We all know that one guy who was in amazing shape in high school. He spent a few years in college, partied constantly and returned home a fat slob of his former self. When we see him we always ask in our heads, ‘How the hell did he get like that?’ Frankly, the answer is ‘Very easily.’

There is no secret that a college student’s diet is not quite mother-approved. If you’re eating three meals at one of the many on-campus, gut-busting dining establishments, you are probably eating way more calories than you should already. Couple that with all the beer and soda you are going to drink, and we’ve got a recipe for disaster.

So, how do you live the college dream while preventing your waistline from expanding? Well that involves a little self-intervention, but it’s totally doable.

Consider this. An average beer contains about 100-200 calories. If you just go jogging for 15 minutes, you’ll burn about a beer’s worth of calories. Had a late night craving for a McDonald’s fat burger? That’ll be about 30 minutes on the stationary bike in the gym. You get the picture – the harder you party, the harder you’ll have to work out to maintain that svelte (or not so svelte) figure of yours.

Now the next time you go back home and see that college dropout guy with the beer gut, you’ll have a bit of knowledge to pass off to him. He’ll probably just flip you off, but at least you know better now.

Speaking of knowing better, there has been a disturbing trend I’ve noticed on campus lately. I see a lot of guys wearing flip-flops with jeans. Frankly, if you’re not going to or coming from somewhere with a lot of water (beach, showers, lakes, etc.), you really shouldn’t be caught wearing them. Besides, your non-pedicured toes are better left unseen. Ladies, keep rockin’ that look though.