A weighty issue

As a nurse, do you feel pressured to maintain a healthy weight because you are looked upon as a role model?

That's a good question...one I've thought about also. I'm currently somewhat overweight and working to get back to my ideal body weight, but I'm doing it more because I see what weight does to the body and the consequences it can have....not because of what others think.

I work in a place where, even after one day, you see how very fragile life is and how it can be ripped away from you in a moments notice. I see young and old alike. I don't want to end up like one of the patients in our beds.

Take care!

As a nurse, do you feel pressured to maintain a healthy weight because you are looked upon as a role model?

I think it is even more than a weight issue. I feel pressure just to live a healthier lifestyle overall. Like the previous poster said, I also deal with lives that are very fragile and full of illness. I think the pressure I feel might very well be self-induced pressure, but how can I encourage lifestyle changes, if I am not willing to abide by some of those changes myself. So, to answer your questions, I would have to say yes.

This is part of the reason I decided toward the end of last year that I was going to do something about my own morbid obesity, if it took every bit of energy I had (which wasn't much). I've vowed to lose 100# in one year, and as of last weekend I was just shy of one-quarter of that goal. :) But as I've cleared the bad stuff out of my system, some other things that I blew off for most of my life have become important, such as the need---and now even the desire!---to exercise, to seek out wiser minds than my own for advice on nutrition, to make this new way of life permanent.

So yes, I think being a nurse has some influence on the way I'm trying to live my life........that, and the fact that I'm tired of being tired and slow and unwieldy!

Congragulations and good for you mjl, that is awesome! Keep up the AWESOME work.

I think it is important for nurses to "practice what we preach" so to speak. Not only for weight but for smoking as well IMHO. I have a dear friend at work who has lost close to 70 pounds in the last9 months or so and she looks fabulous, I haven't seen here this happy in years. She is rejuvenated. I admire her for what she has done.

Yes.

But mostly I take care of myself for me, not because I'm a role model.

I want to maintain a healthy wieght, and healthy body and mind,for myself, to take better care of my pts. Plain and simple.

No. It may be because my patients never have any problems related to being OVERweight. (premies tend to want to get fatter:))

Well, I'm a nursing student right now, but I've heard how physcially demanding nursing can be. I try to remind myself of that when I'm slacking at the gym - I know that keeping myself in good shape will only benefit me once I start working.

(But it's still hard to get my lazy butt moving!)

-Kate

This is part of the reason I decided toward the end of last year that I was going to do something about my own morbid obesity, if it took every bit of energy I had (which wasn't much). I've vowed to lose 100# in one year, and as of last weekend I was just shy of one-quarter of that goal. :) But as I've cleared the bad stuff out of my system, some other things that I blew off for most of my life have become important, such as the need---and now even the desire!---to exercise, to seek out wiser minds than my own for advice on nutrition, to make this new way of life permanent.

That's awesome, mjlrn97! You must've really worked hard to already be a quarter of the way to your goal in just a couple months. You're an inspiration to me, and I'm sure the rest of us, no matter how much or little weight we want to lose.

yes, I do, but I am also aware that working night shift for 18+ years the nurses tend to be on the heavy side, for a variety of reasons. I am ever working on shedding those added kilos! So I try not to beat myself up over this, I think my I have a greater understanding of my client's stuggles with weight, HTN, stress, depression, etc.