The Freshman 15

My friends went to different school and they knew someone that only ate Ramen. He was diagnosed with scurvy part way through the year...

You can now start with the pirate jokes.

Sassymonkey ( http://sassymonkey.wordpress.com/ ), Sassymonkey Reads ( http://sassymonkeyreads.wordpress.com/ ), and Sassymonkey Eats ( http://sassymonkeyeats.wordpress.com/ )

I love all of you people who talk about losing weight at collge rather than gaining the freshman 15. It's sooo hard to find blog posts, or articles, about unwanted weight loss and it definitely DOES happen.

Thanks so much to all of you for sharing these comments. The Freshman 15 gets a lot of press, and it is a valid problem, but we who run toward the underweight/not eating at all side of the fence are seriously under-represented!

~Denise
( http://feeds.feedburner.com/DailyDoseOfDenise )

For sure, eat your meals. I also lost an unhealthy ammount of weight my freshman and sophomore years. I had been home-schooled up until then, as well, and on top of just being so much busier than I was used to, not having easy access to food was a big part of it. My dorm was a very long walk from the dining hall, and often it was just easier to skip a meal than 'waste' an hour walking there and back. Also, I wasn't comfortable going for a sit-down meal if I wasn't with my friends or roommates, and that deterred me from a lot of meals. I eventually learned what my body needed, and that I could focus better if my stomache wasn't growling, so I adjusted my habits

I was that strange percentage that didn't gain weight. I was so consumed with my classes (finished my freshman year with a 3.98) and wanting to do well (read: be perfect) that I often skipped meals. My hall mates would go off for lunch, ask me to come and I would say that I had to work on a project. And, truth is, I WAS working on a project. I WAS getting great grades. But I was also wasting away to nothing. When I did eat, I was tempted into awful weight loss ideas by only eating salads with no dressing. I never ate breakfast. I'll tell you: eating lettuce and carrots is healthy but only when combined with a WELL ROUNDED diet. I didn't learn this until my junior year. My sophomore year resulted in some unwanted weight gain because my body basically shut down and I spent some time in the hospital.

My basic reminder to college students, especially my over-achievers: EAT YOUR MEALS. Your health is more important than ANY grade. I promise you.

Family Living; Hatfield Style ( http://www.thejhatfields.org/blog )
Jenna

I definitely second the breakfast suggestion! I didn't eat breakfast at all my freshman year, but after prodding from my friends, I started going my sophomore year. It's amazing how much better I felt when I ate breakfast. While sleeping in may seem like a good idea, it doesn't really help you in the long run.

Because I didn't eat really well during my freshman year, I ended up losing five pounds. While that may seem like a good thing, when you're already under 100 pounds, losing five pounds is NOT a good thing. Make sure that you're eating regularly. Pay attention to the cafeteria's hours. I missed many a weekend dinner because I simply forgot that the cafeteria closed early on Saturdays and Sundays. Don't make that mistake!

Sara
silent-cacophony.net ( http://silent-cacophony.net )

Eat breakfast! Not only does it fuel you for the day but it tends to be the one meal that most cafs don't totally destroy. I usually opted for the "cold breakfast" of bagels or cereal and fruit.

I could write a long post on my dorm food experience. But that's the big one. Eat breakfast.

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