Avoiding ripped jeans and ‘the freshman fifteen’

Guest columnist Cheyenne Deering conducted research into the phenomena and offers her advice.

After a heated battle last Christmas which included shimmying, jumping, lunging, and sweating, my favorite pair of jeans had ripped right down the middle. I asked a family member if they could possibly be sewn back together.

“Are you sure they ripped just because you dried them?” was the reply I received. The reality smacked me like a tray full of cookies. I had put on the freshman 15 (plus five) and I could no longer blame the dryer. I had hit the squishy, greasy bottom.

Looking back on my fat pants, now happily collecting dust in the back of my closet, I tried to figure out what led to this massive change in my love handles. The summer before college, I was dedicated to eating healthy and working out. I was in the best shape of my life. I bragged to all of my friends saying I would never be that college student. I thought the freshman 15 was only for the weak and I was ready to fight fries with carrot sticks. How had I become my biggest nightmare?

First of all, a couple pounds can be blamed on nights out with friends that led to the 24-hour McDonald’s drive thru. I can take responsibility for that. But I was still making good decisions on the weekdays right? I tried to make healthy choices every time I ate school food. I ate wraps from The Grille, and in the cafeteria I filled up on the salad bar, then would try different entrees (just a bite of course), and had a spoonful of ice cream every once in a while. Little did I know my bites turned into full meals and not one spoonful of ice cream went unpunished. I had no sense of the amount of calories I was consuming.

What could I have possibly been eating? I thought I was eating just like all of my friends, the regular “college diet.” Before exploring the regular “college diet,” it’s important to understand what a healthy diet is. According to choosemyplate.gov, men and women 19-30 should be eating two cups of fruit, two and a half cups of vegetables for women, three for men, six to eight ounces of grains (and no, Ramen does not count), five and a half ounces of protein for women and six and a half for men, three cups of dairy, and six to seven teaspoons of oil.

It turns out the all-you-can-eat cafeteria and questionable choices in The Grille can be a deliciously dangerous cycle. Some of the most popular entrees can be the worst for you. After asking students on campus, I found one favorite student meal is nachos. One student even commented, “that’s literally all I ate for lunch my freshman year.”

According to the Nutrition and Wellness page for CSC’s Creative Dining Services, the Nacho Supreme, which includes ground beef, corn chips, shredded cheddar cheese, sour cream, guacamole, jalapenos, seasoned refried beans, tomatoes, and onions, has a scary nutritional label.

It contains 726 calories, 467 calories from fat, 52 grams of fat, and 18 grams of saturated fat. That gives this grab-and-go special some scary stats: 63.74 percent of the total meal is fat, only 14.43 percent is protein, and it contains a terrifying 80 percent daily fat and 91 percent daily saturated fat intake. You may think this comes from a whopping serving size, but the serving size is only 12 nachos. To anyone who counts out nacho portions, I commend you. We all know nachos are not a very healthy choice in the first place, so just to be fair let us look at another entrée, the Cashew Chicken.

In just a five-ounce serving, there are 662 calories, 285 calories from fat, 32 grams of fat, which is 49 percent of the daily value, and 2,910 milligrams of sodium, which makes up 121 percent of the daily intake. OUCH!

That leaves the entrée at 43.48 percent fat and 31.34 percent carbohydrates. Does the salad bar sound a little more appetizing yet?

Portion control in the cafeteria contributes to the gut bomb. When students eat in the cafeteria, they are able to eat as much as they can stomach. It is easy to lose track of what and how much they are truly eating. Some students eat at least two plates, if not three. Others say they eat ice cream at least twice a week.

According to the Journal of American College Health, the food itself is not the problem. One student in the article states, “I think it’s harder to control how much you eat when it’s all-you-can-eat…it’s hard to hold back because they always have really good stuff.” The change from home cooking to food independence causes major weight gain problems. The article also states that vending machines, fast food, and buffet-style eating cafeterias were all cited as culprits for bad eating habits.

