Not Worried About the Freshman 15

Believe it or not, when someone first asked me what the freshman fifteen was, I thought it was a list of the fifteen kids at school likely to get beaten the crap out of by a bunch of upperclassmen. The image of a tiny shrimp of a kid shoved headfirst into a trash can came to mind as well.

image courtesy of web.syr.eduFortunately, someone told me soon thereafter what it actually was.

The freshman fifteen is a term used to describe the weight gain that many freshman college students fall victim to during their first year away from home and living in the dorms. Relying on unhealthy cafeteria food and drinking excessive amounts of alcohol are two common culprits most people blame on the addition of those fifteen or so additional pounds. On the flip side, an increased amount of stress and skipped meals would lead to something I would call the freshman ?negative? fifteen.

Likened to the coinage of the term senioritis, the freshman fifteen has not been backed by too many scientific studies. There?s no knowing if it really exists or is just a sequence of one bad choice leading to another.

What I know for sure is that I need to pack on those extra pounds a bit more than most people my age. I?ve never been too fond of junk food ? french fries and Halloween candies don?t entice me as much as it does for others. I?m also pretty sure that the school cafeteria at UCSD has its share of healthy and filling options that will keep me from resorting to cheeseburgers and pizza every week.

Wednesday, August 22nd, 2007 On My Mind, School

4 Comments to Not Worried About the Freshman 15

  1. The cafeteria buffet is very tempting to eat alot of food to get your money’s worth. Today I ate a cheeseburger and bacon pizza. Fortunately, I snuck out some fruit to eat healthy while away. CHE CHEA

  2. kris on August 22nd, 2007
  3. u dont like junk food?! i can understand hard candy etc… but NO COSTCO HOT DOGS? FROZEN YOGURT? YUMI YOGURT? omg what sad life! but thats good, u need to gain some weight to keep u company during the winter ^^. not gna lie- it keeps u a lott warmerr :)

  4. lynn on August 22nd, 2007
  5. I don’t think I’m going to gain the freshman fifteen since my dorm is on top of a steep hill, and climbing up and down everyday requires so much effort. As for cafeteria food here…ehh…it’s tolerable, but I hope I won’t be eating hamburgers and pasta for the rest of the year!

  6. Chen on August 23rd, 2007
  7. Joe - now that would be a sight, you with 15 more pounds!

  8. john harper on August 24th, 2007

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