15 and never lost it. Instead she has continued to gain each yr (she’s a sr. now). She literally does not look like the same girl next door that I knew when she was in h.s. Her Mom (overweight herself) is concerned but D gets so emotional every time she brings it up and the Mom hates making her feel bad about it.</p>
<p>After several visits to my son’s campus (pre-admission, orientation, Parents’ Day), I can see how it would be really easy to gain that weight. He has fought with his weight since elementary school so he was prepared to keep track of his eating and weight. So far, so good. He is doing two club sports and goes to the gym regularly with several of his dorm mates. And, he lives in the furthest dorm from all of his classes. He told me last weekend that he has not gained anything yet. I, on the other hand, have gained five pounds since he left. Time for me to get to the gym–or maybe I can find a quidditch team for empty nest mothers.</p>
<p>My D takes a dance class for credit. They meet twice a week and she says it’s quite a workout. Since it is for credit - she isn’t tempted to skip it. Also, I told her that I would pay for any exercise classes that she wants to take at the student rec center (yoga, pilates, spin).</p>
<p>My niece put on weight freshman year at a Southern college with great food and desserts (cheesecake/peach cobbler) but lost it by sophomore year. My daughter at Holy Cross lost weight, the hills and stairs to every class had her lose 5!</p>
<p>My kids schools had GREAT fitness centers and they both used them. They didn’t “find” them until after their first term, but once they did, they went every day or almost so. One kiddo also did yoga. Both gained weight…both lost it. They also realized their budgets couldn’t accommodate all the “eating out” and “pizza ordering” they were doing. That helped too.</p>
<p>My daughter LOST about 15 pounds as a freshman – and then gained that back and more as a junior.</p>
<p>It seems to have been a lifestyle thing. As a freshman, she lived in the dorms but sometimes couldn’t be bothered to walk to the dining hall for meals and tended not to keep snacks in her room. As a junior, she lived off-campus and got in the habit of ordering greasy takeout food. Both years, she walked a lot around campus but did not play a sport, so I don’t think physical activity was a factor.</p>
<p>I think that students who experience unwanted weight changes need to analyze their at-college lifestyles and see what they might be doing that is causing them to gain or lose weight.</p>
<p>15 pounds is a lot of weight on a thin girl. Surprised it wasn’t noticeable, especially to her.</p>
<p>I fully agree it should not be a big deal. I do, however, believe it’s a good teaching moment. Eating habits die hard, and having good ones from this age will be important. With my own DDs I talk about my own efforts to eat well and exercise. When they’re home we workout together.</p>
<p>When I gain 3 or 4 pounds my clothes feel tight. I talk about it and they share too. Its the eternal female struggle.</p>
<p>D2 went from being underweight to gaining about 20 pounds her first year (chocolate milk at every meal?!!), and then lost most of it again over the summer. Her body also matured during that year, so nothing ended up fitting her right, anyway.</p>
<p>D3, on the other hand, says she “forgot” to eat for the first couple of weeks (I think she was too shy to go into the dining hall alone) and lost 5 or 10 pounds. Thankfully, she’s made friends and is eating again, although she’s not thrilled with the quality of the cafeteria offerings.</p>
<p>DD put on about 15 pounds her freshman year, though she was very thin going in, and kept some of it on throughout, though she thinned out some by senior year. Now, 2 1/2 years out of college, she is her thin pre-college weight.</p>
<p>It’s really awful when I think back on it but there were a few classy guys that walked around with t-shirts proclaiming “Freshman girls. Get them while they are skinny”.</p>
<p>In all seriousness, college students do put on a lot of weight over the years. You can see a big difference in physique between freshman and senior students.</p>
<p>I always seemed to put on 10 pounds with every life change–college, marriage, babies. Menopause was the worst!</p>
<p>ellemenope don’t even bring up menopause…</p>
<p>The size of a campus and where the bus routes go can often determine if a student can keep off or lose weight. My son is in his second year. He has not gained a pound in college, because he walks everywhere. He tells me that the campus buses just do not bring him close enough to where classes are held, so to save time, he walks the distance.</p>