The fear just hit me - help :(

[RainbowDash]

I will begin my nursing school odyssey in two weeks time... and at first, the general "oh my god are you SURE can you REALLY do it" fear hit me, after the initial joy at acceptance. I was able to tell that little voice in my head to get lost - I am very sure and I can certainly do it.

And then I realized something.

I'm quite heavy. Quite. It doesn't impede my physical capabilities, but I will be honest. When I remembered my weight... my heart sank. I don't even THINK about it most days, because I refuse to view myself negatively lest everyone follow my own example. I have made changes over time and have been trying to drop some pounds but for me, it is very long and slow going over a lifetime of extra chub. (I will be 28 next month, and I've been overweight since I was 5 years old, and it has only grown over time, stress, four kids, and a lot of lovely endocrine problems.)

So now, suddenly, I am left staring at myself in the mirror and thinking... what if nobody wants you around? What if everyone treats you like crap because you're the fat girl? What if prospective employers never want to hire you because you're the fat nurse? What if your instructors decide you're the scapegoat because you're fat?

Someone please tell me that I am not doomed. I haven't been this worried about my weight since the very dark days of high school.

[RNsRWe, ASN, RN]

I'm not sure this is going to come across right, but I'm going to give it a whirl: If your weight is the thing in nursing school that gives you the most grief, you are truly BLESSED.

Nursing school is about dedication to studies, ability to absorb data quickly, ability to use critical thinking skills to move through all the areas of study. It's about learning how to learn, frankly, as well as how to apply all that wonderful knowledge.

If you have time or energy to give much consideration to your weight--beyond "do I have a uniform that's clean and fits me today"--you probably should go back to studying

Next time you're in a medical facility of ANY kind, take a real hard, critical look around. You'll find tall and skinny, short and fat, tall and fat.....you name it. What you AREN'T likely to find is Heidi Klum!

[sourpickle93]

Hi Rainbowdash (love the name),

First of all, a BIG congratulations to you on getting into nursing school! You have all the right to be happy, excited and proud! I would like to mention a few things and I hope you will consider what I am about to tell you and hopefully you will follow my advice because it's so, so, sooooo important that you don't listen to those who try to put you down or make it seems like nursing is hell because it's totally NOT.

First off, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT listen to ANYBODY who say anything negative about nursing school in general such as, "can you really do nursing school? Because it's like this and that" You must remember, the nursing school experience is different for EVERYONE. For me personally, I loved nursing school and it all depends on how YOU personally tend to organize and plan everything out in order to have a successful experience. People say nursing school is hard because they make it hard for themselves but trust me when I say if you do your work, complete all assignments on time, manage your time affectively, be organized, ask questions, learn, study the best you can, get proper sleep, eat well and exercise your stress out whenever it is needed YOU WILL DO GREAT! DO not feel pressured to be or act in a certain way. You must also remember that ANYTHING in this world in possible you just have to put your mind, heart and soul into whatever it is you plan to pursue and just go for it! That's how people become so successful even though they have people telling them, "oh you can't do it because bla bla bla bla bla!" It's all BS!

The BIGGEST mistake, again I say, is to listen to other people. Don't ever in your lifetime commit this mistake!

It all depends on you and how you want to experience nursing school.

You can either make it very hard for yourself or very easy. If you follow my advice and have fun with it there should no reason for you to not be successful. You have to be serious, do your work and be willing to learn new things.

You seem like a sweet and determined person, do not let anyone take that away from you or put you down.

Now as for your personal weight issue I can recommend a few things for you:

-Pack healthy snacks and lunches for classes

-Eat healthy dinners

-DO NOT pile up on the junk food when you are stressed, it's the WORSE thing to do and do not be tempted to eat junk food when you see other people eating it

-When you are stressed find some time to do some short exercises (short walks, running, sleeping, etc)

I think it's a good idea to eat healthy and drink tons of water (NO POP) throughout nursing school. When you graduate then you will have some more time to plan out your fitness goals and conquer it by going to the gym and eating healthy.

Just remember anything is possible in this world. You must be determined and passionate towards your goals and your future ahead of you. Once you have achieved your dreams and ambitions, you will feel great. Everyone is different from one another and so are experiences.

You are your own unique person and I have complete faith in you. Please try to be strong, believe in yourself and go get em' girl, show em what you got! You'll do great, I promise:) DON'T let anything or anyone lower your self esteem because at the end of the day, it's all about who you are as a person and what you have to offer in this world, not anything else.

Here are some other useful tips for nursing school:

-Do not procastinate

-Do you work and study the best you can and if possible try to finish assignments early as you may have other priorities and other homework, papers, exams, projects, etc. from other classes

-Ask questions, the more you ask the more you learn

-Get to know your instructors

-Try not to stress yourself out and find ways to get rid of it

-Stay away from unecessary drama and do your work

-keep a close circle of nursing friends

-Most importantly, have fun and take pride in your work

Hope this helps and goodluck, do not panic you'll do fine. And also....have FUN!

