Carolina Alumni Review - November/December 2010

The ‘Freshman 15’

The “freshman 15” is really only the “freshman 5” when it comes to students’ weight gain the first year of college, say UNC researchers. We asked alumni to tell us about their experiences. Did they pack on the pounds when they arrived at Carolina and discovered they could have pizza for every meal? Or did walking all over campus keep their weight in check? Excerpts of comments are below. Read others and share your thoughts at, alumni.unc.edu/freshman15, and on the GAA’s Facebook page at alumni.unc.edu/facebook.

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class quotes

“Our soccer coach, Dr. Marvin Allen ’ 37, ran us too much for any of us to gain weight. Wish I was still weighing in at 168! Ha, that will be the day.”

Bill Rommel ’ 78

Newport, R.I.

“The ‘Freshman 15’ was a reality for me. Of course, I blame it on the Pine Room. I worked in the Lenoir Hall kitchen each day, cooking breakfast (eggs, hotcakes, ham, etc.). I was ‘paid’ by getting $4.50 worth of meals each day. I usually missed breakfast because I was working right up to my 8:00 classes, and for lunch and dinner you could get the ‘special’ for about $1.25. So that usually left me with a couple of dollars at the end of the day, and I couldn’t carry it over to the next day — so I had to spend it. That meant I would top off the evening meal with a slice of apple pie, with a scoop of chocolate ice cream on it, and then I would end up the day, around 9 or 10 o’clock, in the Pine Room using the remaining dollar or so. And you could still get quite a bit for a dollar or so back then — a burger, fries and Pepsi would normally do it. Fifteen extra pounds came pretty quickly.”

Hank Howell ’ 60

Harrells

“Nope. Cooked in my room. Did not gain any weight.”

Steve Willis ’ 78

Summerland Key, Fla.

UNC NEWS SERVICES

“When I was at UNC, I gained about 5 pounds for every A, less for Bs and Cs. I won’t admit how much I gained overall. I was working, a mother and wife, so the girl in the Wendy’s drive-through would ask, ‘The usual?’ ”

Peggy Lee ’ 93

Chapel Hill

Carolina students across the generations have faced the all-you-care-to-eat dangers of college cuisine, such as these tempting confections at the Rams Head Dining Hall. It takes a lot of cross-campus hikes to work off all those calories.

“The problem definitely wasn’t freshman year or any at UNC — just the decades beyond!”

Betsy Flagler ’ 79

Davidson

“All that late-night study pizza and M&Ms! Oh, yeah. I gained about 10!”

Gwenevere Parker ’ 83

Bayside, N. Y.

“I didn’t gain my freshman 15 until I was 48.”

Jennifer Enright ’ 84

Greensboro

“Yeah, lived on South Campus, walked off a lot of calories. I was a Woollen Gym rat, too. I was in better shape by the end of freshman year. It was definitely a challenge because when I started, Chapel Hill consumed more beer per capita than any city in the U.S. (and I helped).”

David Rubright ’ 93

Haw River

“Ten pounds. Lived in Spencer and ate too many doughnuts on Tuesday mornings for breakfast.”

Mary MacKesson Reynolds ’ 67

Charlotte

“I actually lost about 15 pounds. My mom was really worried when I came home for Christmas. I probably ended even by the end of spring semester.”

Michelle Drye ’ 97

Matthews

“I was on the wrestling team. I gained 15 pounds every Saturday and Sunday and lost it before weigh-in the following Saturday. I peaked Christmas vacation my sophmore year and didn’t reach that weight again until about 15 years ago.”

George Johnston ’ 69

Orange Park, Fla.

“Due to marching band rehearsals, I lost 20 pounds (gained during summer) the first few weeks back every fall semester. I imagine if freshmen ride cars or buses everywhere, and don’t walk, the typical high-carb student diet will contribute to ‘ballooning.’ When I was closed out of the dorm lottery my senior year and moved to an apartment, I gained a lot of weight because I rode the bus a lot more than I walked.”

Daphne Hayer ’ 84

Albemarle
“I gained weight after I graduated and had
money to eat.”

“Freshman 15 definitely exists! I gained a good amount of weight in spite of staying at Hinton James and Morrison my first two years and having to hike to North Campus every year. It’s those buffet breakfasts at Chase, Chick-fil-A for lunch and pizzas for dinner! Then I started going to the SRC and lost some weight.”

Aishwarya Kumar ’02

Princeton, N. J.

“Definitely put on the pounds despite living in Morrison. Went from a petite size 5 to a size 12 by end of freshman year. Lost it all during summer break and remained a perfect size 6 through graduation and even today, 21 years later! Learned my lesson early about Burger King and Time Out late-night snacks.”