Michelle Rockwell has no doubt that the myth of the "freshman 15" is in fact the "freshman 11." As sports nutritionist as the University of Florida, Michelle is adept in dealing with the weight gains and diets of the university's athletes. She has also come to know the rumors surrounding the "freshman 15" and has learned the true reasons behind the myth. "Do you know that there's actual research showing that the 'freshman 15' is not the 'freshman 15'?" Michelle said. "There's a study that just came out last year from Penn State University saying that the average freshman male gains 11 pounds." Entering as a freshman in college, most have heard from older friends, siblings or relatives about the "freshman 15," the supposed weight gain of approximately 15 pounds that most have in their first year in school. However, despite the change in weight gained, there are multiple reasons as to why freshmen put on those unwanted pounds. Michelle says she believes the causes of weight gain can range from stress to changes in a body's physiology. A major part of the college process is dealing with the stress of being away from home, living on your own and taking full responsibility of yourself, even if it is just doing your own laundry. "We know that increased stress levels with stress hormones increase your body's likelihood to store body fat—especially in the tummy region," Michelle said. "The stress causes people to actually have physiological changes, but then a lot of people also deal with stress, or missed sleep or fatigue by overeating or eating more sugar." Especially in college, it is important for students to acquire healthy eating habits and regular exercising schedules because temptations for late-night study snacks and $5 buckets of beer are very high. Along with some of the fast food restaurants offered on campus, most on-campus dining halls foster the fried foods and corndogs that can be hard to say "no" to. "I think the best choices are the things you got to wait for," Michelle said. "[Dining Halls] have the Market Station and the Mediterranean Station. Those recipes are always low-fat." Dining halls usually serve in a buffet style, so it is easy to take a larger amount than what is typical if eating dinner at home. Michelle says a good rule of thumb to have is one to two fist-sized portions of protein, one to two servings of carbohydrates, and lots of fruits and vegetables. "Another really good thing about Gator Corner is that their fruit juices are 100% fruit juice, and they do have skim milk," Michelle said. Michelle says along with eating healthy, students must exercise regularly to stay physically fit. Between school responsibilities and social obligations, college life may seem too busy to adhere to a regular exercising schedule, but hat's a half an hour a day? "Recommendations from the American College of Sports Medicine said every human, every adult should have at least 30 minutes of activity a day," Michelle said. Students get that activity walking around campus, but the activity must raise heart rate, and must last for a continuous 30 minutes or an accumulation of an hour, according to the recommendations from the ACSM. "If you were to walk clear across campus that's like a 20-minute brisk walk that could count towards your hour," Michelle said. Aside from trying to extend healthy eating habits and exercising schedules to students, the two major crazes that have succeeded in spreading around campus are the diet and energy bar trends. With most students trying out diets, such as the Atkins' Diet and the South Beach Diet, many people find that the rules contradict past logics of fruit and vegetables being good for you. "An apple a day and then all of a sudden apples are evil," Michelle said. "I think it's hard to advocate or feel good about a diet where you can't eat fruits and vegetables and whole grains at least." Michelle says most people want diets to be easy, and when most diets turn out to be the opposite, they go off them. "If someone really did follow the South Beach Diet and followed all the stages where you increase, increase, increase, it's not bad after like eight weeks," Michelle said. "It does actually teach portion control." The other trend that has been around for an even longer time is the energy bar and the supplement craze. Michelle says she doesn't think either measure up to the standards of a sufficient diet plan. She says most people get the idea that energy bars have a sort of "magical power," and that they can replace meals and still provide the amount of nutrients needed to function. "I think it's better to eat real foods," Michelle said, "but in terms of snacks-on-the-go, I think energy bars can be outstanding because they're prepackaged and you can store them in your bags." | 
