Stress, Parties And The Freshman 15

How does stress contribute to the Freshman 15?

Oftentimes people respond to stressful situations by eating and this is a fairly normal response. Eating food can release endorphins and sertonin, neurotransmitters, that give us this feeling of calmness, or relaxation. And so eating in response to stress is a common response. What I recommend is that you find other ways to relieve stress, perhaps by excercising, practicing some deep breathing techniques, some people find stress relief by journaling or attending a yoga class. These are all great ways to relieve stress, not relying on food.

How does social eating contribute to the Freshman 15?

Well, social eating is something that might be a big change between life in high school and life in college. Now you're constantly eating every meal around friends. Social eating late at night is another common occurrence in first year college students. And so eating in a social environment, someone might be apt to eat for a longer time than they normally would or eat more food than they normally would. And so that over consumption really needs to be avoided.

What should I do if a friend is sabotaging my diet?

A study came out this summer in the Journal of the American Medical Association showing that social networks spread lifestyle behaviors. So if you're friends are all starting to gain weight, all starting to gain the Freshman 15, you're more likely to gain that Freshman 15 as well. Don't let your friend sabotage your lifestyle choices. That spread social network of changes and lifestyle behavior can go in the opposite direction too. So I encourage you to recruit those friends to join you at the gym and add more vegetables to your plate at dinner and encourage them to make healthy behavior with you, to join you in your effort to prevent the Freshman 15.

Is partying to blame for the Freshman 15?

Partying and binge drinking can definitely contribute to overconsumption of calories and resulting in Freshman 15. So moderating extra calorie consumption from perhaps some alcoholic beverages or binge drinking, those need to be considered.

If I skip a meal can I save those calories for drinking?

I would never recommend for you to skip a meal. Skipping a meal results in more blood sugar levels that promotes weight gain later on when you finally consume some calories. This idea of banking calories by skipping a meal and consuming more later like when you're going out to a party, going to a dinner, not a good idea. Drinking on an empty stomach will cause you to become drunker faster and so drinking on a empty stomach is definitely not recommended. And in order to moderate and drink in a healthy way, it is recommended for women to drink 1 drink per day and men to drink 2 beverages per day. But that doesn't mean that you can go on an entire week and banked up 7 drinks on a weekend. This is definitely not recommended.