In just a few short weeks, former high school seniors will begin their college careers and in so doing will put themselves at risk for what is commonly known as ‘the freshman 15’. There are numerous factors that contribute to the average 15 pound weight gain that a college freshman accumulates. A new schedule, weeks on end of stressful studying, lack of monitoring (mom isn’t making your meals for you), social opportunities where fried food and pizza abound, as well as those dining hall buffets–all combine to make freshman (especially females) pack on a few pounds.
I never gained a freshman 15. In fact I never gained until I started having children, and the reason was because the gym was next to my dorm and so it was very convenient to work out. I had moderately horrible eating habits but I swam for at least an hour or so every day and that pretty much did the trick. Regardless of what you do to avoid gaining weight in college, one this is for sure, the best road to weight loss is to prevent weight gain!
Here are just a few tricks to use to avoid gaining those extra 15 pounds:
Get exercise–most colleges offer their students free use of their gym facilities. Take advantage of that now. If that’s not an option, ditch your car and ride your bike or walk around campus instead.
Be smart about food–substitute skim milk, drink green tea instead of soda, and think about getting all of your servings of vegetables
Get your sleep–as appealing as it might seem to pull an all nighter here and there (everyone in college does it–right?) get your sleep instead. Lack of sleep works to change our balance of hormones causing us both to be hungrier and to slow down our metabolism. Skip the all nighter and instead plan on studying at normal hours.
The freshman 15 is avoidable with good choices and plenty of exercise!
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