Teri Albertazzi, instructor of applied sciences, thinks nutritional education is part of the problem. Based on student feedback from the five nutrition classes she has taught, students generally have little knowledge about nutrition.

“[Dining services] offers the opportunity to have healthy options, but it is difficult for most students to know what they are,” Albertazzi said.

Roy Farrens, CSC dining services production chef, says most students do not know how to eat according to nutritional standards. One student’s complaint was that they eat salads everyday, but have not lost any weight.

“When I asked a student to show me their regular salad, the student covered the lettuce in cheese, ranch, and added potato salad and cottage cheese to the side,” Farrens said. “When I asked where the vegetables were, the student pointed to the lettuce.” Farrens knows education is not the only issue.

“These kids grew up in a fast food world,” he says, and this makes convenience is a major factor in food selection. In line at the cafeteria, students eat the first three or four items and tend to skip the rest. He also credits the change in food supplied by schools. He explains, “A kindergartner to a senior in high school eats three chicken nuggets because that’s all they get.” In college, things change. There is constant access to food and most students do not know what they should and should not eat. He says they offer, “the naughty things and the nice things. How you put it together is your choice.”

Farrens’ statistics indicate that there are about 1,050 students on the meal plan. They are serving at a 94 percent participation rate so far this semester. They want to give students the options they desire, and even cater to individual student needs. Farrens said one student on a high protein diet eats 12 chicken breasts for dinner and 12 hard boiled eggs for breakfast.

“We also have a lot of cheerleaders right now that are into egg whites, so we make them egg white breakfast sandwiches for their trips,” Farrens said.

Students that have dietary needs, such as being lactose or gluten intolerant, should not be ashamed. There are labeled options for gluten free breads and meat in the regular lines in the cafeteria.

In addition, there is a fridge behind the stir-fry station that contains special foods for these students. It is easily accessible and does not require students to stand out when getting  food.

Dining services have done, and will do, all they can to make the dining experience for CSC students the best it can be. Farrens says dining services responds to all comments that do not contain explicit language.

Surveys from last year indicated a desire for a larger salad bar. Since last year, they have doubled the size of the salad bar. Farrens knows that their food is not always perfect, but he believes communication is the key. Anyone with concerns can fill out a comment card or contact dining services directly. If any student has a problem, they need to take the initiative and voice their opinion in a mature manner.

How can students find or create healthy options? Albertazzi said one change could be to create a list of instructions. She thinks students need to know how to make their meals healthy according to the options available.

For example, giving students ideas about using the salad bar with the stir-fry would help. Albertazzi believes having a nutritional list directly above each item would be beneficial, but only if students pay attention to it.

When Farrens was asked about this idea, he showed interest but also concern. By July, the dining services must have a detailed allergen listing for every item, he said.

This task has been difficult because many of the foods served are original recipes. The same problem would come up for displaying caloric information. He thinks this will be something to look for in the future, but as of right now it is not in the works.

There is nutritional information available to all students right inside the cafeteria and online. There is a large binder filled with all the common recipes. Farrens says they try to draw as much attention to the binder as possible.

“It’s right here on the way out. We place The Eagle and a portion chart over here, but it just isn’t enough,” Farrens said as he flipped through the binder. Nutritional information for the current recipes can also be found online by searching dining services on the CSC website.

So in the end, do not blame the school’s food for your unfortunate and unexpected weight gain. Keep frozen veggies instead of pizza rolls and bananas chips instead of potato chips.

At the cafeteria, fill up on a chicken salad with vegetables and skip the pizza and ice cream on your way out. Do a little research on your own. There are many calorie counters and websites to look up nutritional information. We are all required to take a health class, so pay attention next time the teacher brings up fatty acids.

Make sure you exercise now and then and skip the third serving of fried rice. The last thing you want to hear from your parents after next semester is, “You were getting pretty cheeky around Christmas.” Trust me, it is the kind of comment that will haunt you forever.

Follow my advice and make sure that when your favorite pair of jeans rips, only the dryer will be to blame.