How to Avoid the Freshman Fifteen

How to Avoided Putting On Those Dreaded 15 Pounds As a Freshman in College

By Nell Jones - daughter, writer, student, contributor

When people would ask me what I was most nervous about when going to college, I wouldn’t say schoolwork, I wouldn’t say being away from home, I would say the freshman fifteen.  Everyone tells you it’s unavoidable and you have to accept it.

Except you don’t.

You also don’t have to limit your food intake to nothing and live at the gym. You have to be smart and learn how to resist certain urges.

Unfortunately, alcohol consumption is the number one cause of weight gain, which no college student wants to hear.  But don’t get your hopes down; you can still avoid the unnecessary factors of the freshman fifteen.

Watch the Snacks

For example, late-night snacks.  Who doesn’t want to stick some easy mac in the microwave when they return from a night out and inhale it in two seconds?  People who don’t want the freshmen fifteen.

No ramen, no pizza, no buffalo wings, nothing.  If you can’t resist the temptation, don’t keep the food in your room in the first place.  And definitely don’t have Domino’s pizza on speed dial.

Late-night snacks also translate to normal snacks.  Of course, you want to come back from class and just lay in your bed with a bag of chips or cookies.  But that’s not doing you any good.  It also won’t keep you filled for long.

Instead, get some low-calorie, healthy snacks like popcorn or something that will fill you up and keep you full, like peanut butter and fruit.  I can promise you that you will regret it immediately after eating an entire bag of potato chips or three cupcakes, no matter how good they are at the moment.

Most Important Meal of the Day?

As for meals, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  Eating a big, healthy breakfast in the morning ensures that you are not dying of hunger after 10:05.  It also gets your digestive system going and ready to take on whatever else you eat that day.

When choosing meal plans, always go for the smaller ones.  It will prevent you from ordering excessive lunches and dinners.  Also, just because pizza, french fries, and ice cream are available at every meal doesn’t mean you should eat them every meal.

Ask yourself, what would my mom want me to eat.  Treat yourself once in a blue moon, but you will be happier if you eat a healthy, well-balanced meal daily.  Science proves it.

When I’m stressed, I like to stress eat.  Often, my stress food preference is ice cream; before I know it, I have finished everything.  Luckily, someone invented the 300-calorie pint of ice cream, where you can eat as much as you want and not feel guilty.  Isn’t chocolate healthy for you anyway?

Don't Be Afraid of a Little Exercise

Last but not least, you need to exercise to avoid the freshman fifteen.  As I said, you don’t need to live at the gym but do make it part of your weekly (maybe daily or every other day) routine.  It’s not as hard as it sounds, though, especially on a college campus.

There are so many FREE classes going on that you can drag your friends to and have a blast.  Just make yourself a good playlist, and it won’t feel like torture every time.

The freshman fifteen is avoidable as long as you avoid it.  Considering you’re in college, you’re smart enough to know what is good for you and what isn’t so nothing comes as a surprise.

The hardest part is resisting those late-night urges and stress eating.