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Now I don’t mean to scare you straight off, but you’re probably going to put on a bit of weight. No matter how much you try, no matter how many times you go to the gym, the pounds will creep on. Hello, fresher's fifteen. Now there is not much you can do about this, and I will tell you why.
That extra weight comes from a lot of different factors. Increased alcohol consumption is one of the major players in weight increase. Even if you think ‘I don’t really drink that much’ or ‘I’ll only drink once a week’, that never really happens, not in Freshers' Week (or Freshers' Fortnight). Your blood alcohol level during the first two weeks are such that it would be illegal to operate heavy machinery, and all that alcohol means a lot of calories.
So how do you combat this? Well, I can advise only sticking to spirits - it is widely know that pure vodka contains a lot less calories then alcopops. However, it is definitely better to stick to what you’re used to drinking, because you’re going to need a strong stomach for two weeks of drinking.
Another damaging effect of alcohol is the false hunger. This means that once the night is over, and you’re headed home (on your feet, no one needs taxi costs in Freshers'), you are more likely than not just to pop into Efe’s or that fish and chip shop on the corner. The drunken call of ‘I want chips’ is one most of us will make after a drunken night, and rightly so. Food after a night out absorbs the alcohol and can make the rest of the night and morning much easier to deal with. However, this is adding unnecessary calories to your diet. In Freshers' Week, it is the best idea to deal with nights out anyway you can: if that means scoffing a burger and chips on the way home to sober up, then so be it.
Being away from home can be scary. Sometimes you seek out popular home comforts, and sometimes this comes in the form of food. You remember sharing those biscuits with your mother, or eating those sweets at your grandma's. All these things remind you of home and bring with them a sense of safety and happiness.
However they'll also add to those love handles, and those bingo wings you’ve been developing recently.
Freshers' Week is a busy time. When you’re not out partying (or sleeping off last night’s party), then you’re walking around campus getting to grips with it, or heading into town, or finding out where the rugby team practise and checking out the local talent in my case. It is very hard to have a regular diet of three sit-down meals. Snacks, high-sugar and high-calorie ones, help you get through the days. A savoury meal is usually a bag of crisps and a sausage roll or a take-out pizza (with all the Domino's vouchers you’re going to get you will be making the most of this).
These all contain more calories, shockingly, than a nice fresh salad.
But let’s be honest, you’re not going to see much fresh produce in the first couple of weeks at uni, so there isn’t really much point in trying. Grab whatever it is that is going to take you through the day - but maybe read That Girl From Derwent's blog on energy drinks before you get caught up in that, in my experience they probably should be saved for the final two weeks of term.
Freshers' Fortnight is all about living to the extremes. These two weeks are aimed at getting you used to university life, helping you meet new people and discover things about yourself you never knew. It is the time when you begin developing a sense of self. So whether or not you are sticking to your 2000 calorie, low-carb diet doesn’t really matter. You can concentrate on your body between Weeks 3 and 7, and then you’ll be back to energy drinks and snacks to get you through exams.
The only thing you have to remember is that in the grand scheme of things, a few extra pounds doesn't matter. If you spend all your time stressing over it, it will drive you insane. As long as you don’t overdo it, spend some time at the gym and keep an eye on your health, then you’ll be fine.
And if that doesn’t work, squeezing into a corset always will.
Ah, to be a Fresher, eh?
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