Diet and exercise: how not to eat like a freshman
The "freshman 15" turns out to be a myth: A study published this summer in the Journal of American College Health found the average weight gain among first-year students to be more like 3 to 7 pounds. But there's no denying that dorm dining can be a nutritional minefield. Pizza-fueled late-night study sessions, sprawling cafeteria buffets, the addition of beer to the diet, and emotion-driven food choices during a huge life change can quickly take a toll on your health. But the damage is avoidable, says Daphne Oz, a junior at Princeton University who arrived as a freshman determined to shed the extra pounds she carried in high school and is now 30 pounds lighter than she was as a teenager. She has published her tips in The Dorm Room Diet (Newmarket Press, $16.95).
Don't look for permission to subsist on ramen noodles, Bud Light, and cookies (sorry). Oz, who grew up getting nutritional advice from her father, cardiologist and author Mehmet Oz, offers advice on what foods to seek out on campus--whole grains, fruit, lean protein, "good" fats like olive oil--and which ones are "stop-drop-or-roll" because they'll make you "tired, hungry, and fat if you eat enough of them." On that list, she includes fried food, simple carbohydrates like bagel chips and white bread, full-fat cheese, and alcohol (more on that later). She says it's OK to indulge when your roommate's parents take you out to a nice dinner, say. Coffee, a little chocolate, and a snack of whole-grain bread dipped in olive oil before dinner won't hurt and may actually help your health.
How to maneuver in the "danger zones" of college life? Late-night studying, for example, can be fueled by baby carrots, almonds, soy crisps, and yes, chocolate (two small handfuls of semisweet chocolate chips, lower in sugar than milk chocolate). Tempted at the tailgate? Try a hot dog without the bun and eschew the potato salad. "I don't want people to be deprived," she says, or to turn into social hermits to avoid temptation. By all means, go to parties--but arrive chewing sugarless gum and with something already in your stomach, and consider the benefits of sticking to water or diet soda. (Oz notes that drinking alcohol is illegal if you're under 21, presents the facts about the dangers to your waistline and general health of consuming too much, and acknowledges that readers will make their own decisions.)
Just as important as your specific food choices is the need to avoid emotional eating--because you're stressed about a paper that's due, bummed because you broke up with your boyfriend, or so happy to be done with an exam that you want to celebrate. Treating food as something more than fuel can lead not only to weight gain but also to the eating disorders that are prevalent on many campuses. Oz advises stopping to consider what you're really hungry for--a cookie or a hug. Talk to friends or hit the gym if you're stressed or down, and if you're actually hungry, grab a healthful snack instead of a doughnut.
The good news is that meal plans have changed a lot in recent years, and it's increasingly easy to find salad, grilled chicken, whole grains, and fresh fruit and vegetables. Many dining halls operate serve-yourself style, so you can control portion size if you have the will. And now that a healthy lifestyle is socially acceptable on campus, it's not so noteworthy to pass up the pizza. "In this day and age," Oz says, "no one will ever say,'Why are you eating those carrot sticks?' "
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