As freshmen begin their first year in college, different worries fill their minds such as grades, classes and extracurricular activities, leaving them no time to think about their weight.
The term “Freshmen 15” is a phrase that many students have heard of and fear becoming victim of because once school work piles up, most free-time away from school is dedicated to doing homework, projects, studying, or volunteering.
School life continues season after season and before students even know it, they hop onto a scale and discover they have gained 15 pounds since they started their first year in college.
“I noticed that I started gaining a few pounds by the end of fall semester,” sophomore Dean Santos, law enforcement major, said. “I was taking four classes and since it was my first year as a college student, I didn’t really know how to balance my time that well.”
This is the case with many other students who have gained weight from their first year in college. Balancing time becomes difficult because they aren’t used to dividing their time evenly among different activities.
An imbalance of time isn’t the only way many freshmen begin to gain weight. Not having a healthy diet is also what leads to weight gain for some other students.
Chris Young, communications major, who is also a sophomore, said even though he didn’t really gain weight freshman year, he still didn’t have a healthy lifestyle and witnessed what happened to others who also had poor eating habits.
“I used to eat fast food everyday. I’d go to McDonald’s, Del Taco, and Wienerschnitzel. Whatever I felt like eating that day, that’s what I’d eat and I know a lot of people who gained weight like that.”
Although the Freshman 15 is not something any student would like to end up getting, it definitely is not the end of the world if it happens.
Exercise is always an option that students can take to get rid of the extra pounds they’ve packed. Even though Santos gained a few pounds during fall semester, he was quick to do something about it.
“I began taking boxing classes here at EC winter semester to get back in shape,” he said. “I knew if I wanted to get rid of the weight I gained, I’d have to do something about it instead of sit there and complain.”
Students can still always prevent the Freshmen 15 from entering their lives, even if they don’t have time for exercise. Developing a healthy diet is the key to staying in shape.
Young said that now that he is able to handle his second year in college, he is also eating much healthier and either brings his own lunch to school or eats at his work place, Boston Market, on his breaks.
“Last year my eating habit was like a crash course,” he said. “I woke up and realized I really have to take care of myself.”