Caroline Finnegan

It’s pizza day at the sorority house. Girls are lined up in the cafeteria waiting to fill their plate with as much homemade pizza as it will allow. A sign on the heating lamp above the food says, “GF in back.”  Four girls head through the swinging door to the kitchen so they can get a slice of pizza they can eat without getting sick.  

The “GF” stands for gluten-free and in this case, it means that the pizza has been made without flour, wheat or barley, which all contain the protein gluten. Gluten is the binding agent in dough, and it’s used as an additive and thickening agent in the foods we eat everyday.

For many college students, bread, pasta, canned soup and cereal are a staple in their diet, but to those suffering from celiac disease or an intolerance to gluten, these foods can be extremely harmful to their health.

Not too many years ago, it was taught that celiac disease was rare in the United States, affecting 1 in 10,000 people. According to the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center, this was the formal, official teaching of ’99. Since then, Dr. Alessio Fasano of the University of Maryland told The New York Times that studies have been done to prove that nearly 1 in 133 people have celiac disease. The Celiac Disease Center reports that 97% of people with celiac disease aren’t diagnosed. Eating gluten-free is the only accepted medical treatment to treat celiac disease.

College students are notorious for that Freshman 15 — with busy schedules and bad food, sometimes nutrition and fitness fall off the radar. With half the semester gone, we’re in that midterm slump, and grabbing fast food to-go or skipping a workout (or two) is starting to sound more tempting than keeping up with a super healthy lifestyle. But with advice from a panel of experts, nutritionists, doctors, and girls who have been there before, here are 15 ways to make beating that Freshman 15 a piece of cake.

1. Sleep! 

Whether you’re spending long nights out with your friends or you’re in the library studying, a lot of girls don’t get the recommended amount of sleep necessary for their health. Dr. James O’Brien, the medical director of the Boston SleepCare Center in Boston, Massachusettes says, “sleep is not a luxury; it’s a necessity for optimal functioning.” While you sleep, your body releases hormones that regulate energy, mood and mental acuity. Jackie Keller, nutrition expert, professional wellness coach, Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef and Founding Director of NutriFit agrees. “Lack of sleep causes your brain to release less serotonin. Because serotonin is the calming, happy neurotransmitter that helps us relax, our body compensates by encouraging us to get our serotonin through other means like eating sugary, salty or fatty foods. If we’re serotonin deprived, we often eat more, and have more meals overall.” You need 7 to 8 hours of sleep for your body to function properly, so get yourself into a routine where you’re in bed by a decent hour and won’t end up sleeping all day and staying up all night.

2. Beware of the Sweats!

You just texted the guy you’ve been talking to to see what his plans are for tonight. He doesn’t text you back, so naturally you figure you should probably resend that text to make sure service is working. No response. You try sending a “?” – that should remind him to respond… right? He probably forgot. You follow up with a few more “???,” and finally a nice, “HELLO?!!!” Then as a last resort, you call him.  Maybe he just hasn’t looked at his texts?
 
Sound like someone you know? Maybe a friend… possibly yourself?
 
Where is the line between crazy in love and just plain crazy? There are certain behaviors that girls exhibit, that may seem okay in the moment, but in actuality can send a guy running. Whether it’s texting him non-stop, checking his phone for random numbers, or showing up at his door when he doesn’t return your calls, gestures that you may think come from the heart are really sending crazy red flag signals to everyone around you  (including the object of your affection).
 
So how do you know if your behavior is seen as crazy? Do any of the following behaviors sound familiar? There’s no boundary to crazy, but (un)fortunately, we can stereotype the types of girls who behave in a way that will send any guy running in the opposite direction.

The Stalker

“Oh my god, no. You’re way prettier. What is she wearing, anyway?” Questions regarding a boyfriend’s ex always evoke encouraging responses from your besties. You sigh and think they’re just trying to cheer you up, but yeah, maybe they’re kinda right… her cleavage is far too skanky to be sexy… and if you squint your eyes… she does kinda look like Michael Jackson.
 
Is there a girl out there who doesn’t feel a twinge (or more) of jealousy when the topic of her guy’s ex comes up? It’s hard to believe that someone else (gasp!) was once the object of your honey’s affection. As college students, we have to remember that most of the guys we’ll date have been in one or two… or ten… relationships before their current one.

You can’t blame your guy for having a life before you met; it’s not like you didn’t kiss a few frogs before Prince Charming showed up. You may find yourself stressing over your boyfriend’s ex, however, and sometimes it can lead your relationship in the wrong direction. Jealousy and the ex are a touchy subject to deal with but if you ignore it, it might just show up in the form of runny mascara, puffy-eyed beer tears at your next party. Diagnosing the terms of the break-up between your boyfriend and his ex should give you a clearer understanding of how to deal.
 
If he broke up with her…