I really need a better diet...

Nursing Students General Students

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..I am gaining weight. I don't know if it is just the stress of school/life... but man, i gained like 10 lbs this semester... How do you guys stay in shape? How do you manage to eat healthy??

Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

It happened to me, too. I gained about 15 lbs each year of school, though managed to lose the 15 plus a little more over the summer in between. I didn't lose the other 15 after I graduated- still working on that.

A few things that did help me to keep things at bat were packing healthy foods, squeezing in workouts wherever I could and utilizing the gym on campus. Keep mindless munching at bay. If you eat to stay awake (let's face it, it happens), choose air popped pop corn, grapes, cherry tomatoes, things like that. I would also prop my laptop on my treadmill and walk at an incline while reading my e-books or studying the PowerPoints.

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Specializes in ICU/ER, Maternal, Psych.
Besides diet, are you exercising? In an ideal world we would all have healthy snacks around whenever we got the munchies while studying;) But you need to stay active too. When you take a break from studying go for a walk, lift some weights, do some squats, hop on the stationary bike. I enjoy working out because it clears my head, and I know this will not change once I start the program in January. I plan to record lectures and listen to them while on my run. Also, I will be packing a healthy lunch and snack to bring with me to school...I am too picky of an eater not to.

I love the recording and listening deal while exercising. No I am not exercising at all, I need to.

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Specializes in ICU/ER, Maternal, Psych.
I had the same problem. I gained like 25 pounds during school and I contributed it to all the time spent sitting and studying and eating on the run. I worked full time while I was in school too so I didn't have much time for anything, let alone exercise. I tried to make up for it by parking as far away as humanly possible when I went anywhere so I'd have to walk further. And using the stairs at school instead of the elevator (and holy poop those nursing books were heavy!).

I ended up losing a whole lot more than I gained when I started working and I was thinner than I've ever been, but it wasn't healthy weight loss it was because of stress and anxiety.

My best advice? Healthy snacks, water, and watch how much of what you put in your coffee. Haha.

I just noticed last night he 8 mini creamers i put in my coffee... also the starbucks caramel macciatos dont help.

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Specializes in ICU/ER, Maternal, Psych.
Do you snack while studying? Or maybe in class during lecture? I gained about 8-10 lbs in block 1 and found I would always have little snacks with me while studying or during lecture. Furthermore, I wasnt exercising much because I spent a lot of time studying. I have now cut the study time snacking and just a more wholesome meal at meal times with small snacks in between. I also now take my study notes and lecture recording to the gym and study while on the elliptical. I listen to recording while using free weights or other machines. Its just about finding a balance with exercise and food in your life. But the stress of nursing school can make that tough. I dont know if we can put app names on here, but there is a fitness/diet app in the app market or itunes store (depending on what phone you have) that you can enter the food your eat (and even scan packages!) and it will add your calories for you. You can also add in any exercise and it will estimate your net caloric intake. This can help give you a visual and help you to make some changes. GL

Yes, I study and my stomach grumbles and I decide i need to snack.... it suck. and I work NOC shifts on the weekends...

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Specializes in ICU/ER, Maternal, Psych.
I gained a total of 30 pounds through two years of school. I wanted to feel good about myself and the way I look, and decided to make a change. I have a protein shake in the morning and for lunch (Boost is the best, tastes great), I have scheduled snacks of fruit, yogurt, or almonds, and a meal at night with my family. I leave my debit card at home so I'm not tempted to go through a drive thru for lunch, and I also have one "cheat night" a week. Usually on Friday.

Choose fruit instead of chips/snacks. Drink water, lots of water (you can still have your coffee when you need it), and set times for meals.

I've managed to lose 11 pounds this semester!

I like the "leave debit card at home" deal because when your class mates decide they want to go to eat... sometimes its easier to say yes. Change need to happen

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I gained 15 pounds while in school after losing 100 before school started! My last day is tomorrow, so I'm going back to working out and eating right! I don't have any advice, just that I know how you feel. My fitness pal is what originally helped me lose 100 pounds and working out 5-6 days a week. It was impossible for me to keep that up in nursing school with two small kids. I'm thankful I didn't gain more than 15 but I feel like I gained 50!

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Specializes in Oncology/hematology.

The most important thing is planning ahead. That means meal planning, grocery shopping and prepping your meals and snacks. It's worth it for your waistline and your pocketbook. I am a huge proponent of exercise. It is necessary whether you need to lose weight or not. You are about to embark on a profession that requires you to be physically capable.

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Hey Jen!

I gained a lot of weight this semester, too. I plan to go back to what I've always done.

1. Preplanning meals and snacks

2. Go grocery shopping in the morning of one of your days off, after breakfast. And then, prep all your food. Cook your meats and freeze. Chop your veggies, etc. portion out your snacks. Throw your lunches together. This saves my life. I'll usually listen to lectures while doing the cooking

3. Go for walks outside, weather permitting. I usually take this time to workout whatever is going on in my head and take a break from nursing.

4. If you can, get a spin bike or row machine. I have a spin bike and will pick my favorite show and watch one episode in the morning. It's great bc I can not think about nursing and it's an excuse to watch TV

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Specializes in ICU/ER, Maternal, Psych.
Hey Jen!

I gained a lot of weight this semester, too. I plan to go back to what I've always done.

1. Preplanning meals and snacks

2. Go grocery shopping in the morning of one of your days off, after breakfast. And then, prep all your food. Cook your meats and freeze. Chop your veggies, etc. portion out your snacks. Throw your lunches together. This saves my life. I'll usually listen to lectures while doing the cooking

3. Go for walks outside, weather permitting. I usually take this time to workout whatever is going on in my head and take a break from nursing.

4. If you can, get a spin bike or row machine. I have a spin bike and will pick my favorite show and watch one episode in the morning. It's great bc I can not think about nursing and it's an excuse to watch TV

I live in southern California, so being outside is somethibg j should make time for daily! Thanx again! Planning meals ahead is a life saver! !!

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I lost 50 pounds before nursing school and gained 30 of it back during my two year ADN program. I was training for a half-marathon before school and virtually stopped exercising for the two years. I eat very healthy. In fact, my classmates used to comment on my light and healthy meals. 30 pounds nevertheless. One of my teachers said it's very very common to gain weight during nursing school and stress combined with the hours of sitting studying are part of the problem. I'm also going to put lack of sleep partially to blame. She said there is a definite link between the stress hormone Cortisol and weight gain.

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Stress increases cortisol thus assists with unwanted weigh gain. If you're already eating healthy ish and exercising regularly, try supplementing with adaptogens. If you can tolerate it, intermittent fasting/training really helps with branched chain amino acid supplements. Ditch cardio and build muscle mass first to increase your metabolism so time to pick up some weight bearing programs.

Nonetheless, its worth researching adaptogens as a supplement if exercising isn't your thing. Intermittent fasting/training is very effective in burning fat and assists with cortisol control, there is quite a bit of research out there on this topic. Reverse pyramid training is also a huge fat trimmer, goes hand and hand with what said prior, if you are comfortable barbells, have the baseline strength and need to trim excess fat. All worth googling.

Females are especially not excluded.

For all its worth, I've been powerlifting for years and through my BSN program.

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Such good information and I am glad to know I am not the only one that gained weight this semester.. I am joining a gym this week and getting back in the groove of exercising before next semester starts mid January. My food choices were horrendous this past semester, ate a lot of comfort food, a lot of snacks and fast food. That combined with the stress is horrible on weight. I am hoping that the exercise will help with the stress level and the food choices need to be thought out ahead of time instead of just grabbing and grazing.

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