The freshman 15 is a fear many students have coming into college. It is talked about so often that students almost now expect to gain weight or are determined to not gain it.

During my freshman year, I had so many conversations with my friends about gaining weight and making time to work out. Now, as a sophomore, I still have these same conversations. The freshman 15 is becoming a worry that continues throughout college and is not just within freshman year.

However, it has been shown that the average weight gain for first year college students is only around two to three pounds.

When you first Google “the freshman 15,” there are numerous articles about how to avoid it; however, you rarely see articles about the reality of this weight gain or how it’s not as a big of a deal as it seems.

Gaining a little weight in college is normal considering the lifestyle many of us fall into: drinking sugary drinks, stressing about school, planning less physical activity and eating dorm food. It is not something students should fret about.

It is more important to focus on schoolwork, make friends and adjust to college life — and not worry about gaining weight. As long as you are not gaining a crazy amount of weight and are taking care of yourself, there is no reason to stress about it.

The freshman 15 focus can make students more self-conscious and can hinder their first-year college experience, as well as cause even more stress.

A 2015 NBC article says, “Even more worrying than actual weight gain is the worry of weight gain, which can lead to disordered eating and bad choices like ‘drunkorexia,’ when some college students drink their calories instead of eating.”

I’ve seen this countless times. Students will not eat anything before going out just to get drunk easier and choose to drink the calories they should be consuming through food. It is unhealthy, both physically and mentally, to think gaining the couple extra pounds seems more healthy than not eating at all.

Furthermore, social media does not help this problem. Many students may see their friends from high school and college exhibiting what is considered a “good body”  on Instagram. It may make those who did gain a couple of pounds more worrisome about losing it. However, it is important to understand that people tend to only post heavily edited photos or ones with a perfect angle.

Gaining a couple of pounds or not gaining any at all is normal. If you are someone who ends up gaining more weight than expected or is truly worried about it, there are resources to manage it. The ARC and CRCE are free for students to work out in, offer personal training and even offer healthy cooking classes. Places like the Counseling Center are great resources to manage and discuss the freshman 15 fear.

Weight is not everything. It is more important to focus on your growth as an individual throughout college than actually worrying about gaining weight.

Jaime is a sophomore in LAS.

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