Tips on fighting the freshman fifteen

By Sarah Ratchford The Brunswickan (University of New Brunswick) FREDERICTON (CUP)

The freshman 15 – those extra pounds students are said to pack on in their first year away from home – is often brushed off as a myth. For many students, however, it is a reality. Now that the first few weeks of school have gone by, many students find they have altered schedules and patterns of eating and sleeping. If you are not careful, these changes will make you gain quite a bit of extra weight, and you may find yourself coming home for the holidays to see your family looking shocked at the extra 20 pounds you’ve piled on. Luckily, weight gain is not inevitable, and this nightmare does not have to be yours. Ellen MacIntosh is a dietician at the University of New Brunswick, and she says students’ crammed schedules have much to do with weight gain. “What gets students into trouble with weight gain is that they get crazy schedules and meal times blend with study times. They’re lacking a routine,” she says. MacIntosh says that many students get into the bad habit of neglecting to eat until midday, and then they eat all afternoon and into the night. Shifting food intake toward the earlier part of the day, she says, can help prevent excessive weight gain, as we burn far more calories throughout the day than we do at night. MacIntosh, like many others, believes breakfast is “the most important meal of the day.” “Many students may or may not eat breakfast and just buy a coffee to keep them going. You’re investing thousands and thousands of dollars to go to class.” “You know you have to put fuel in your tank. Not eating in the morning is like going on a trip in your car and not putting the gas in until you get home, when you should put it in before you go.” Eating at night, however, is not totally against the rules. “Evening is a big part of your day,” MacIntosh says. “It’s hours of your day. It’s reasonable to have something when you’re finishing a paper or studying for an exam. “If you haven’t had fruit or veggies, have some yogurt with fruit in it, or some fruit with an ice scream scoop on top to get a little boost.” MacIntosh says it’s important to simply schedule time in for eating throughout the day, and separate the act of eating from studying and other daily activities. For those living in residence, she says, this can be harder than for students living off campus, as mealtime is also an extended social time. “My recommendation there is to commit to the salad bar. Really commit to having half a plate of veggies at every meal.” This can be done in a variety of ways. Make a salad, have veggies dipped in dressing, or a grilled veggie wrap. If you get creative it’s an easier commitment to keep. MacIntosh suggests avoiding the desert bar and the pop machine as well, though she says that having the odd treat is fine and perfectly healthy. “Weight loss is often so unsuccessful because people set unrealistic goals. Restrictive dieting causes the metabolism to slow down, and we starve ourselves,” she says. “Then our bodies start working against us. Small changes are something we can do for a long period of time.” One of those small changes is altering the snack foods we choose to eat. Instead of buying a bag of chips or a slice of pizza from the cafeteria, MacIntosh suggests bringing healthy alternatives from home, like fruit, a frozen fruit and yogurt parfait with granola on top, or trail mix. Dried fruit or cheese with whole-wheat crackers also make great snack choices, she says. MacIntosh says it’s not only important to eat the right snacks, but also to eat only if you’re actually hungry. “Students need to really tune into their own hunger cues, and ask themselves ‘Am I really hungry?’” She recommends using the acronymic “HALT” system – a series of four self-checks to determine if you really are hungry. “Ask yourself, ‘Am I hungry? Am I anxious, am I lonely, or tired or thirsty?’ Sometimes it’s hard to determine which it is.” “Really look to yourself for the answers. That’s the issue with diets. If you listen to your own body and hunger cues, that’s your best judge.”