Before freshman year of college, we probably told ourselves that we would not succumb to the temptations of the deadly "Freshman 15." We were so determined to eat healthy, maybe indulge once in a while, and hit the gym to either compensate or to stay fit. However, everything changed once we moved in and school started; with all the homework to do and campus activities to get involved with, it is so hard to stick to our original plans and not fall into the Freshman 15 trap. But if we can recognize that we are straying from a healthy lifestyle, then we have some chance of fixing it before it's too late. Here are 15 signs that we are on our way towards the Freshman 15.
1. You eat pizza very often because you don't feel like trying anything else or you don't have the patience to wait in line for other options.
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2. You are tempted by the various choices of food and can't help yourself from splurging and buying yourself a cookie or a tub of ice cream you didn't need.
3. You tell yourself that it would be a waste if you didn't take advantage of your meal plan, and therefore you justify your unnecessary purchases.
4. You want to try everything that's available all the time, even if the meals are repeated (i.e. wanting to eat fries all the time as if you'll never get fries again... even though fries are there everyday at every meal).
5. Your parents send you a care package and you have no other choice but to eat it because you don't want to waste it. And because your parents love you, they won't send you a salad, but rather cookies or brownies.
6. You're so excited about this "being independent" thing and your parents not having some control over what you eat so you take advantage; for all you know, you'll never get this opportunity again.
7. You think you're being healthy by getting orange juice with your pizza or lettuce on your cheese-laden nachos.
8. You tell yourself that having pizza one day at one meal won't hurt you... everyday.
9. You convince yourself that eating helps you emotionally and therefore, to deal with all of your social issues - not finding a set friend group, not knowing if someone likes you or not, etc... you eat to make yourself happy.
10. You can't stop yourself from eating - you eat 3 meals a day, you eat when you're studying, you eat while watching Netflix, or you eat because you have nothing else to do.
11. You go to bed one night determined to go to the gym the next morning, but you're unable to wake up. You tell yourself this again the next night, but you're still not able to wake up. Eventually, you give up on trying to go to the gym. Who's going to fight with fate?
12. You are far away from being athletic so you think 1) the gym is not the place for you and you would look like a fool using the equipment, and 2) working out isn't for you either.
13. You think the walking you do to get to classes is enough to compensate for the extra calories consumed during lunch, so you stay away from the gym.
14. By the time you're done with classes and you're back in your room, you don't want to leave your bed to go to the gym and work out.
15. Sometimes it's not your fault. Colleges have free food set up everywhere, all the time. Why would they offer free food if they didn't want us to eat it? Maybe it's the colleges faults' that the "freshman 15" exists.
