You’ve heard the rumors. You’ve watched your older siblings and friends go off to college, and you’ve watched them return. But you’re athletic. You have a good diet. It isn’t going to happen to you. And maybe it won’t — but it probably will.
The dreaded freshman 15 sneaks up on you unannounced. One week, you’re enjoying a Cheesy Griller at 1 a.m., and the next week your pants feel a little snug. If left alone, this terrible side-effect of college will only get worse. Luckily, there are plenty of ways to cure it.
First things first, your tuition pays for the Student Recreation Center, so you might as well use it. The longer you go without working out, the harder it will be to start up again, so try to get on that elliptical at least a couple times a week.
Dorm food, while not the healthiest food ever, doesn’t have to be the least healthy, either. Just try to think about what you’re eating. Simply because you can have greasy, delicious food for every meal, doesn’t mean you should. That being said, I could really go for a Big Mouth Burrito right about now.
Maybe you partied in high school, maybe you didn’t. Either way, you’re probably going to be partying a lot now that you’re free — no parents, yay! Unfortunately, there’s this little thing called calories that alcohol just happens to be full of. If you weren’t much of partier prior to your time at Oregon, this will hit you harder than others. Lots of partying means more gym time if you’re trying to shut the freshman 15 down.
No matter what you do, you probably won’t be able to maintain your high school body, and that’s totally fine (and normal). The best you can do is find a happy medium that you’re comfortable with.