Freshman 15: Is it a myth?

[snopes]

One of the biggest worries for freshmen is gaining weight during their first year at college.

But there might be some encouraging news.

For the freshmen that The Daily Tar Heel has weighed and checked in with each month, the dreaded freshman 15 was largely a myth.

http://media.www.dailytarheel.com/me...-2848325.shtml

It was definately true for my floormates and I. It's a combination of really gross, unhealthy, buffet-style, all-you-can eat caf food three times a day, and a lack of excersize.

Plus all the beer (although I don't drink, so I can't blame it on that).



I lost the freshman 15 during my second year, because I was in a house and cooking healthy food for myself.

Jera

if anything I've come across the opposite - people not eating enough and losing weight dangerously - more than the weight gain, tho both do seem to happen.

[Aud 1]

I lost weight as a freshman and did well with weight maintainace all through college. I didn't have a car until the last year and so had to walk everywhere. When I was in the dorms the food plan included a salad bar which I used almost every day. I did have ice cream almost every day too but the bowls were tiny.

My problem was the post-graduation 15.

[Beachlife!]

I think it depends on a lot of factors and differs from student to student. Chief amongst these are comparitive quality of the food, confiuguration of campus, and how a student gets around campus.

When I went to school, the food on campus was excellent compared to the crappy, spartan cooking of my step-mother. On the other hand, the campus was huge and I chose to walk or ride a bicycle everywhere. As a result my weight remained steady.

For my daughter, the food on campus is pretty bad, especiallly when compared to my own cooking . This coupled with a campus built on a steep hill that is small enough to make anything but walking impracticle as lead to a weight loss.

[Lainie]

I had no trouble controlling my weight in college. Not only was I young and possessed of a functional thyroid, but I walked miles a day, much of it up and down steep hills. It was especialy good for my calves and butt.

[TheNinthSign]

I lost a lot of weight first term. Then thanks to some lovely health problems that resulted in me being constantly exhausted, so my work slipped a little bit. In some ways I feel like I've been playing catch up all term. I couldn't be as active as I had been first term, I started sleeping through supper (no energy from being sick), so I ate junk (I know, stupid), and gained it all back and then some . I'm kind of hoping this summer I can get active again.

[1958Fury]

I lost weight too. My meal plan had me only eating two meals a day, and my classes were some distance apart, so I did a lot of walking.

[Artemis]

I lost weight as well...the food was...meh, and I tend to eat less when I'm under stress. The fall of my second year, when I went back home for a visit, my parents thought I was seriously underweight. (The eating less coupled with the fact that I'd taken up running wasn't really doing a number on my body.)

[rhiandmoi]

I started my first year pretty severely underweight, but I had that problem licked and then some by winter break. That's what eating 2 grilled cheese sandwiches a day plus ice cream will do for you.

[mags]

My dorm was at the top of a hill, so I managed to maintain my weight freshman year. Plus, I had always pretty much been allowed to eat whatever I wanted, so it wasn't like I was packing it away just because I wasn't under my parents' thumbs anymore.

I was probably in better shape from having to trek up and down to classes and back than I ever had been before or since.

[snapdragonfly]

I put on weight and so did most of my friends.

The cafeteria had a lot of starchy, fat choices, you could eat all you wanted, there was always dessert, and although we did walk everywhere apparently it wasn't enough. Also I think the alcohol added to it. And we were always staying up late to study and snacking.

[Stan The Man]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

I put on weight and so did most of my friends.

The cafeteria had a lot of starchy, fat choices, you could eat all you wanted, there was always dessert, and although we did walk everywhere apparently it wasn't enough. Also I think the alcohol added to it. And we were always staying up late to study and snacking.

Same experience here. Except for the studying part.

[CSGirl]

Originally Posted by snapdragonfly

And we were always staying up late to study and snacking.

I think you hit one of the major points, here. I don't eat more at meals, but staying up til 1, and eating dinner at 5:30, usually means a snack somewhere in there. I'm looking forward to having an apartment next year, and being able to eat dinner later, which I prefer, but the cafeteria closes at 6:30.

[Venus]

I lost weight when i started college and then lost more when i got a job. I've since gained a little of it back which is a bit annoying but not a big deal since i was thin to begin with. My parents are happy though, they thought i was too small.

I've gradually lost a little weight here and there since starting college last fall, since my mother wasn't around to force feed me. Now everytime I go home she thinks I'm sick. Oh well.

[Admiraldinty]

I gained the freshman 15, the sophomore 15, and the junior 10. I was underweight when I started though.

[Esprise Me]

I didn't gain or lose a noticeable amount of weight my freshman year. The second semester of my sophomore year, however, I think I gained at least ten pounds. That's a lot for me--I've never gained more than a couple pounds a year since middle school (I'm 23; I've put on maybe 30 pounds over the last ten years, and that's with growing three inches.) What was different that semester was I spent it studying and backpacking in Europe. You'd think with their smaller restaurant portions and me being constantly on the go, I'd lose weight. Looking at the pictures from the beginning and end of the four-month trip, however, I can clearly see that not only did I gain weight, I gained fat, not just water or muscle. Even my face looks flabby. I attribute it to the fact that it was cold and wet almost the entire time I was there, and the best way I found of warming up in between treks to cathedrals, statues, and ruins was to duck into a cafe and buy a cup of hot chocolate. (I love espresso, but if I drank that every time I got cold, I'd never get to sleep at night!) I guess those added up.
That, and I was based in the Netherlands, and Dutch food tends to be rather...fried. I tried to eat what the locals ate wherever I went, even though I hardly eat like most Americans when I'm home. (I prefer fruits and vegetables to Big Macs, thank you.) And maybe all that alcohol had just a teensy bit to do with it; I was twenty at the time, so I could drink there but not here. I drank...a lot.

[moonfall]

My weight is pretty much unchanged since high school (two years ago). I eat less than when I lived at home, and I do a lot of walking.

[Prelude in G Minor]

I actually lost about 10 pounds when I started college, but I have always lived in suite-style dorms with kitchen areas, allowing me to have my own food choices. It depends a lot on the person, though. I am picky about my food in that I eat high-quality, nutritious food--therefore, I need less of it. Living in the city, there are food carts everywhere and I am proud to say that I have never bought food from them. The smell makes me feel nauseated whenever I walk by.

The building I lived in my freshman year was at the opposite end of campus that the academic buildings are in--that meant plenty of walking! Now I'm in a building closer to the center of campus, so I'm sure to go to the gym more often.

As a result of all that, I am much healthier and look much better than I did in high school.