What happened to freshman 15?

Parents Forum
21

<p>I think it depends on the school. At some of the ones that DD has looked at, the food options are better than home (Vanderbilt had salmon with a dill sauce) others look to have a wide variety of options to satisfy every taste (Alabama had a smoothie kiosk, a salad/wrap kiosk, a Burger King, etc.) and others had typical 1980’s dorm food (University of Tennessee: stuff in sauce & gray burgers.) I’m thinking the food choices combined with the size of campus will give you the range of losing weight to Freshman 30. </p>

<p>Was your DD a picky eater before she left home? My older DD will figure out an option for 2 meals per day, but my youngest…let’s just say when we stayed on a college campus for a competition, she took one look at the food and asked “do I have to go away for college?”</p>

<p>Good luck with the Dr. appts.</p>

22

<p>I never thought our kids were picky eaters but they are both glad they have the option to cook food that appeals to them. D already knows that next year will be interesting as there will be 4 of them living together. 2 are very into the healthiest options always while she and another aren’t so strict & will eat some “junk food” happily. They all enjoy asian cuisine and will probably cook a significant amount of it.
S cooks for him & his room mate & they split the cost of everything S says they should. When we visit, we take them on a Costco run & S takes him & room mate & friend they they load up the cart & split the bill. </p>

<p>Both kids are pleased at having kept their weight stable in college, from HS to college. Both have been healthier there than we had dared hope & we’re all happy about that.</p>

23

<p>Not participating in sport for lack of time. All that walking between buildings did not make up for about 5k /day swimming. And, of course, not eating at home.</p>

24

<p>I have a feeling I’m going to gain a lot of weight freshman year… my school requires a 3 meals a day meal plan and I’m pretty cheap and like to get my money’s worth.</p>

25

<p>At my S’s school, it’s the Mizzou 22. He didn’t gain a pound, though–a good sign that he does not have his mother’s weight genes.</p>

26

<p>I am planning on losing weight my freshman year. There’s no where to walk where I live, but there’s a lot of walking to be done on campus. Here, I have to eat what my mom cooks. At school, I’ll at least have healthier options (and believe it or not, when I’m not force fed, I make pretty good - not perfect, but pretty good - choices). Here, it’s half an hour to the nearest gym and I don’t have a license (I love to work out, I just can’t). At school, there will be an on campus gym. Here, I’m still trying to shake my chronic depression but don’t want to be medicated. At school, I’m hoping that an active lifestyle, friends, fun, better weather (depending on my choice of school) and studies will boost me up.</p>

<p>That said, I have 75-100 pounds to lose. I’d like to lose 50 before going off to college, but it’s tough to get motivated - especially when depression is a factor.</p>

27

<p>

</p>

<p>Please work on the depression NOW while you’re in familiar surroundings. College and all the challenging changes it brings (including fun and scary, busy and lonely & much more) will be much easier to enjoy if you get a handle and make a start in working on your chronic depression rather than expecting starting college to “boost you up.” Likewise, starting a sensible diet that your doc can help you develop will make it easier to stick with it when you get to college and help boost your confidence and feelings as well.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

28

<p>I’m from similar background. I actually GAINED weight in my freshman year because I never learned portion control. Then I lost weight when I interned in a city and lived off frozen dinners, cereal, and some hummus and veggies (If I remember right at all) because I stayed in a dorm at an university. Since then I’ve kept off most of it.</p>

<p>My brother lost weight however. Just finished his freshman year. Unlike me, he ate pretty much about 2 meals a day- breakfast and dinner. Dinner usually consisted of stir-fry because nothing else in the cafeteria appealed to him. His activity levels hadn’t really changed since he played a lot of sports in high school and did ROTC in college. Since coming home, he’s been eating 3 meals a day and put some weight back on (thankfully) because he eats leftovers for lunch. Although he doesn’t like to think about food much, he’s happy and very appreciative of our mom’s cooking.</p>

<p>Our mom literally cooked from scratch. So other than Kraft Mac N Cheese and some canned soup, we won’t really eat anything else unless it’s really homemade.</p>

<p>I don’t blame her for sleeping a lot- I slept A LOT when I finished my semesters for at several weeks. I’d sleep until 9 or so when I’m used to wake up at 7. It’s from all the stress.</p>

<p>If the doc doesn’t see a problem with any of it, just let it go. Make sure she gets some real food this summer and she’ll put some weight back on. And teach her to cook simple and quick meals.</p>

<p>And please, I’m speaking for a lot of college students, send her some homemade goodies since cookies and brownies often taste like crap due to their highly-processed nature in coffee shops and dining halls. I’ve never seen college students turn down a whole box of brownies.</p>

29

<p>My son also lost weight, he came home in May 15 pounds lighter than he was last May (and he was slender to begin with). He hated dorm food. Like a lot of the previous posters, he was raised on from scratch cooking and fresh fruits and steamed vegies. Midwestern dorm food just didn’t do it for him. He’s sharing an apartment next year, so I am hopeful that he’ll at least maintain his current weight since he’ll have food more like what he is used to.</p>

30

<p>My son is about 100 pounds overweight. Once school ends, he starts packing it on because he’s no longer carrying a 50 pound backpack up and down 4 flights of stairs. </p>

<p>I am praying that he will lose weight once he goes to college, just because of having to walk to class.</p>

