Maintaining health while in nursing school

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Specializes in Community Health.

Here I stand after my 3rd semester of nursing school, twenty pounds heavier than one year ago. I get sick regularly. I struggle with anxiety and panic attacks (the anxiety was always present, but the panic attacks started during my second semester). I have one semester left before I graduate with my ADN.

I have maintained a 3.65 GPA. I have good relationships with my husband, my family, and my in-laws. I have a job as a PCT and am starting as a student nurse extern in January 2017. So, overall my life is going well - but my health has taken a hard, hard hit as a result of the stress and time involved in nursing school.

So, I'm here to ask for suggestions/advice for staying healthy while balancing family/work/school. What are some of your tricks for avoiding the temptation to grab junk food while on the run? What are some healthy snacks/easy meals that won't break the bank and don't require extensive preparation? What motivates you to stay healthy?

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I have Crohn's that got worse during school and forced me into healthy eating habits. I've actually lost 30 lbs while in school but that's also due to the CD as well as healthy eating. I eat 6 small meals a day, avoid carbs and dairy as much as possible, and rarely eat fast food. I do a lot of protein bars, turkey pepperoni, and trail mix for fast snacks. Honestly portion control has been the biggest factor for me in loosing weight. Working out is good for the stress but for me hard to find time to do! Also cut out soda and I rarely drink alcohol which is loaded w/ calories.

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I would like to know some tips as well. I will be doing an accelerated BSN, so I will have no spare minute to even cook.

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Specializes in Community Health.

Chron's is rough - kudos to you for making it work! I forgot to mention that I also have IBS- another reason I need to get this under control! My body feels like absolute crap when I don't eat well. Good suggestion regarding trail mix and protein bars. I should stock up on easy stuff like that.

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I'm not in nursing school yet, but I did lose almost 100 pounds about a year ago. The key for me was just eating like I normally do, but less. I'd still eat fast food occasionally, but I'd get small fries and a single patty burger, or 6 count chicken nugget, not 10. No soda, lots of water. A lot of fast food places now offer fruit cups or yogurt as sides instead.

I always have water on me, and I always have a protein bar if I'm feeling hungry and I'm on the go. I also switched the size of my plates at home - I use small salad plates for my meals now. So it feels like I'm eating more than I am, so I feel more satisfied/satiated.

I also started yoga and meditation, along with lifting weights/resistance training. And I track my food on My Fitness Pal.

I really, 100% think that the key to losing weight is making small, sustainable changes. So many people make these drastic changes to their diets, but can't stick with them because they are just too hard/strict/unrealistic for the long term.

Good luck!

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Specializes in Corrections, Outpatient Surgery.

I have IBS and being in nursing school, I've had multiple flare ups. Recently I had to sit down with my family and we all decided to just eat healthier overall. We cut out most carbs and soda, and made it a point to eat veggies with every single meal. I don't really like to work out, so I started small just by walking. Sitting down all day make sure me even more tired, but I just try to walk the most I can. I also opt for the stairs instead of the elevator, and I park my car far. Little things will add up!

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Specializes in Community Health.
I'm not in nursing school yet, but I did lose almost 100 pounds about a year ago. The key for me was just eating like I normally do, but less. I'd still eat fast food occasionally, but I'd get small fries and a single patty burger, or 6 count chicken nugget, not 10. No soda, lots of water. A lot of fast food places now offer fruit cups or yogurt as sides instead.

I always have water on me, and I always have a protein bar if I'm feeling hungry and I'm on the go. I also switched the size of my plates at home - I use small salad plates for my meals now. So it feels like I'm eating more than I am, so I feel more satisfied/satiated.

I also started yoga and meditation, along with lifting weights/resistance training. And I track my food on My Fitness Pal.

I really, 100% think that the key to losing weight is making small, sustainable changes. So many people make these drastic changes to their diets, but can't stick with them because they are just too hard/strict/unrealistic for the long term.

Good luck!

Thank you for the advice - I really like the suggestion to use smaller plates for portion control. I live with my in-laws (which brings a whole new set of problems) and their plates and bowls are HUGE, so portion control is a problem. I will definitely start implementing that change - thank you!

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Specializes in Community Health.
I have IBS and being in nursing school, I've had multiple flare ups. Recently I had to sit down with my family and we all decided to just eat healthier overall. We cut out most carbs and soda, and made it a point to eat veggies with every single meal. I don't really like to work out, so I started small just by walking. Sitting down all day make sure me even more tired, but I just try to walk the most I can. I also opt for the stairs instead of the elevator, and I park my car far. Little things will add up!

IBS in nursing school presents a whole new world of challenges - the stress of school/poor eating choices cause IBS to flare up, which causes more stress, and it becomes a vicious cycle. Having family on board is a huge factor. My husband is supportive, but my in-laws (who we live with until July) eat VERY carb-heavy, and don't agree with my weight-control methods (I cut most carbs but will eat healthy fats/vegetables - they see me cooking eggs in coconut oil and freak out about the fat content. But I know what works for my body, and it *has* worked very well in the past when I can be consistent).

Come July I will be starting work as a nurse AND will no longer be living with the in-laws, so there will be more money available for food/more freedom to make healthy cooking choices. I'm just working on keeping my health decent in the meantime - I don't even like soda, but I find that I turn to the sugar/caffeine when under duress.

Thank you so much for your feedback!

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Being in nursing school since 2014, I am also looking for tips and working on ways I can keep my exacerbations in check. I suffer from IBS, & anxiety, and now HTN, that have gotten worse since I started school. I am so out of shape...

2016 was a tough year for me, and I am looking forward to incorporating new healthy ways to adapt to while working a PRN job and being a full-time student.

I will be trying to plan how to have more effective ways to study, incorporating exercise, and eating right for 2017.

I am thinking of using my treadmill time for listening to my recorded lectures from class. I would love to see if I can incorporate more small meals into my daily plan and even adding a bit of weight training ( I'm over 40, & working on my dream 2nd career) to this plan.

I will be following this thread.

Happy 2017 everyone!

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Specializes in Emergency.

I just finished my first semester and the last few weeks were rough on my diet! I'm going into this second semester smarter and better prepared for the task ahead. This is a marathon, not a sprint, you have to pace yourself. Take care of the engine and schedule everything! Study time, REST, healthy meals, REST, time with family, study and REST. Evidence based practice (yay!) shows that being over tired increases your body weight, lowers immune systems, and drops GPA's -- so take care of yourself.

Schedule everything, seriously. Plan out your week (including meals) and stick to it. Good luck, you can do this!!

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If keeping relationships with your family and in-laws is adding stress I'd say stop the visits and tell them you'll see them after graduation.

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How long have you been living with inlaws? I could never ever live with my inlaws for the record í ½í¸œ

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