So you’re sitting in your dorm room working on your homework. It’s been hours and maybe you’ve made progress, or maybe you haven’t. Regardless, you now lack the motivation to continue, so what do you do? You turn your head to your shelf and there it is: food. The delicious goodness of college dorm snacks.

You’re not hungry but you succumb to the deliciousness of cereal, pop tarts, ramen, and easy mac. Its so easy to just start snacking out of sheer boredom. This, ladies and gentlemen, is part of the very reason “The Freshmen 15” is a reality. For those of you who may not know, it is very typical for new college students to gain up to or more than 15 pounds their very first year. There are several reasons why this becomes are problem, one of them being the amount and type of food consumed. Here is a chart of what a college student may call their diet.

As can be seen here, carbs are the main source of sustenance, fats being a close second. Its just so easy to indulge in D.P Dough or Canyon Pizza on those late weekend nights. Well good thing there are ways to counter this constant intake of calories! You know the building that has all the treadmills and weights inside it? Yeah, the gym. USE IT. There are three wonderful facilities on campus that offer so much for a relatively small fee in comparison. I personally like the IM Building as it seems to have the most space. All the equipment there is in mint condition so it is worth the trek from South or Pollock or even West Halls. Going two or three times a week for about an hour has really helped me battle the “15” for at least the first month of school. I am confident though that I will continue to utilize the gym for the rest of the year because I admit that I too am guilty of eating when bored. It’s your choice though: fight or fail?