Dearest Laura,
I am writing to you out of concern, a friendly warning that life will move on and your metabolism will slow down unless you take action to avoid the infection that is first year spread. University life is nothing like school in terms of diet. Remember the days when you could eat anything you wanted without a worry in mind or a change in weight, well unfortunately at Rhodes the temptations are greater and the food portions are greasier so some self control is needed when it comes to maintaining your weight. The fact that Grahamstown is a ‘dinky’ town, with numerous restaurants and take out food stores all within a hundred meter radius of each other, makes this self control slightly more difficult, if not border-line impossible.
Therefore I am only thinking of you and your happiness when I say that regular exercise should and must become apart of your daily routine, think of it as a compulsory lecture. You may be thinking that the transition into university life will be easy and effort-less but trust me when I say it is nothing short of a turmoil of emotions and confusion, and in many cases people turn to the comfort of food for support where previously you would find comfort in the words and proximity of your family and friends. Don’t be fooled by the notion of three meals a day, first year spread is a sneaky and vicious creature lurking in every corner spreading its curse and claiming everyone as its victims. Another factor that proves to be quite deceiving are the residence mirrors, they tend to paint a misleading picture of your physical appearance, eliminating any feelings of guilt after you’ve just devoured your second helping of food. Try avoiding the lies told by the mirrors and the attack of the monster by exercising regularly and keeping fit.
You’re Friend,
Laura Matthews
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I am in complete agreement with your concerns about putting on weight in first year.
I am in a situation in which I am unable to exercise due to a back injury but there are some tips that I use to help keep the major weight off.
Drink a glass of liquid before eating - it usually fills you up quite well. Make sure your plate is divided into quarters (2/4 are veg or salad, 1/4 is protein and the other quarter is carbohydrates) - this combination will keep your sugar levels up and you won't get cravings for sweet food.
Eat slowly, this helps with the slow release of energy into your system and also allows for your body to recognise when it is full.
If you are not exercising you should only have 3 meals per day, and stick to eating fewer calories than you consume in a day.
There is a great formula to work out your BMR (Basic Metabolic rate) - which shows you how many calories your body burns per day. To keep slim or lose weight, just eat less than you burn :)
Formula:
Women 655 + (9.6 X weight in kg's) + (1.8 X height in centimetres) - (4.7 X age in years).
Men 66 + (13.7 X weight in kg's) + (5 X height in centimetres) - (6.8 X age in years).
NB: do some research about BMR because you can only eat a certain amount less than you burn before it becomes a danger to your health and could lead to problems.
About the mirrors: they will show you what you want to see, seriously. You will not like what you see if you feeling unhappy about yourself - in that case stop looking in the mirror until you make a conscious effort to change what you don't like.
Remember exercise is the best cure for depression and as soon as you are in a routine of healthy eating - you will immediately feel better about yourself and dislike a little less of yourself everyday....
If anything I have said helps you, consider reading my blog in a week or so – I will be suggesting great health and exercising ideas to help varsity students control their weight and other stuff.
See http://www.jcvarsity.blogspot.com and my individual page: http://www.varsityhealth.blogspot.com/
Good luck!
Lauren
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