No more of mom’s cooking. I remember how exciting that was a year ago.

I could eat pizza for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and no one was here to stop me. But that was before I learned about the dreadful freshmen fifteen.

If you don’t know, this is how many people refer to the typical weight gain that college freshmen experience as a result of eating junk food and going on frequent trips to bars.

The freshman fifteen usually comes about due to the new found freedom of being able to eat whatever you choose and busy schedules that don’t allow students the time to eat a well balanced meal.

Even if you try to eat healthy, doing so is often difficult. I speak from experience, having been a freshman just a year ago.

Plus, picky eaters like me also have few healthy alternatives within the meal plan system.

I can’t count the number of times I was forced to eat a grilled cheese sandwich or pizza in the OR because there was nothing else I could stomach.

Adding to this problem is the fact that freshmen who live on campus don’t have cars and find it hard to get to the grocery store to purchase healthier alternatives.

They find themselves stuck with hot pockets, pizza, chips and soda. After a while this takes a toll, and the unhealthy diet soon leads to extra weight.

This causes both freshmen and upperclassmen to diet and exercise to avoid the weight gain. There are many diet choices:First there is the Atkins diet.

The Atkins diet focuses on eliminating carbohydrates.

This is said to work because carbohydrates contain many calories that are broken down into sugar and stored as fat.

It encourages eating mainly meat and other high protein foods. The next option is Sugar Busters.

This is my diet of choice and is designed to avoid refined sugar.

However, a lot of people find Sugar Busters hard to stick to, because pasta and potatoes are restricted under the diet regulations.

A third option is the Mayo Clinic diet.

Don’t let the name fool you – the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota does not endorse this diet.

This diet focuses on eating a high protein diet with a grapefruit at each meal.

It also encourages some fried foods, but I think this diet sounds like the hardest to stick to. Who can stomach grapefruit at every meal?

Of course there is always exercise. I have recently become seriously addicted to the gym.

Students can go to the Rec Plex anytime during the day to fit in a workout, which fights stress and weight gain.

Now that I am a year older and much wiser I just have one piece of advice for the new freshmen. Watch out for the freshman fifteen, because it will be here before you know it.