Freshman 15 Alive and Thriving

Your mother warned you about them, your dad made stupid jokes and you didn’t believe in their existence, but trust me, the “freshman 15” is a real thing.

Now I’d like to say that I have a story about starting college and not knowing how to cook for myself. In my food crisis I succumbed to eating Ramen noodles and hitting up McDonald’s drive-thru to keep me going. I know you’d like me to tell you that I gained a freshman 15 and was okay with it.

Sorry kids, that’s not the story I have to tell. You see, I was deathly afraid of gaining a freshman 15, or any weight at all for that matter. Body image is something I’ve always struggled with. When I started high school I was a size 13/14. For my 5’6 frame it wasn’t a good look. I took “Fit for Life” and pushed myself and the weight came off. When I started my junior year I was a healthy weight, not my goal weight, but I was looking and feeling a lot better than I had. So when I went to college I was terrified that I would go back to what I had been. Before I left for school I had my mom teach me how to make a few simple meals. With my limited cooking knowledge and use of the campus fitness room in my dorm building, I dropped another pant size.

Basically the moral of that little story is that the freshman 15 is AVOIDABLE! You just have to work at it. Don’t take a page out of my favorite pop star’s book

Keeping the pounds off can be simple. Don’t eat pizza for every meal. Trade your ice cream for carrots. While you can have awesome donuts every now and then, save them for special days or use them as rewards.

Drink more of this

And smaller amounts of this

Take advantage of the fitness equipment that is provided to you as part of your student fees. I used to HATE working out, but now it’s kind of like my “me time.” I go in, pull up Club Phusion on my phone and block out everything else. Not only are you going to feel better (once the initial muscle pain subsides) but you’ll look better. There is nothing more beautiful than a woman who feels confident about herself. Maybe exercise can give you that confidence. And if not, well at least it keeps you from needing to buy bigger jeans.