The Scoop on the Freshmen Fifteen

I've gotten this question a lot from my high school friends: Is the freshmen fifteen real? *insert edgy, scary music*

My best answer? It depends. *insert groans from Ambeajaf at my vague and unsatisfactory answer*

I remember when I was preparing for the trek up to BYU, it seemed like EVERYONE had a piece of advice to give me. Some people wanted to set me up with their grand-nephew, some people advised me against getting a job my first year, some people just had miscellaneous advice as to how to properly cook Top Ramen. Pretty much everyone, however, had advice about the freshmen fifteen. They'd tell me, eat lots of BYU Creamery ice cream, you're going to gain the freshmen fifteen anyway! Or, make sure you expect to gain the Freshmen Fifteen by the end of your first semester, it's going to happen regardless of how much you try. Whenever people would say stuff like this, I'd always laugh, but in my head, I'd also be mildly concerned. Were they expecting that I'd return home a rolling ball of fat, like Matt Meese from Studio C on a bacon cleanse? 

Despite all my joking on this subject, the Freshmen Fifteen was a real concern for me. I was raised by a health nut who taught me how food affects my body, and I was scared of being unable to control what I put in my body as I had before. I would constantly be at the mercy of what the Cannon Center was serving for dinner.
Honestly, it's still something I worry about, but now I worry more about meeting my personal health goals than avoiding the freshmen fifteen. The Freshmen Fifteen is more fiction than fact. Some people do gain weight their freshmen year, but others actually lose weight from walking around campus every day. Other people's weight fluctuates frequently, depending on the time of year or the busyness of school, while still other people's stagnates. It honestly depends on the person's previous history and lifestyle.
My point is, don't worry about it. It's way more important to be healthy than to be skinny. If you are healthy and happy, then that's what matters, even if college does mean you put on a couple extra pounds. You will learn soon enough that NOBODY CARES. Everyone is in the same situation, and there are few college students who have time to judge you for your extra weight when they themselves probably went to school in their pajamas and are living off of Hot Pockets. So don't stress.
That being said, if eating healthy is important to you, then there are ways to make that happen, even if you have to eat at the school cafeteria every day (I'll blog more about ways you can adjust your eating habits to living alone later). The same thing also applies to working out. If you love exercise and are worried about having enough time to do it college, just know that if it's important to you, you can find a way to fit it into your schedule. You can take a yoga or Zumba class, join an intramural sports team, or find a running buddy with someone in your dorm. There's always an option. Know your goals, then be flexible and creative in achieving your goals, and you can make anything happen.

Remember, your worth isn't made up of the number of laps you run at the gym or the number of chocolate chip cookies you eat. It isn't made up of numbers at all. It comes from something deeper, something diviner, something that isn't changed by choices. It just comes from being you.

So next time you are weighed down by weight, take time to count your many blessings instead. You'll soon find your mental scales tipping towards living a happier life.