The New Freshman 15: Freshman Five

by POPSUGAR Fitness 87

New research is speculating that the infamous Freshman 15 is more realistically the Freshman Five — in the study college freshman had an average weight increase of 2.7 pounds over the year, not 15 pounds. Despite the actual number, researchers describe the college students eating in cafeterias to have similar mentalities as folks vacationing on a cruise. This provides further evidence that post-adolescence kids, when left to their own devices, can gain a good amount of weight and could use a bit more direction on healthy eating upon entering college.

I wish I could say I gained the Freshman Five, but it was definitely more like 15 — maybe even more. I had no idea about moderation when it came to food and beverages, so I definitely could have benefited from a little coaching on how to avoid the weight gain in college. So what about you guys . . .

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87 Comments

sayjay23 5 years 4 weeks

Freshmen year I definately gained the Freshmen 30! And on my 5'5 frame it wasn't pretty... the late night food, the drinking and eating out all the time did a toll on my body! I lost about 15 of it Sophmore year and then more than 20 Junior year and now that I am a senior, I hope to lose even more weight (the healthy way)

carhornsinapril 5 years 5 weeks

i gained about 15-20 over the first two years, and then a) ditched my meal plan, b) made the 30-minute round trip walk from dorm to class twice daily, and c) started a more stringent workout plan during my third year. i've stuck with it, and i'm 10 pounds lighter than when i started college... my best shape since early high school. really, out of everything, i think it was the cafeteria food that did me in.

bokc 5 years 5 weeks

I would have been happy to only gain the freshman 15.

mllechantal3 5 years 6 weeks

yeah, and what about the first job/ new job 25? that is way worse! why doesn't anyone tell you about that?

jewelz1325 5 years 6 weeks

i lost about 10 lbs my freshman year because i hated the dorm food so much. i used to sleep through meals or eat cereal bars. but i moved into an apartment my sophomore year where i could cook things i like to eat. since then, i've gained weight and i haven't lost any of it yet!!

sarita51 5 years 6 weeks

i gained the freshman 15 and lost 20 the following summer. it's all about paying attention to all the factors in your life. i didn't want to be a calorie counter like some of my peers but i should have been more careful. since then i've stayed within 5 pounds of my ideal weight- but the caf freshman year definitely did a number on me. (not even the whole year- i gained most of that after spring break).

emalove 5 years 6 weeks

Not at all...if anything, I LOST weight when I went away to college. I wasn't a fan of the caf food and I have never been one to indulge in fast food on a frequent basis.

elle86 5 years 6 weeks

gained more like the freshman 20!

ilovecandyfloss 5 years 6 weeks

Huh... I haven't gained weight since I was 15, haha. But then again I lived at home during both my bachelors and masters degrees, so that could be it. That together with the 10-12 hours of exercise per week...

CoralAmber 5 years 6 weeks

I blame the cafeteria, that had fresh waffles *and* soft serve ice cream... I gained 25-30 in college. But then I gained even more after college when I didn't have to walk around campus... another 40. I've been watching "I Can Make You Thin" and have been losing about 2 lbs. a week by consciously eating. Now that it's warm I hope to exercise more.

emilie11 5 years 6 weeks

I was tiny going into college and up until around senior year. It was only my last year in college that my metabolism really slowed down. I'm about 5'6" and barely weighed 100lbs for the majority of college. Now my weight is more around 112-115, which is probably healthier and for the best. I do miss being able to eat anything and everything and never gaining a pound, though!

tripleb 5 years 6 weeks

Sadly, I gained almost twice that...about 25 pounds. I was even working out twice a day. But the food and the stress of the new environment and being away from home worked against me!

kjjbfiles 5 years 6 weeks

I lost weight in college. Then, I got my masters and gained the overworked grad student 20. Ugh, I'll never work it off.

GlowingMoon 5 years 6 weeks

I lost weight. I missed my family's good homecooking. Compared to my family's cooking, college food was unappetizing. I didn't eat much.

koralaz 5 years 6 weeks

I initially gained a few pounds, but it had nothing to do with cafeteria food. The consensus among all my friends is that the weight gain is due to lots of late night drinking sessions followed by ordering pizzas/breadsticks/wings/gyros/fries. On the upside though, access to very nice fitness centers is included in tuition, so that helped me burn a bit of that weight off.

bailaoragaditana 5 years 6 weeks

I lost weight when I started college - about 15 pounds. But I've gained it back in the second year :-( because I don't go out as much and I have more work to do. Am trying to be healthier, but it's so hard to make time when you're in a permanent state of exhaustion and stress.

JaimeLeah526 5 years 6 weeks

Yeah plus some. I was in a new relationship with my now husband. I gained A LOT of weight and now I have to get rid of it.

Spectra 5 years 6 weeks

When I started college, I was already overweight and I gained the Freshman 30 in THREE MONTHS. No kidding. I was busting out of my clothes and my face was a lot fatter. I blame it on eating nothing but pure unadulterated crap most of the time. I ate cheeseburgers, fries, ice cream, pizza, ice cream, Pop Tarts, ice cream, amazing wrap sandwiches...oh yeah, did I mention ICE CREAM??? I also didn't work out at all. Since I couldn't afford a new wardrobe and I was just plain sick of being a fatass, I decided to get healthy. I started choosing salads at the dining hall, yogurts and cereal for breakfast, no more ice cream, and I started doing Tae Bo tapes. By the end of my freshman year, I lost all 30 lbs plus a couple more. Then I kept losing during my sophomore year and eventually lost a total of 90 lbs, which is where I've maintained it since then.

hllrbackgirl 5 years 6 weeks

I'm in my second semester of freshman year and I haven't gained or lost any weight.

Novaraen 5 years 6 weeks

Eh...the food in our cafeteria sucked and i generally got sick from eating it. I ate out a lot generally and I gained a little bit of weight, but it was all muscle from those crazy hard-core team workouts i did for soccer and track-n-field. Those kept me in pretty darn good shape!! plyometrics rule! ;)

MightyAphrodity 5 years 6 weeks

The freshman 15 is such rubbish. I actually lost 15 lbs my freshman year. I mean who has time to eat? Between partying, getting a 3.2 gpa, studying, practicing, going to class, and sleeping i was lucky if I even had any money to eat. LOL

MKers 5 years 6 weeks

I managed to keep the freshman 15 away...only for a year. Eating in the cafeterias was good for me because everything was already portioned, but when I started cooking my own meals, the 15 pounds creeped up out of nowhere. Luckily I realized it and learned to cook and portion the right way!

Allytta 5 years 6 weeks

i'm still in college... and my weight is the same as it was before. now it's even easier for me to stay fit, as I have a budget and can't afford everything my parents used to buy.