Hello everyone! I have brought you here today to discuss something that I know that I was very worried about before entering college.

Yes, of course I was worried about leaving my friends behind, not having my mom by my side, having a crazy roommate, how my dogs were going to go on without my presence, but the Freshman Fifteen was toward the top of that list of issues to worry about before college.

So I am here to tell you that the Freshman Fifteen is, in fact, very real. No, it does not happen to everyone, but many people, including myself, fall victim to these vicious 15 pounds.

So now I am going to list the reasons that Freshman Fifteen could occur, so that you can hopefully avoid it.

Why the Freshman Fifteen happens:

1. You are no longer blessed with your mom's home cooked meals. Instead you are forced to eat the food in the dining hall that may not be quite as fresh and nutritious.

2. You are now free to eat whatever you want, whenever you want. You can literally eat ice cream for breakfast, lunch and dinner if that is really what your heart desires.

3. You now realize that you can go out whenever you like, and do not even have to tell your parents that you're leaving. You have a lot of freedom, and unfortunately many college students develop excessive drinking habits. Alcohol is a very easy way gain a love handle or two.

4. Many college students struggle with what time to eat because of their completely new schedules. It is easy to develop the habit of eating late at night, especially if your dining hall has late night hours like mine did. Also, going out can encourage late night eating as well because let's face it, fries and a shake sound pretty good after a night of partying.

5) You enter the buffet style dining hall and realize that there is a plethora of food that you can put on your plate. You can't decide if you want waffles, french toast, pancakes or eggs, so why not get them all, right? Buffet style dining can be extremely dangerous for those who love food like I do.

6) Whatever college campus you choose to attend, there will be many fast food restaurants around it. These restaurants are filled with cheap, greasy, fattening, delicious food that you will want all of the time. From pizza to burritos to ice cream, it takes a strong person to resist the urge to eat out all of the time.

7. With all of the studying you have to do, social events you have to attend, Netflix episodes you have to watch and bars that you have to crawl, it is sometimes hard to fit the gym into your busy schedule.

8) Many people, including myself, turn to sugary, highly caffeinated drinks because of how tired we can get. Whether you are tired from a long night of partying, or a long night of studying, drinking a vanilla latte every morning with a muffin, or a Monster Energy drink can really help you get through the day. Unfortunately it can also help you go up a size in jeans.

So there you go; these are the top 8 reasons that I believe that the Freshman Fifteen occurs for many young adults that go off to college. Luckily, the Freshman Fifteen is not permanent, and has not been too difficult for me to lose when I came back home. Trust me, it's not the end of the world if you gain some weight in college; you are still the same awesome person that you were before. Heck, you may even like those extra fifteen pounds; who knows!?

I truly wish you the best of luck when it comes to avoiding the Freshman Fifteen. Remember, just eat your veggies, limit your alcohol and fried foods intake and take a few trips to the gym!