Why the weight gain in Nursing School?

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I am on my 3rd year in college, since being accepted into the school nursing program however, I have gained 12 lbs in just one semester. My question is, did others face the same? I don't believe my eating habits have changed much, I am healthy and reasonably active, but I have definitely been very stressed and have not been sleeping as much. I just started med-surg 2, with other classes, plus work and am not sure how I will ever make the time to go to the gym. Have others faced the same? ( side note : I am 30 and have been of a healthy weight for the most part - until nursing school that is).

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Oncology.

Weight gain is (as you well know) a complicated issue that varies from person to person. Generally, I think it's closely related to stress, lack of sleep, and how easy it is to eat unhealthy food when you are under time constraints. Personally, we have a lot of fast food really close to our campus, so we will sometimes be tempted to choose that when we forget to plan ahead and bring healthier lunches from home.

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I didn't gain weight in school but did put on a few pounds when I first graduated and started working. My thought is the wonderful baggy scrubs, that compared to so many overweight nurses my baseline seems thin so I felt like I didn't need to watch my calories and all the snacks lying around it got out of hand. A few months after starting as a nurse when I tried to put a real pair of pants on I realized I needed to get a handle on the doughnut intake, lol.

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Specializes in Urology, HH, med/Surg.

I gained about 20lbs over about 2 years of pre-reqs & nursing school. I blamed it on inactivity because I basically sat around for that time- either in class or studying.

Once I went to work on the floor, it came off pretty fast and the only change was my level of activity. (And I was 44 y/o when I completed nursing school- when I was in my 20's, my metabolism was great! I could eat most anything & not gain...not so much now!)

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Specializes in ICU.

I gained a bunch last semester, right at the end and it worried me. I went to my family doc and he ran the standard tests and they came back normal. I had not really changed my eating habits either, was just very stressed and not at all sleeping well. I lost 13lbs my first month of summer vacation.

I mi realized that not only was I stressed and not sleeping, I had become very lax on the workouts also. I like to walk and run which also kept my stress levels down. I definitely needed the summer and I'm not missing my evening walks anymore.

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I'm in my fourth semester and I've definitely gained weight. My eating habits haven't changed but my activity level certainly has. I find myself sitting on my butt waaaaay more than I was before nursing school. It's not because I'm lazy but rather that I have so many hours of studying to do. I figure it's just part of the whole thing and once school is over, I'll be back to being more active.

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It's not unique to nursing school. Ever heard of the "freshman fifteen"?

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It's not unique to nursing school. Ever heard of the "freshman fifteen"?

Yes I have, but this is my 3rd year in college. And I was fine until I got into the nursing program. I have to agree with those who find it is due to the enormous amount of stress, sleep deprivation and lack of time to exercise. I spend so much time just sitting in one place and reading for hours on end. Hopefully this will all melt a way once I am working, but need to strike a balance and make time for gym. Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts xoxo

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Specializes in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology.

I'm kind of struggling with this too (I'm 29) and I'm kind of trying to tool around with my diet and working out but I think my poor sleeping habits are really making my efforts go to waste. Hopefully when I'm not working as much and I just have ONE job for a while I'll stabilize and be able to work out as hard and eat as well as I want. :)

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Just have your boyfriend dump you prior to a med math exam, renal exam, and care plan. You'll lose that weight real quick!

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Specializes in Public Health, TB.
I didn't gain weight in school but did put on a few pounds when I first graduated and started working. My thought is the wonderful baggy scrubs, that compared to so many overweight nurses my baseline seems thin so I felt like I didn't need to watch my calories and all the snacks lying around it got out of hand. A few months after starting as a nurse when I tried to put a real pair of pants on I realized I needed to get a handle on the doughnut intake, lol.

Mmmmm, donuts!

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Specializes in CrItical Care, Street Medicine/PHM, School nurse.

I am also 30 and in my junior year in nursing school. During the first 2 years of doing pre-reqs, it was rather easy for me and I ultimately gained about 15 lbs during that time. Fast forward to junior year of upper division courses and clinicals and I've LOST 10 lbs in a week and a half. 10 LBS IN A WEEK AND A HALF. It's a completely different beast. I do not sleep, barely eat and do nothing but study. There is just so much info in the first couple of days it's ridiculous. The sheer amount of reading that is required is just plain stupid. I need to find a way to manage this stress really soon because at this rate, I'm going to be disappearing by mid semester.

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