If you need anyone to talk to, I'll be here.

Much love,

Hee-hee

:)

[needluck]

When I was in nursing school a few years back..your post reminded me..I never noticed if someone was over-weight or not..we were all so close trying to help each other make it thru nursing school..it was a NON issue looking back! I wish u all the luck in the world:)

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

Oooh, I just have to share this here, even if the mods move it. I read about a smartphone app called Lose It, supposed to help you with the behavior mod we all know we really need if we're serious about lifetime weight management. It was free, so I said, oh, heck, why not, what have I got to lose? Other than the obvious, of course.

You put in your goal weight and how many pounds per week you want to lose (it won't let you put in more than 2 pounds per week, because, as we all know, faster than that is not likely to stay gone and it's not healthy to lose it faster anyway). It assumes you have normal activity of daily life, and calculates a calorie budget for your goal loss, and gives you a time by which you will accomplish it. You can tweak it, as I did, because assuming I have a normal activity level is ludicrous, alas, so I ratcheted it down a bit for that after about two months.

You put in everything you eat-- you don't have to write much because it comes with a HUGE database of foodstuffs, including prepared foods by brand-- and then...just....watch. Eat what you want, but be honest.

I gotta tell you, it's amazing how this works. I get so peeved if I get my total too high by lunch that my afternoon snacks and supper are lighter. I've figured out what makes a satisfying breakfast and lunch. I find that a lot of the things I really like (like fresh berries...yum..and fresh squash out of the garden) are ridiculously low in calories so they're almost free munchies. I was totally shocked to find that things I thought weren't all that bad are really awful-- a hot dog is 140 calories, and those big pretzels at the ballpark are over 480! Well, that's enough behavior mod for me.

I've been doing this for, let's see now, 90 days, so that's just about 13 weeks, and I have dropped 32 pounds. Totally painlessly. And looking back at my reports, I find that I have somehow, without trying, consumed a good balance of fats, proteins, and carbs, a good variety of foods, and achieved a nice, steady downward line. Well, except for that week in the big city... but hey.

Since my loss has been a little too fast, I may boost my budget a bit-- I do love this program. Disclaimer: No connections to the app or its developers, except it is now near and dear to my heart! And never embark on a weight loss program without seeing your PCP first.

Oh, and OP? You know you'll be healthier at a lower weight. Your opinion (and your PCP's) are the only ones that matter.

[student987]

in my case it is that i look weird (have 1 eye). the fellow students, treated me like crud. HOWEVER the teachers were amazing (our main one in particular she was a GOD SEND). patients were pleased to have be because i traeted them with respect which is all they really care about in the end

[Fearless_leader]

Hi Rainbowdash,I just ran across your thread and I just have to comment. For one I am obese I'm not even going to say overweight. I'm 260 the heaviest I've ever been! 7months ago I was 230. I'm 5"9 as well. I just had my 4th child and the added weight from carrying him isn't budging on top of that I gained those 30lbs due to stress & overeating. So not good. Anywho I agree with the other posters working around & with other nurses no one pays attention to weight that much. We had a respiratory tech who was overweight and walked with a limp. But honey..... let a code go off you should see her haul booty.... :) Therefore, if she can get around so can you & me! On another note before I read your text me and my hubby was just talking about me having the lap band procedure. I brought this up to him several times. He has been against me doing this, & to my surprise he AGREED. Let me tell you we have 4 kids and everyone I gave birth which was natural he would get so nervous because he didn't want anything to happen to me or our babies. All my pregnancies were normal I must add. Then I had a breast reduction & he reacted the same way. He truly cares for my health but to hear him agree with me having this surgery is music to my ears. Unfortunatly my hubby insurance doesn't pay for it at all, & right now I'm trying to get rehired as a PCA at the hospital I use to work for, & they will pay for the procedure. Personally (this is my story) I don't like being overweight I was never overweight as a child only in my adult life around 10years now. I've done every weightless regimen that's out there so FOR ME this is my last option. I'm also trying to avoid diabetes & heart disease which runs in my family. We all have to do whats best for us. I hope you can find an answer to your weight problems. I will say this until your comfortable with who you are your weight will always be an issue. Good Luck and here to our health. :)

[SarahBean87]

Keep thinking the way u were thinking hunni... don't view yourself negatively and others won't either in that you are a hundred percent right. As long as you are willing and eager to learn and be a great nurse everyone will want you around, don't doubt yourself because of your weight issues.

[RainbowDash]

O I read about a smartphone app called Lose It, supposed to help you with the behavior mod we all know we really need if we're serious about lifetime weight management.

