Preventing the "Freshman 15"

Many people have heard the warnings of the “Freshman 15” but many students wonder if it a true fact or a silly college foley. Many studies have been done on the “Freshman 15” and some conclusive results have came out. Many doctors explain that students on average gain 3 to 10 pounds during their first 2 years of college. Most of this weight gain occurring during the first semester of their freshman year. Even though the studies prove that the “Freshman 15” is not completely true, doctors warn that eating habits gained in a person’s college years can lead to a lifetime of weight problems. It is up to each student to develop a healthy lifestyle to create a healthy future. On Wednesday, October 10, 2007, I attended my second workshop on the “Freshman 15”. In this workshop we discussed not only what the “Freshman 15” was but how to prevent. This blog is on what I learned to do to prevent this unhealthy situation. In the workshop we discussed the main factors of our health. These factors included stress, exercise, and diet. The first of these factors we discussed was diet. When people think about diets they think about the food pyramid. Some people now may be surprised the food pyramid has both changed its look and information. It now requires 5-6 ounces of meat and poultry, 2 servings of fruits, 5-8 servings of grains, 3 servings of vegetables, 3 servings of milk, and only 5-6 tbsps. of fats, oils, or sweets. The pyramid displays the main keys to dieting. You have to choose nutritious foods, substitution, and portion control. The second factor of a healthy lifestyle we discussed was stress. The thing that many people don’t know about stress is that it has three influences. Those influences are physiological, social, and academic. I learned that physiological stress comes from a person’s own thoughts. Some people dwell on their problems in their minds which tend to increase eating. Academic stress is caused by the many organization and study problems which worry people and promotes excessive eating. Social stress is caused by a person’s social life and the many social storms that a person experiences in relationships. Even though weight gain is a reality in college, a person can beat it by managing stress, exercise, and diet in your life. I hope that this blog will help inform you about the real reason's for weight gain and how easy it is to prevent it.