How to Avoid the Freshman 15

Video Transcript

"Hi! I'm Kristen Bryda here for Expert Village. I'm a dietetic intern at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and I'm here to today to talk to you about the freshman 15. Alright, so what are ways you can avoid the freshman 15? First of all, don't cut down too many calories. This will decrease your metabolism, which means your body is going to try to conserve its energy by not burning as many calories during the day. Also, don't skip meals to try cut calories. This is going to cause you to have increased hunger and then eat more later. What you want to do is surround yourself with healthy snacks and foods such as dried fruit, healthy cereals, yogurt, raisins, and water, or flavored water if you want the feeling of juice or soda. Also, you want to try to increase your activity. Take a long walk to class, go to the gym, run with friends. Don't just sit around and snack while you're studying. Try to keep healthy things around you and plan your day. The next day, you want to think about what you're going to have for breakfast. Try to pack your lunch so you're not buying impulse buys like candy and junk food. You don't want to be tempted by vending machines. Also, when you go into the dining hall, watch your portion sizes. Simply fill one plate with healthy foods and watch your portions when you serve yourself. Then put your meal card away so you're not tempted to go back and get seconds. Doing all of these things like decreasing your calories by watching your portion sizes, increasing your activity, and surrounding your dorm room with healthy snacks will help you avoid the freshman 15."