Kingston University
Studying media and cultural studies
Lives in London with her parents

University was a late decision for me and it took a few years of working before I decided to go back to studying. I worked in human resources for various companies, and my lifestyle before university was healthy and active.I walked an hour to get to work every day and I hardly ever touched booze. I probably had one drink a month, if that, usually on special occasions. I live at home, and neither of my parents really drinks, so it was never a problem.

But when I got to university I found that I had to force myself to drink. You can’t drink cola at 3am and be as merry as everyone else or you feel out of the loop. So I forced the drinks down, about six or seven huge ones a night, mainly cocktails so that I could taste the fruit more than the alcohol. Socialising is all part of the university experience. Unfortunately, the only way to bond is to get drunk and hold each other’s hair back to vomit.

I have already paid the price. In August I was a size 10/12. I’m now wearing size 14 Gap jeans that are too tight to bend in, and I have the dreadful muffin top as well as a visible double chin. I noticed I had gained weight when my arms couldn’t fit in shirts, trousers couldn’t get past my thighs and dark squiggly lines appeared on my hips.

My cousin warned me about the dreaded “Freshman 15” — the 15lb that you gain in your first year and sometimes in the first term — and I think that this comes mostly from alcohol. .

I thought I would lose weight at university, but it seems that all those late-night cocktails, burger lunches and late nights at TGIF have taken their toll. I should have known gaining a stone would have been the result. My non-university friends are surprised at my drinking, the beer belly and my unhealthy eating habits. They have gone as far as buying me a diet book. I hope to be back to my normal self by Christmas — and never to touch an alcoholic drink again.

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