Why Freshman Year Causes Weight Changes and How to Handle it

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Now that it has been nearly a whole semester of eating at the dining halls and missing home-cooked meals, a new world of weight changes is knocking on many college freshmen’s doors.

The stories college students have concerning their weight during freshman year are all over the board. Some find comfort in food during stressful and hard adjustment periods, such as, in the transition to college. Others find themselves so mentally drained that they can’t even find motivation to eat regularly or healthily.

So, what are the culprits behind weight gain? According to Very Well Mind, new eating habits, heavy snacking, eating while studying, emotional eating and drinking are all contributors.

The idea of bringing home Lotsa Pizza at 2 a.m. and pigging out with friends in the common room is too good for many to pass up. It ties in with staple freshman year memories that everyone should have.

The downside? Students are often more susceptible to making poor food choices late at night.

Too much snacking and eating fast food can also cause weight gain. After a Wednesday night of belting out Bohemian Rhapsody and other staple karaoke songs at Looney’s, not many have the control to resist the McDonald’s right across the street on the way out.

And let’s be honest: Before you leave Route 1 for the night and hop on the orange bus back to North Campus, Marathon Deli fries are often too good to pass up.

Eating while studying also provides a lot of opportunities for mindless snacking. Most do not even realize they are reaching for the snack bag as they stare mindlessly at their laptops and books.

“I can’t just focus on work, I need a distraction. I often use food as a distraction so I have something to take my mind off of studying,” said sophomore statistics major Emily Hennessy.

Registered Dietitian Natalie Blazevich said an inconsistent schedule and new life changes are the main factors contributing to freshman weight gain. In college, classes are all over the place, and it is hard for many students to find a good eating schedule to fit into the little availability they have.

In high school, students have a steady time table of eating breakfast, lunch and dinner with their parents, and the food is typically healthier than what is available at the dining halls, according to Blazevich.

Blazevich also acknowledged a big cause of weight gain in college freshmen: drinking.

“I think alcohol is a big contributor. Drinking within itself adds extra calories, and alcohol makes people want to eat more food, usually unhealthy food,” Blazevich said.

However, not all students experiencing weight changes find themselves gaining weight.

College brings new students all kinds of emotional struggles. Difficult classes, new relationships, feeling lonely and homesickness often lead to mental health downfalls. These downfalls can cause many to not eat enough and lose an unhealthy amount of weight.

“I found adjusting to college hard, and I was depressed. Eating became difficult. I hated the food in the dining hall and I found myself skipping meals a lot,” said junior hearing and speech major Nicole Balassone. “I lived off of rice cakes and microwavable soup. I lost 15 pounds in the fall semester. I guess I had the reverse ‘freshman 15’ due to struggling with mental health.”

Catherine Morris, a junior psychology and marketing double major, experienced similar difficulties during her freshman year.

“I actually lost weight my freshman year because of stress and difficulty adjusting to college, and not having enough time to eat before classes,” Morris said.

When junior communications major Greta Martignetti entered college, she found herself being without a lot of things that used to make her happy. Freshman year, consequently, brought her immense struggles that, in turn, caused her to lose weight.

“I always think it’s kinda funny that most people gain the ‘freshman 15’, but I probably lost so much more than that in such a short period of time,” Martignetti said.

Blazevich said that this unhealthy weight loss is very common, especially in women. She shared that she developed an eating disorder as a freshman in college.

“The fact that I was away from home and I didn’t feel like I had security or structure made me feel almost alone and empty,” Blazevich said. “I needed a source of comfort, and you would think that comfort would be food, but I was terrified of gaining the ‘freshman 15’, so I used exercise as a way to fill that void.”

Blazevich followed a very strict diet, eating the same thing every day, and it was never enough to keep her healthy. She knew it was bad, but it made her feel more in control. Control over their life is something many college freshmen find themselves without.

The good news? You are not alone.

It may seem like you are the only one experiencing weight gain, out of the ordinary weight loss, or a decline in mental health, but that is not the case. Lean on your friends, family and various resources provided by the university if you are not feeling the way you want to or used to feel.

In times of stress eating, Blazevich recommends snacking on celery, carrots, apple slices and hummus. If you are stressed, your body wants to be chewing on something, and snacks like celery take a longer time to chew, serving as a great de-stresser.

If you tend to eat a lot of chips, popcorn, or anything that comes in bags that can be easily reached for while studying, Blazevich recommends staying away from buying these in the first place. Instead, try pre-portioned snacks that come in little bags.

Blazevich said that journaling can work wonders for mental health. Emotions play a huge role in overeating and under-eating, so writing out why you are feeling stressed and explaining it to yourself can often help a lot.

“I think that’s why people over and under-eat because they’re numb to their feelings,” Blazevich said.

If you catch yourself having disordered thoughts or behaviors around food, speak to someone you trust and/or a professional.

The University of Maryland Health Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, for mental health counseling, and there is counseling for eating disorders in the Shoemaker Building.

Struggling with weight, body image and mental health can be frustrating, but do not fret. It is not uncommon to experience weight changes at this stage in your life, and it is okay not to be okay. Take care of yourself before anything else.