Kevin Moye
Freshman 15 — some pass it off as a myth, others believe it to be a real concern. Regardless of where you fall on that spectrum, it is essential to be mindful of your diet while dining at NC State. During the initial meal at orientation, it is easy to look at the assortment of foods displayed in Fountain Dining Hall and feel overwhelmed by the options. After getting situated on campus, you are then inundated with potential places to go. Los Lobos, the Creamery, Talley Diner and the campus favorite, Chick-fil-A, are just a portion of the new selection.
The everyday meal plan — noted as the best value plan — is the typical choice among first-year students. While the plan’s stock of 12 meal credits per week is an appealing perk to most, it is a feature that should be used in moderation. Just because there are 12 possibilities to use a meal credit does not mean that all 12 should be used every week. Gluttony is the best friend of the Freshman 15 — and the everyday meal plan.
But even if you are not gluttonous with your eating habits, the Freshman 15 can still sneak up on those who are unaware of their consumption. The average non-wolf-approved meal at our on-campus restaurants are quite calorically dense. A ground beef burrito from Los Lobos is 741 calories; an eight-piece chicken nugget box with fries from Chick-fil-A is 620 calories; my personal go-to at Jason’s Deli, the beefeater, is 786 calories. The high calorie count of these dishes paired with the easy accessibility of them makes it effortless to slowly pack on the pounds.
There are many ways, however, to avoid gaining those dreaded 15 (or more) pounds. The most obvious approach to stopping the Freshman 15 is to develop healthier eating habits. NC State makes many accommodations to aid in this process, the most apparent one being the wolf-approved options.
Entrees that are wolf-approved meet criteria of being under 600 calories and low in saturated fats and containing zero trans-fat. The wolf-approved foods are available at all on-campus food providers. And no, you are not sacrificing flavor by choosing the wolf-approved foods.
Another on-campus resource to avoid the Freshman 15 would be investing in regular visits to Carmichael Gymnasium. If you are like me and cannot resist the temptations of Chick-fil-A, this is likely the option for you.
While mildly intimidating at first, regular gym-going can provide innumerable benefits. Carmichael Gymnasium provides an abundance of activities to help aid students in calorie burning. The locker rooms of the facility also provide scales, which are essential when it comes to weight watching. Best of all, as tuition-paying students, we all get free access to Carmichael Gymnasium so long as we have our student ID’s in hand.
A similar, but more passive alternative to gym visiting is simply walking around campus. After eating an extensive amount of food at Case Dining Hall, try taking an extra 15 minutes out of your day to walk. Instead of taking the bus to get to class, walk the route instead — maybe not during the month of August, but after that, definitely. On average, a 155-lb. person burns 232 calories after walking three miles in one hour. NC State will often provide events that encourage walking or running. The annual 9/11 5k run on Sept. 10 will be a great event to burn calories.
The Freshman 15 doesn’t have to be an inevitable part of one’s first year at college. It is a very avoidable ailment as long as one takes the proper steps to prevent it. Even if you only choose one of the aforementioned options, you are already on the track to living a healthier lifestyle at NC State.