Ahhh, as legend has it, there is no avoiding the Freshmen 15 or is there! Before entering the college environment, I was so anxious. I was stressing out about what I was going to eat, the freshman 15 and how I was going to maintain a healthy lifestyle on dorm food. I will admit, it’s been a struggle being on a budget and working with dorm food. However, I want today’s post to focus on the positives and the simple things that can help you stay on track.
Avoiding unhealthy food
The first thing is not eating all the unhealthy food because it’s available. Many times this can be hard (all the time…in my case) when pizza and fries surround you. I am not saying don’t have those things, but it needs to be in moderation. I suggest having a fun treat or meal on a specific day or weekends only.
For me, that might mean eating a burrito, cookie(s), etc. on a Saturday night. If you find yourself eating pizza and fries every other night, well it’s going to add up and avoiding the freshman 15 is not going to happen. My most helpful tip when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle or doing anything in life is doing it CONSISTENTLY. That could mean, limiting fries and pizza to once a week and making healthy meal choices all other times. You need to find a balance and what works best for you.
Then we come to dressings and sauces.
Dressings and sauces are something to be aware of. Yes, they can help make Dorm food taste so much better. The downside is they are very high in carb, sugar, and sodium. You have to find a balance when topping your food with dressings and sauces.
When I am at the salad bar, I only use balsamic vinegar or lemon as my dressing to avoid all the added carbs, sugar and sodium in dressings. I also will ask for no sauce or dressing on my main dishes and add balsamic on top (if I want to add a little something.) BTW….it takes time to adjust your taste buds away from sugary things as your brain (and taste buds) are telling you different. It may sound stupid, but all that extra dressing and sauces add up. Now I’m not scared of modifying my orders, and trust me I do it everywhere I go. I think of a menu as a starting point to what I actually want to eat, LOL.
Snacking
When It comes to snacks that I keep in my room, I only keep healthy ones because I love to snack. Having unhealthy snacks in your room is too tempting to eat and will not aid in avoiding the freshman 15. I will be sharing all my favorite snacks in an upcoming blog post. However, a few examples are baby carrots, hummus, and Siete Grain Free Tortillas Chips. I also keep fresh snacks such as fruits and veggies for when I need something to munch on in between classes and meals.
When It comes to snacking, I suggest really evaluate if you are hungry or if you are just bored. I try only to eat when I am truly hungry, and if I am bored, I will chew some gum, or drink lemon water. Being in college, I can’t get groceries as easily as I did at home, which means I try to savor my snack. The days of binging and replacing the next day are gone as I can’t replace it the next day. Oh, and binging late at night on snacks is another factor that can add to weight gain. Remember the rule, eat 2-3 before you go to bed! Weekends make it extra hard when you’re out late with friends, but try to be mindful of when and what you are eating.
Watch the drinks: it can add to freshman 15 quickly
I mean all drinks in general, that means soda, juices, fruity drinks, etc. Avoiding the freshman 15, limiting how much you are consuming is going to help avoid consuming empty calories and excess sugar. This can be hard in the college “environment.” In the end, this is a factor that can be hard to avoid if you are going out, but be mindful. Drinking soda or sugary juices are a significant contributor to weight gain and the freshman 15. Did you know there is about 52g of sugar in a bottle of coke! If you crave the taste of soda, try replacing it with sparkling water, or a kombucha (my fav, hehe)
Workout
Avoiding the Freshman 15 is the goal, so now is not the time to slack on working out! Many girls/guys before college had a routine, I know I did, and now it is all thrown off. You have to create your gym time and figure out when it works best for your college life schedule. I’m discovering now it’s every morning and I am not working out for an hr + like I used to. My workouts are now 30 minutes – to an hour. I don’t have time to spend that long in the gym every day with classes spread throughout my day. I now seem to have a new workout routine: my college edition (yep, I will be sharing an updated post on that as well.) In the end, you need to be working out.
Remember, working out also helps you when your feeling anxious and overwhelmed which we all face in college. I love the endorphins that my workouts give me, and they have helped me adjust to the change of college faster! Next time you are feeling anxious, overwhelmed or even sad, go workout and get real sweaty!
Working out and a healthy diet
Working out and a healthy diet go hand in hand, and remember you can’t outrun a poor diet! A big misconception is that as long as you are doing cardio every day, you can eat and drink whatever you want. I’m sorry to tell you that isn’t going to work; it’s all about healthy balance!
Stress
Stress is a hard one to avoid, due to the amount of pressure that comes with school. When you are stressed your body holds onto fat and can lead to weight gain. When I feel stressed, my number one outlet is working out Schedule in a yoga class, or go for a run.
You can’t let the stress overcome you. I usually have a massive mental breakdown and cry my eyes out then I get my sh*t together. For me, a big stress reliever is taking a bath, which I now don’t have at school. I have found that essential oils, walking, listening to a podcast, and writing it all down also really help me de-stress.
Sleep
Yes, you need to be getting enough sleep! In college, this can be hard considering weekends are filled with late nights, and weekdays call for early morning classes. However, you need to be making sure you are getting your beauty sleep. Give yourself a bedtime for the weekdays, and on the weekends take some time to rest.
Drink Water
Lastly is the most obvious, you need to be drinking water! It will aid in helping you from mindless snacking too. I have been so bad at drinking water since I got to college and I am trying to get better at it every day. At home, I would drink an absurd amount of water. At college I forget, don’t want to walk down the hall to go pee (from drinking lots of water), or I am too lazy to fill up the Brita. The days where I drink more water, I see a massive difference in how much better my food digests, mindless snacking and how my skin looks.
Hey, as legend has it, avoiding the Freshmen 15 is real, thanks to college dorm food life. I have to say; I do miss having a kitchen and making my usual smoothies, roasted veggies, turkey burgers, delicious salads, taco bowls but I am making do with what I have.
Here’s to avoiding the Freshman 15 and more college inspired posts! Until next time, thanks for Hanging With Haley!