Weight gain?

Nursing Students General Students

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This may seem like a dumb/trivial question, but how many of you gained or lost weight from the stress or busyness of nursing school? I worked my butt off to lose 55 pounds a few years ago, and I'm curious as to whether or not I'll have to be vigilant about it. Plus, if I gain too much, my school scrubs won't fit! ;-)

Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

Another wonderful tool is the crock pot. You can throw something together in the AM, turn it on low and it's done by dinner. I struggle a lot right around the time I get home from school, so this helps me eat what I should, not what's handy.

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I started to gain but put a stop on it by doing P90X 4-5 times a week in the basement (no gym commute needed) and tracking what I eat through the myfitnesspal app. I also try to shop smart and keep healthy snacks in my bag.

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I was sooo cute before nursing school. Nursing school aged me and I put on 15 pounds. I was determined to lose it after my BSN. Now I'm working full time and in a masters program. I just finished my first semester towards my MSN, and it ended up being too much. I had to drop a few classes. I'm determined to get this 15 pounds off. I was a runner before nursing school, and I'm committed to shutting my pie hole and getting on a treadmill! I'll get my swag back.

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Enrolling in a nursing school made me lose my weight because I found our activities really stressful because after duty, I still need to do a lot of paper works ( NCP's, reports and etc)!

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

Well, I can report that after my first semester I managed to gain 16 lbs. Never thought it could happen to me but it did. Why? Clinicals made me tired but didn't burn off any calories. And, my hubby just cannot cook healthy meals. Everyone in the family gained weight. We're all taking it off now, and I will spend the last week before the semester starts cooking and freezing meals. It will not happen again!

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Specializes in CMSRN.

Ugh. I wish I had been smarter and able to keep the weight off but 3 semesters in (only 1 to go!) I've gained the 30 lbs I worked so hard to lose before starting the program. I am trying to work really hard to watch my intake and absolutely increase my exercise so I can look cute in all the graduation pics coming up. LOL. Gotta have something for motivation right?!

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Specializes in Med Surg.

I think a lot of it has to do with how you deal with stress. There is a lot of time that has to be devoted to studying. I know some students who tend to do more nervous eating during those times. As for me, I tend to be more unable to eat when I'm stressed, so I've lost weight. Really though, you do want to try to eat correctly and do some exercise in order to stay healthy, de-stress and keep up your strength. So its not at all an optimal way of losing weight.

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Specializes in NICU.

I'm definitely a stress eater. And of course, I can't focus on my readings or studying when my stomach is grumbling. I think the eating part will be tough to get rid of but eating healthier foods will help with the calories. I also need to make more time for exercising daily. It seriously helps my stress levels too.

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Specializes in Med Surg.

It is really easy (even for someone old enough to know better like me) to get into bad habits in nursing school. You're simply short on time ALL the time. Organization is really important (and when someone figures out how to make that work, get back to me so I can learn) :D

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Specializes in Med/surg, Onc.

I busted my butt losing 85 lbs in the last 2 years, I hate to admit that I gained almost 30 back in the first two semesters. I've gotten it under control again and forcing myself to allow myself 30-45 min of exercise time 6 days a week NO MATTER what. It sucks though and it's been harder than when I originally started. I plan out my meals a month at a time now. It sucks but it's the only way I can stay on track in school.

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Specializes in Pediatrics.

Everyone gained weight in our program. EVERY. SINGLE. PERSON. So, about halfway through the program, one of the women there started power walking during out break between exams and class. It was only about twenty minutes, but then others started joining in. It helped work off nerves/stress, and by the end, most of us were joining in. She ended up losing somewhere upwards of 30 lbs.

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I think a lot of it has to do with how you deal with stress. There is a lot of time that has to be devoted to studying. I know some students who tend to do more nervous eating during those times. As for me, I tend to be more unable to eat when I'm stressed, so I've lost weight. Really though, you do want to try to eat correctly and do some exercise in order to stay healthy, de-stress and keep up your strength. So its not at all an optimal way of losing weight.

Me too. When I am stressed, I'm not hungry. I lose weight every semester.

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