The Truth About Freshmen 15

The freshmen 15 is a very popular topic when it comes to college weight gain. I don’t think this should be a topic that should be shied away from, in fact, I want to be as transparent as I can in this post. So, here the truth about Freshman 15.

As I was going into my freshman year of college, I stressed about the looming freshman 15 weight gain I knew was somewhat inevitable. When I began my college journey, I was VERY health-conscious, in fact, probably too health-conscious. Not to say I am not health conscious now, considering that is what this blog is based upon. Throughout my time in college, I have learned to loosen up a bit and not stress myself out. Looking back, I stressed myself out too much, which probably added to my weight gain. I will be honest, I absolutely gained weight during my freshman year of college. It is not something I think young women should be scared of, nor surround the thought with negativity.

I think the largest contributor to weight gain in my personal experience is being in a completely new environment. For the first time, you are on your own, and you don’t have a parental figure making sure you are getting enough sleep, eating your fruits and vegetables, and are living a healthy lifestyle. Being in a new environment was HUGE for me. Before college, I was used to a specific… routine. I got to college, and all of a sudden, I was living in a shoebox with a mini-fridge, and a dining hall that had minimal healthy options. It completely threw me for a spin, and I had to learn how to adjust.

As just mentioned, the dining hall… is not my cup of tea. I was not too fond of it and even wrote a research paper on how terrible it was LOL. The only semi-healthy option was a salad bar with underwhelming choices. As a result, I found myself eating french fries or gluten-free pasta with red sauce because it was the only thing I found somewhat ‘good’. That sentence right there was a significant contributor to weight gain. In my dorm room, I was making smoothies in my Nutri-bullet (thank gosh), snack on granola, rice cakes with almond butter and bananas, and eat tuna salad.

Although I tried my hardest to eat healthy while living in the dorms, I found myself eating foods that were not high nutrient-dense foods. Nutrient-dense foods are filled with vitamins and minerals, etc. In the long run, what I was eating added up over time and contributed to gaining the freshmen 15.

In addition, I was eating late at night, mostly on the weekends. Although I think that is super fun and I still indulge on a late-night slice of greasy pizza, it was not in moderation!

Beverages were also a substantial aspect of weight gain. If I had to give one piece of advice, it would be to cut down on the sugary drinks! Please take what you will from that, as the college environment has a specific culture around it. Pay attention to the sugary drinks you don’t even realize you are consuming.

In addition to the environment and eating habit changes, my workout routine changed. Before college, I was a little monkey in the gym. I would work out very intensely for an hour every day with rest days when I felt I needed them. During my freshman year, I found a spot in my schedule, and I worked out almost every day Monday-Thursday. Friday-Sunday was my “we will see if I workout” days.

I still have that same schedule for the most part, but I think I work out less if I am honest. In my experience and as many studies show, when one stresses their body out (such as intense, repetitive cardio), you hold onto body fat. I recommend finding a type of workout you love doing and mix up your workouts here and there to get more results. I find the best results when I shock my body by doing a different type of exercise. Challenge yourself to go for walks, hikes, take a yoga class. Overall, move your body!

Personal care is a huge factor in the freshmen 15. You need to self-discipline yourself and recognize when you need to take a break. Luckily I don’t live far from home (a few hours drive), so I often drive home and have a weekend break. I have learned that I must take a break and reset. However, you don’t need to leave school to take a break. Detach yourself from everything and have YOU time. Sleep in, clean your sheets, eat clean foods, do something that you enjoy (even if that is spending the entire day in your bed!), do a face mask, and take your vitamins. Freshman year, I defiantly craved those times at home and felt so much better when I finally got a break! I wish I had listened to my body more often and took a break while at school more often.

Gaining the freshmen 15 in college is a rite of passage in what I have seen. Not everyone gains weight because everyone is different. However, it is very common because of the environment. If I had to list out a few key pieces of advice…here, they are…

• Limit the late-night eating aka that greasy piece of pizza at 1 am (stop eating 2 hours before you go to bed)
• Limit the unhealthy breakfast choices in the dining hall…cereal, bagels, french toast, etc. (basically don’t have it every day!). I didn’t even go into the dining hall for breakfast because I knew if I did, I would eat breakfast potatoes (lol my weakness).
• NO SODA! I am going to be blunt about this one; you don’t need the cup of diet coke. Drink water and treat yourself to the soda once in a while. However, you don’t need it with every dinner. If I am craving soda (rarely happens, I crave my alternatives nowadays), I will drink kombucha or sparkling water with lemon.
• Be smart when choosing what to eat. Look at your options and decide what is probably not cooked in lots of oils (french fries diffidently not the best choice) and is your healthiest option.
• Move your body!
• Get sleep
• LIMIT THE DRINKS

Although I was trying my hardest to be healthy, I defiantly was enjoying my freshmen year of college, and I wouldn’t change that for anything. Gaining and losing weight is apart of life!

Check out my Instagram highlights for more tips regarding staying healthy while in college! https://www.instagram.com/hangingwithhaley/?hl=en

Link here to a previous post about avoiding the freshmen 15!

I hope you enjoyed this post and can take a few things away from it. If you have any specific posts you would like to see in the future, please leave a comment or reach out to me! Until next time, thanks for Hanging With Haley!