Why does the freshman 15 happen?

Hi!


     You must all wonder why is it that when you leave home and start college, the general tendency is to gain weight... Well, there are many reasons for that and when you'll read them you'll think: "Oh right, I kinda do that myself". That happens because your environment completely changes, your daily routine is different and of course, mommy and daddy are not there anymore to tell you what to do. 
     Remember, at home you used to eat at regular times the food that your parents prepared for you. Of course this food was healthy, varied, and  cooked with love. You didn't have a mini-fridge in your room and all the food was kept in the kitchen. Obviously, mom and dad didn't allow you to drink alcohol and you had a reasonable curfew when going out.
     Now, what's new/different in college? Everything! and because mom and dad aren't there to stop you, this is what students tend to do:


          -eat unhealthy cafeteria food (pizza, fries, burgers, pastas, soda...)

          -keep unhealthy snacks in dorm rooms and nibble between meals (cookies, cereals, peanut butter sandwich, chips, sweats...)

          -eat late at night (I'm talking pizzas and burgers at 2:00 am when your heading back from the club...)

          -lack physical exercise

          -drink too much alcohol (you'd be surprised to know how much calories alcohol can contain!!!)

          -emotional eating (when you eat not because you're hungry but because you're sad/happy/bored...)

These are the main reasons why the freshman 15 happens. My goal with this blog is to give you as much advices as possible to help you deal with these and keep a healthy life style while having the best time of your life in college!

Where do you stand?

Hi!


The followings are a few indicators of how healthy you are and what are your daily needs in terms of energy. It will help you identify what do you have to work on and how to regulate your food.


1. The BMI (Body Mass Index) is an index of weight-for-height that is used to determine if you're underweight, normal, overweight or obese:

The BMI table:

Source: AdaptedfromClinicalGuidelinesontheIdentification,Evaluation,andTreatmentofOverweightandObesityinAdults:TheEvidenceReport.

The BMI graph:

Calculate it yourself:

Now, what does your BMI means for you:

-severely underweight: <16

-underweight: 16 - 18.5

-normal: 18.5 - 25

-overweight: 25 - 30

-obese class I: 30 - 35

-obese class II: 35 - 40

-obese class III: >40

source: wikipedia

2. The BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) indicates the number of calories your body burns daily without you having to do anything (so you wanna try to raise it).

The BMR depends on:

     -gender: men have a higher BMR than women (which is why they eat more and consumer more calories)

     -genes: I know it's unfair but some people naturally have a faster metabolism and burn calories more easily...

     -age: BMR declines with age

     -exercise: it raises your muscle volume -> raises your BMR (those who regularly exercise burn calories when they do but in addition, eliminate calories more easily in general)

     -body fat percentage: the lower your body fat percentage the higher your BMR

     -diet: it will reduce your BMR because your body detects that you are eating less calories and reacts by holding on the the calories you eat and stores them as fat...

Calculate your BMR: the Harris-Benedict Formula

Men: BMR = 66 + (13.7 * weight in kg) + (5 * height in cm) - (6.8 * age in years)

 = 66 + (6.23 * weight in pounds) + (12.7 * height in inches) - (6.8 * age in years)

 Women = 655 + (9.6 * weight in kg) + (1.8 * height in cm) - (4.7 * age in years)

= 655 + (4.35 * weight in pounds) + (4.7 * height in inches) - (4.7 * age in years)

Now this is what your body needs without you having to do anything, and it does not equal what you should eat daily, because it doesn't take into consideration what you actually do. But the TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) does. It tells your the total number of calories your body expends daily including all activities = the number of calories you should eat daily.

Calculate your TDEE (activity multiplier):

-sedentary = BMR  * 1.2

-lightly active = BMR * 1.375

-moderately active = BMR * 1.55

-very active = BMR * 1.725

-extremely active = BMR * 1.9

source: http://www.shapefit.com/basal-metabolic-rate.html

"the dorm room diet" Daphne Oz

Fresh start in life: make it a positive one!

Hi freshies!


     I'm gonna start with a quick presentation. I'm a freshman at McGill university!! I grew up in a little suburban town near Paris, my mom is japanese and my father's french. They're both great cooks and I was raised eating very healthy and tasty home-cooked meals. But this year, I moved to Canada for college and I'm living in rez and eating in caf, far from home... (which so far has been great!!) 
     However, I was really worried about the freshman 15 phenomenon I had heard about.... When I moved here, I discovered that I wasn't the only one! We would often talk about it with my girlfriends, share books on the topic and help each others resist the temptations. I wanted to share some tips about staying healthy I had learned from books, online and from friends to try and do my best to help you girls out there! I just want you to be happy about who you are!
     I hope this will be useful to someone! 

 Enjoy your college first year people! I'm sure you will.

Love