<p>I don't eat when I'm nervous, so I probably won't eat much the first few weeks. I tend to eat a lot less when I'm around people other than family, too, so between my stomach shrinking from the first few weeks and being around strangers...yeah...I shouldn't have any worries. </p>
<p>Then there's the whole having to walk everywhere thing. </p>
<p>Honestly, I think I'm more likely to end up borderline anorexic-looking than I am to gain any weight.</p>
<p>If only all of us had that problem. I can handle everything AU said, except for maybe drinking water instead of soda. Diet Coke is as much a part of my life as oxygen. But I can't afford to have to buy a bunch of new clothes next summer because I put on a bunch of weight this year. So, I'll give it a shot.</p>
<p>Is the dining hall really that bad if you eat well-rounded meals? And would 2-4 hours a week in the gym be enough if I'm not doing sports or anything else extremely active?</p>
<p>Yea, I'm so scared of the whole freshman 15 deal, so my resolution for this summer (amongst other things) was to lose ~15 lbs in "preparation" for my freshman year.</p>
<p>:\ Goal was to hit 120 lbs (I'm 5'9") but I still need to lose a few more to reach my goal. Dangit, and I only have a month and half to lose it. I may just have to be happy with 125-128 and keep to exercising all year long.</p>
<p>Okay, an international here and I'm all lost.. whats freshman fifteen? freshman 25? 115?</p>
<p>hagar, the freshman 15 is this:
on average, students gain 15 pounds their first year of college. this is due to bad eating habits, stress, drinking, lack of sleep/exercise...basically an unhealthy lifestyle that you pick up because you're new at having to take care of yourself (feed, etc) independently</p>
<p>Freshman 15 is a MYTH. I'm surprised that after 3 pages of comments, no one's said anything. Men usually gain between 8-10 pounds and women go for up to 6.</p>
<p>Most of the Freshman 15 comes from the following culprits:
1) Excessive drinking due to freedom (upperclassmen here, go back to the frosh dorms and see how many beer cans you can find)</p>
<p>2) Never exercised on regular basis before- used to be that your HS gym classes kept you moving a bit or if you DID do athletics in HS and will not be playing in college, there you go. Either way, you'll need to cut back on calories- just need enough for your active level (for example, I used to eat around 1600 calories before I started my marathon training, and now I need 2000 to maintain my energy level. If I am resting, then I need to go back to 1600 to avoid gaining weight)</p>
<p>3) All-You-Can-Eat Buffet in dining halls and your eyes tend to be bigger than your stomach :)</p>
<p>4) Stress- this is when students find out if they're emotional eaters or not. If you find yourself stressing out and eating when you're not actually hungry, then you're an emotional eater. </p>
<p>I discovered 2, 3, and 4 in my first year (didn't drink) and gained 8 pounds (yeouch) and now I have it all under control. I run 20-30 miles a week, I take a smaller plate with me to dining halls (or use the portion-controlled cafe on campus), and I took the cue from my dad who's an emotional eater. I realized that if I didn't want to end up looking like him, then I needed to do something else if I'm stressing out like taking a walk or calling up a friend. And by doing these things, I dropped my freshman weight and have maintained my current weight for over a year now.</p>
<p>If you maintain your eating habits and not a huge fan of food (I'm a foodie LOL), you'll lose weight anyway from all the walking, particularly if you live in the suburbs where you're used to driving all the time. Been there, done that.</p>
<p>my first semester I lost almost 15 pounds. Second semester I gained 20. Oops.</p>
<p>The best trick to keeping the weight off is to cook your own food when you can, don't eat things you can buy basically premade and make in the microwave, and drink a lot of water. You'll be walking a lot, so that will help with the exercise- but stay away from the pizza and fried stuff.</p>
<p>I usually have a bagel in the morning (with peanut butter for a little protein) and then dinner later on. I try not to eat lunch as I tend to eat fast foody things because I don't have a lot of time. I hate water but I drink it anyway. I enjoy the food I eat instead of scarfing it down, and I try to stay away from the ben and jerry's. This basically works for me.</p>
<p>I am not in college yet and I have already gained 10 pounds. Guess its freshman 25 for me.</p>
<p>Lauren, i don't know if skipping meals is the best weight loss advice...</p>
<p>It's not.</p>
<p>Admit it, you're much of a Ben and Jerry's lover as I am :) sooo glad I only see the scoop shop once a year when I intern in DC!</p>
<p>well lauren isn't really skipping meals...she just has a brunch and then dinner--so she eats two meals at once. i doubt she eats her bagel at 7 pm, then goes without food until her 7pm dinner. i think her hours are a little more reasonable.
