Terminal Lance #218 “Life After EAS: Freshman Fifty”

A lot of Marines that EAS find that they seem to be packing on a bit more than they can chew–or maybe are chewing a bit more than they need. The barracks lifestyle is like being in a frathouse, except there’s no studying or school going on. The average diet of an 18-22 year old Lance Corporal generally consists of chow hall lunches, pizza and/or liquor and beer for dinner. Every night. Marines can pack on the junk food while back in the rear because the daily activities of being a Marine are generally very physically demanding.

Remember that morning PT you thought wasn’t doing anything for you? It was actually keeping your fat ass at a leveled weight. There’s a few reasons you’re putting on weight after you EAS:

You’re not exercising anymore.

You’re still eating like you have the metabolism of an 18 year old.

Sitting on your ass in a classroom all day isn’t a physically demanding task.

I’ve been gifted by the gods with a naturally faster metabolism than most so I haven’t put on as much weight as I probably should have, but I’ve been exercising more in an effort to get back to whatever shape I was in when I got out. I’ve actually stayed at about the same weight in pounds (about 190), but it’s only because my muscle has been steadily replaced with fat. In fact, I actually recently found out I’m pre-diabetic from all the junk food I’ve been eating over the years, which was fine while I was active duty but not okay now that I’m out and not forced to exercise every day.

Moral of the story: don’t think you can eat whatever you want when you EAS just cause you could while you were active.