Starting college life is far from difficult; in fact it is fun starting a new way of life. Life without the constant objections from your parents and annoyance from your little sibling is one of the many advantages you gain from college. Cancelled classes, late night parties and deleterious amounts of food make college enjoyable; however, this can lead to . “Freshman 15” is not a myth and although you may not be unfortunate enough to gain 15 pounds, you might gain some weight. To shun gaining weight, freshmen should eat healthy, avoid alcohol, and maintain a positive moral. One of the problems that cause weight gain is the lack of parental supervision over what the students consumes.
In college, a student can easily stock themselves in fatty snacks such as Twinkies, cookies, chocolate, and chips. Also, the all-you-can-eat buffet seems to most likely run out of the pizza, french fries, and ice cream before the salad. A students schedule sometimes plays a factor in the consuming of too many snacks. If a student is in a hurry, he or she will grab a pop tart and be out of the door with a 200 calorie breakfast. A student should keep away from the high-fat snacks and concentrate on salubrious foods. At the cafeteria, a student should try to eat salads and attempt to eat new kinds of foods since the buffet has so much to offer.
And for food on-the-go, one should try to buy healthy snacks or try to wake up earlier to catch a healthy breakfast at the cafeteria. However at times waking up early is not an option if one became drunk and can not remember what happened last night or where they are. College students are known to drink even though half of them are under the age of 21; age has never been a factor to stop someone from drinking and partying. As freshmen, students want to try everything and be wrapped up in the party life; therefore hangovers become a way of life. In order to avoid nausea and an awful headache, students should be responsible in how they drink and how often they do it. Most importantly, they should steer clear from the consumption of alcohol.
Depression and anxiety are often the causes of weight gain. “Weight gain can… be attributed to high levels of anxiety brought on by lifestyle changes and even students being homesick.” (Browder) Although many students do not quickly admit to this, at the beginning of school they feel homesick and sometimes eat more, simply lacking a better choice of activity. This problem is quickly resolved after they start meeting people and making new friends. And as for stress; there are counselors, advisors, and techniques that help mitigate it. Freshmen are overwhelmed by new lives and the availability of wonderful, fattening food, but if they watch what they eat, avoid alcohol and exercise they will have much less to worry about.
Students should enjoy and not dread college life. They should leave with friendships and good memories not honey buns and beer bellies. Works Cited Page Browder, Jacqueline. “Study debunks Freshman 15 myth.” Pipe Dreams News (Sept. 2001): 9 Nov.
2004.