that being said, don't skip meals. you'll be tempted to snack. eat a respectable amount at every meal, eat well, and you won't be tempted by the really bad food. you don't have to eat health food all the time to keep off the freshman 15. just don't overeat, and avoid eating between meals. and exercise. essential. it makes you feel better about yourself and will help maintain steady weight.</p>
<p>It's not that I skip meals, it's that I make a point of not eating something until I have time to sit down and eat something healthy and enjoy it. I don't even get my bagel until almost 10 am anyway, so lunch would be kinda redundant.</p>
<p>im a 5' 10" guy and weigh 125...so the freshman 15 would put me at about normal weight for my height. ill just try to do it in a healthy way.</p>
<p>Everything I've heard says that the more meals you eat, the better your metabolism is. 6 small meals a day is much better for you than 2 or 3 large ones.</p>
<p>I'm about 6' and pretty heavy - I weighed close to 270 at the beginning of this summer. One thing I've noticed is just to rethink what a "meal" is. It's extra hard for me because I work at one of the greasiest and unhealthy places in the world - Steak 'n Shake. As such, I eat there about once a day. Really, a meal of a triple/double cheeseburger and a large cheese fries is entirely too much food. I've started eating much less at work, for instance. On break I'll get a single cheeseburger and a small handful of fries or a cup of soup instead. </p>
<p>Now that I've begun thinking this way, that will make me actually full. The same way I used to be able to eat this sandwich called a gondola from Avanti's that's about 16 inches long without batting an eyelash - weirdly enough, a half one makes me full now.</p>
<p>Well, the idea of that is shrinking your stomach so that you can only handle so much at a time.</p>
<p>The thing about food I learned is, you have to sit down and thoroughly be enjoying every bite of your meal. Well, not necessarily enjoying but you need to taste every bite of your meal. Or else if you wolf down your food, your stomach doesn't feel full, you get hungry again soon, and eat again, which leads to duh, weight gain. I realize why I had gained weight during stress periods; I get stressed, and get into the mentality that I have no time for food and just wolf whatever down. That leads to me not being aware of what I'm eating, and that leads to weight gain.</p>
<p>I now savor every bite of my meals, resist the momentary satisfaction of snacking, and cut down my stomach size, and I lost all my weight gain from the school year. I just need to get more exercise into my daily life, and I can be the weight I've always wanted to be. :)</p>
<p>I eat at 7AM and 5PMish, it's not that hard if you eat protein in the morning, because it burns really slowly.</p>
<p>I haven't been worried about the freshman 15 because the state-of-the-art rec center that is very close to my res hall. All the treadmills have personal DVD players with headphones and I'm pretty sure I could run forever watching The Breakfast Club! The important thing is making a routine, I think... spontenaity is great but having a schedule for working out and when you eat.</p>
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I eat at 7AM and 5PMish, it's not that hard if you eat protein in the morning, because it burns really slowly.
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<p>i dont care how much protein you eat in the morning, you could eat an entire pack of bacon and 10 eggs and your stomach will STILL be empty around 1 pm. it takes like 6 hours for my stomach to become empty, no matter how much food i eat. i really think going that long without food is a very bad idea...metabolism wise. snacks throughout the day would help if you really cant eat lunch.</p>
<p>yeah im a foodie, i cant go without food for more than a few hours. id rather eat a light breakfast, reasonable lunch, and reasonable dinner. my dinners are the least healthy meals. i exercise after dinner. probably not the best strategy but i weigh less than 110 so I'm happy</p>
<p>My stomach is not your stomach ;). I eat a sandwich of some sorts, usually with egg whites. I don't have a big appetite in general.</p>