Weight gain is not inherently bad. However, my weight gain was due to unhealthy changes to my lifestyle. I gained around 7 pounds during my college freshman year, but adding to the amount I gained the summer before college already… it was more than 15.

Since than I have lost 15+ pounds. However, it took addressing my eating disorder (diagnosed) and healing from the inside to get to where I am at now.

College introduces such a new degree of freedom where if one doesn’t counter-balance it with adequate self-discipline, they may spiral out of control. There certainly are environmental factors that make college students more susceptible to weight-gain. That being said, students ultimately have the personal responsibility to make healthy choices for ourselves.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and these are just based on my personal experience and information I’ve learned from reputable sources.

Here are some mistakes to avoid/ look out for and other tips.

1. The “100% clean” smoothies are bullsht

There are two Freshens smoothie places: one in the IMA (the gym) and one next to the Red Square. They have a big poster that reads “100% clean”. So naturally, I believed it. I got a smoothie almost every other day, and walked around with it in my hand with pride believing I was being “healthy”.

I was always a bit skeptical watching the smoothie-makers pour a bunch of juices in the blender and throw in a couple micro pieces of fruits. However, I would look at the “100% clean” sign and thought “nah it should be legit”.

One day during summer, I randomly looked up the nutrition value of one of my favorite smoothies:

…it has 49 grams of added sugar!

I’ve learned that sugar induces a lot of problems. The food industry likes to add an ungodly amount of sugar in everything because humans are physiologically wired to like sugar. It’s just empty calories that provide no nutrition value. The American Heart Association recommends the daily added sugar amount to be 25 grams for women and 36 grams for men.

No wonder I couldn’t lose weight despite “eating healthy”.

2. Stay hydrated

We’ve all heard a million times that water is crucial for health, but sometimes we just don’t want to listen. I didn’t like drinking water very much because I wanted to avoid going to the bathroom at inconvenient times. On some days, my schedule was so busy that I literally did not have time. Even in the dorms, I was often too lazy to walk down the hallway to refill my brita.

Besides the important components water plays in maintaining health, evidence suggest that water helps with weight loss. The pros outweigh the cons so just suck it up and drink water lol.

3. Food after a night out

Let’s face it, the sense of hunger and cravings hit different after dancing and drinking at a party. At UW, the rite of passage is going to Aladdins past midnight. For me, my first midnight meal was Burger and Kabob Hut.

It was so saucy, flavorful, spicy that I couldn’t hep but finish the whole thing. It was probably like 800 calories but was I in the right state of mind to care?

What I started doing was eating less or not at all after dinner. I felt more rested and not bloated in the morning, while cutting down calories from snacking.

4. Snacking

I don’t know about you, but I used to turn to food for comfort when stressed. I would mindlessly snack on granola straight out of the bag while studying to realize eventually that I emptied half of the bag.

The solution is to practice mindful eating, which is essentially eating without distractions and be presence with your food. This allows you to appreciate/ enjoy your food more and curb excess eating.

5. Drinking

Now, you know what kind of drinks I’m talking about. I was shocked when I found out just how many calories are in one drink, and it takes me a couple to feel the effects. Sooooo yeah, on top of the post-partying meals, the amount of calories was quite high.

6. Boba

It’s funny how 10 years ago, I could barely find any good boba places unless I went to Chinatown. Now they are EVERYWHERE. Most of them don’t meet my high standards but getting boba is like the go-to casual hangout activity.

Boba can increase happiness. Like all junk food, it is fine in moderation. But since it is high in sugar and calories, and provides very minimal nutrition benefits, the extra couple hundred calories per cup really adds up.

7. Exercise

Do it, just do it. Stop making excuses. “I don’t have time” and “I am so tired” were my excuses. You have to make the time and squeeze it in. The gym is free, well you already paid for it, so might as well use it.

Once you start working out, the momentum will turn it into a daily routine. You may even start to look forward to it. It strengthens you physically and makes you feel better mentally too. Surrounding yourself with people who are also there to take care of their body is quite motivating. I like to go to the gym and just soak up the positive energy. 

8. Unhealthy dorm food

UW has bad dorm food. Can’t even sugar-coat this one. I already talked about it in my 24 Things I Learned In My Freshman Year post.

Simply put, the food is not nutritious, carby, greasy, and lacks vegetables. Plus, it’s expensive. Honestly I wouldn’t even complain as much if it had more vegetables. However, dorm food is pretty reflective of the American diet which consists heavily of burgers, fries, pizza, and sandwich. I’ll give Center Table (my dining hall) some diversity credit for having flavorless pasta, greasy yakisoba, stale rice, and flavorless pho though.

However, turning away from dorm food for sugary snacks and instant meals instead was even worse for my health.

Here are a couple options that are not as bad:

• the salad bar: has lettuce, spinach, and a variety of protein
• District Market: packaged broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts
• Taco Tuesday: actually almost Chipotle-level deliciousness; ask for extra lettuce and cut out the dressing
• sandwich & wrap station: warm toasting makes it so good; ask for extra greens

9. Bacon wraps

This is a continuation of the last point. I thought I was being healthy for eating spinach wraps. I mean, they are one of the healthier options, but the bar is pretty low. My obsession for the spinach wraps stemmed from the fact that is has lettuce and also it tastes so damn good with the melted cheddar cheese, fatty bacon, and warm toasty bread. I guess I just chose to ignore the blatant fact that bacon is not a good thing to consume on a daily basis. Also even when the lettuce is extra, it still isn’t that much. 

10. Not-so-healthy “Healthy” snacks

I had resented granola in the past because I hated granola bars, but then I discovered it’s actually super delicious. I would mindless eat it right out the bag, and think it’s fine because it’s “healthy”. But little did I know, the reason why it’s so good is because of the amount of added sugar it contains. I fell for yet another marketing scheme. 

My other obsession was the Ellenos greek yougurt. Greek yogurt is healthy, but I guess I chose to ignore again that a small cup of this deliciousness has so much added sugar.

11. Carry fruits

When i found myself hungry or just craved food, I bought snacks. Junk food snacks are so convenient that I would buy one to three bags of chocolate or cheese crackers per day. To combat this, I started carrying around bags of cut-up fruits so I could satisfy my sugar cravings and feel satiated.

12. Binge eating after weighing myself

In retrospect, it’s obvious why I had trouble losing weight. However, at the time, l felt I was doing everything I could but the numbers just wouldn’t go down. So in winter quarter, I would “eat healthy”, weigh myself, get sad, binge eat, and then restart the cycle. Although weight is a useful metric to determine whether or not the adjustments you are making are working, there are far better metrics such as noticing the change in strength and physique.

Conclusion

Weight gain is scary for most women because there’s so much societal pressure to be thin. The number on the scale isn’t the best indicator of health. Working out and cutting calories just to see the scale go down put me in a very negative mental state. When I chose to live a more healthy lifestyle with the intention of taking care of myself, I started to see progress and felt better overall.