Oh, freshman, I was once like you. Terrified of the inevitable wrath I thought I had no other choice than to suffer — the freshman 15 (dun dun DUN).

I had heard story upon story of cheesy fries getting the best of devoted health foodies and Netflix getting in the way of exemplary high school athletes. “It’s unavoidable!” people tell you. “Just embrace it!” others exclaim.

No.

I’m here to calm your fears: you don’t have to gain the freshman 15. Listen closely, I’m not saying that it will be an easy task. In fact, sometimes the call of a milkshake or two from Cookout is really unable to be silenced. But here are some tips that will help keep your Bama bloat under control.

1. “All you can eat” is not all you SHOULD eat — dangers of buffet-style cafeterias

If you’re like me, you like to get your money’s worth. For example, if I’m paying for a meal plan, and you’re telling me I can take whatever I want, you better believe I'll be making repeated trips back to those homestyle baked potatoes. But the thing is, no matter how nervous you are about not having enough food to survive on in your kitchen-less dorm, no person needs four baked potatoes on one plate. They just don’t.

And sure, I understand how tempting the dessert table is. Who doesn't love a buffet-style dessert table?? You can try them all! Just a liiiiittle bit of the brownie and a bite of the gooey chocolate chip cookie and a taste of the banana pudding, right?

Wrong. You will eat them all.

Please (please) do not attempt to execute self-control around southern bread pudding — it’s a battle you’ll always lose. Moral of the story: take normal sized portions.

2. Make exercise a priority

Yes, we are busy college students with social lives and mounds of homework. It’s easy to make the ‘I don’t have time’ excuse and even easier to sit on the couch and eat a bag of chips. But if you want your jeans to still fit you when winter rolls around, you need to move your behind to the gym. And since you’re a freshman, there’s a gym less than a 5-minute walk or bus ride away from you. And it’s free! Real-world gym memberships are not free. This is a luxury, folks.

3. Pizza is not meant to be eaten every day

It’s easy to forget that kale is a thing when you have dining dollars that can get you Domino's delivered straight to your dorm. You don’t even have to change out of your pajamas — is there anything more ideal? This is a wonderful thing that deserves to be taken advantage of. However, in the attempt to avoid the freshman 15, try to have a few pizza-less days of the week. Remember, I never said this would be easy. Good thing Dominos also sells salads!

4. Late night snacking also shouldn't be an everyday thing

I get it, we've all had those all-night study sessions that are impossible to get through without a little sustenance. And with the vending machines located so conveniently down the hall... it's pretty easy to make a decision that your health won't thank you for. It's okay to do this occasionally, but if you find that you've cleared out the entire row of Twix in your multiple quests for late-night satiation, perhaps it's time to start avoiding that vending machine. Instead, stock up on some healthier snacks to have on hand for when those cram sessions are unavoidable.

As a freshman, with so many new things happening in your life, gaining weight may be the last thing on your mind until it actually happens to you. It's not the end of the world! It happens to the best of us. Maintaining/losing weight is a hard thing for a lot of people, but with a few healthy habits, you can get right back on track (or a treadmill, whichever you prefer).