I am not and never will be the skinniest girl in the world. I consider myself slim with a few extra curves. In my mind, I told the Freshman Fifteen they would not be able to pay me a visit my freshman year and, so far, they haven’t. I try to watch my figure just like most other girls, but I am proud of who I am no matter what my size.
My junior year of high school I started to get terrible migraines. I was one of those students who despised missing school, so I simply walked through the halls with a folder over my face. My head would pound so hard I thought a boom box was somewhere deep inside my brain, playing the loudest, most obnoxious song you could possibly imagine.
But eventually, after multiple trips to the doctor that year, I found the right medicine that would make the terrible pain dissipate for a while.
For those of you lucky people out there that have never experienced a migraine (not a headache) in your life, picture this: head throbbing, every bright light and loud sound modified extremely, intense nausea, sometimes even the chills. This is what I have had to deal with for the past three years of my teenage life and probably more years to come.
I do not remember when it happened but I did start to gain weight a bit.
I always thought it was because, due to the pain, I was skipping swim practice. But new studies have shown girls with migraines are more likely to gain weight than girls without migraines. The studies show four out of every 10 women with childhood migraines had gained at least 22 pounds since turning 18.
And get this — obesity is also related to migraines. “One out of every four obese women reported having a migraine at some point compared to only one in six women of a healthy weight. The higher the weight, the more common the headaches occurred,” researchers said.
Obesity in our country is at a terrible, all-time high. Studies show by losing weight, migraines will decrease.
Studies also show women that learn these facts about migraines related to weight gain and weight loss then change their exercise and eating habits.
We all know making ourselves go to the gym in college is hard; it is for me at least. But after hearing these statistics, being a person extremely prone to migraines, I’ll be making a workout trip much, much more often.
Any of you out there who are prone to migraines — exercise is key. You can lose weight and get rid of those migraines at the same time.
Migraines are also highly related to stress. The more stressed you are in college, the more vulnerable you are to that scorching pain we all dread.
Here are some pointers: as soon as you feel the migraine or headache start to come about, take something — Advil, Tylenol or Excedrin Migraine. Excedrin Migraine works wonders if you and I are at all alike. Drink a lot of water — staying hydrated throughout your studies and physical activities is very important. Get enough sleep and avoid all nighters. However, too much sleep can also cause a headache.
This tip might disappoint you — certain foods can cause migraines. The responsible ingredient is a simple chemical called Aspartame. And we do not get along.
If you find yourself chewing sugar-free gum non-stop and then getting a migraine, Aspartame is the pain-causing ingredient. Cutting back on your chewing might help your cause.
Balanced meals are tremendously important! I cannot stress healthy eating enough.
But if you find yourself eating too much, you’re only bringing the two great friends (obesity and migraine) back together.
Becca Horton is a freshman majoring in communication. She can be contacted at [email protected].