Your bags are packed and ready to go, your ride is waiting in the driveway with a full tank of gas to drive you to your destination, that being of course your new experience in life, college! You have all your text books in hand and looking so cute in your new Calvin's and your baby tee that reads Diva in hot pink letters. Your heart races 2,000 beats per minute, you have been waiting for this day all summer, in fact all senior year in high school you dreamed of this moment. You faithfully hit the gym every day just to make sure you look and feel your best, after all college boys are way cuter than those high school dorks that you grew up with, right? You look awesome, and you think to yourself, I look cuter than Kelly does from 90210, way cuter, you are ready to be a college girl! That's what it's all about. The parties, the boys, the friends, the excitement, the new clothes! Gaining as much experience as possible with this newfound freedom. Imagine what it will be like, staying up as late as you want, partying, enjoying midnight pizza runs with your new best friends, those being your new roommates of course. This is the college experience that you will treasure. At least that is what the teen magazines told us. Although they did mention all these wonderful experiences gained from college I think they forgot to mention a few things that I never anticipated gaining. I don't remember this happening to "Kelly" in college.

What the hell did I eat in one semester to make me blow up like my inflatable chair? Did I swallow my textbooks to make me twenty pounds heavier than I was when I first came to this college? Freshmen fifteen, yah right, I went way past that stage. I'm not a professional student; I'm a professional weight gainer. I looked so cute my first day here. My jeans fit oh so perfect and my baby tee just showed enough belly to tease all the cute college boys. Where is my baby tee now? Well it is in the back of my closet along with the other clothes that I now call the "Maybe I left them in the dryer to long clothes", they fit a few months ago. I never craved sweat pants and a man's work tee shirt so badly in my whole life. Try sitting in a size 7 jeans, knowing that you are now an 11, anticipating the end of class so you can unbutton your pants and breath for the first time in five hours! Your stomach does not hurt because you have the flu; your stomach hurts because your intestines are in your throat from your pants being so tight. What the hell did I eat? That kind of research your favorite magazines did not prepare you for. Forget about searching the web for reasons why you are a fat freshman. The answer to why you gained weight is not going to be found around campus; the answer is in you.

If you said Amen to the story I just wrote for you and you fit into the way-past freshmen fifteen stage, then read on and take this little pop quiz, don't worry it won't be graded. Ask yourself this question, when was the last time I ate fruit since I have been in college? No, I am not talking about a pop tart on the way to your first lecture. What about pasta? No, I don't mean Spaghetti O's in between anatomy and psychology 101. When was the last time you had a piece of chocolate or some ice cream? Ah-ha, if you said, "I had some this morning" you found your problem. Yes, I know that was not fair, it was a trick question. Do you see my point kids? I understand that you have to stay up all night studying for your chemistry exam and you need the coffee to keep you up, but do you need seven t-spoons of sugar and half a cup of whole cream for taste? Just because your roommate weighs a 102 pounds soaking wet and likes to eat pizza at three o'clock in the morning with a big grab bag of Ranch flavored Doritos with a liter of Coke doesn't mean that you can. What about on the weekends when everyone is partying and you want to join in even though you have never played those crazy drinking games before? Do you play and risk the chance of loosing and drinking about 2000 calories of beer because you are to embarrassed to say I have no idea how to bounce a quarter in a cup, but I'll play anyway! Five tries later and you are the only one that is drunk and now you seem to be the only one that is fat!

Why are you so shocked you gained twenty pounds? True, college is hard to get used to when mom is not there to tell you to eat your greens, you tend to slack and eat everything all the time. Maybe fast food and vending machines are all you have time for in between classes. Maybe you are off schedule because of your new busy and frustrating lifestyle. Maybe eating gets your mind off of the stresses of college and makes you feel better. Whatever the case may be, a diet made up of fresh food, whole food not processed, will help you avoid gaining unwanted weight. Many processed foods are high in empty calories. This means that food contains little or no nutrients. Instead of those vital nutrients, the foods are filled with salt, fat and refined sugars. The truth is that refined sugar is as bad if not worse than fat. Sugar is stored in the body and turns into fat if it is not used. There are different kinds of fats. Some fat is worse than others are. The body needs a certain percentage of calories to come from fat. An example of good fat would be naturally occurring fat found in nuts, olives and some fruits. These unsaturated fats are actually helpful to the immune system. It is a myth that all fats are bad. Fats taken in sparingly are helpful and necessary to the body. A lot of low fat foods are low in fat yet very high in sugar and in salt. It is better to eat less food that is whole and higher in naturally occurring fat than to eat low or no fat foods. Diets low in calories are very unhealthy. In fact a diet that is low in calories actually makes a person gain weight instead of lose weight. This is because the body is tricked into thinking that it is being starved and lowers its metabolism in order to store the fat and avoid starvation. A person that is active should not eat less than 1,500 calories per day. A moderately active adult could eat a little less.

In order to stay healthy the gym is a perfect place to go to work off that extra-unwanted weight as well as a great way to beat the stress. Skip midnight snacks and beer. The vending machine should be avoided as much as possible. These types of foods are loaded with sugar, salt and fat. A good snack between meals would be yogurt, fruit, nuts or granola. Since being a student leaves not a lot of time to eat, it is better to eat smaller meals spread throughout the day in order to keep your metabolism working and burning fat. Eating a full meal and sitting in class could be very uncomfortable. Try to not eat your last meal of the day after 7:00 o'clock when your body is at its resting state. A good night's sleep is very important to let your body and mind rest. Eight hours are recommended but that is not always realistic if you are a college student. A quick pick me up nap is a necessity if a good nights sleep is not realistic. I am not advising you to become a hermit or antisocial and not enjoy your college experience. College should be the best four years of your life, five for some. College should be fun, no one wants to spend four years in extremely tight pants, unless you still listen to Motley Crue and peg your pants. Sure have fun and eat pizza and drink beer, just don't do it every day. Save the weekdays for studying and living healthy and then splurge on the weekends with your new cute college boyfriend and your new best friend. You will be looking better than Kelly does before you can say "Fio's"!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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