From the moment I stepped onto campus for move in day I feared the Freshman 15. The Freshman 15 is the inevitable 15 pounds first year college students gain. No matter how hard you try the Freshman 15 is gong to get you. “Studies show that students on average gain 3 to 10 pounds during their first 2 years of college.” Source 1

There are many reason why people gain the Freshman 15. These reasons include not having parents to make you eat vegetable and fruits. A lot of the weight comes from the consumption of alcohol. Binge eating, which comes from over excessive studying and late night hunger. Another thing is not getting enough exercise to work off all of that food. Finally, a lack of sleep plays a big role. Source 2

Here are some tips on how to beat the Freshman 15. Keep the stress to a minimum. College is stressful because there is always so much pressure, pressure to do well on tests and get the homework done, social pressures, and pressure to make new friends and essentially start over again. I think that personally I stress more about academics, but I cant let it get to me. I need to organize myself and break down assignments so I’m not doing too much work at one time. The next is to eat healthy. Snacking is so common so stock up on fruits and other healthy choices instead of chips and crackers. When my parents were here to drop me off we went to Walmart and I got carrots and humus and apples for a snack. This prevented me from reaching for the Doritos and buttery popcorn. The next is finding the best things in the dining hall. There are always unhealthy and healthy options in the cafeteria, so find the healthy things. I try to have protein at dinner and lunch. Either dinner or lunch I have a salad, choosing the healthy option. Whenever there are vegetables I get them and when I am in the mood for pasta I always go for the whole wheat. Also a good thing is to always drink water instead of soda or other sugary drinks. They have so many calories in them. while water is so simple and non-caloric. Source 3

It is so easy to avoid the Freshman 15 as long as you stay not stressed and do the healthy things. I walk to class no matter the distance and that helps me every day. I look at the health app in my phone and on an average day I walk around eight miles. That is great exercise; that is eight extra miles that I walk everyday and by taking the bus I eliminate that amount of exercise. Along with choosing not to take the bus I go to the gym when ever I possibly can. Even if I go for 20 minutes, it is 20 minutes of exercise that keeps the blood flowing and heart pumping. Gaining 15 pounds is something that I am trying to avoid and I feel that it is easily avoidable.