The semester is drawing near and the biggest question I keep getting from college newcomers, either freshman or transfer, is whether or not your weight will change. I'm here to inform you, yes, happily! College is the perfect place to gain easily and lose pounds without even trying; I'm here to give you a few situations and moments that you may find yourself that will quickly help anyone pack on some extra pounds or lose a little with minimal effort.

How to Gain Weight

Believe it or not, there some people who wouldn't mind an extra few to fill out their clothes better and look a little fuller. Even if you don't want to gain weight, you probably will with these natural methods:

1. Studying

Nothing says college like staying up till 4 am eating snacks and reading the assignment you put off till the last minute. The pounds will creep up slowly, but don't worry they will show up.

2. Eating Cheap

Due to the fact that you're on a budget in college, you're going to try to eat for as little as possible and what that usually means are snacks and cheap fast food. It's simple to feel like you're not eating anything but rest assured you will still gain weight.

3. Boredom

Sometimes you find yourself at home with nothing planned for the night you think "why not have a party...in my stomach". Bored eating is the easiest way to make any loose fitting shirt tight.

4. Celebrating

Whether it's good grades, passing a class, getting out of class, a birthday, when there is something to be celebrating you need to eat food especially junk food for it to feel right. There is no greater happiness than eating pizza, cookies and ice cream to commemorate a good moment and you will see nothing but higher numbers on the scale.

How to Lose Weight

Now that I've covered gaining weight, you're probably worried that there is no way to lose weight in college. You would be wrong. There are couple really easy decisions you can make that take the weight right off without stepping foot in a gym.

1. Running to class

You're going to find yourself late more than once in college. As you run to catch a bus that's starting to move and start to regret the many nights you ate an entire pizza alone you'll be sweating off at least 50 calories before you catch it. If you don't catch the bus and you really can't be late, you're going to have the best workout of your college life by running to class. Yes, physically running to your class on the other side of campus. It will happen.

2. Being broke

Nothing says diet like not being able to afford food at all and eating nothing. It's so easy to lose a few pounds when you lose a few meals in your daily routine because your wallet is lacking.

3. Stress

You may find yourself stressed about a class or a test and for some reason, you find eating to be a loss of vital time. Thus, for some time you stress starve and don't eat anything, but don't worry stress eating comes right after and you can gain some of it back.

4. Getting Sick

I don't know anyone who gets sick and has any appetite at all. The theory about a whole floor getting sick or your roommate getting sick and you also getting sick is absolutely true. Unless you stay away from your room regularly and refuse to interact with others you will catch a virus and for at least week you're probably not eating.

Satire aside, you have time to worry about getting fit or trying to bulk up later. Try not to make your first time away from home centered around trying to find the perfect balance to be healthy.

Just take your time because college is about making mistakes and figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life. You'll also learn how to study effectively without staying up all night (while eating snacks) and staying on budget to continue eating throughout the week.