Growing Pains

If you're not careful, your son or daughter might not be the only one putting on a few extra pounds during their first year of college. Their time of getting accustomed to dorm food and a life without mandatory physical education may just coincide with a time in your life when you have a high chance of putting on some extra pounds too.

In addition to dealing with declining estrogen levels, which affects a woman's metabolism, you'll also going through the stress of new changes with your empty nest.

"Mothers may feel like they are useless or obsolete due to these life-changes," writes Todayshow.com contributor Laura Berman. "Women may turn to food as a form of comfort and as a replacement for intimacy."

So what can you do to insure that you and your daughter can still share your jeans the next time she comes home? The answer is simple; get out and get active. Now you've got the time to join a gym, take up a new sport or simply take a walk around the neighborhood.

What will you do to make sure you don't gain the "freshman 15" along with your child? Students, how are you staying in shape? [MSNBC]