How to NOT gain weight in Nursing School??

butterfly134 · Jun 23, 2011

I lost weight on clinicals! I brought a packed lunch and emergency money but not extra money so I couldnt buy junk food. I brought enough to keep my energy up and found I was too tired to eat when I got home so literally would grab something quickly like make a veggie stir fry, beans on toast etc. First semester of NS i put on weight however second semester I worked out 4 days a week, just made it part of my daily Good luck, I wasnt aware of my weight gain until my trousers started to feel a bit tight so if you keep an eye on your weight (without becomin obsessive obviously....its normal to fluctuate a little bit) you should be fine :) :) Just eat lots of healthy filling food! :) :) You could have about 4 apples for a bar of chocolate....you wouldnt be hungry after 4 apples...but after a choco bar....ya would start to get hungry again! :) :)

florence66 · Jun 23, 2011

I keep track of every calorie I eat in a Iphone app and exercise 5 days a week. I will get up at 0400 & get the workout in before I start the day just to make sure it happens. If I wait until later, I'm too tired or too busy. Always bring your own healthy food for meals & snacks. Eat lots of raw veggies & fruits & lean protein. If you feel you need to munch while studying, make sure its something like apple slices, raw carrots, etc. There is no reason to gain weight in nursing school. And just say no to the sweets that seem to be everywhere. I just tell myself they are poisen & poisen is bad for me. Also, it helps me to think that part of a nurse's job should be setting a good example for our patients as many of them have weight related health problems.

cschoppe · Jun 23, 2011

Haha...well I am going to be starting my last semester of nursing school in August...and I have shockingly (to some degree) gained 20lbs over these past 4 semesters...I was lean before, perhaps a bit too much, but I am not used to weight gain and this seems a bit extreme. Although, I must admit that my reward for surviving some of the NS stress is a 'good' meal lol... i.e.: a cabana bowl from Taco Cabana :) I have 2 kids (3 and 6) and my hubby works 2 jobs to support us while I'm in school so I have VERY limited time to myself..I try my best, but life is what it is, I wish I could be more dedicated like some of you guys...

cparks · Jun 24, 2011

I lost a lot of weight in nursing school. Stress caused me to lose my appetite. Maybe you may lose yours too. lol

ME TOO!! Lost like 15 lbs my 2nd semester... prolly not a good way to loose weight though.. hummmmm

Despareux · Jun 24, 2011

I'm a stress eater big time. I'm so glad I have the summer off so I can work on changing all my icky habits. I've gained so much weight during this school year.

Make sure you have easy to grab healthy snacks available for those stressful times--things like fresh cut veggies and fruit, hummus as a veggie dip, peanut butter as a fruit dip, and lots of water. Exercise can be split up into 15 minute sessions (even 10 minutes would work) 2-3 times per day. I wish I would have done this during the school year, but I didn't figure it out until the end of my 3rd quarter. It's never too late to change.

inthere · Jun 24, 2011

@ Seas. Me to! I thought I would gain a tone of weight...but with all the stress and studying...i am losing weight...not that I am complaining or anything...I could stand to lose a few pounds or like 100lbs anyway. :)

Pls no one copy me...i am trying to eat more now...I know not eating is bad.

tokyoROSE, BSN, RN · Jun 24, 2011

As everyone has said, controlling your food consumption will be the trick to avoid weight gain. I was always in the 100 lb range until I started nursing school, that's when I realized my amazing metabolism is now gone and that I would need to watch what I eat. I was too exhausted and busy the first 3 semesters of nursing school to exercise so I put my knowledge about diet from nutrition class to good use.

Here are some rules I stick by: eat only when you are hungry. Drink only water (can add in crystal lite for flavor) or occassional diet drink. Eat plenty of veggies and fruits, try fish and tofu as sources of lean protein. Watch your portion sizes! Do not eat fast food, ever. Limit going to restaurants, and when you do, make good choices. Watch the sauces-- they pack in a ton of calories. Buy everything "light" or "fat free" when possible. Cut out sweets, junk food, etc. The trick to this is not to buy these foods at all. It is easy to avoid them when you do not have them laying around the house, otherwise it can be very tempting. Lastly, everything in moderation and it is ok to reward yourself every once in awhile.

MrAllenU · Jun 24, 2011

Its not for everyone, but I am going to bike to school every non-rainy day.

I would absolutely love to bike to school! It would be approximately a 32-minute/6.1 mile ride for me.

All I need is the actual bike. :lol2:

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Jun 25, 2011

I posted this in a similar thread. I lost weight in NS. 60 lbs.

I didn't read through all the replies yet but you can get through NS without gaining weight. Due to medical problems I gained a lot of weight the couple years prior to NS after my last kiddo.

My goal was to lose most of it by the time I graduated. I wanted to go into Nursing on the right path. Nothing really happened the first year but come April in Second semester I decided to get through the pain and go for it. I have lost 60 lbs (I carry weight evenly which is blessing but also sucks. I can lose 20 lbs and not really go down much size wise, but I also gain evenly) anyway, I lost the 60 lbs by graduation and am looking pretty good. Which is rare for me to ever say. I can actually look at pics again and not think I look terrible but I am not to my goal yet. I was mostly mindful of my eating and drank tons of water in clinicals and most times at clinical if I ate at the hospital I ate salad bars.

It get really hot in the summer where I am at and I moved to the skinniest state in CO, my city is a health town and college town. So that alone also gave me the incentive to get with it and it's so nice to be able to feel comfortable wearing tank tops and "girl" clothes again.

TC3200 · Jun 25, 2011

ROTFL at this thread. I think it's a very valid concern. From what I've seen of it in 1.5 terms, nursing school is one of the most unhealthy academic programs on the face of the USA's portion of the Earth.

There was a letter to Annie's Mailbox recently by a person "Gone to the Gym" who was griping about all the fat nurses who worked in cardiologists' offices or something, then a flurry of retaliatory responses from fat nurses. I wanted to say, so bad, that It All Starts in Nursing School! My school has us cooped up in lectures for 6 hours per day, 3-4 days per week, and sometimes it's even 7 hours/day. They we're supposed to spend about 3x that at home studying. So-o-o-o-o, that's 18 + (3*18) = 72 hours of forced sedentary lifestyle per week, and then some students need to do maybe 4 hours at home per lecture hour to catch up or to "get it." So, I am starting to hate nursing school with a passion, due to all of this gd sitting I must do.

That Guy, BSN, RN, EMT-B · Jun 25, 2011

I would absolutely love to bike to school! It would be approximately a 32-minute/6.1 mile ride for me.
All I need is the actual bike.

Thats a fairly short ride and bikes these days are stupid cheap. You dont need the biggest baddest bike. Just a low level front suspension bike to take the edge off riding.

I would get off work all the time when I lived in Denver and ride 50 miles every two days. It was the best thing ever at controlling my weight. When I moved to Kansas, the wind is so terrible to deal with it isnt even fun to ride most the time but I still went to class on my bike. It really is rewarding and nice to pound out some frustration on the pedals after a long day of class.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Jun 25, 2011

Thats a fairly short ride and bikes these days are stupid cheap. You dont need the biggest baddest bike. Just a low level front suspension bike to take the edge off riding.
I would get off work all the time when I lived in Denver and ride 50 miles every two days. It was the best thing ever at controlling my weight. When I moved to Kansas, the wind is so terrible to deal with it isnt even fun to ride most the time but I still went to class on my bike. It really is rewarding and nice to pound out some frustration on the pedals after a long day of class.

See you should move back to CO I hear The Fort is a great area!