Now that you’re away from home-cooked meals and your mother nagging you to eat more vegetables, it may be easy to hop in your friend’s car and clear out Target or overload at Marketplace. No one is giving you specific dinners and there are no more gross high school cafeterias that you wouldn’t want to eat in anyway; you can now make your own choices as to what you put in your body. Freshman 15 is lurking closer than you’d think.
Here are some ways to make sure that you don’t succumb to the horror that is “the freshman 15”:
1. Don’t buy too much snack food for your dorm. Although it can be tempting to buy your favorite treats that your Mom used to keep around your house or maybe that you always wanted but she wouldn’t let you have, you don’t realize that your college days are much shorter than your high school days. This means you’re around your dorm room a lot more than you were your house and you will find yourself binging on these snacks more than you might at home. Switch to healthier snacks like fruit and yogurt, you will be more full and in better shape.
2. Pace yourself at meals. It is easy to take everything that looks good in the cafeteria, but remember portion control or you’ll see the results on your body.
3. Go to the gym. Make a playlist of your favorite songs or take your iPad and watch your favorite show and go on the elliptical or treadmill: the time will go by faster than you think. There are also a lot of great classes that are offered at both Brodie and Wilson.
Remember these tips and you’ll not only look better and feel better; you’ll have more energy to plow through your mountains of schoolwork.