Gaining weight

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I'm finishing up my BSN prerequisites and during the process I have been gaining weight. I know I need to focus 100% on keeping my GPA up and getting into nursing school, but its starting to bother me. People have noticed and brought it to my attention (as if I didn't know). Anyone have any advice on how to deal with the stress school brings while keeping the pounds off?

I know this may sound like a silly post, but I'm just wondering if this happens to a lot of people...

Take little steps. Eat more fruit, vegetables, and lean proteins. Workout when you can, at least 30 minutes. If you miss a day don't beat yourself up about it. I'd go over my notes while walking on the treadmill or between sets when doing weights.

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I just finished up my freshman year and have gained about 10 lbs, although it fluctuates! During school, I would have classes Mon,Wed, & Fridays. My classes would get over around 2 and I would pack a bag of clothes with me to take to my schools rec center. I always had flash cards on me or a study guide while I worked out on the elliptical, walking/running on the treadmill, bike etc. It not only makes you feel better, but you don't feel like you are wasting time when you could be studying! A lot of people gain weight during college. I was obsessive with how I looked in the mirror my first semester till I noticed that everyone else's bodies were changing too! More than likely you still look great, don't think about it too much or you'll just stress yourself out more than you need to! Hope I helped!

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I found myself sitting on my bum reading all day and feeling really bad doing it. So I rigged up my treadmill with a shelf over the handle bars so that I can walk slowly while reading. I study online for pre-reqs so this is truly necessary. I was feeling so yucky, I had to get moving. Now that I am out for the summer, I am exercising everyday - I have to find a way to balance it all and keep the daily exercise, because I too gained weight. It is hard to study all the time and eat well, exercise, and live life!

Also, I disagree with cutting down on carbs. You need that glucose esp. for studying! Exercise more instead if you can find a way to do it - also managing stress even if you buy a meditation CD and listen to it as you fall asleep.

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Omg!! I gained almost ten pounds a semester just during pre reqs. I'm just barely getting down to a healthy weight. Now I'm gonna start nursing school soon and I'm worried on gaining it all back haha. It took me awhile for the pounds to come off but I think so far I been keeping them off good. I have yet to compose a plan on how to keep the pounds off once I start

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Oh my.. same thing happened to me. I am thankful that this semester is finally over! I was taking A&P 2B, Micro, and another Health class all at the same time. >.> I found myself putting some pounds because I sat for too long, and found it hard making my own meals. I had to eat cafeteria food as well, since I don't drive yet. Anyhow now that summer is here, I am planning to get back into shape.. lol I decided to push myself to workout at least 4 times a week, and snack on raw veggies. It's funny because I find it so hard eat vegetables now, and a year ago I could munch on broccoli like chips...Anyhow, remember that you are going into a health field, and being healthy is a major part of your lifestyle now. :-) Choose salads when you go out to eat, choose smaller portions, subsitude splendas over regular sugar on coffees or add some honey to your toast to satisfy your sweet tooth, eat nuts as they are rich in Omega's, reduce sodium intake and increase your fiber(oats! and shredded wheat cereal), choose fish and chicken over beef and pork, and finally make sure you work out.. :D

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Try drinking green tea or chewing sugar free MINT gum when studying. If you are going to have something sweet , drink a bottle of water with it because it flush the taste out of your mouth and you wan't crave it as much. If you want to increase your fiber.. Kashi Bars and Cereal, Trader Ones Granola bars(9g fiber per bar), and Fiber one brownies for your sweet teeth and have 5g of fiber. Also if you are studying for a long period of time and don't have time for the gym or to take a walk , take a break and do push ups, sit ups, lunges, etc... for about 5 minutes. It will actually help you retain more because it will help reduce stress. Also Weight Watchers is great but if you live at college it can be hard to do because the food on campus doesn't always have a way to figure out point values and you are not doing the servings yourself. Also you might be drinking and alcohol has a lot of carbs and the whole point of WW is to limit carbs and in college its hard to limit yourself sometimes. If you don't want to join WW , just get a small notebook and count calories , if you take in 1200-1400 a day , you should lose weight.

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All great suggestions...but I wanted to share one thing my dad always tells me (and I wish I knew where he found the study so I could site it)

He says, "A study found that you can get 80% of the benefits of a weekly work out with only 1-2 days of workout days accomplished". Basically, it doesn't have to be "all or nothing," something is always better than nothing. Taking a jog once a week is still beneficial, not ideal, but it is worth doing.

I always found this encouraging, because I have a tendency to be "all or nothing" and then give up.

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

I made it through my first year without gaining anything. How? I made eating healthy and exercise a priority, right after studying, of course. I also still pulled As.

The key was planning. I cooked on Sunday for the whole week and prepackaged everything into individual servings. When I grocery shopped, I bought healthy snacks and foods for the whole week, not just that day.

Exercise has always been a stress reliever for me. I like to break up studying with workouts. Study for an hour, run for 30 minutes. Study another 2 hours, lift weights. Etc...

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Specializes in NP student.

I became vegetarian , eating green , I dont excercise much :yawn: I probably should.

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It's definitely common, and hard to reconcile since we're supposed to be advocates of health (in a sense). But, don't beat yourself up over it. The same advice applies to you as any other person that may be stressed out and gaining weight - take care of yourself! Even the smallest changes can make a difference in your body and your mind. Just know you're not alone :)

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Weights. I can not emphasize enough. I do four days a week for one hour each doing weights, hitting all major muscle groups (find my plans on bodybuilding.com) and the other half of that hour I do cardio. I can not eat enough food and gaining weight is no issue. Muscle burns more kcals than fat and increases metabolism even at rest. It's quality over quantity. I am so happy with strength training as its low maintenance, body looks great and I can eat like a teenage boy! Not to mention I am able to lift and transfer dead weight grown adults with no pain, injuries or problem.

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It's stress related. Cut back on carbs, .

yes I started to lower my carbs, and increasing my water intake this past May and I am loosing the pounds faster then I thought I would, and even though I had to get through a week or two of not feeling right, I feel wonderful now

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