All too often we find ourselves falling back on our trusty friends Ben & Jerry to make it through a late-night study session. We stock our rooms with enough junk food to feed a small village and rely on our youthful metabolisms to excuse our poor decisions. We don’t get enough sleep, we don’t have mom’s home-cooked nutrition-packed meals and we are just a swipe away from an all-you-can-eat dining area. The dreadful “freshman 15” may seem inevitable considering the circumstances; however it can be avoided with a little self-control and wise decisions.
We might remain unaware of the weight gain until we look back at our high school senior picture, or try on that favorite pair of jeans that “shrunk in the dryer.” We might even choose the “ignorance is bliss” approach when it comes to the weight gain. Regardless of whether we acknowledge it or not, it is a struggle.
College dining encourages an all-you-can-eat mindset. Naturally, we pay less attention to the quality of our food and pay more attention to getting our “swipe” worth. We would be much better off if we tried to aim our focus on getting the nutrients that our bodies need.
We cannot put all the blame on the cafeteria food. This may come as a surprise, but it is also not necessary to stock your room with junk food. I will be the first to admit to having a package of Oreos in my emergency drawer. I am aware that if I didn’t have such easy access to them, I wouldn’t have as strong of a desire to make a careless eating decision. The simple solution would be to not buy such temptations. However, we are human, and sometimes it is vital for a college student’s sanity to stay up all night with their roommate and indulge in a dessert that could potentially give them an unwanted spare tire around the waste. Making a habit of these careless ways is what contributes to the freshman 15.
The choices we make affect our health more than we realize. Considering the majority of America is overweight, we need to be mindful of this and not let the freshman 15 get the best of us. Ditch Ben & Jerry and remember, “a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips.”
Aubree Hughes is a freshman at Oklahoma Christian University.
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