Weight Control at College

I am a freshman at Ithaca College. As I was entering college in August I was very nervous that I would gain the dreaded "Freshman 15." (even as health/food & fitness concious as I am.) I believe that it's a common fear amoung young girls, as well as some guys that I know. Many of my girl and guy friends have expressed this to me before.

If you are not playing a sport in college then your activity level is dropping greatly. I used to dance at least seventeen hours a week and as soon as I got to college that changed to me running only an hour a day. I've had to start watching my caloric intake a bit more closely and not splurging on unhealthy treats as often.

Ithaca College does seem to try to give it's students very healthy options for eating at school. They do a good job and if you are looking to eat healthfully then you can do that! At the same time they do have a lot of unhealthy options! I see that many people around me, including my roommate, eat very poorly. If you sit in the cafeteria for ten minutes you will see at least five students with over-flowing plates of greasy french fries, twelve kids with double cheeseburgers, tons of ice cream, hot dogs and pizza. It's your choice. Eat healthy and you'll feel better and look better! Eat poorly and you'll not just feel bad, but you might not look so good either.  Well, at least not as good as you did when you entered college.

Colleges do realize that the dining halls are the students main source of food and nutrition so they do all that they can to make sure there are plenty of healthy options.  They do as good as they can. They're not going to serve you the more fresh, healthy food... you have to be willing to seek it out and make the right choice for yourself.  It's college... "no one is going to spoon feed you."

The Media as an Influence on Girls

As teenagers, a majority of us are probably guilty of flipping through the newest edition of Cosmo or Nylon Magazines and gawking at the skinny models on every other glossy page of that fashion/beauty Bible. As we grow older we realize that those models are either completely air brushed or they haven't eat in three weeks (or they are part of the 5% of women who don't get boobs and hips once they hit puberty. unlikely.) The younger group of followers, though, may look at these pictures of girls with legs the width of a normal girls wrist, and envy them. It's important that those who mentor younger girls help them realize the difference between what is real and unreal in the media/pictures and what is healthy and what is just completely far off from anything that you should expect your body to look like.

What is a girl to think when she sees these magazines; Lindsay Lohan's ribs showing in her back, Nicole Richie doing so many drugs and not eating enough that her size XS bikini is nearly falling off of her at the beach. These girls weren't born this small. We all watched them shrink; Magazine cover by award show we watched these women, and many other celebrities, shrink before our eyes to unhealthy weights for their bodies. Unfortunatly, this is who is influencing younger girls these days.

As the American public's average waistline increases, celebrities waistlines are decreasing. Girls see this and think that is what is expected of them. Yes, you should care about your looks, eat a healthy diet and exercise often, but when is that advertised? Very few celebrities elaborate on their healthy lifestyles and if they do, you usually find it on health websites (like a thirteen year old is going to look up healthy lifestyles on Google or something). The stories are all about who's anorexic this week or what pills someone took to lose fifty pounds in a month. (These stories are right on the front of the magazines that are staring your kids in the face at the checkout line at the grocery store.) That's not normal, but unless you tell your kids that, who's going too? Those size 00 celebrities aren't going too and the pill companies... you can bet they won't say you can't buy their product. Girls see that these "miracle drugs" and just plain NOT EATING makes you look like that; who's to say they won't try these things? If these influences are doing it, they should too, right? Wrong.
I apologize for concentrating so much on the girls side of this blog. I do realize that this is an issue for the guys as well. So much is expected of them. "Abs like this in only 3 Weeks!" and other obsurb lines make you buy into what the article is telling you. -- Changing your body takes time. Slow and steady wins the race. If you have a beer belly, three weeks of nine different kinds of crunches will not give you a six pack.

We all need to stop worrying about what the media is telling us. If you're comfortable with the way you look and how you feel, be that. If you want to lose a couple pounds, do it safely. No more than two pounds lost per week and girls, no less than 1200 calories a day and guys, make sure you have at the very least 1800 calories. Both girls and guy can have way more than that, but if you are looking to lose the most weight in the shortest period of time, this is usually the scale to go by. Do not obsess over Gisele's theighs or Jessica Alba's abs, if that was easy, we would all have them. Be your own guide and when you feel comfortable and confident then you've done something great!

If you know younger girls: make sure you drill it into their heads that girls in magazines aren't real. Photoshop and air brush are very good these days. No girl should have to think that what she is isn't good enough. And guys, coming from a girl perspective, HUGE muscles don't really mean that much to any girl that's worth your time. I don't have as much to say about the guy world. I've lived the girl world long enough to know a few things about the way we all think and act and how the media likes to play games with us and the way we see ourselves. The media is a good source of entertainment, but don't base your life off of it. Be healthy.

Opening

It's no secret that there are more people these days, including many teenagers, that are struggling with their weight. Either from a poor diet, a lack of physical activity, or both. There really is no need for teens to go on extreme diets or to feel like they need to join Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig, all we really have to do is eat a balanced, colorful diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins. Make sure you're getting enough exercise as well. An hour a day is what is said to be the best, but if you only have a half an hour that's better than nothing! We should be looking to better the future and help our friends and families stay fit and live long healthy lives. Th majority of these blogs are going to be about staying active, eating healthy and losing those couple extra pounds that make you feel unsure of yourself or just unhappy!

No one wants to be overweight (unless you're in the Sumo Wrestling business) so, why are American's eating like that? Big meals late in the day. Sleeping very shortly after eating thousands of calories. Why would we be baffeled when the scale is continuously creeping upward? If you eat more calories than your body is going to burn it gets stored. Yes; this is fat.

It's a simple equation, really. More calories in than out = stored as fat. More calories out than in = you're going to lose weight. No need for anything drastic; just don't eat more than your body is going to use.