Will Gerber
Professor Bratis
Biology
04/15/14

BMR Final Project

High School was when I was in the best shape of my life. I was a very active individual, playing for multiple sports teams such as baseball and hockey. Recreationally, I would play football and basketball at least five times a week, making sure I was always keeping busy with something; I weighed 185 pounds my senior year. Being as active as I was, I had little concerns about what I ate. My daily diet consisted of lunch at a fast food restaurant and a home cooked meal by my mom. Even though these weren’t the healthiest options, my metabolism was great and I never saw any negative results from eating unhealthy. However, since coming to school I have become much less active and continued my old eating habits resulting in a 15 pound weight gain.
A large portion of freshman college students’ deal with an epidemic known as the “Freshman Fifteen,” meaning that they roughly gain 15 pounds their freshman year because of the food options at various universities in America. Every freshman at Villanova has an unlimited meal plan; I utilized this to the full extent, gradually putting on weight most noticeably in my cheeks and buttock. While I participated in intramural sports and played pickup basketball games from time to time, I was nowhere near as active as I had been throughout high school. I never stepped foot in the gym during my freshman year which was not much different than in High School, but because I was less active I needed a source of activity. Unfortunately, I was in an environment which was more conducive to playing FIFA on Xbox instead of going outside and actually kicking around a soccer ball. These habits formed quickly and I was never able to find that regular energy source I needed; to this day I still have the lazy tendencies which I developed during my freshman year. Although I had clearly gained some weight (thanks for pointing it out mom and dad), I still looked like skin and bones so I figured it would be fine to continue with this lifestyle. While I still maintain a skinny physique it has mostly affected my energy levels and sleep schedule. Eating unhealthy and at obscure times of the day and night, I did not have a regular sleep schedule and found myself hyper at night, but dead in the morning. This caused me to miss my morning classes on a regular basis and really affected my grades. Furthermore, the freedom to be away from my parents lead me to experiment with alcohol more than I had in the past. Drinking mostly beer was not good for my caloric intake, or my belly. At the end of my freshman year I weighed 195 pounds. Over the summer I got back to my old habits of exercising daily, but continued to eat fast food regularly thus I maintained my weight give or take a few pounds. During my sophomore year I stopped drinking alcohol and focused on my schoolwork and health. Unfortunately, my health stayed the same, as all I did for exercise was play basketball 5 days a week and I joined the roller hockey team which met twice a week. Even though I was exercising regularly once again my food intake was poor and unhealthy. Over the summer between my sophomore and junior year I traveled to Italy which once again was not conducive to my health habits. I started drinking alcohol again and the only exercise I got in two months there was from sightseeing. I gained 15 pounds there, putting me at 210 pounds, the most I have ever weighed. This year I have shed 10 pounds and I am at a generous 200 pounds. I continue to play roller hockey and basketball, but need to convince myself to go to the gym more. I would like to shed 10 more pounds of weight and add 15 pounds in muscle. Thus, my ideal weight standing at 6’4 would be 205 pounds. In order to get to this 205 pound weight, it was necessary to calculate the appropriate Basal Metabolic Rate to estimate the proper caloric intake for my body. The Basal Metabolic Rate, or BMR, is the amount of