Avoiding the Freshman 15 with Whole Food Supplements

The freshman 15, those notorious 15 pounds that many men and women stack on soon after starting college, come right at a time when you need to be your mental and physical best. The phenomenon may be widespread, but it by no means HAS to happen. Today we are looking at ways of avoiding packing on the extra pounds when you go to college with sensible whole food supplements, meal timing and discipline tips. No acai berry involved!

Why does the Freshman 15 occur?

Teens and young adults often pack on the pounds when going to college because it is the first time they have been in total control of their own diet. They choose their own portion sizes for meals, have a constant supply of snacks and no parents telling you to leave some for everybody else! These environmental and choice factors are the main reasons behind it -- not complicated age-related metabolism issues.

Dining hall tips

The salad bar is not always the healthiest line to be in if you want to control your weight! Fresh vegetables often have much fewer calories per serving -- as long as you don’t add butter. Wholegrain pasta will be much more filling, also. Don’t load up more than a quarter to a third of your plate with protein (usually meat).

I ain't gonna chew carrot sticks while everyone else is having midnight pizza!

And I don’t blame you for that! If you keep a food diary, you can keep track of how often that's happening, though, and try to fill up on healthy things beforehand so the temptation to pig out is lowered. Or you can grab a salad from the pizza place instead, and just have one slice.

But college is all about drinking!

Yep, and that's also why college is also all about putting on weight! Alcoholic drinks are often quite high in calories -- and not just the exotic ones like cocktails. Beer is a big contributor to weight gain -- they don't call it a "beer belly" because it's just a cute alliteration.

Whole food supplements

Without vitamins and minerals, you'll have neither the energy to exercise, or the brain power to concentrate on classes. The urge to binge eat and binge drink usually passes -- you can help yourself get through it unscathed with whole food supplements. Where single supplements can be ineffective or dangerous, whole food supplements are the next best thing to eating veggies!