Charlotte Etherton

I am sure all of you have heard of the Freshman 15 – the dreaded 15 pounds you gain as a freshman, usually in the first semester, if not by the end of the year. Okay, so I am going to be straight forward with all of you. I would be kidding myself if I said that I was not a hefty guy. I came in this semester as a freshman at five-feet six-inches flat and 225 lbs. Guess what, I have now hit the dreaded ‘Freshman 15’ marker point. It did not even take me a full semester, let alone a full year. If you were the betting type, what would you say my New Year’s resolution is going to be?

Except I am not waiting until New Year’s day. I also thought that I would write this in the hopes of giving everyone else some hope as well as some ideas to shed off those pounds. First and foremost, and I know a lot of you might not like this very much, but I have already cut out all soda, even diet soda, and am now sticking to water, milk, tea and coffee. I am also in the process of switching over to whole grains.

I am also going to pass on some practical advice and sources to help all of you out. One Web site I found that might help you understand a little more is www.Freshman15.com. Also, a diet with one of the highest success rates and few side effects is the South Beach Diet. I should have been smarter coming in, and thought that I was since I am older, but I was not all that correct. I still managed to gain those 15 pounds. I hope that you take my advice, and, in order to avoid the stereotype, watch your weight. It is easier to keep from gaining weight than it is to lose it.
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