Fighting the Freshman 15

By Janessa Rutiaga
Blog Content Contributor

A freshman’s biggest fear: the freshman 15; The (sometimes) unavoidable 15 pounds of weight gain that comes from new found freedom, stress and Gumby’s midnight pizza. In high school, you have a set breakfast and lunch, plus regulated physical activity at least once a day. Coming into college, you have none of that. It’s your own responsibility to make sure you eat your veggies and exercise at least four times a week.

Everyone says, “I’m not going to gain weight.” And everyone and their mothers think that just because they attend Texas State, with stairs and inclines galore, they’ll burn off whatever they consume. This is not true. I had to learn this the hard way during my freshman year. You cannot have pizza at every meal just because it’s there, and the grilled cheese isn’t really calling your name. As a freshman, you’ll feel the pull to eat on campus all the time because you have swipes and an even bigger pull to eat at the dining halls, especially since dining halls are the only thing open during the weekend. You’ll also eat tons of fast food once you get tired of everything campus has to offer. It doesn’t make it easier knowing that almost every place delivers, or the fact that there’s a delivery service for San Marcos.

For your body’s sake, don’t do this. I get that most of the dorms on campus have minimal kitchen areas, and it can be intimidating to use it for the first time. It’s not difficult to look online for quick, one dish recipes. You can make big meals, divide it into containers, and eat it all week. It’s healthier, usually less in calories, you actually know what’s in your food and it’s going to save you plenty of money. If you take a look around, you’ll see that most buildings have microwaves somewhere, so you can even take your food to go and eat during breaks to save yourself the horror of going to the LBJ during lunch time. I get that not everyone is going to do this all the time, I sure didn’t, but in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, you have to make some sacrifices.

Pizza cannot be eaten for every meal. Avoid eating out and ordering in. Cook your own meals every once in a while. Eat something green and grown in the ground once every day. Your body will thank you.