<p>He plays video games several hours a day, when not at swim practice. Swimming has unfortunately not been the weight trimmer that I had hoped it would be. </p>

<p>As for food, he is a very picky eater. I’m afraid that he’ll eat french fries and desserts at the dorm’s required meal plan, and gain weight. His food of choice is Jeno’s pizza, chicken nuggets, and malt o meal. I’ve gotten him to like yogurt, only yummy non fruit flavored, but at least low calorie varieties.</p>

<p>My MIL is hysterical about him going away to college because of his picky eating habits. She feels he will starve. My response, hey, he could stand to lose a few pounds. Of course, I don’t want him to literally starve, but I’m hoping that being in the situation of having to eat what’s been put in front of him, which I’ve never enforced, he’ll finally have to try some new things. He actually eats grilled chicken when it’s on a menu rather than fried chicken strips after going out to lunch with a bud and being forced into trying it. </p>

<p>Son swears he will never swim again, but I’m hoping he will take advantage of the campus rec center, maybe doing machines or treadmill, which he sometimes does as part of dry land for swim practice. </p>

<p>He does run to mass every Sunday, about six blocks away, and I’m hoping his dorm will be very far from the church and his classes, so he can walk. Bad thing, though, is that he wants to go to Marquette in Milwaukee, where I hear it’s cold about 90 percent of the year, so it’s not going to be a fun walk.</p>

31

<p>"This is a girl who ate so much in HS, that I told her to join a sport club in college, to keep the pounds away. "</p>

<p>The fact that you told her this, and that you have such an eagle eye on her size (saying she went from a 4 to a 2) makes me think there is a lot of parental emotion over your daughter’s size and that you should back off and think about something else.</p>

<p>If you can ask the dentist to check out the signs for bulimia do that, but be aware that anorexics don’t’ exhibit many symptoms until they lose enough weight to be in medical risk.</p>

<p>It is highly unusual for a freshman student to lose weight–there are a lot of factors including normal growth and filling out fighting that-I’d sit down and just talk to her and ask her if she has any particular concerns about gaining weight, and if it has been an issue with you, in terms of you ever saying anything like you said you said, apologize and tell her you are dealing with your own weight issues and did not mean to dump it off on her.</p>

32

<p>From personal experience, a lot of the freshman weight gain is from heavier drinking. If your daughter isn’t partying harder than she did in high school, there’s one less reason for her to gain weight. It might be an eating disorder, but just because a girl drops a size doesn’t mean it is. The food in college dorms really is quite poor, so cook her good food and see if she starts eating it again.</p>

33

<p>I am just going to throw this out there: I definitely recovered from any ability to lose weight since college. :slight_smile: But… I spent the month of May going to multiple sports events and planning parties for the graduating senior, plus everything else parents generally do. When it was all said and done… I slept for two days it seemed. I went to bed at 8 and got up at 9. Was ready for a nap by 1 or 2. Now, yes, I am just getting old, but sometimes the brain needs to catch up. Don’t underestimate exhaustion.</p>

<p>This said… no better time to get in a physical than right away vs waiting until crisis-level concerns set in.</p>

34

<p>Speaking of eating disorders, here is a shameless ad. No need to reply here. Just contact the lab below, who still really needs recruits this summer. Caltech, Pasadena, CA is not too far away from Los Angeles.</p>

<p>Researchers at the California Institute of Technology are currently conducting fMRI studies to examine the brain basis of food preferences and decision-making to better understand the disruption of these processes in eating disorders. We are currently seeking volunteers. Volunteers are compensated $70 for their time. Studies typically last 1-2 hours. To volunteer or to get more information please contact us at <a href=“mailto:alaw@caltech.edu”>alaw@caltech.edu</a></p>

35

<p>to OP: How’s your daughter’s appetite and eating patterns since returning home?</p>

36

<p>Its not all that rare to lose weight in college. I lost about 5 lbs but gained it back during winter break, so in total I’ve stayed exactly the same since entering college. The food at my college isn’t that bad either. There are a lot of things that contributed to me staying the same weight and even losing a bit …</p>

<p>1) all the walking i had to do
2) too busy to eat
3) weird sleeping habits and making a rule to never eat past 11pm
4) not drinking</p>

37

<p>I was one of those people who lost weight in college, but I would cite 1 and 4 from Lurker. I can still fit in my pants from early high school and I’m now 23. We had an 21-meals-a-week-all-you-can-eat meal plan, and I took school up on the invitation to do so daily.</p>

<p>I was told that drinking is the big pound packer.</p>

38

<p>Oh,Wendy, you sound like my sister. She ate like a horse and never gained weight, until she had a baby. Now she’s a two-tonner just like her sister. If you’ve got good genes, you’ll be able to keep those hs jeans.</p>

39

<p>Our family has good genes, but nonetheless, as we get older & our metabolism slows, we have to adjust our portions based on our activity level to keep fitting the clothes we want to continue to wear. For most of us, this has worked well, even after starting our families. My folks are still quite trim, even tho they’re 80 & 85! We’re 40s-50s & many of us are still about the same size as we’ve been for decades.</p>

<p>My younger brother has opted to do a VERY energetic workout every day to lose weight and “buff up,” while most of the rest of us have just opted to cut back on our portion sizes and exercise a bit more. We all like being on the trim side, as do our kids. Neither of our kids has gained much weight in college and neither intends to as they both like fitting their current wardrobes and body image.</p>