Scared to gain the "Freshman 15"

I recently made a conscious effort to eat healthy and exercise.It has been successful so far and I feel great! However, I am REALLY worried about gaining the dreaded "freshman 15" in a couple months when I start college. It just seems like it happens to everyone and now that I have been able to get my weight under control I don't want my first semester to mess up my new "lifestyle". Is there anyone out there who began college and DID NOT gain weight? Does anyone have tips or suggestions?

I did not gain the dreaded freshman 15, but i think that's because my campus is HUGE...and there are tons of hills. it really toned my butt, thighs, and kept me in shape. it literally would take me 25 mins to go to class, 1 way and it was a hilly path. I would do that twice a day at least, so 1 hour 40 mins of hills and walking daily and I couldn't snack really because i had a meal plan and there was only 3 squares a day...sometimes i'd have a granola bar or something portable but not as many snacks as are readily available to me now that I don't live on campus. just being aware will prevent the pounds from packing on. make sure you're eating regularly, eating enough, and don't drink TOO much. have 1 night a week that you devote to drinking, if you're into that, usually the drinking is what causes the weight gain, not so much the eating or activity level. at least that's what i've observed. don't restrict too much but don't overindulge, it's about balance. !! hope this helps!

Nope.  In fact, I lost about 15 pounds my first year in college.  I walked a lot more and didn't snack as much.  I think the key is learning good time management - it'll help you in more ways than one.  Plan your days and make sure to include time for working out.  Join activities - intramural sports are a blast.  Eat smart.  Don't drink too much.  You'll be fine!

I didn't gain the weight! and my college campus is literally a street corner, i could wake up at 7 55 and be to my 8am classes lol. so not much walking (and i didnt touch the gym that semeseter either). i lost 15 pounds w/o realizing it, i went home and my dad was like...umm you look skinnier. now i schedule my classes to plan for gym time, i pretty much only ate at the cafeteria, which generally has awesome soup, fruit, salad and sandwiches no matter what school you go to... always good choices. so it can be done! without even really trying either, and especially since you're aware of it you'll be better off already.

I did gain weight, but I can tell you how so and it's crazy easy to not do.
First off, lots of college require lots of walking, if they offer a bus, skip it and walk.

Secondly, most dining halls have extensive salad bars and healthy options. Skip the daily ice cream and pasta station (even though it's paid for) and go for healthy stuff.

Don't get into drinking.

^^the things I should have done...

hey! i'll admit i did gain a pound or two....but people who are aware / worried of gaining the fresh 15 are more likely not to gain it. you'll make better decisions when eating!!

make smart choices at your cafe and dont drink too much beer

STAY AWAY FROM THE BOOZE! Beer, in particular. I went from rarely drinking in high school to binge drinking 2-3 nights/week in college. It's easy to drink 2000 calories in one night...plus you get the munchies when you're drunk so you eat more food.

And yeah, since you're aware I doubt you'll gain the weight. I was so unaware and really didn't care. I knew that my jeans were getting tighter, but it wasn't until I went home for Christmas break and I stepped on the scale and kinda freaked. Then I lost it all...plus more!

I actually dropped like 15 pounds my freshman year. I lived on campus so there was more walking, more studying, more fruits/veggies, and less junk food. For my sweet fix of the day, i always treated my self to a luna bar.

I didn't gain weight either.  I lost about 15 pounds.  Mainly due to what Lysistrata said, walking a lot more than I did in HS.  I also found a friend who introduced me to weight lifting and we took advantage of the campus weight room 3-4 days per week.

Things to look out for:

- Eating too much at the campus cafeteria if it's a buffet style.

- Drinking too much and staying up late partying every weekend.

- Too much take-out like pizza and wings.  Also every college town seems to have pizza joints right next to the bars, so eating a calzone at 2 AM after drinking isn't so smart either.  Oh, and they're usually mom & pop joints so big brother won't be forcing them to post calories any time soon. You can assume they're high.

thanks so much for all of the tips! I know it sounds weird to be "scared" to gain weight but I'm very happy with my current lifestyle and I want to keep it up! Luckily, I hate beer so I think I'll be ok on that aspect.  

I gained the freshman twenty haha but I do have advice!!

I lived in rez and could eat hot, comfort food from the cafe at ANY time during the day.... this was a problem for sure.. and even though my campus was huge I was still consuming too much

1)  Don't eat while studying or doing projects.. I would always get really tired staying up doing work and that's when I would make a trip to the snack bar to keep me awake

2) Don't pay attention to what other people are eating... I used to see how everyone else would eat TONS of fatty food for lunch and dinner and again at midnight and I would think why can't I do that??  I realized too late that my metabolism can't handle that

3)  If you're school has a gym or intramural sport I would encourage you to join!  Not only is it a good way to meet people but it's a great way to stay active

4) Like others have mentioned be very careful about binge drinking.... it's not just the alcohol that has tons of sugar and calories, but the food that everyone drinks while drinking/after drinking.. avoid that if you can but still have fun!

Just remember how great you are feeling right now by being more healthy and exercising... since you are already very health conscious I'm sure you will be fine!! Just keep up the good habits :)

I didn't exactly gain the freshman 15, but I did gain 20 pounds over the course of three years in college. I commute, so I had the option of having home cooked meals every day and bringing my own healthy foods to school.

BUT.... I gradually started eating more on campus (it was more convenient in terms of time and my schedule) and I gradually ballooned up! The only food available there is the food court's fast food like burgers and pizza.

A pizza slice + soda a day + lots of other side junk made me gain all that. But it's also true that I didn't exercise. My campus is huge and I walked a lot of classes, but that was all and it wasn't enough!

I've lost those 20 pounds and a bit more recently, though :)

littlejaybird's sound great though!

My top tip for further education:

Beer = the devil. You'll probably spend half your time drinking so make it a vodka & diet coke every time. Sure it's bad for you, but it's only while you're at college. I blame about a quarter of my weight gain in the first year on Snakebite.

My ex still has the delectable beer belly he got from HIS first year. Ha.

 

Oh! and watch the starbucks. It's quite common to have study groups at coffee shops, if you're a  coffee drinker, make an effort to stick to the lite options. Where I live we didn't have starbucks, then at college there was one on my walk to class... the devil.

Btw, starbucks lite mocha frapuccino lite is my current obsession. 110 calories for a tall : )