The scary “freshman 15” is something that new college students ponder over, including college freshman and community college transfers. This term refers to the amount of weight that most students gain during their first year at college. Of course, fifteen pounds is just an average amount. Some students might gain more and others might gain less. But the reason why they gain this weight has to do with the junk food at the dining halls and the use of alcohol at parties.
Eating At Dining Halls
A lot of dining halls serve food in a buffet style all day long. This means that a student can pig out in the dining hall any time of day. Not only that, but there are many vending machines around campuses that have nothing but chips and sweets in them. Between the junk food in these machines and the buffets at the dining halls, it is no wonder why college students end up getting fat. Freshmen are still new to the whole experience of college and don’t know how to discipline themselves around the food. The best thing that a freshman can do is put food from the dining hall in a Styrofoam container and take it back to their dorm room. That way they won’t overeat in a buffet setting and can conserve the food into many meals throughout the day.
Drinking Alcohol
Let’s face it, if you are living in a college dorm than you are most likely going to consume alcohol at a party. Alcohol is known for slowing down a person’s metabolism, which is the biochemical activity in your body that converts food into energy. If this slows down then the food isn’t going to be broken up and it will turn to fat. Since students usually end up drinking heavily at parties, they will often get big bellies after consistently drinking like that. So how does a student avoid this? Most of the time a freshman will fall into this trap due to peer pressure. A friend that is older will often pressure the freshman into going to a party because they can drink and meet people there. What’s the freshman going to do, refuse? That will make them appear socially awkward. But if they want to beat the freshman 15 trap then they will have to. Either that or they can just not drink at the party. This will be the biggest challenge a freshman will face. This is also why heavy drinking is the main reason college students gain weight and end up considering protein diet products. It is even a bigger reason than over indulging at the dining hall. If a freshman wants to avoid falling into the freshman 15 trap, then they definitely need to stay away from alcohol.
