{"id":1332,"date":"2008-09-26T08:00:26","date_gmt":"2008-09-26T13:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/09\/guest-blog-preventing-freshman-15-in-a-snap\/"},"modified":"2008-09-26T08:00:32","modified_gmt":"2008-09-26T13:00:32","slug":"guest-blog-preventing-freshman-15-in-a-snap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/09\/guest-blog-preventing-freshman-15-in-a-snap\/","title":{"rendered":"Guest Blog: Preventing Freshman 15 in a S.N.A.P."},"content":{"rendered":"

Carla Birnberg, MizFit, educates (and entertains) the masses with no-frills exercise tips, trend-alerts and real-world lifestyle design. You can find her musings daily at <\/em>www.MizFitonline.com<\/em><\/a>. \"miz\"Carla<\/p>\n

Freshman fifteen.\u00a0 Chances are you need no further definition to know precisely what I\u2019m referring to.<\/p>\n

Most people fall into one of two categories with regards to these additional pounds: those who gain the weight and become frustrated or depressed and those who don\u2019t,<\/em> but spend far too many hours exercising or food-obsessing in an effort not to and, as a result, miss out on fun freshman experiences.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m here to offer you a middle ground.\u00a0 To make the suggestion that you may, in fact, gain a few <\/em>pounds this first year away, but that it needn\u2019t be the horrifying (tongue firmly planted in cheek here, People) experience you imagine.<\/p>\n

Me? I gained my freshman fifteen<\/a> and another person\u2019s as well.\u00a0 Thirty pounds heavier I found I was merely surprised at my new fluffy midsection.\u00a0 Why wasn\u2019t I depressed?\u00a0 The bulk (pun intended) of my gain happened while enjoying<\/em> college life.\u00a0 The constantly available food, late night hangout sessions, and new tome beer drinking all quickly padded my frame.\u00a0 Yet, while I did decide to shed this weight, it\u2019s worth noting, again, how<\/strong> it was gained.\u00a0 I was having fun<\/strong>.\u00a0 I subsequently learned tips which will save you bulking as I did, but I believed then *and* now that embracing my college experience was entirely worth a few additional curves. I still tell freshmen they have the rest of their lives to fret about weight should they choose<\/em>, but only one college experience.\u00a0 In my opinion, it\u2019s too precious a time to waste focusing on exercise and calories to the exclusion of living.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"college<\/p>\n

What do <\/strong>I wish someone had told me?\u00a0 S.N.A.P. <\/strong><\/p>\n

This acronym is the key to preventing the freshman fifteen yet not being relegated to plain salads, water, and the treadmill ten months out of the year.<\/p>\n

S. Six small meals a day.<\/strong> This will increase energy, boost metabolism, and lessen cravings.\u00a0 The meals don\u2019t need to be fancy (a few slices of low fat cheese & a piece of fruit.\u00a0 A cup of Cheerios & some milk) or large (300 or so calories per meal) but they\u2019ll keep your blood sugar levels even so you won\u2019t become crazy-hungry and grab the nearest available food-option.<\/p>\n

N. No mindless eating.<\/strong>\u00a0 Easier said than done, but a habit to try and avoid starting.\u00a0 Campus dining halls are social places and it\u2019s easy to consume extra calories when chatting there with friends.\u00a0 Try to be aware of what you put in your mouth (notice I did not say calorie count).<\/p>\n

A. Assess your options.<\/strong>\u00a0 Whether making food in an apartment or a communal setting, assess your options before making a selection.\u00a0 Mix & match offerings and get creative with your meal. Is dinner chicken, corn and mashed potatoes?\u00a0 Is there a salad bar available?\u00a0 Think outside the<\/strong> box:<\/strong> slice the chicken, plop it on some lettuce and make that your meal.\u00a0 There are healthy options everywhere if you look for them!<\/p>\n

P. Plan ahead.<\/strong>\u00a0 As with all things, fitness and life planning will set you up for success.\u00a0 On the go for hours? Bring a healthy snack along\u00a0 (look here<\/a> for some ideas).\u00a0 Planning a festive dinner out with friends?\u00a0 Perhaps eat lightly (but eat!) during the day.\u00a0\u00a0 Plan activity into your day, too.\u00a0 Anything from joining an athletic team to walking with a study partner burns extra calories and keeps your metabolism elevated.\u00a0 As with your eating, get creative with finding your exercise time.<\/p>\n

<\/param><\/param><\/embed><\/object><\/p>\n

Most important?\u00a0 Have fun.\u00a0 It\u2019s amazing how, when you\u2019re enjoying yourself, things really will fall into place in a S.N.A.P.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Guest Blog Series:<\/strong> Look for the following badge on your favorite health sites to see if they have been a featured guest blogger on <\/em>DietsInReview.com<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Diets<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

See other posts in the <\/em>Guest Blog series<\/em><\/a>. If you would like to apply to be featured as a guest blogger, please <\/em>contact us<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Carla Birnberg, MizFit, educates (and entertains) the masses with no-frills exercise tips, trend-alerts and real-world lifestyle design. You can find her musings daily at www.MizFitonline.com. Freshman fifteen.\u00a0 Chances are you need no further definition to know precisely what I\u2019m referring … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":85,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3687,58],"tags":[7837,7838,31,3035,7839],"class_list":["post-1332","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adult-health","category-womens-health","tag-carla-bimberg","tag-freshman-fifteen","tag-health-news","tag-mizfit","tag-snap"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/85"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1332\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dietsinreview.com\/diet_column\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}