I've noticed here how a lot of people talk about how much weight you gain in nursing school...so I'm curious: If you have yet to start NS, do you think you'll put on weight? If you're already in NS, have you put on weight?
I'm starting in a week and a half...and I think there's pretty much no way I'll gain weight. I didn't gain the freshman 15 last year at school (I didn't really gain much of anything, unless you count like 3-5lbs which was probably mostly muscle and bone since my figure finally started filling out)...and honestly, I'm pretty sure that I haven't gained any real weight in like, 3 or 4 years (as in, I still weigh within 5lbs of what I did at the beginning of high school or so).
So, considering this and what I've heard the reason for people in gaining weight in NS is stress and stress eating along with the fact that when I'm really stressed, I eat nothing...if anything, I think I'll lose weight.
doublehelix --- not that i am an expert in any way..haha, i've heard protein shakes/bars/any kind makes you gain weight fast. it also helps you gain muscle weight which is obv. better than fat weight.
as for me, i start nursing school on august 30th. i am a TERRIBLE eater...i hate fruits, veges, anything that's good for me. i have been trying to eat better because everyone has told me it will really help me get thru the long days of nursing school/clinicals. i'm hoping i will lose weight during nursing school because i'll be on my feet all day and really busy. in the summer, i have a lot of down time and i love ice cream! :) we'll see how it goes!
(i also already bought a really cool, good-sized lunchbox that i can leave in my car so that i don't have to eat the cafeteria food at the hospital)
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
doublehelix --- not that i am an expert in any way..haha, i've heard protein shakes/bars/any kind makes you gain weight fast. it also helps you gain muscle weight which is obv. better than fat weight.
as for me, i start nursing school on august 30th. i am a TERRIBLE eater...i hate fruits, veges, anything that's good for me. i have been trying to eat better because everyone has told me it will really help me get thru the long days of nursing school/clinicals. i'm hoping i will lose weight during nursing school because i'll be on my feet all day and really busy. in the summer, i have a lot of down time and i love ice cream! :) we'll see how it goes!
(i also already bought a really cool, good-sized lunchbox that i can leave in my car so that i don't have to eat the cafeteria food at the hospital)
Actually upping your protein and cutting back on other things can help you lose weight. Protein is good for muscle. But unless your weight lifting and eating a lot on top of the added protein, the protein alone doesn't make you pack on pounds. I have lost 34 lbs since april just from changing my eating habits alone and part of that is drinking 2 protein shakes a day. Now I am adding working out to the mix to lose even more.
Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.
I really wish I could gain weight. I'm very petite, and when I became a health care aide, everyone was constantly bugging me as to how i'd be able to lift and turn pts when I'm so tiny. I went from eating 3 meals a day to 6 or 7... I work out on an almost daily basis (yoga, weight lifting, running twice a day, nevermind the 8 hours at work that i'm on my feet constantly!) But I haven't gained anything. My boyfriend says all the food I eat goes to my shoes... There was one month I gained 7 pounds, and lost it a week later. If anyone has any tips for weight gain... I'd gladly love to hear it!!
That sounds just like my husband, although now that he is getting older his metabolism is slowing a very little bit. He is doing the p90x and is gaining some more muscle. If you are wanting to gain more muscle than you up the lbs of the weights. To stay lean you keep the lbs down on the weights but do more reps in your set.
Okay not to scare anyone but I gained 50(yes 50) pounds after going back to college, even before the nursing portion. I used to workout daily and vigorously and watched what I ate and was around 120lbs at 5'4. It was over the course of a year and a half, but dang! All summer I've been trying to get back to where I was as far as conditioning not even just body wise, and it has not happened! The trouble I had along with the loss of my exercise routine was the yummy foods at school! I would get 1 or 2 mocha/caramel coffee's a day, plus a muffin here or there, a cookie here or there, and lived off fast quick unhealthy food. So the moral of the story is to NOT follow my example, lol! It sucks! None of my clothes fit, and even my required polo shirt I bought last spring doesn't nearly fit, lol! Urgh, the joys the joys! So skip the calorie laden coffee's and cookies and keep up on your good habits and continue to make time to exercise. I am determined to get back to my body before my graduation in May of 2011. Little by little it will come back off just as it piled on
I not only gained weight in nursing school, I picked up smoking again-as did a LOT of my peers. I have no reasonable explaination-other than countless hours sitting on my butt writing care plans and studying, and stress. Not having time to cook or really plan meals and therefore grabbing whatever calorie-laden processed food happened to be most convenient didn't help matters either I've neglected my health the same way I've neglected a lot of things during this crazy period in my life-my housework, my friendships, my daughter...I didn't plan on any of this of course, but it happened. Nursing school is crazy-my program is especially intense-and sometimes without meaning to, you let things go and don't even realize it until you come out on the other side.
I absolutely hope that I don't gain weight. I still need to lose the lbs I've been trying to get off for months now! My thoughts are I'll be able to maintain/lose easier because I'll be packing my snacks and lunches so I'll know how many calories I've eaten. Dinners will probably be very well planned out (crockpot, ect) or else I have a feeling I'll quickly lose my sanity.
When I taught nursing I saw a lot of this mostly from stress, poor eating, lack of exercise. Some schools have gyms students can use for free or at least have areas safe for walking. Some students would walk the campus during lunch or just after class. Also, taking your lunch and having healthy snacks helps to keep one away from vending machines. Eating breakfast is very important.
Im counting on putting on some weight, and I've packed on about 5 pounds already! My lecture instructor is really hilarious....she asked us all in the middle of lecture if we have gained weight yet, and of course, most of us nodded our heads yes, but some didn't.....she got a big smile on her face and said quite confidently "oh.....you willllllllll" :) Im okay with being chunky as long as Im an RN at the end of it or Im going to be one P'ed off chunky woman.
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doublehelix --- not that i am an expert in any way..haha, i've heard protein shakes/bars/any kind makes you gain weight fast. it also helps you gain muscle weight which is obv. better than fat weight.
as for me, i start nursing school on august 30th. i am a TERRIBLE eater...i hate fruits, veges, anything that's good for me. i have been trying to eat better because everyone has told me it will really help me get thru the long days of nursing school/clinicals. i'm hoping i will lose weight during nursing school because i'll be on my feet all day and really busy. in the summer, i have a lot of down time and i love ice cream! :) we'll see how it goes!
(i also already bought a really cool, good-sized lunchbox that i can leave in my car so that i don't have to eat the cafeteria food at the hospital)