As freshmen, we went into college with high hopes. The freshman fifteen is a myth; it can’t get to us. Even if it tries, we’ll avoid it! We’ll eat healthy. We’ll start working out in our school’s five star gym facilities, WE CAN DO IT… except now it’s here. The freshman fifteen is very real and it is very quickly starting to take over our lives. We have two options. 1. EMBRACE IT. Ladies, there is absolutely nothing wrong with some curves. After all, according to Meghan Trainor’s mom in the hit song All About that Bass, “boys like a little more booty to hold at night.” But in case you just want to tone up a little bit, option 2 is to follow these easy steps:
1. Drink a lot of water!
Sugary sodas and juices are tempting to say the least, but the best way to hydrate your body is with water. Start carrying around a cute water bottle, and you’ll find yourself drinking more and more every day. The piece of advice often given is to drink eight 8 ounce glasses a day, and this isn’t a bad tip to follow, but another way to calculate how much water you should drink is to simply divide your weight in half. If you weigh 120 lbs. for example, drink at least 60 oz. a day. If you think water is too boring of a beverage, try getting a water bottle with an infuser. It will allow you to naturally enhance the flavor of your water using various fruits. Bonus tip? If you’re finding yourself starting to doze off in those 8 a.m. lectures, take a sip of water. The movement will help keep your eyelids from falling all the way down, and you’ll be boosting your metabolism.
2. Use exercise videos.
While theoretically it’s easy to say you’ll head over to the Pete or Trees to work out later, many factors can complicate things. For example, it might be hard finding enough time to make the trek up to upper campus, workout, and trek back down. Not to mention, the atmosphere of gyms can be intimidating. Instead, start by taking thirty to forty-five minutes out of your day to work out in your room. YouTube has plenty of Pilates videos that are short, sweet, and effective. Plus, you can do them from the comfort of your own room. Even doing mini-workout sessions in your room will help—pushups, mountain climbers, sit-ups, planks, squats, etc. Try doing your mini-workout when you wake up, before you go to bed, or maybe even before you shower. Set yourself a schedule and stick to it!
3. Stairs, stairs, stairs!
This one’s extremely easy to follow. Have classes on higher floors of a building? Skip the elevator and take the stairs. Have to go to upper campus? Skip the 10a, and take the stairs. (The varying steepness of Chevron stairs works your glutes and calves especially well). Get that booty working!
4. Less Chick-fil-A, more fruit.
When hunger calls, Chick-fil-A answers…or Market…or PIZZA. But no more! Cut back on greasy lunches, and try getting wraps, pastas, fruits, vegetables, grilled chicken, etc. If you’re anything like me and find yourself stress eating when midterms roll around, snack on things like carrot sticks instead of cheese curls or almonds and nuts instead of chocolates. Of course, if you need to treat yourself every once in a while, that’s okay. Just cut back from making the 8 piece chicken nuggets and waffle fries your daily meal.
5. Cut back on alcohol.
This is definitely a tricky one, especially now that you’re in college. But, just think before you drink. Do you really need those empty calories? They’ll probably lead to more greasy pizza later… Again, there’s nothing wrong with treating yourself every once in a while, but binge-drinking every weekend is not only going to prevent the freshman fifteen from disappearing, but it is also unhealthy and unsafe.