Top 10 Bad Habits That Cause the Freshman 15 - Make Sure You're Not Making These Mistakes!
By Scott Kae
When students move away from home for college, a lot of them develop bad habits that cause the freshman 15. This is because, living on your own for the first time can be difficult to manage, and things like diet and exercise just aren't priorities for most people. However, if you can identify the bad habits that cause the freshman 15, you can begin to lose some and look a lot better. To help you out, I made a list of 10 bad habits that cause the freshman 15.
1. Drinking too much alcohol. If, for example, you go out and drink 8 beers at a party, that's about 960 empty calories. This will pretty much kill your diet for that day, and make it difficult to keep off.
2. Not getting enough sleep. Studies show that adults who get 7 hours of sleep or more per night are thinner than those getting 5 or 6 hours (or less). As a college student, you may be losing sleep cramming for tests or staying out too late, and it could be halting your loss.
3. Not enough exercise. If you are not exercising, you need to try to find some time. Just walking to class can be extra exercise for a student, or use the campus rec center.
4. Stress. College can be a stressful time, due to classes and other obligations. Stress can cause the body to gain weight, so try to manage your stress level.
5. Late night meals. It can be difficult to be motivated to make something late at night, but usually the only places open late are fast food. Eating a high calorie meal before bedtime can promote gain.
6. Skipping breakfast. People that eat breakfast consistently are thinner than people who don't. A healthy breakfast gets your metabolism going for the day and prevents you from being famished and eating a huge meal for lunch.
7. Addicted to soda. Regular soda is the main culprit because of the high amount of processed sugar it adds to your diet. Diet soda is better, but water is probably best.
8. Too Many deserts. Freshmen that eat in the cafeteria get stung by this one because desert is available at every meal.
9. The caf is killing you. The unlimited deserts aren't the only bad foods in the caf to fill up on. Fortunately, you can get some healthy alternatives, like fruit for deserts and side salads with your meal.
10. You don't have a plan. If you are just going to wing it when it comes to manging your weight, then chances are you are going to get heavier. In today's society, you definitely need to set a plan for yourself if you want to get thin and/or stay thin. Make yourself a diet and exercise plan in order to break the bad habits that cause the freshman 15.