Q: What should I know in advance about the dreaded Freshman 15?

Students get dinner at the Gregory Hall cafeteria. The residence halls offer a variety of food for students, including tater tots, as shown.
Dean Santarinala The Daily Illini

The college experience is filled with wonderful new adventures living on your own, no curfew, and the freshman 15; fortunately, the last is avoidable.

The freshman 15 is that unpleasant weight gain that occurs when one begins to adapt to the new college environment. When parties and late night food binges are constant, the risk is high and many new students face this unsettling reality. To avoid it is very simple, however and only requires three steps: limit your food intake, watch what you eat and get up and play.

The major cause for the Freshman 15 is eating too much. The dorms are equipped with buffet style cafeterias and students grab more than they need. A good rule is to limit yourself to one plate. PAR is a great cafeteria to implement this because there are no trays, so one is limited to what one can carry.

Cheeseburgers, pizza and chicken fingers are great but do you really need two or three servings? Maybe instead of that second burger, substitute some thing green, such as peas or a salad. Also, soda tastes great, but juice and milk are just as refreshing and have less sugar.

The final, and perhaps the most important, is to get up and go play. To fight the Freshman 15, one must exercise, and a benefit of going to Illinois is there are many opportunities.

There are two large work-out facilities on both sides of campus; several of the residence halls also have their own facilities in the basement. If you are not into working out, there are several basketball courts, tennis courts, and large open fields for whatever you want to play. You can also take small steps: if it is nice outside walk to class instead of taking the bus; take a jog around campus; or toss around a Frisbee or football on the Quad.