Freshman 15: Myth or Reality?

As a dietetics major, eating consciously and maintaining a healthy weight are naturally engrained in my thought process. When deciding what to grab for breakfast, eat for lunch, or snack on during lecture, evaluating the nutrient density and calorie count behind my food choices comes as second nature. So, as one would expect given my profile, I did fear the freshman 15 coming into college. What 19-year-old girl wouldn’t be afraid of putting on weight? I was scared that not being able to prepare my own food would lead me to become an outcast in the world of health – a world I so badly wanted to be a part of. However, before I discuss my experience with freshman 15, I’d like to pose a question about the nature of calories: Did you know that calories are actually good for you? According to urbandictionary.com, calories are defined as “little monsters that sneak into your room at night and sew all your clothes tighter.” The sample sentence that follows cautions for calories to be avoided at all costs. Okay. Everyone relax for a minute, please. It’s important to note that calories, in their plain nature, are not inherently evil, conversely to what many ads, diets and magazines want us to believe (sorry to disappoint, urbandictionary.com). In fact, your body cannot function without calories. Those alleged “monsters” are what give you energy to perform your daily life activities (you know, some important things like breathing, walking, talking, putting on makeup, etc.). Whether you’re running marathons or running to class, getting the proper amount of energy you need is critical. Anyone who suggests you to do otherwise is likely preventing you from nourishing your body in the healthiest fashion that you can.

Now that we’re on the same page about the what the nature of a calorie constitutes, I will discuss my experience with the infamous 15. Before coming to college, I knew that transitioning into living on a campus as big as the University of Maryland’s would be tiring, to say the least. I often tell friends that I feel like my day is a race, traveling from class to class, from one edge of campus to the next, at the fastest pace my legs will carry me. According to the health app on my iPhone, I walk a minimum of four miles per day, and my exhaustion at each day’s end definitely shows for it. So, although I did enter freshman year fearing the 15, during my first few months in college, I found myself facing the opposite struggle: maintaining my weight. All the rushing around left little time for mindless eating. My days were too busy for me to stop and eat if I wasn’t hungry. As I did prior to college, when putting together my lunch, I selected the most nutrient-rich foods I could find. I was determined to fight the freshman 15 at all costs. Being a vegetarian, the options available to me were limited, but I worked with what I had. Although this consciousness led me to eat a diet filled with healthy foods, I was not eating enough calories. This pattern of eating would have been an ideal way for me to eat during my high school life, but with the amount of walking I was doing in college, I needed to fuel myself with more energy to uphold my weight, and thus remain healthy. This stands in contrast to what we’re too often led to believe. As young adults, we are bombarded with the notion that calories are “monsters.” Girls – people that I know – fear going away to college because they are scared of gaining weight and being judged for it. Honestly, who can blame them? The thin ideal is more prevalent than ever, haunting us on Instagram, sneaking into Snapchats, and jumping off the pages of magazines. It often seems like it’s a crime not to be planning your next workout or “detox.” The fact that the concept of the “freshman 15” exists is telling in itself. While focusing on avoiding the 15, we are losing sight of so much else. By being too conscious about calorie intake, we are overlooking what our bodies actually need us to be doing to stay healthy. For me – and likely for you, too – it means increasing my calorie intake. We need to stop caring so much. Whoever made up the concept of freshman 15 has so unfortunately succeeded in making too many capable and intelligent young women feel insecure. Who has time for that? Even if you (miraculously) do have time, there’s certainly more productive ways to be spending it. Don’t worry about calories too much (yes, a dietetics major just said that). Don’t compromise your health trying to avoid gaining 15 pounds. Be conscious of what you eat, of course, but to a reasonable degree. Focus on taking care of yourself, whatever that means given your unique needs. No one else can do it but you.