<p>For me it is no longer an urban myth. I recently visited a friend over winter break who came back from her first semester of college. She used to be a small, cute, athletic girl. Not skinny, but not fat either. Well, that sure did change....</p>
<p>Now, i realize she is just ONE person out of millions who go to college each yeah, but have any of you new or old college students noticed weight gain? is it hard to stay fit and healthy in college? do you have to go out of your way to go to the gym? and food.. is the food not conducive to staying in shape?</p>
<p>i'm frosh. i used to work out a lot in high school but it's just different in college. i went to the gym 2 or 3 times for the whole semester. and with all the junk food in the dining halls, i'm definitely gaining weight. and even if i'm not, i'm not as fit as i used to.
but i know ppl who gained weight freshman year and lost weight the 2nd year :D</p>
<p>It just depends. However, I think that calling that the average weight gain across the nation from frosh is not 6lbs for a man and 4.5 for a woman like the article said. Stress tenses the muscles and since the study was restricted to Tufts (a pretty damn good university), the study was littered with competitive students working to glorify their GPAs. Do the study at a lower-end state school and I guarantee you those numbers go up.</p>
<p>I gained a few pounds in the beginning, because I hadn't completely figured out the dining hall yet. Our dining halls are huge with a big variety of choices and the fried foods are all near the entrance. It took some time to find my way around. I also was only going to class and coming straight back to my room in the beginning. After awhile though, I was walking a lot more, because I was going to get hockey tickets, going to hockey games, going to the library, etc. I suddenly found myself losing weight. I actually gained more weight over winter break than I did during the first semester. I'm hoping that now that I'm back at school and walking all over the place, the weight will drop again.
I saw some kids though, from my graduating class while I was home on break. I'd see them in the mall or places like that and would hardly recognize them. Forget the freshmen 15. This was more like the freshman 50</p>
<p>I've actually lost a couple of pounds (not a lot, but a few) since I got to school. A lot of the weight gain comes from kids who for the first time can access large amounts of alcohol. Beer helps people put on weight in a hurry.</p>
<p>most people gain a few pounds since they eat only fast food or the all you can eat food at the dc, and start drinking like crazy. I've put on about 10 lbs since I started college (but I'm a 4th year). I have a friend from high school that goes to a different college & I was totally shocked when I saw her last summer for the first time since graduation - she went from petite & slender to double chin. So the moral of the story is, eat right & you won't have to worry about serious weight gain.</p>
<p>I'm not in college yet (seniors, 06!), but I did live away from home for six months during a semester abroad program. Its not as if you deliberately go to fast food places every day just for the heck of it, it happens for a reason. You're in college, a very different environment from home, and you'll probably get depressed for a while. Maybe not quite so depressed, but most likely, you'll be homesick. Things aren't as familiar as you'd like them to be, and the little things that you took for granted (everyone knowing your name, knowing where to find the silverware drawer, where to buy socks, etc..) aren't there anymore. </p>
<p>So you turn to food. You don't really do it intentionally- a few bites there, a cookie or two there. I'm telling you, these things add up quickly. I remember I was really low for awhile since I was living with a host family, and they kept complaining that I wasn't eating. Soon after, I was eating everything they put on my plate, whether I wanted to or not, just so they wouldn't send me home. </p>
<p>Your food sense just gets a bit messed up when you're away. You eat when you get bored, or when you need to be comforted, or when you don't really feel like doing anything. You don't want to eat- it just happens. No one ever knows that they've gained the freshmen 15 until they come home and someone notices it.</p>
<p>Keep busy- get involved in a lot of clubs, sports, whatever, to keep your mind off of home. Make friends, go out, see the town. As long as you're occupied and have something to do, you won't turn to food as much.</p>