Fight Against the Freshman Fifteen WE CAN DO IT

Let’s hear it for the boys.

HI GUYS. I am sure that the young ladies of Penn State aren’t the only ones who are concerned with their appearance. Here are three tips to take note of in order to maintain a healthier you.

Watch the beer intake. Whether you have noticed it or not, the “beer belly” often found in grown men may be making an appearance on you as well. When I saw my friends over Christmas break, it was obvious to me which guys were knocking down the Natty Light a little too much and which guys were not. With that said, you may be developing a little extra flab in your stomach if you tend to favor beer. My advice is to cut the beer. Unfortunately, there is no easy way around that one. But, if you are wondering where your unwanted fat is coming from, it may just be from drinking one too many room temperature cheap beers at parties.

Looking to bulk up? Two words: protein and immediately. While many of you seasoned gym goers know this already, eating protein after a workout is crucial to developing the muscle you are looking for. Do not wait a half hour or an hour after hitting the weights. My advice is to bring a CLIF Bar or any type of protein bar to the gym so you can snack on it on your way back to your dorm to ensure you are filling your body with protein immediately. Also, heavy weight lifting with few reps is the key to gaining a lot of noticeable muscle mass, while low intensity weight training with many reps and sets is the key to obtaining leaner muscle.

Stay away from the fried food. While girls are known to order the traditional salad, non-fat yogurt parfait, or fruit for a meal, boys often feast on fried chicken sandwiches, fries, greasy pizza, and burgers. I am not saying girls don’t eat unhealthy foods but, it is often seen as “weird” or “uncool” for a guy to order a salad instead of a cheese burger, or a fruit cup instead of fries. However, who is going to be laughing when fifteen years from now you’re struggling to keep the weight off because of your poor eating habits. We all can’t eat junk food forever because it will catch up to us. I suggest making little adjustments to your meals. Go for grilled instead of fried options, lose the cheese on your burger, don’t pay the extra two bucks for the fries, and maybe man up and order that salad in front of your guy friends.

Don’t deny the fact that you may be gaining weight or are out of shape boys! I’m sure a lot of you are in the same boat. Let’s get healthy in 2014.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 19th, 2014 at 7:17 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.