Taking the weight off after nursing school

Marie_LPN, RN, LPN, RN · Jul 14, 2005

Weight started coming off on it's own about 4 months after graduation. Continued to exercise, but i was also eating less because i wasn't "stress eating" anymore.

Chicklet2 · Jul 14, 2005

At the end of nursing school, we did a survey and the average weight gain was 20 pounds. I thought that after I started working, the weight would come off as easily as I put it on (HA)
I find now that I'm working, it is not coming off as easy d/t constantly picking up shifts and no time to go to the gym(I barely have enough time to sleep!).
Is any one else having trouble taking the extra weight off? And if so, what are you doing to help???

Hey, well i am graduating in oct 14/05 and have found i have gained at least 20lbs in a year. It's sooo bad, but once i started my 7 week practicum in the hospital i felt like i was always busy and didn't have time to think about snakcing and so on. I have also found eating 3 good meals a day cuts down on the snacking. If you are studying and need to eat, try chewing gum or drinking water. I have lost 10lbs in the last month.

Altra, BSN, RN · Jul 15, 2005

7 lb. gone since graduation ... :chuckle

I've had a month off -- cooking at home, no hospital cafeteria food, no crazy busy schedule so that I don't eat until I'm famished.

I start work on Monday - I'm determined to keep that weight off!

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · Jul 15, 2005

Weight started coming off on it's own about 4 months after graduation. Continued to exercise, but i was also eating less because i wasn't "stress eating" anymore.

Good to read this, maybe there is still hope for the rest of us after we graduate

suzanne4, RN · Jul 15, 2005

Try taking your food with you instead of purchasing at work....you can be much more selective as to what you put into your mouth. :)

Also, keep healthy snacks in your locker for emergency use......

blackIrish · Jul 16, 2005

Hey I also gained a buttload(literally!) of weight during school! 20 pounds actually (On top of the 15 I still hadn't lost after having 2 kids 1 year apart!)

So at my highest, I needed to lose almost 40 pounds!

I have lost about 10-15 so far. (Out of school for 2 months now)

Here is what I do.

- I pack my lunch for work EVERY DAY. I pack 3-5 smaller meals for my 12 hour shift. 7a-7p- I eat nothing once I'm home. I TRY to eat very clean. (ex. spinach salad or homeade veggie soup- beans and brown rice, high fiber cereal w/ soy milk) Usually around 1500 calories a day. Maybe a little more if it is a workout day.

BTW- I went back to being a vegetarian after being a meat eater all through school.

-I only weigh myself 1x/month

-I lift weights 3x/week no matter what. Full body workouts in my basement. Even if I just worked 12 hours, played w/ the kids for 2, bathed and cuddled, then put to bed-sometimes I don't get started until 10:30pm(like tonight)

-I walk the dog 3 other days of the week( we have alot of steep hills) or hit the step class at my gym.

-I take off from working out 1 day a week

- I drink alot of green tea

-I take my vitamins and some supplements- multi, CLA, L-glutamine, B-complex.

Now, this may seem strict, but after I had to literally FORCE myself the first few workouts, was really tired, felt hungry at night in the first few weeks- it kind of just became second nature. Like brushing my teeth everyday. You don't really think about it, you just do it. Now, if I skip my workout, I feel tired the next day.

Well, I hope that helped you-

One more thing- dh is taking me to the beach for a much needed vacation(just us!) So, I have a big motivating factor- me in a bikini on the beach. That is enough to scare anyone into the gym! :chuckle

grinnurse, RN · Jul 18, 2005

Good topic.

Graduated in May and told my Mother that once I started working that I would probably loose most of the weight that I had put on pretty quickly. I have been working now for 5 weeks and so far I have lost 9 of the 25 that I need to ..........not a bad start.

I think mine is coming off b/c like someone else said I am not stress eating (for the most part), walking like the devil at work, and usually too tired when I get off to eat very much. Plus I find that I am drinking a lot more water and that's helping.

Good luck to everyone out there trying to take the extra weight off!!

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jul 18, 2005

Hi everyone. I lost 5 lbs since I graduated from nursing school this spring & am now back at my normal weight thank goodness. I feel like now I have so much more time to exercise (no more care plans, tests, etc!!!) "& now I work out (treadmill or power walking outside) for 45-60 min 4-5 days/week. I also noticed I'm so much less stressed out now so I don't snack as much anymore. And I try to drink a TON of water every day. I also do one other thing-which my husband finds funny for some reason-I keep a running list in my head of all the food I ate that day & which food group they fall under. For example, I'll think "ok, I ate cereal, skim milk & fruit for breakfast-so I still need 2 more servings of dairy foods today & at least 1 more fruit today", etc. So that way I try to eat enough fruits & veggies during the day according to the food pyramid & usually by then I'm too full to eat doritoes or other bad foods that I'm always craving! :)

-Christine

SaraB · Jul 18, 2005

I lost 15 pounds while in nursing school. I think it had to do with exercising I was doing to deal with the stress. I have kept up with exercising at least 3 times a week, every week. Sometimes I say I'll do it more, but I don't usually go through with it. But 3 times a week has become a regular part of my life, like brushing one's teeth. I also try to eat healthy, but don't deny myself anything. This helps in not obsessing about food.

Happy-ER-RN, RN · Jul 18, 2005

I was on days during orientation and I gained weight, it seemed like a lot of the day nurses were overweight and it seemed like we were always eating. Now that I am on nights I have lost 3 pounds just in the first week. Maybe it's because the cafeteria food is horrible at night and I am not big on bringing something to eat. I had green beans and apple pie for dinner last night :chuckle --and it was the only thing I ate for over 24 hours. I also think I was bored in my last year of nursing school (we had all community clinicals--which means filing papers), so now that I am excited and busy I have better things to do than eat all the time.

PamelaJean · Jul 24, 2005

I walk around the hospital during my coffee and meal breaks. I have a quick bite to eat usually salad and a protein of some kind. I gained 50 pounds partly due to some medication I was taking but I have lost 25 and I am still losing.