By Sophia Monson | Social Media Editor
In your first months of college, beneath the weight of growing student loans, internship rejection emails and the fourth C you’ve gotten this semester, the grip you have on yourself begins to loosen. Before, you were predictable, structured and comfortable with yourself. Now, however, your grades are slipping and your bank account runs lower than it’s ever been. Thankfully, you cling to one consistent, reliable sense of control.
What you do or don’t eat.
To convince yourself your relationship with food isn’t disordered, you might frame it as a test of strength and resilience. What feels like a cause for concern becomes, in your mind, a structured, practical solution to life’s many challenges. Perhaps it’s necessary to preserve your teenage physique or ensure peak nutritional levels. It may serve as a form of punishment for perceived shortcomings.
Perhaps the control you’re so desperately clinging to isn’t truly yours at all.
Throughout my freshman year, it was common to hear people speak of the infamous “freshman 15.” The National Institute of Health describes this as the idea that within the first year of college, a student may gain upwards of 15 pounds. Countless jokes and comments were made on the topic as if it were harmless fun, but for me, the joke never landed.
Instead, these “jokes” cemented themselves into my head. I became hyperaware and paranoid, convinced that my peers were on the lookout to see who was living up to the so-called “freshman 15.” I didn’t want to be the punchline or the success story. The thought alone filled me with enough anxiety that, like many other students, I began avoiding the dining halls whenever I could.
I am, however, a human who requires food to function. Braving the dining halls required excessive energy and willpower. Being convinced that all eyes were on me, especially my plate, led to an unhealthy obsession with portion sizes and food choices.
I either had too many carbs, or I was trying too hard with my salad. Ironically, it didn’t matter how healthy or unhealthy I was — I was trapped in the cycle, and the only way out was to confront the patterns in my head, rather than the calories on my plate.
Starting college is one of the most significant periods of change a person will experience in their lifetime. Especially for those like me who come from out of state, when adjusting to new routines, people and cultural norms, it becomes increasingly complex to find areas of control. Eating habits are often the first to fall victim to this, as many college-aged individuals find themselves slipping into disordered eating patterns. The National Eating Disorders Association estimates 10-20% of women and 4-10% of men in college suffer from an eating disorder.
Anorexia and bulimia are two of the most common eating disorders students struggle with. Another prevalent issue is orthorexia, which centers around an unhealthy obsession with healthy eating. In the current era of diet culture, there has been a significant focus on “clean” eating. Seed oils and artificial sugars are out, while whole foods and protein meals are in. Dining halls lack a sense of structure and control over ingredients, which acts as a source of anxiety for many.
I encourage those less affected by diet culture and the “freshman 15” myth to avoid discussing it altogether. The concept is outdated and demonstrably harmful.
What may seem like a harmless, lighthearted joke can reinforce the idea that there is a “right” and “wrong” way to approach food and body weight. Ideas like this don’t fade quickly; they can linger in the mind for years, and even a lifetime.
To those facing struggles similar to mine, the truth is liberating and straightforward: nobody cares what you’re eating. And if they did, that is a genuine flaw in their character, not yours.
Baylor’s Counseling Center can provide support to any students struggling with eating disorders. The Counseling Center is located on the second floor of the McLane Student Life Center and can be reached at counseling_center@baylor.edu.
