It is as feared as unknowingly hooking up with a Stage 5 clinger and can appear as quickly as finals week. The Freshman 15 is infamous among college students. When living on a campus like Indiana University, it becomes a little easier to keep off those excess pounds if you take advantage of the stay-in-shape opportunities our campus offers.
Follow these easy tips so that when you return home for the summer, your friends jaws will drop for all the right reasons!
1.) This may appear obvious, but you can get so much exercise just by walking to classes! Live in the southwest neighborhood but have a class near the stadium? Leave a little early and walk to class! Your toned legs will thank you later.
2.) Keep healthy snacks in your room. It’s easy to just grab a bag of chips on your way to class, but if you have a bag of trail mix or fresh fruit in your room it is just as convenient and loads healthier. The C-stores and food courts also offer much healthier alternatives to their more fattening counterparts, you just have to choose them!
3.) Starbucks has its way of sneaking into your daily routine before you even have a chance to notice it. And, when you have enough graduation gift cards to buy you coffee for a year, why shouldn’t it? But some of those drinks have almost 800 calories! If you need to treat yourself to a Frappuccino or specialty drink, choose a tall and ask for it with non-fat milk and no whipped cream. If you like caramel macchiatos, try an iced caramel coffee with skim milk for a similar taste and way less calories.
4.) Gather up some friends and form an intermural sports team. Even the most unathletic people will have fun playing if the games aren’t meant to be super competitive. Don’t have time to commit to the weekly games? Grab a Frisbee and a friend and head outside… it is not only a great, fun exercise, but it is also an easy way to meet more people!
5.) Watch how many calorie you consume by drinking alone! It is easy to get caught up in the moment at a party and start throwing back shots with your friends, but the calories in that alcohol can add up fast! Just two shots of vodka typically have about 100 calories alone! Think about how much you are going to drink before you go out, and try to opt for lighter beers to cut back on one of the major contributors to the freshman 15.