Thank you for this - I am going to get this ASAP! it can't hurt!!!

I have Celiac Disease (only found out two months ago) and it makes my diet SO much harder.. so much... it is not easy especially if I'm insanely busy and forget to eat... sometimes I eat once a day, sometimes I skip a day, and that is NOT doing me any favors!! So I am going to take it a step at a time and try to get into the routine of remembering to eat 3 smaller meals and 2 snacks a day, and I am going to drink much more water, and much less Diet Coke (shameful habit). I'm the mom of 3 kids 7 and under and my life is frantic as-is, and I'm about to embark on one hell of a rollercoaster ride and if I don't take care of myself I won't make it without screaming to the operator to let me off, so this is not a "can I", this is an "I must". Even if I don't lose a ton of weight I will be MUCH better off, I won't be so cranky and fatigued and have lightheaded spells. You should have seen me this past Saturday walking into school to take my TEAS... I hadn't slept or eaten in two days, and I thought I was going to faint dead away. It wasn't pretty and it has taken me all weekend to recover, and I cannot keep stressing myself like that, it won't work.

To every kind and wonderful soul who has posted here to help me and reassure me, you have no idea just how valuable your words have been to me. I am incredibly thankful... and I'm not so scared any more. :)))

[whatdoIdonow?]

In my nursing program, we had several students with weight issues ( myself included). Honestly, I was very embarrassed at first because I looked REALLY bad in the uniform of the program compared to the thin students. And, my first instructor (very fit and very young) would cringe everytime I came near her. So, I do think it is a problem for some. But, once I started to prove myself through my studies, I started to improve my self image in the program. In later semesters, I had middle-aged instuctors like myself who struggled with their weight as well.Weight was never a problem again. And, I never felt that they treated me negatively. I think it is just the world we live in. Some will react and some will not. It's up to us to maintain our self confidence no matter who we are dealing with and make our worth based on our substance and not our appearance. Plus on the job a strong self esteem is required to survive the daily beat down and negativity of those certain nurses who like to abuse the new guy (like they one I'm dealing with right now!)

As for getting a job as an overweight nurse- I think that can be a problem because they have pre-employment physicals, health screenings etc. They ARE trying to weed us out! But, still i have seen larger nurses as new hires (including myself).

Honestly, I struggle with losing the weight- I yo yo up and down all the time. Being heavy in school plus the added weight caused my health to decline. I'm now pre-diabetic and having BP issues I didn't have two years ago. My best real world advice to anyone (including myself) is to make a priority out of losing the weight in order to be healthy enough to do the job in the long run. It is a very physically demanding field!

But, in the meanwhile, realize that healthy weight loss is daily walk. Embrace and support yourself emotionally as you take that walk, loving yourself every step of the way for who you are inside because it's about the journey, not the destination.

Best wishes in your nursing program! Believe you can do it and you will !!

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

We all have some sort of issue and looking back, no one in my nursing school class looked like a Barbie doll. We did have an instructor who looked like Angie Dickenson, but that's another story for another day.Study hard, do the best you can, and take care of your self.

[mariebailey, MSN, RN]

I work among several nurses who come in all shapes and sizes, and I can say with certainty that weight is not a factor that determines the respect they earn from co-workers and patients. It is work ethic, authenticity, nursing ability (& willingness to acknowledge and work on areas where you're lacking), among other things. I interviewed for 2 jobs after gaining 40lbs due to a medication that slowed down my metabolism I took for a couple of years. I was offered both jobs. I have lost that 40lbs while with the same employer, and it has not changed how people treat me. Here's what I'm trying to illustrate: 1) There are genuine people who care more about your character and commitment to the profession than your BMI; seek them out. 2) If I can get hired after gaining 40lbs (& I was overweight), then you can too. 3) Your weight is not who you are, and fellow nursing student worth getting to know will recognize that. I hope this helps a little. Good luck in nursing school!

[OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN]

I've had weight struggles for many years. Im never been hugely overweight but Ive always been overweight. I gained a lot in the past few years after my second child and then was losing but that stopped when I started nursing school 2 years ago. Ive still been fighting it and have managed to lose 15 pounds this past few months but I have a ways to my goal. So far I haven't felt strange in school about my weight but one of my thin classmates couldn't validate vitals because she couldnt find my pulse, its higher up then normal and my instructor found it in seconds, but afterward she said she couldn't find it because I was so overweight. It really hurt my feelings, and embarassed me. I also am bradycardic, so that doesn't help. That was my worst incidence. Mostly, I have tried to lose weight because as a mother and a nurse (to be) I know its physical and I just want to be healthy, set a good example, and have more energy. Good Luck to you and try not too worry about, it will only stop you if you let it!