All of the hard work we put into looking good may be going to waste by just one simple thing – plastic.

At the gym, in class or simply on the streets, you will see people chugging water from plastic bottles. Besides needing water to live, people drink water to stay healthy and, sometimes, to curve appetite or lose weight. However, drinking out of plastic bottles may have the opposite effect.

Most of us, if not all of us, have been warned about the toxicity of Bisphenol A (BPA). BPA is a chemical that is commonly found in plastics and has been linked to many health issues. Some of the dangers of BPA include high blood pressure, effects on the brain, cancer and heart problems.

When BPA enters your body, it immediately causes problems by disrupting the pancreatic beta-cell function. Beta cells help control insulin production in the body. BPA interferes with these cells by causing them to produce too much insulin, according to a study by Diabetes and the Environment. Too much insulin production can cause type 2 Diabetes and obesity.

Working out and eating healthy takes a lot of dedication. It’s no secret that eating potato chips while watching Netflix would be so much easier. Unfortunately, plastic is ruining all of your efforts to stay healthy.

Not only does drinking out of plastic water bottles initiate fat growth, but having plastic around your food does too, according to CHOICE. This is extremely frustrating.

As college students, we are constantly busy, and sometimes lazy. Microwaving frozen food or eating with plastic utensils is so much easier and less time consuming than doing the dishes. But, in the long run, the only one you’re helping is the plastic industry.

It might be time to say goodbye to plastic and to BPA. Consuming these harmful chemicals is doing nothing for your bikini body. It may be fall right now, but it won’t be long before it’s summer and we can no longer hide behind our sweaters.

There’s nothing wrong with having a muffin top or beer belly, but that’s what should be causing that weight – beer and muffins, not plastic.

Not to mention that, not only will you be helping your body, but you’ll also be helping out the planet. While consuming plastic might add a couple inches around your waist, it’s adding more than a couple of inches to the world’s landfill.

So do your body and the environment a favor, use less plastic.

Brooke Martin can be reached at [email protected] or @bmartin471 on Twitter.