trouble stayng slim when in nursing school

johnnrachel · Jan 1, 2005

Okay so I saw this thread and thought "Oh that does not pertain to me" However I recently bought my brand new spanky scale for the new year and to my dismay I got on it. :crying2: I am now eating whole wheat toast for a snack and considering joining "Curves" this sounds like a good idea now but when I start back on the hectic nursing school schedule will I really have time? :uhoh21: I will continue on my quest to lose the #$@! pounds that have found their way to my stomach. Please wish me luck. :eek:

NewEnglandRN, RN · Jan 1, 2005

Anyone looking for an email buddy for support with weight loss? I am heading into my 2nd semester of an ADN program and know it would help with to "talk" to someone else who is experiencing similar stresses/demands of Nursing school.

Just send me a PM.

Pammie · Jan 1, 2005

Ok. Let me expose my ignorance here. What is a PM? I am heading in semester 2 also. I need a support friend, too.

Pam

Anyone looking for an email buddy for support with weight loss? I am heading into my 2nd semester of an ADN program and know it would help with to "talk" to someone else who is experiencing similar stresses/demands of Nursing school.
Just send me a PM.

mjbsn2006 · Jan 1, 2005

Send an email to her personal address; I to need all the support I can get!!

Ok. Let me expose my ignorance here. What is a PM? I am heading in semester 2 also. I need a support friend, too.
Pam

Constance Ann · Jan 5, 2005

I know that we have enough stress in nursing school without bringing our weight into the picture but I put on 10 pounds this past semester! I was wondering if anyone else had trouble keeping weigt off in nursing school........I think I ate more due to stress and late night studying....I didnt exercise as much and I just.....felt my clothes getting tighter. I would like to lose these 10 pounds so my clothes can fit me again and also avoid gaining weight this next semester......grrr! Does anyone have any advice or has this happened to you.....my main goal in nursing school is to pass my classes but I also would like to maintain my health and not put on weight. Help!!

When I started nursing school I weighed 140 which was ok with me. Now I am at 205 and for a 5'2" frame that is terrible. However I started an exercise routine but did not keep it up but thought I would share what I had good intentions of doing. I am going to try to do this again this semester. I would like to add that I am now in my last year of my masters degree so since starting this pilgrimage of nursing school in 2000, my life has been nothing but stress, work, stress, family, stress, tests, stress. If I do not do something soon I will be failing a much needed stress test.

So back to the plan. I had read somewhere that exercise was cumulative so when I was studying I would set my timer and stop after 1 hour and go to the basement and walk the treadmill for 10 minutes only. Then I would come back up stairs reset the timer for another hour and when it would beep, I would start my trek to the basement again, do the 10 minutes and after three hours I had a cumulation of 30 minutes of exercise. :rotfl: I did this for quite a while however the content I was studying became so demanding that I would not want to stop after the hour of studying. This was my downfall to exercising. It was a good stress buster too. I must say though that you don't want to exercise to late into the evening as it will be harder to get to sleep with all of that energy. I have noticed that I am a very good sitter and can stay in one postion for a very long time, which by the way is not good for us. Since we are notorious for giving care to others we often forget to take care of ourselves. Remember if we are not in good shape it will be harder to give the care needed to our patients. I hope you can find a strategy that works for you.

Pammie · Jan 5, 2005

The wonderful woman who was director of our nursing program for years and is now our college's vice-president told me that she put on 35 pounds just while working on her Master's. It is truly a concern to me for several reasons. How can we help someone else when we, ourselves, are not good examples and obviously not following our own adivce? I feel like it is an awful example. I hope that in the process of our battle AND!! our victory that we will be able to use what we learn to help others.

When I started nursing school I weighed 140 which was ok with me. Now I am at 205 and for a 5'2" frame that is terrible. However I started an exercise routine but did not keep it up but thought I would share what I had good intentions of doing. I am going to try to do this again this semester. I would like to add that I am now in my last year of my masters degree so since starting this pilgrimage of nursing school in 2000, my life has been nothing but stress, work, stress, family, stress, tests, stress. If I do not do something soon I will be failing a much needed stress test.
So back to the plan. I had read somewhere that exercise was cumulative so when I was studying I would set my timer and stop after 1 hour and go to the basement and walk the treadmill for 10 minutes only. Then I would come back up stairs reset the timer for another hour and when it would beep, I would start my trek to the basement again, do the 10 minutes and after three hours I had a cumulation of 30 minutes of exercise. :rotfl: I did this for quite a while however the content I was studying became so demanding that I would not want to stop after the hour of studying. This was my downfall to exercising. It was a good stress buster too. I must say though that you don't want to exercise to late into the evening as it will be harder to get to sleep with all of that energy. I have noticed that I am a very good sitter and can stay in one postion for a very long time, which by the way is not good for us. Since we are notorious for giving care to others we often forget to take care of ourselves. Remember if we are not in good shape it will be harder to give the care needed to our patients. I hope you can find a strategy that works for you.

Patrick71 · Jan 5, 2005

Since I started nursing school in Sept 03, I've gained over 35 pounds. I don't exercise anymore, eat crap, and am stressed all the time. I hope June gets here quick or I may have to start buying bigger clothes and I'm already at an all-time-high. :uhoh21:

Constance Ann · Jan 5, 2005

Pammie, I cannot agree with you more. The best part of the fight in obesity is that if you have experienced it you are more apt to be compasionate and not just tell someone to diet and exercise which most of the Drs. tell their patients. Those overweight know they are and they feel helpless. I did see on the news tonight that Weight Watchers in the only evidence based program that works for weight loss. Now to find the time to go to meetings, although they have taken care of that too. It is now available online. We have the tools we just need to pick them up and use them. Thanks for your reply. Sincerely, Constance Ann RN, BSN not soon enough MSN :)

Pammie · Jan 5, 2005

Hopefully, we can help each other. I have gained 30 pounds, myself, in the past 15 months. My doctor told me that it was not uncommon to do this because we eat when we study and we are under a lot of stress. The nurse practitioner that I see said that stress produces cortisol, which, in turn, contributes to weight gain.

Since I started nursing school in Sept 03, I've gained over 35 pounds. I don't exercise anymore, eat crap, and am stressed all the time. I hope June gets here quick or I may have to start buying bigger clothes and I'm already at an all-time-high. :uhoh21:

Constance Ann · Jan 5, 2005

Patrick I used to think men had it made when it came to losing weight because they have more muscle mass then women, however my husband finds it just as hard as I do. Misery loves company so he usually wants to go out and have coffee ice cream and talk about how we need to diet. I am making light of this, but it really is a problem for most of America and our youngsters growing up now. It is a serious health problem and we all would serve our profession well if we could find ways to help stop this epidemic.

Constance Ann · Jan 5, 2005

Everyone just be careful with all of the ads out there for cortisol reducing supplements. There is no magic bullet, it will just take a conscious effort to watch what we put in our mouth. I also read recently that caffeine creates more insulin in your blood and will make you hungry more often. I have cut down to one cup of coffee with caffeine a day and the rest of the time I drink decaf or have one cup of green tea because that has caffeine in it too. Be careful of the herbal teas too, as some can make you sleepy.

Pammie · Jan 5, 2005

I did the WW online and I actually did lose about 11 pounds, which I have now gained back. It was just so much trouble to get on the pc and put it in. I just purchased (online) a similar program for my PDA. It was $20-30. I can pull it out and do it right then. It pretty much counts calories. It has been helpful.

Pammie, I cannot agree with you more. The best part of the fight in obesity is that if you have experienced it you are more apt to be compasionate and not just tell someone to diet and exercise which most of the Drs. tell their patients. Those overweight know they are and they feel helpless. I did see on the news tonight that Weight Watchers in the only evidence based program that works for weight loss. Now to find the time to go to meetings, although they have taken care of that too. It is now available online. We have the tools we just need to pick them up and use them. Thanks for your reply. Sincerely, Constance Ann RN, BSN not soon enough MSN :)